The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook by Ina GartenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the first cookbook written by Ina Garten (published in 1979), and based exclusively on the recipes she used at her Barefoot Contessa shop on Long Island. At that point, she had owned the shop for 20 years.
A couple of interesting notes about this cookbook. Ina uses a LOT of butter in virtually all of her recipes, but that's no surprise to those of us watching her on Food Network and reading her other cookbooks. Because the recipes are based on her cooking and baking at her gourmet shop, most of the recipes are designed to feed 8-10 (or 12!) people, and not very useful for those of us trying to cook for our smaller families. She mentions that quite a few of the ingredients are available at food specialty stores, which was definitely the case in 1999; however, most of these ingredients are now available at any grocery story (progress!!).
The photographs are beautiful, but not every recipe has an accompanying picture. In fact, some of the more complex recipes should have had a photograph, but didn't. She does give instructions (and photos) of how to make a platter -- fruit and cheese, roasted vegetables, crudites, fresh fruit, and desserts.
It's a beautiful book to look at, but the only way that I'm going to try any of these recipes is if I cut it in half or more!
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