WOW FANTASTIC - Rated 
THIS WAS MY FIRST BAREFOOT COOKBOOK (I NOW HAVE ALL THE HARDBACKS) AND HAVE TO SAY THEY ARE FANTASTIC.,EASY TO FOLLOW RECIPES AND METHODS., A COOK AFTER MY OWN HEART. THOUGH DO SOMETIMES HALVE THE INGREDIENTS TO SUIT MY OWN NEEDS. OVERALL UTTERLY RECOMMENDED., THANK YOU INA
AN INDISPENSABLE KITCHEN REFERENCE - Rated
For those who haven't had the pleasure of shopping at Ina Garten's specialty food store in the Hamptons The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook delivers - literally. Some 160 gorgeous photos plus Ina's favorite recipes fill the 252 pages of this indispensable kitchen reference.
As Martha Stewart writes in her Foreword, Ina is unique. "There is a freshness in cooking, a total lack of finickiness, a reliance on the freshest and best, and a casualness that I know will be appealing to everyone who uses her book." How true!
Ina stresses freshness, noting that after several weeks in Provence where she found radishes and carrots with "soil still clinging to them," she determined to base her cooking on ingredients from local sources. A lesson for us all.
Hosting a cocktail party, she decided, was not much fun if she spent all of her time running back and forth to the kitchen to get hot hors d'oeuvres out of the oven. So, she does everything possible to be sure that she does not leave the room. For instance, she has a table with all the drink fixings on it, and appetizers that can be served at room temperature so everything is either out or ready to pass when the first guest arrives. Thus we find common sense and uncommonly good appetizers from Roasted Eggplant spread to Guacamole to Smoked Salmon Sandwiches.
Her soups are splendid, most of them starting with sauteed onions "to give a sweet, rich flavor to the stock." Parker's Split Pea Soup, which Steven Spielberg said tasted just like his mother's, is rich, hearty and beautifully presented topped either with toasted croutons or diced smoked ham.
The joy Ina finds in cooking is evident in all of her dishes. She's a cook who makes simple food very, very special.
Highly recommended.
- Gail Cooke
Ava Gardner would have approved! - Rated
This lavishly illustrated volume containing many stunning full-colour photographs of finished dishes as well as locally grown produce strives for elegant simplicity and proves that good food need not be complicated. The dishes described are not difficult to prepare and require no special expertise or equipment. The author provides clearly written recipes that call for widely available ingredients. She knows that even standard dishes can benefit from fresh thinking and encourages inventiveness in the kitchen. This book would make a lovely gift for anyone who likes to entertain simply, naturally, and with style. Another book that I highly recommend is Sonia Uvezian's masterpiece, "Recipes and Remembrances from an Eastern Mediterranean Kitchen", which has to be one of the greatest ethnic cookbooks ever written. It too inspires innovation and brims with magnificent recipes suitable for entertaining that have consistently brought me raves from both family and guests. Uvezian's recipes for hummus with red pepper paste and for pomegranate wine punch are just two of the hundreds in her book that will bring you fame as a cook.
Easy to prepare, hard to resist - Rated
After making just three recipes from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook -- the Outrageous Brownies, the Fresh Corn Salad, and the Parmesan Smashed Potatoes -- I know I can trust the recipes in this delightfully designed, gloriously photographed paean to good cooking. Co-workers and friends could not stop enthusing about the brownies, which many claimed were the best brownies they'd ever tasted, and dinner guests went back for three helpings of the potatoes. As some have pointed out, this is NOT low-fat cuisine -- but neither is a Big Mac and an order of fries, which would leave one infinitely less satisfied than the dishes here. So, when taste is your primary concern, trust this invaluable resource from Ina Garten -- I know I will for years to come.
Excellant and interesting cookbook. - Rated
The visual presentation is wonderful. I tried the sun-dried tomato dip(using low-fat whipped cream cheese), and the hummus as a dip. It's 3 days after the party and I am still getting thank you's from people who attended the party. So - Thank you Ina. Can't wait to out the rest of the book.
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