Customer Reviews

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a bit of a cookbook junkie. I have all six of Ina Garten's cookbooks and use them all the time. Every single recipe of the many I tried so far have worked fabulously - unlike a lot of other cookbooks where it is a "hit and miss" effort. I especially like how she boils each recipe down to the essence and explains everything in detail. I have no hesitation in highly recommending all of her cookbooksBarefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over AgainThe Barefoot Contessa CookbookBarefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like FamilyBarefoot Contessa Parties!: Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really FunBarefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home. From this particular book, so far I tried her roasted potato leek soup - heavenly, white pizza with arugula - instant family classic, herb marinated loin of pork - great for parties and everyone's favorite, wild mushroom risotto - amazing depth of flavours, french apple tart - wonderful foolproof pastry for anyone (even baking beginners like myself), country french omelet - my husband's fave, homemade granola - flavourful snack to take to work. I am slowly working through all the recipes, knowing that if I follow the instructions, the results will be a notch above great. Thanks again, Ina.

I own all of Ina Garten's cook books and have purchased many over and over again as gifts. This book is one of those books. The first food items we made were for a dinner party hosted for friends. We loved the recipes we tried; Cape cod Chopped salad,Roasted Turkey roulade and pumpkin roulade with ginger buttercream were all well received. I have also made the Parmesan-roasted broccoli and easy French apple tart. I love how the recipes have wonderful photographs that always make the recipes more appealing. She also gives helpful tips in all of her cookbooks for entertaining. I will look forward to making more of the recipes here and hope you enjoy it too!

Love the pictures and have tried many recipes with great success. Will be buying her new cook book as well. Love the fact that these recipes are the basics and I then can play with some of the ingredients.

I am extremely pleased with this book and the recipes I have tried to date have been perfect. I would highly recommend this author!!

All her cookbooks are no-fail. I don't mix milk with meat and I don't eat shellfish and I still find this cookbook has plenty in it that I can make. She really knows food and I like to serve her recipes at dinner parties. They never fail to get commented upon. Ina Garten writes excellent cookbooks.

I really enjoy cooking with Ina's recipes. She makes cooking so approachable and easily broke down into understandable steps. Her use of fresh, good quality ingredients is respectable. There is something wonderful and cozy feeling about her books. The pictures are lovely. When you follow her easy instructions, the end result looks exactly like the picture - which I find very rewarding. The quality of the book itself is something to mention. The pages of this book are thick & glossy, they feel wonderful to the touch. I have plenty of stains already in this book, as I have attempted and proudly succeeded at many of her recipes. This book is one of my favourites in my collection. Fresh, easy, delicious, and very elegant cooking!!

The Barefoot Contessa's back to Basics is full of great recipes. Everything I have made from the book has turned out to be good. Still working on trying more of the recipes. Unfortunately, some of the ingredients are impossible to to find. Other than that, it is a fun book.

I have all Ina Garten cookbooks and love them all and this one wasn't an exception. Great recipes, very delicious as always, easy to make. Great cookbook, highly recommended!

I watch the Barefoot Contessa every weekend when I'm home. The cookbook is like listening to her speak. She explains everything in easy to understand terms. When i watch her show I wonder if the book wasn't taken from the actual episodes because I could swear she said that exact same thing last weekend, I thought when reading a recipe.
The recipes have wonderful pictures to accompany the ingredients and instructions. It is back to basics for anyone who wants to cook and present really nice meals without spending hours in the kitchen doing so. I highly recommend this book.

This is my 3rd Barefoot Contessa book. They're all wonderful. Ina uses readily available ingredients for the most part. Some how the combinations and quantities she chooses make regular ingredients spectacular. The Italian Wedding soup is great! At first it looks like tonnes of spinach, but once it's wilted it's the right amount. The parmesan-thyme crackers are yummy. I'm working my way through the recipes. The only one I haven't been thrilled with is the roasted potato-leek soup. Too much effort for okay results. I don't mind more effort if the end result is worth it.