The point of this latest cookbook from Ina Garten better known as the Barefoot Contessa “… is all about saving you time and stress.” (introduction, page 1) According to her, while the book is not about a couple of items you can throw together in five minutes and make a fantastic meal, the book does feature ease in terms of ingredients, short cuts, techniques, recipes and menus so that you can spend your precious time with your family and friends. Like a lot of books that are pushing the idea of speed/ease lately, this cookbook does not use any capitalization for titles of the book, chapters/sections, or recipes. Since that is the way it is done in the book, the same format will be followed in this review.
The first recipe on page 18 is mentioned in the seven page introduction summarized above and serves as a showcase of what the barefoot contessa means in this book. We have all stood and made french toast a few pieces at a time. In this house, there are four who love french toast and by the time mom and dad actually got to eat any, it is a long process from start to finish. Instead of making it on the stove, with the “french toast bread pudding” recipe depicted here in text and photographs, one puts everything together and runs it in the oven for approximately an hour and a half.
“cocktails” actually gets the book going on page 22 after a brief commentary on the well-stocked pantry. It opens with “watermelon mojitos” featuring watermelon, crushed mint and freshly squeezed lime juice along with some other ingredients on page 26. While the section is titled “cocktails” and does feature a number of different drink recipes, the section also features snack recipes as well such as “chunky blue cheese yogurt dip” on pages 30-31, “roasted eggplant caponata on pages 38-39 and “crostini with tuna tapenade” on page 46-47.
“starters” follows after a brief commentary on menu planning. “onion & fennel soup gratin” on pages 56-57 starts things off with recipes for “celery & parmesan salad” on pages 62-63 and “soppressata & cheese in puff pastry” on pages 70-71 among others included.
After a brief commentary on equipment, the section on “lunch” comes next and begins with a “greek panzanella” on pages 88-89. As explained in the book this is basically the italian version with feta cheese and olives. That is followed on the next page with a “roasted vegetable frittata” on pages 90-91. Several recipes for different fish follow before the “ultimate grilled cheese” sandwich on pages 102-103. This is a serious grilled cheese sandwich using bacon, high quality mustard, aged cheese and a bunch of other ingredients. Several more recipes for other lunch treats are also included in the section.
“dinner” appropriately comes next after a brief commentary on table settings. “lemon chicken breasts” using chicken (of course), white wine, garlic, oregano, lemon, thyme and a couple of other things start off this section on page 120. There are several recipes for chicken, turkey, lamb, beef as well as different types of fish in this section. Also included are various pasta dishes.
Vegetables are presented in various ways in the “vegetables” section after a brief commentary about how to easily serve your guests. “roasted summer vegetables” states the section off on page 168-169 making heavy use of zucchinis, onions and peppers. Cauliflower has always been an evil disgusting vegetable as far as I am concerned but the barefoot contessa tries to make it appealing on pages 172-173 with her “garlic-roasted cauliflower” recipe. The jury is still out on that as the idea of spending money on cauliflower is hard to swallow on so many levels.
After all that has come before, if you have any room for dessert you are in luck as the “dessert” section begins on pages 200-201. After a brief commentary on saving time in baking, the section opens with an “easy cranberry & apple cake on pages 204-205. Chocolate, a basic ingredient and food source around here is not ignored in this cookbook as it is used in “mocha chocolate ice box cake” (pages 206-207), “chocolate pudding cream tart” (pages 210-211) and other treats. Strawberries, bananas and peaches also make frequent appearances in this section.
“more easy tips” follows with plenty of pictures of the various tips in action. Some, like having two dishwashers might be a practical impossibility though if I had a choice I would go with two ovens like my grandmother had. Other tips such as having plenty of sheet pans, timers, cooking bowls, measuring utensils, etc. may be of some use. Many of the tips seem to be nothing more than product endorsements for certain selected companies and have little use.
A five page index brings this colorful 256 page cookbook to a close. A cookbook that features lots of recipes with plenty of information regarding serving sizes and ingredients that are lovingly photographed for maximum effect. Visually the book is great and clearly well-organized with plenty of information to make time in the kitchen worthwhile.
However, absolutely zero nutritional information is provided of any type. One can only guess as to what the nutritional information would be for the recipes included in this book. Furthermore, a lot of the suggested ingredients are not easy to find or affordable nor are the dishes quick to prepare. Considering the title, that issue is a significant problem. Additionally, most of the tips scattered through the book are either very basic common knowledge type things or serve as nothing more than product endorsements.
With the obvious drawbacks noted above, this cookbook does feature a lot of good food, plenty of clear and easy to understand recipes. While well done in a visual sense, longtime fans of her work may be disappointed with this latest offering that is not only rather misleading title wise but is also primarily a long product endorsement project for those with deep pockets.
barefoot contessa how easy is that? fabulous recipes & easy tips
ina garten
http://www.barefootcontessa.com
Photographs by Quentin Bacon
http://www.quentinbacon.com/
Clarkson Potter/Publishers
http://www.clarksonpotter.com
October 2010
ISBN# 978-0-307-23876-4
Hardback
256 Pages
$35.00
Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano, Texas Public Library System.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2011
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2 comments:
what ingredients in this cookbook are hard to find? one of the things I like best about Ina is that all her recipes can be made from ingredients bought at the big ol' supermarket. No trips to specialty markets.
lol! If you are in the author's area, that might be true though many that live there say it isn't. Certainly here a lot of stuff is specialty market only.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
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