Cookbook Review: Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That?

I know this review is long overdue. I've had this book for a while now. But I've had bronchitis twice, the flu, and then a sinus infection, and I wanted to give this the proper attention. (Are you sick of hearing about me being sick? I'm sick of talking about it. Let's move on, then.)

I went through this book, page by page, as soon as I got my hands on it. I'm a big, huge fan of Ina Garten because her recipes are fool-proof. Some are more involved than others but the emphasis, in her latest book "Barefoot Contessa: How Easy is That?" is on "her easiest recipes ever."

Garten's road to culinary celebrity was not the typical one. Once a White House nuclear policy analyst, she loved to entertain. Eventually, she left her career to purchase gourmet food shop the Barefoot Contessa. It was the right fit. She went on to release cookbooks, self-branded products, television shows. But the fact that she has no formal training, and that instead she relied on her own intuition, and feedback from her customers to develop her craft shines through and through in her work.

Barefoot Contessa's brioche loaves

I made this recipe out of laziness. I couldn't find any brioche or challah to buy for one of Dorie Greenspan's tartine recipes in either of my local grocery stores and I didn't feel like driving to my favourite French bakery to buy any. So, I made some myself.

Once again, Ina Garten’s "Barefoot in Paris" book came through with a fail-proof recipe. It sounds like a lot of trouble to make, but it's nearly effortless. If you're not familiar with brioche, it is a French bread verging on a sweet with a high egg and butter content that translates into a tender crumb and a dark, golden, flaky crust.

It's ideal to use when making French toast, bread pudding, or even to toast and spread with a thin layer of butter. I used to wonder what all the fuss was about when my mother would fall into raptures over brioche.

Even my son opened his mouth wide, proclaiming "mahm!" when I took too long between morsels of brioche. But I always preferred the more populist croissant. After making my own brioche, however, I'm not sure I can ever go back to eating any old sliced bread. This may become a weekly tradition in our household.

Barefoot Contessa's Ice Cream Bombe

I promised myself I'd tackle one of Martha Stewart's ice cream bombes this summer, a rather delicate, precious one called a "raspberry pavlova bombe" that involves placing dozens of delicate raspberries inside a bowl.

Yes, well, as much as I'd love to do that, I thought I'd start with something less ambitious. And so when I saw the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for an ice cream bombe in her book "Barefoot in Paris" I knew I'd found the right recipe for me: only three ingredients.

Strawberry cheesecake

Everyone loves cheesecake. I challenge you to find someone who doesn't. Some may politely take a bite out of my sticky toffee pudding and push it aside, explaining it is too sweet, too heavy; or protest through a mouthful of Bahama Mama rum cake that they can only have one bite; or observe the bowl of cherry chocolate trifle from afar; but any time I make cheesecake, the platter is wiped clean.

Maybe it is the smooth creamy vanilla texture that melts on your tongue. Or maybe the ripe fruits glistening atop the cake are too much to resist.

For me, the buttery graham cookie crust is irresistible. In any case, I have tried dozens of cheesecake recipes over the year. In fact, cheesecake was one of my standbys as a child (yes, when I was under 13).

But it was only until I followed the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for raspberry cheesecake that I was able to avoid the unfortunate cracking on top of the cheesecake when you haven't cooled it properly.

I'll be honest: This recipe will take you hours. But it's worth it. And it's not like you're peering into the oven the whole time. So pop in a movie, turn on your timer, and be patient.

Substitutions:
Raspberries weren't in season so I substituted strawberries instead.

Would I make this again?
Without a doubt. In fact, this is not my first time making this cheesecake but perhaps next time I will try the raspberries. If you can, pay close attention to the temperature in your oven with a thermometer, otherwise the graham cookie crust will burn, and the cheesecake will harden too quickly. You're aiming for a smooth creamy texture rather than a dry crust on top.

Grade:
Five stars out of five. As you may know from following my blog, I often dock marks depending on how easy the recipe is. It's not to say this recipe is difficult, but it will require great attention and patience to get the temperatures of the ingredients and the oven correct.

Barefoot Contessa's tomato and goat cheese tarts

Ina Garten has never steered me wrong. Whether I'm making her strawberry cheesecake recipe, coq au vin, or French chocolate bark, her recipes always come out just right. As one of my friends once remarked, Garten's husband seems to have the best life in the world as he seems to appear at the end of her cooking show just when she is pulling her food out of the oven. Sure, the Barefoot Contessa's creations aren't "good food fast" or "speedy supper" recipes -- they take time.

French chocolate bark

This recipe is from Ina Garten's "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics" cookbook.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole salted, roasted cashes
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
6 to 7 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup dried crystallized ginger, 1/2-inch diced
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried apricots, 1/2-inch diced
1/4 cup golden raisins


Directions (Abbreviated by myself):
Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
Roast cashews in one layer and bake for eight minutes. Set aside to cool.
Place semisweet chocolate and half of bittersweet in glass bowl and microwave on high for 20-30 seconds. Take out and stir. Repeat until chocolate is just melted. Immediately add rest of bittersweet chocolate and allow to sit at room temperature, until it's completely smooth.
Pour melted chocolate onto parchment paper into rectangular shape - about 9 by 10 inches.
Sprinkle top in following order: ginger, cashews, cherries, apricots and raisins. Set aside until firm.

My substitutions:
I couldn't find dried cherries so I used dried cranberries with cherry flavour. They were simply delicious, and even more festive.
I didn't use Valhrona or Callebaut like Ina Garten suggested as it was my first time making this recipe, and I wasn't convinced of the flavours. I used Baker's chocolate without finely chopping it.
I was careful to watch the chocolate before it burned, however, and there was no problem.
I also found 2 hours at room temperature weren't enough to set the chocolate properly, so I covered it carefully and put it in the refrigerator for another 40 minutes.

Would I make this again?
Without a doubt. With the proper preparation, it was easy to make beautiful to look at it. Not to forget the taste, the salt in the cashews, the sweet apricots and cranberries, and that final kick of ginger complement each other harmoniously. Had I used sweeter chocolate, it would have been overpowering, however, so don't be tempted to use up the sweeter chocolate in your fridge.

Grade:
Five stars out of Five