Cook Like a Pro: Recipes and Tips for Home Cooks: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

by Ina Garten

Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Cook with confidence no matter how much experience you have in the kitchen with the help of the beloved Food Network star
 
“Garten has kicked things up a level, this time encouraging readers to try more ambitious recipes that are still signature Ina: warm, comforting, homey.”—Chicago Tribune
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Food Network • Food & Wine • PopSugar • The Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Country Living • The Feast • Eater • The Kitchn • Delish
 
In this collection of foolproof recipes, Ina brings readers’ cooking know-how to the next level by answering questions, teaching techniques, and explaining her process right in the margin of each recipe—it’s as if she’s in the kitchen by your side guiding you through the recipe. When you make her Cauliflower Toasts with prosciutto and Gruyère, she shows you the best way to cut a cauliflower into perfect florets without getting them all over the kitchen (from the stem end, with the head turned upside-down!) and when making her Red Wine–Braised Short Ribs, Ina shares a fantastic tip for keeping your stovetop clean (roast the short ribs in the oven rather than browning them in a pan on the stove!). You’ll discover dozens more ingenious tips and shortcuts throughout, such as how to set up an elegant home bar, how to peel two heads of garlic quickly, how to use a paring knife to create a pro-worthy pattern on her decadent Chocolate Chevron Cake, and the key to making unbelievably creamy Truffled Scrambled Eggs (add the eggs to the skillet before the butter melts—who knew?!).
 
Both beginners and advanced cooks will love this book filled with new dishes that will become part of your repertoire and practical cooking advice that will give you more confidence in the kitchen. Your friends and family will be so impressed!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780804187053
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	10/23/2018
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	146,479
File size:	216 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

In 1978, Ina Garten left her job as a budget analyst in the White House to pursue her dream of operating a specialty food store in the Hamptons. She is a frequent contributor to major national magazines and writes a recurring column in O Magazine. Her television series on entertaining can be seen on the Food Network. Ina lives in East Hampton, New York, and Southport, Connecticut, with her husband, Jeffrey.

Read an Excerpt

Crispy Mustard Chicken & Frisee

Serves 4

This is a great summer dinner! I love the interplay of hot and cold—the crispy chicken and roasted fingerling potatoes with the slightly bitter greens and mustard vinaigrette. This hits all the right notes for me.

2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup panko (Japanese bread flakes)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
Good olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup good Dijon mustard
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (4 large)
1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
12 ounces baby frisée or chicory salad greens (see tip)
Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Pro tip: Vinaigrette won't cling to wet lettuce. Wash and thoroughly spin-dry greens before dressing them.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place the garlic, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until the garlic is finely minced. Add the panko, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the butter and pulse a few times to moisten the panko. Pour the mixture into a shallow bowl. In another shallow bowl, whisk together the mustard and wine.

Pat the chicken thighs dry with paper towels and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Dip each piece first in the mustard mixture to coat the top and bottom and then coat the skin side only in the crumb mixture, pressing gently to make the crumbs adhere. Place the chicken on one side of a sheet pan, crumb side up, and press any remaining crumbs onto the chicken.

Place the potatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and toss. Spread the potatoes on the other side of the sheet pan in one layer and roast both together for 40 to 50 minutes, turning the potatoes once during roasting, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees. The chicken and potatoes should be done at the same time.

Meanwhile, place the greens on a serving platter. When the chicken and potatoes are done, toss the salad with enough vinaigrette to moisten and place the chicken and potatoes on top, adding any crumbs from the sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and serve while the chicken and potatoes are still warm.

Mustard Vinaigrette
Makes 3/4 cup
1/4 cup minced shallots
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1 tablespoon good Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the shallots, vinegar, olive oil, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl and whisk until emulsified.

Pro tip: To cut onions or shallots neatly, cut them in half and peel them, leaving the root end intact before slicing, chopping, or mincing. Otherwise, you’ll have onions all over your cutting board!

Editorial Reviews

08/06/2018
Food Network host Garten’s disappointing 11th cookbook revolves around the author’s professional tips intended to elevate home cooking, but much of her advice will come as no surprise. She begins by touching on basics, such as proper seasoning (“You’ve been under-salting”) and plating (“Plating food is like arranging flowers in a vase”) that are helpful yet too familiar. A tomato and avocado salad incorporates arugula, lemon juice, and red onion, and the helpful hints include instructions to use a serrated knife to cut the tomatoes. A sidebar on baking (deemed “very scientific”) cautions that an oven takes 20 minutes to preheat. A recipe for turkey sandwiches made with store-bought mayonnaise suggests toasting the bread in the oven, but doesn’t explain why that’s preferable to using a toaster. Many dishes are inspired by other recipes: the fried chicken sandwich from Shake Shack, and Charlie Bird’s farro salad with shaved parmesan (use a vegetable peeler, Garten advises), which is based on a recipe written by Melissa Clark in the New York Times. As a result, Garten’s own style doesn’t shine through. Her recipes are all perfectly sound, but the lack of a strong point of view or game-changing advice makes this one of her lesser collections. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

#1 New York Times Best Seller

A Best Book of 2018:
—New York Times Book Review
—Amazon
—FoodNetwork
—Country Living
—The Feast
—Popsugar
—City Book Review
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
—Eater
—Food & Wine
—The Kitchn
—Delish

"Garten has kicked things up a level, this time encouraging readers to try more ambitious recipes that are still signature Ina: warm, comforting, homey."
—Chicago Tribune

"As with everything else Ina has ever produced, this flawless book (her 11th!) is filled with trustworthy recipes that taste delicious and don't require a culinary degree to make (just a few of her pro tips)."
—The Kitchn

From the Publisher