• My Home
  • »
  • Library
  • »
  • Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
x

Welcome to Eat Your Books!

If you are new here, you may want to learn a little more about how this site works. Eat Your Books has indexed recipes from leading cookbooks and magazines as well recipes from the best food websites and blogs.

Become a member and you can create your own personal ‘Bookshelf’. Imagine having a single searchable index of all your recipes – both digital and print!

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients by Ina Garten

Search this book for Recipes »

Notes about this book

This book does not currently have any notes.

Notes about Recipes in this book

  • Coq au vin

    • mabeysmom on January 14, 2010

      Made 1/14/2010. Not great won't make again.

  • Baked sweet potato "fries"

    • sstewart on January 17, 2010

      Awesome! Made with DARK brown sugar and finished with MALDON sea salt. Took longer to cook than recipe instructs, but were nice and crispy!

    • HunyBadger on December 12, 2010

      No need for sugar, these are sweet enough. Add a bit more cooking time and a bit less oil as well. Yum!

    • eBrowner on October 27, 2012

      How did you get them crispy?

    • sturlington on April 07, 2013

      At such a high temperature, potatoes tended to burn rather than crisp up.

  • Parmesan-roasted broccoli

    • HunyBadger on May 09, 2010

      On pg 172

    • Delys77 on March 25, 2013

      Pg 172 This is a real winner. The broccoli gets just a touch smokey from the roasting and the garlic is delicious, but then the final sprinkling of seasonings is the clincher with the buttery pine nuts, umami parm, and assertive lemon. Very easy and just delicious.

  • Easy sole meunière

    • HunyBadger on May 22, 2010

      Really simple ingredients: butter, lemon, sole, salt and parsley...can't get much easier than that! Very tasty too, just go easy on the lemon juice or taste the reduction in case it gets too tangy. Add more butter or perhaps chicken broth to thin out if needed.

  • Truffled filet of beef sandwiches

    • leisalow on July 25, 2010

      This sandwich looked delicious when I saw Ina make it on TV.

  • French apple tart

    • Digitoes on August 09, 2010

      This is so easy and delicious. I like her way of slicing the apples; easy-peasy. I used Myer's Dark Rum in the Apricot Glaze and everyone loved it. Most people said they liked this better than apple pie!

  • Italian wedding soup

    • Breadcrumbs on October 17, 2010

      p. 72 - 2010 - First attempt w this rec that will now be a fave. I made meatballs in advance and froze so I can make portioned soup on demand w little fuss. Just added required amt into broth to defrost and heat through. Used 1 box chx stock and 1/4c ditalini for 2 servings. Topped w parm. Soup was extremely flavourful. K-9/10.

    • jnetlw on October 20, 2012

      Italian Wedding Soup is one of my favorites. This soup is hearty enough for a meal. Use it for my annual Christmas ships dinner, a crowd pleaser.

    • Delys77 on March 25, 2013

      The meatballs in this are very very tasty and the soup itself is quite good. I do think you need homemade stock though as the broth is very simple otherwise.

  • Buttermilk cheddar biscuits

    • MVitek on June 03, 2011

      very buttery

  • Herb-marinated loin of pork

    • rebecca1july on June 12, 2011

      Serve with Greek Panzanella food network what friends are for episode

  • Chive risotto cakes

    • manond on August 17, 2011

      These were delicious the night we made them, but they did not reheat well the next day. I doubled the amount of chives, and next time, I would add some Asiago or Parmesan cheese to the mixture.

  • Date nut spice bread

    • DJM on December 24, 2011

      Made a written, this bread is extremely dry and requires the orange cream cheese spread included to keep it from sticking in the throat. An additional egg and an additional 2 tablespoons of butter would probably solve the dryness.

  • Roasted butternut squash salad with warm cider vinaigrette

    • jbuchman on January 03, 2012

      Page 88; TC B didn't like.

  • Dinner spanakopitas

    • jaelsne on March 23, 2012

      This is a WONDERFUL recipe! My family loved the spanakopitas. My husband, who is never very exuberant, said that they were excellent. When asked to rate them on a scale of one to ten--he said TEN! This was my first time in 25 years of cooking for the man that my food ever received a perfect ten! Whoo hoo! Thanks, Ina!

  • Indonesian grilled swordfish

    • Waderu on September 16, 2012

      Great recipe, great flavor. I grilled it a little longer than suggested but followed everything else perfectly. Yum

  • Company pot roast

    • ssdrabek on October 03, 2012

      Add more carrots because we love them! Super yummy!!

  • Oven-roasted vegetables

    • eBrowner on October 27, 2012

      Not a big fan of fennel so I replaced with garlic. very good!

  • Easy sticky buns

    • Sarobin on November 28, 2012

      These are absolutely disgusting. At first I thought there must have been a print error in the amount of butter specified, but apparently this is correct. These come out swimming in butter - Check the online recipe reviews. Strangely some people appear like this which is a little worrying.

  • Roasted shrimp cocktail

    • Gio on December 26, 2012

      Made this 12.24.2012. Halved the recipe. Used colossal Gulf of Mexico wild caught blue shrimp from TJ's. Delicious. Will definitely make again.

  • Roasted pears with blue cheese

    • ellabee on February 11, 2013

      Regretted ignoring instruction to cut slice off outer curve of pears so they lie steady, which also insures good contact & bigger surface between pears and liquid and pan; my omission made the pears take much longer to soften. Still completely delicious.

  • French bistro steaks with Provençal butter

    • Delys77 on March 25, 2013

      Pg. 122 I was unable to find onglet so I used a rib eye. The butter is very nice, with all the flavours you would expect and the stead itself was very nice with the herbes de provences. I could imagine it would be even better with onglet since the butter would pair nicely with the leaner meat.

  • Pan-roasted root vegetables

    • sturlington on March 26, 2013

      This is such a simple technique but results in a really good side dish. I used none of the vegetables called for, but substituted potatoes, sweet potatoes and green beans. It was still very good, proving that this is an extremely adaptable side suitable for everyday cooking. A little bacon thrown in also tastes great!

  • Mustard-roasted fish

    • Delys77 on April 15, 2013

      Pg. 136 For us this was just ok. The sauce could do with some more capers but was generally quite good, the challenge is that the fish doesn't brown so it remains a little bland despite the punchy sauce.

You must Create an Account or Sign In to add a note to this book.

Reviews about this book

  • Chef Talk by T. Susan Chang

    I like this book. New cooks will learn helpful techniques...while seasoned cooks might glean inspiration from the more unusual entries.

    Full review

  • Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

    ...has some perennial favorite tastes - lemon, prosciutto, Parmesan, shrimp - but what could be better?

    Full review

Reviews about Recipes in this Book

  • Pumpkin roulade with ginger buttercream

    • Lisa Is Cooking

      ...roulades are much easier than they look, and they tend to store really well. It’s everything you could want in a dessert for fall, and you can make it the day before you plant to serve it.

      Full review

  • Parmesan & thyme crackers

    • Lottie and Doof

      They would be great served with some wine or snacked on any time... A really good thing to have on hand when quests are over. These are easy to make and quite delicious.

      Full review

  • Cream of fresh tomato soup

    • Lisa Is Cooking

      Crunchy, parmesan croutons take the place of a grilled cheese sandwich here, and they are a delicious topping on the soup along with some fresh basil.

      Full review

  • Roasted shrimp cocktail

    • Running With Tweezers

      Let me tell you – shrimp cooked this way have so much more flavor and sweetness.

      Full review

  • Savory palmiers

    • Running With Tweezers

      For this recipe, you can make your own pesto or used pre-made for an even easier time of it.

      Full review
  • ISBN 10 1400054354
  • ISBN 13 9781400054350
  • Linked ISBNs
  • Published Dec 12 2008
  • Format Hardcover
  • Language English
  • Countries United States
  • Publisher Clarkson Potter

Publishers Text

For Ina Garten, creating a successful meal has nothing to do with what's in vogue; it's all about what's readily available, in season, and easy to prepare. In Back to Basics Ina explores how to bring the best out of ordinary ingredients for delicious meals that have that extra wow factor we've all come to expect from the Barefoot Contessa.

Which ingredient unlocks the purest chocolate flavor in brownie pudding? What twist makes an old favorite like tomato Caprese salad truly unique? How can you amp up the impact of butternut squash soup without overpowering the true butternut squash flavor? It's not always about finding the most exotic or costly ingredients--it's about finding the methods and flavor pairings that unlock the essence of good food.

Newcomers and longtime fans alike will love Ina's insights on building a menu, finishing a dish, and setting the scene for dinner, and an inspired roster of all-new recipes--ranging from Lobster Corn Chowder to Fresh Lemon Mousse and Easy Sticky Buns--demonstrates Ina's talent for transforming fresh, easy-to-find ingredients into an elegant meal without fuss or complications.

Ina's five previous bestselling cookbooks have sold an astonishing 6 million copies, and have inspired a show seen daily on Food Network and a line of packaged food products. Her new Foot Network series, also called Back to Basics, will debut this October.

Other cookbooks by this author

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients

Member Rating

Average rating of 4.5 by 24 people

Categories