Make It Ahead: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

by Ina Garten

Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

For the first time, trusted and beloved cookbook author Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, answers the number one question she receives from cooks: Can I make it ahead?

If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in front of the stove at your own party, scrambling to get everything to the table at just the right moment, Ina is here to let you in on her secrets! Thanks to twenty years of running a specialty food store and fifteen years writing cookbooks, she has learned exactly which dishes you can prep, assemble, or cook ahead of time. Whether you’re hosting a party or simply making dinner on a hectic weeknight, Ina gives you lots of amazing recipes that taste just as good—or even better!—when they’re made in advance.

In Make It Ahead, each recipe includes clear instructions for what you can do ahead of time, and how far in advance, so you can cook with confidence and eliminate last-minute surprises. Make a pitcher of Summer Rosé Sangria filled with red berries, let it chill overnight for the flavors to develop, and you have a delicious drink to offer your friends the minute they arrive. Simmer a pot of Wild Mushroom & Farro Soup, enjoy a bowl for lunch, and freeze the rest for a chilly evening. You can prep the kale, Brussels sprouts, and lemon vinaigrette for Winter Slaw ahead of time and simply toss them together before serving. Assemble French Chicken Pot Pies filled with artichokes and fresh tarragon a day in advance and then pop them in the oven half an hour before dinner. And for dessert, everyone needs the recipe for Ina’s Decadent (gluten-free!) Chocolate Cake topped with Make-Ahead Whipped Cream. Ina also includes recipes for the biggest cooking day of the year—Thanksgiving! Her Ultimate Make-Ahead Roast Turkey and Gravy with Onions & Sage may just change your life.

With beautiful photographs and hundreds of invaluable make-ahead tips, this is your new go-to guide for preparing meals that are stress-free yet filled with those fabulously satisfying flavors that you have come to expect from the Barefoot Contessa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780770434496
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	10/28/2014
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	137,281
File size:	76 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Ina Garten is the host of the Emmy Award–winning Barefoot Contessa television show on Food Network and a New York Times bestselling author. She lives in East Hampton, New York, with her husband, Jeffrey. This is her ninth book.

Recipe

Garlic & Herb Roasted Shrimp

Serves 4

A few years ago, I started roasting shrimp for shrimp cocktail instead of boiling them. It was so successful—and so easy!—that I decided to use the same technique for a main-course dish. These shrimp are flavored with butter, garlic, rosemary, and lots of lemon and I bring the pan right from the oven to the table.

¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons good olive oil

2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)

2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 large lemons

2 pounds (8- to 10-count) shrimp, peeled with the tails on

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

4 slices country bread, toasted

Note: I serve this with basmati rice and steamed broccoli, which are great with the garlicky butter sauce.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Melt the butter over low heat in a medium (10-inch) sauté pan. Add the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper and cook over low heat for one minute. Off the heat, zest one of the lemons directly into the butter mixture.

Meanwhile, arrange the shrimp snugly in one layer in a large (12-inch) round ovenproof sauté pan (or 10 × 13-inch baking dish) with only the tails overlapping. Pour the butter mixture over the shrimp. Sprinkle with the sea salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.

Slice the ends off the zested lemon, cut five (¼-inch-thick) slices, and tuck them among the shrimp. Roast for 12 to 15 minutes, just until the shrimp are firm, pink, and cooked through. Cut the remaining lemon in half and squeeze the juice onto the shrimp.

Serve hot with the toasted bread for dipping into the garlic butter.

MAKE IT AHEAD: Prep the dish and refrigerate it in the pan. Roast before serving.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/22/2014
Garten offers smart solutions with over 75 recipes for make-in-advance dishes. Recipes are suited for both family weeknight fare meal planning and for special occasions. There are cocktails, from margaritas to martinis, and plenty of platters and soups for starters, including a wild mushroom and farro soup and walnut roquefort–topped warm fig and arugula salad. For lunch, ham and leek empanadas can be filled, wrapped, and kept up to three days in the fridge and three months in the freezer before baking. Garten provides lots of casseroles, hearty grain and vegetable sides, and desserts. She also guides cooks through a complete make-ahead Thanksgiving feast. Recipe sidebars show make-ahead information for packing and storage and the number of days ahead the dish can be prepared before cooking or serving. Recipes are designed both as dishes for immediate consumption or make-ahead meals. Garten provides 10 make-ahead tips for parties, and there are essays on baking, presentation, and proper freezing methods, along with sample make-ahead menus for entertaining. A secret kitchen sidekick, the Barefoot Contessa quells the last-minute fears of those who entertain. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly