Barefoot Contessa Quotes

Food is about nurturing: not only physical but also emotional nurturing.

Cooking is one of the great gifts you can give to those you love. It says “you’re important enough to me to spend the time and effort to cook for you.

Megan was able to get me the single most important item in this entire house." "She got you that new vibrator?" "Jesus..." "Oh, the cookbook, right," he said, remembering. Megan used to work for the Food Network, and was able to secure me a signed copy of the original Barefoot Contessa cookbook.

I actually think that the food our mothers made may not be what we are nostalgic for. It’s more an emotional picture of a mother who was always there, knew what we needed, loved us, let us run free when we wanted to explore.

A good home should gather you up in its arms like a warm cashmere blanket, soothe your hurt feelings, and prepare you to go back out into that big bad world tomorrow all ready to fight the dragons.

TRADITIONS REASSURE US THAT WE BELONG TOGETHER,

I’d like to think that when I invite friends to my house, they know what I’m really saying is, “I love you; come for dinner.

cool to room temperature.

big sofas for a nap on Sunday afternoon; comfy reading chairs with good light and a view out the window for daydreaming

It doesn’t really matter what the occasion is—big or small—but it’s the connections that we have with people we love that nourish our souls. Entertaining isn’t just about making dinner parties. It’s about celebrating those connections and I think that’s what makes life worth living.

Megan was able to get me the single most important item in this entire house.” “She got you that new vibrator?” “Jesus . . .” “Oh, the cookbook, right,” he said, remembering. Megan used to work for the Food Network, and was able to secure me a signed copy of the original Barefoot Contessa cookbook. By Ina Garten. Signed to me by the way; one of those “Best wishes, Ina” deals. It honest-to-God said: To Caroline— Best Wishes, Ina Go ahead and be jealous. I’ll wait. Simon, on the other hand, would not. “Okay, so you remember Megan.” “Remember her? Did you not hear me say single most important—” “I got it, babe. Are you at all curious about hearing what they’re up to, or are you just going to spend some head-space time dreaming of Ina and her kitchen?” “And me in her kitchen. If you’re going to get into my daydream, you have to set the scene correctly. I’m there with Ina, in her kitchen in the Hamptons, and we’re cooking up something wonderful for you and her husband, Jeffrey. Something with roasted chicken, which she’ll teach me how to carve perfectly. And roasted carrots, which she’ll pronounce with that subtle New York accent of hers, where it sounds like she’s saying kerrits.” “I worry about you sometimes,” Simon said, reaching over to feel my forehead. “I’m perfectly fine. Don’t worry about me, I’ll continue my fantasy later.

Everyone who makes this cake can’t believe how easy it is! The ricotta and sour cream keep the cake moist and the blueberries and lemon zest give it lots of flavor. Even if you’re having breakfast for dinner, you still need to have dessert, right?

First, it starts with simple ingredients. I always ask myself, “Does every ingredient earn its place in this recipe?” If I can’t clearly distinguish it or it doesn’t enhance the flavor of another ingredient, out it goes. Fewer ingredients mean less shopping and less prep time. Second, are they ingredients that you can easily find in a grocery or specialty food store? There’s no point in writing a simple recipe if it means you have to go to three different produce markets to find three different kinds of wild mushrooms in order to make the recipe. I’ve seen recipes that call for gelatin sheets (where do you find those, except in a restaurant kitchen?) or a teaspoon of glace de viande. When I see ingredients like that in a recipe, I just put the book back

Catching up on episodes of barefoot contessa? He does fill out an apron quit nicely, I'll admit that.

was already committed to go to one of Ina Garten’s dinner parties, and you know how Ina gets when you cancel on her at the last minute! Barefoot nothing—that Contessa gets ANGRY. I once saw her throw an entire roast chicken at Ben Affleck! In steel-toed boots!

She'd wanted to be a chef that little girls could look up to--- a role model. Empowering other women was where she wanted to be, because she'd never seen a woman with the career she now had when she was coming up in the industry. And after landing a spot on the show, she thought she could be that person for aspiring chefs. And, maybe more importantly, her brand was different from other female chefs who flourished on TV. She wasn't like Giada or the Barefoot Contessa, with slick, oceanfront homes that made wealthy people feel seen. Or Rachael Ray, who made meals in fifteen minutes using canned ingredients. Nina wanted to show that food could be an experience. The same way that she and her mom used to cook together. All her childhood memories were tied in to their tiny kitchen. Nina could just as easily pull up the smell of her mother blending flour and rosemary in the mixer as she could breathe.