Barefoot Contessa at Home

This has been bought as a present for someone that watched Barefoot Contessa regularly on the TV, it has some great recipes and its laid out well. It was a bit of a pantomine with the order as it got lost in the post before turning up the same day as the re-order but praise should be given to Amazon customer services who handled the delivery problems efficiently

Ina Garten kenne ich als Fernsehköchin des Food Networks - ein Fernsehsender der in den USA und anderen englischsprachigen Ländern vertreten ist. Ina ist eine der erfolgreichsten Stars des Senders und für mich sicherlich die sympathischste. Wie in ihrer Fernsehsendung, beschreibt sie die Zutaten, Mengen und die Ablaufschritte sehr sorgfältig, sodass auch Menschen mit wenig Erfahrung die Rezepte nachkochen können. Das Buch enthält viele Bilder sodass man nach Gefühl entscheiden kann, worauf man Lust hat zu kochen. Mit ein paar Hilfsmitteln - Messlöffeln, Messbechern mit US-Maßen - lassen sich die Rezepte ohne Umrechnung der Zutatenmengen kochen.

I was very confused by many of the reviews here so I decided to try out the cookbook for myself. So, I checked out "Barefoot Contessa at Home" from the library and got ready to give it a test drive. First up, I went for her Whisky Sour recipe. Personally, I am not a fan of whiskey...but, I loved this drink. Absolutely, this would be worth the price of the cookbook for me. Ina says that her father drank whisky sours so she has fond memories of that drink---and she shows that with a lovely recipe that made me rethink whiskey completely. I even made it for guests and it was a hit. Next up, I tried her Guacamole Salad recipe. I only chose that one because I had two avacados that were overripe and needed using up immediately. I had some doubt about eating this dish without some accompanyment since it was very heavy on cherry tomatoes, black beans, and jalepeno....but, the dish was a stunning surprise. My mother was visiting and she went ga-ga for the dish and honestly, the longer it sat the better it smelled and the more tasty it became. We finished it all that evening and wished for more. Alright, so I was impressed...so time to try something that takes some real investment of my time: Shrimp Bisque. (I used frozen raw shrimp to cut down on the cost. Yeah, it took awhile to make the seafood stock (though it wasn't at all difficult but it had to simmer for an hour). Then I had to saute some shrimp and leaks with a few other ingredients, put them into a food processor and really it was so worth it. My, my, who knew that I could produce such a tasty Bisque? My husband wants this dish again. My children loved it as well. So, we are 3 for 3 now. So, for tomorrow, I plan to buy the ingredients and try a Bloody Mary! I have never had anything other than the canned, yucky ones from cheap bars....so, I plan to update this review then. But, if you are confused about all these reviews about 'let down expectations', etc....then remember to pay more attention to the reviewers that really took the time to cook a few recipes before writing. Also, I have now ordered the book and it is arriving tomorrow (My mom bought a copy as well). Update: I think the Bloody Mary recipe was just ok. Frankly, I don't have much experience with this drink so I wonder if maybe I should I give it a second try. My mother and husband also thought the Bloody Mary was just ok. But, given the other great recipes in this book, I am not particulary worried if I am not crazy about just one recipe so far. I think I will try out a couple more recipes from the book and then update this review accordingly. Update May 27, 2010...I made the Mexican Chicken Soup on pg. 34 (basically, a Tortilla Soup) and it was lovely. Even my children ate it. My only variations were that I used leftover grilled chicken meat and canned fire-roasted tomatoes. As a side dish, I made the Guacamole Salad again and loved it even more this time! Update September 21, 2011...I made the Roasted Shrimp with Orzo on pg. 74. Orzo is a small rice-like pasta. Fabulous! The recipe is very easy and contains: dill, parsley, red onion, scallions, cucumber, and feta cheese, as well as a few other items. I usually don't like red onion raw, but this is a very balanced dish. I even forgot the feta initially and it was still good, though more suited to adult tastes. The feta cheese counters nicely with the red onion by removing some of the bitterness. Once the feta was added, my children ate this dish too! ****My Most Important Note about Ina's Recipes: Please use only Diamond Crystal Kosher salt or Ina's own brand of Kosher. Morton's Kosher salt is different---as in way stronger, heavier and therefore saltier. If you use Morton's then you should cut the salt amount almost in half (1 tablespoon of Diamond Crystal would be only about 1/2 a tablespoon of Morton's). Morton's is simply a heavier salt whereas Diamond Crystal is very light and contains more air. Also, you must cut down the measurement if you substitute table salt for Kosher. Diamond Crystal has a website with a 'locate a store' option. Good luck!

Ótimo

Great recipes, easy to follow and a good read.