Go-To Dinners: A Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Shop Notes:

In times of national and international strife, one of the happy constants has been the quality and consistency of Ina Garten's cookbooks.  Go-to Dinners double downs on this concept with the acknowledgment that, after the difficult years of a pandemic what people need the most is to feel heard, seen, and loved by their family and friends.  In person.  Preferably with a plate of comforting macaroni and cheese or a slice of Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie.

Go-to Dinners cookbook is a blueprint for crafting lovely get-togethers so we can get used to actually getting together without all the hassle and worry about recreating a 3-star Michelin menu.  Be casual.  Serve a dish that makes you and your friends feel like they are getting a warm hug.  It's okay.  Comfort food will always be in style and your people will love you for serving it, but also feel free to get a bit creative by adding some new spins on your favorites.  

As for the recipes, there isn't one in the book that I'm not tempted to make   What's more, I see my own pragmatic style of cooking reflected in these recipes.  But, also an elevated version of my cooking.  I see fresh lobster and Blood oranges, but I also see ingredients from Costco, premade pie shells, and egg-based dishes that will make cooking faster and easier.  This is classic Ina Garten and the world is better for it. 

From the Publisher:

America's favorite home cook presents delicious, crowd-pleasing, go-to recipes that you'll want to make over and over again!

Even Ina Garten, America's most-trusted and beloved home cook, sometimes finds cooking stressful. To make life easy she relies on a repertoire of recipes that she knows will turn out perfectly every time. Cooking night after night during the pandemic inspired her to re-think the way she approached dinner, and the result is this collection of comforting and delicious recipes that you'll love preparing and serving. You'll find lots of freeze-ahead, make-ahead, prep-ahead, and simply assembled recipes so you, too, can make dinner a breeze.

In Go-To Dinners, Ina shares her strategies for making her most satisfying and uncomplicated dinners. Many, like Overnight Mac ; Cheese, you can make ahead and throw in the oven right before dinner. Light dinners like Tuscan White Bean Soup can be prepped ahead and assembled at the last minute. Go-to family meals like Chicken in a Pot with Orzo and Hasselback Kielbasa will feed a crowd with very little effort. And who doesn't want to eat Breakfast For Dinner? You'll find recipes for Scrambled Eggs Cacio e Pepe and Roasted Vegetables with Jammy Eggs that are a snap to make and so satisfying. Ina's "Two-Fers" guide you on how to turn leftovers from one dinner into something different and delicious the second night.

And sometimes the best dinner is one you don't even have to cook! You'll find Ina's favorite boards to serve with store-bought ingredients, like an Antipasto Board and Breakfast-for-Dinner Board that are fun to assemble and so impressive to serve. Finally, because no meal can be considered dinner without dessert, there are plenty of prep-ahead and easy sweets like a Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie and Beatty's Chocolate Cupcakes that everyone will rave about.

For Ina, "I love you, come for dinner" is more than just an invitation to share a meal, it's a way to create a community of friends and family who love and take care of each other, and we all need that now more than ever. These go-to recipes will give you the confidence to create dinners that will bring everyone to your table.

About the Author:

Ina Garten is a New York Times bestselling author, the host of Be My Guest on Discovery+, and host of Barefoot Contessa on Food Network, for which she has won five Emmy Awards and a James Beard Award. She lives in East Hampton, New York, with her husband, Jeffrey.

Release Date: October 25, 2002

Condition: New