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As I write this, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and I have no idea when it will end or what devastation it will cause. People are isolated and stressed.
unfortunately, as i write THIS, her observation still applies. the need for comfort and comfort FOOD is as widespread now as it was when this book was published nearly a year ago. if you want to follow this ongoing cookbook review, here is part one: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3775414658 and here is part two: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4031005781. more recipes to come!
Morgan Ashleigh and 64 other people liked this
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Comfort food may be different for each person. An egg salad sandwich on toasted rye can cheer me up on a bad day, but it might not be what does it for you! Often the foods we turn to for comfort are rooted in what we ate as children. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are the classic American lunch for kids but when I offered to make them for my British film crew, they recoiled in horror. Instead, they offered to make me their classic childhood lunch—white bread with cold baked beans from a can and Kraft singles on top. Yikes!
pbj is my #1 go-to comfort food (strawberry or raspberry ONLY), and i go-to-it a LOT. in fact, i recently bought Dana Loia Pollack's cookbook, Dana's Bakery, specifically for its PBJ chapter. i didn't realize there was such an aversion to this flavor combo in the UK until i was watching the great british baking show (season 3) and paul hollywood got all snarky about ugne's chocolate peanut butter and grape jam roll, saying "Peanut butter and jam? I'm doubtful that combination could work." i wonder what he would make of my OTHER comfort-sandwich, a recipe i invented when i was eleven: peanut butter, applesauce, and salt-and-vinegar potato chips. on white bread, naturally.
Sarah Ellen and 36 other people liked this
I polled my friends and you’d be surprised how many said their go-to comfort food was a tuna fish sandwich and potato chips (in one case, the potato chips went in the sandwich!).
potato chips should ALWAYS go in the sandwich. for me, that's the whole point of comfort food: getting all the tastes at once.
Erika and 40 other people liked this
And I realized that while comfort food is the focus of this particular book, that’s what I’m always looking for in a recipe: true home cooking but with a twist or update that makes it special enough to serve to company.
SAME, only replace 'serve to company' with 'bring to friends and co-workers,' since my place is too small for formal entertaining.
Terrie Robinson (short break) and 12 other people liked this
We all love a big bowl of spaghetti carbonara but it is so rich that I need a nap afterward.
this is a typo - "but" should be "because."
a foray in fantasy and 17 other people liked this
I don’t know about you, but I have to admit that these days, I’m a little grumpier than I used to be. I’ve always loved reading the newspaper in the morning but now it feels as though it’s only bad news. Friends are angry with each other. People are venting on Twitter. It’s all just so stressful. So, what do we do about it??
COVER! ALL! THE! THINGS! WITH! CHEESE!
Leslie Gudermuth and 22 other people liked this
People tease me because I call for “good ingredients.” I know, why would you use bad ingredients?? I started calling for specific ingredients because they do make a difference when you’re cooking. They don’t have to be expensive but they need to be chosen thoughtfully; which olive oil tastes the freshest and which vanilla delivers the best flavor to balance the sweet chocolate?
my first reaction to her tendency to name-drop specific brands throughout the book was very cynical - it involved some eyerolling and a muttered-yet-singsongy "product placement, sponsored content." but then i read this part and felt like a jerk because she's not wrong. and, as often as i could, i followed her suggestions because she knows way more about food than i do.
Harvrabb and 25 other people liked this
Is there anything more comforting on a cold, snowy day than sitting in front of a roaring fire with a good book and a delicious hot drink to warm your insides? With all its wintery spices like cinnamon, cloves, and star anise, you could certainly make this hot spiced apple cider alcohol-free, but good bourbon is so perfect in it, why would you??
ina's playing to my wintry new england heart here, but, lacking a fireplace and snow, i managed to make do with the drink-and-book part of the reverie and will revisit this recipe when winter comes, praying that george r.r. martin is not actually in charge of its arrival.
Jen (Finally changed her GR pic) and 18 other people liked this
Divide the frozen mixture between two highball glasses,
or one GIANT glass—no judgments!
Terrie Robinson (short break) and 13 other people liked this
Peel the potatoes, then cut them lengthwise in long matchsticks, using the finest julienne blade of a mandoline.
or, if you're not fancy enough to own a mandoline, just be a patient and methodical knife-wielder.
Jen (Finally changed her GR pic) and 11 other people liked this
These nachos are seriously that good—layers of chips, fresh crab, chiles, Cheddar, pickled jalapeños, avocados, and tomatoes. They’re crunchy, spicy, and cheesy and perfect for sharing.
They’re crunchy, spicy, and cheesy and perfect for sharing.
here's a little humble brag of an anecdote: sean of the house frequently calls me a "cheese martyr" because whenever i make nachos (with or without crab), i'm always the one grabbing those sad little naked tortilla chips in the corners that didn't get any of the good stuff on them and are just...hot chips. i'm not good at much, but i'm an excellent nacho-sharer.
Aloke and 15 other people liked this
Pick through the crabmeat to remove any shells. Be sure to wash your hands after handling the chiles and pickled jalapeños so you don’t get the spicy oils in your eyes.
protect your teeth! protect your eyes!
Dave Schaafsma and 8 other people liked this
Eli’s food is exactly what I love: good home-style cooking rather than restaurant food, but made with really good ingredients and prepared in a modern way.
this statement = my spirit animal.
Deanna and 8 other people liked this
When I asked friends to name their favorite comfort food, so many said a tuna fish sandwich! I’ve made a Barefoot Contessa version of a tuna melt with good Spanish tuna packed in oil, fresh scallions, dill, and nutty Swiss cheese plus a sprinkling of microgreens on top. This is no ordinary tuna sandwich!
at >30$ a pop, i should think not, but i WILL make a poorgirl version of this recipe in the future: swapping out the bougie imported tuna for a dented can of whatever's on sale, but adding that anchovy paste like a QUEEN. well, like the queen's chef, anyway.
Jen (Finally changed her GR pic) and 10 other people liked this
If you buy cooked lobsters, two (1¼-pound) lobsters will yield ½ pound of lobster meat.
helpful tip for those of us not looking to ride the subway home with a lapful of live crustacean.
Harvrabb and 6 other people liked this
Isn’t a really good grilled cheese sandwich the ultimate comfort food? This isn’t Wonder Bread with some mystery cheese inside—it’s bakery white bread piled high with extra-sharp Cheddar and savory chutney to brighten the flavor.
as someone who once made fifty different grilled cheeses in a row for a cookbook review, and who has since purchased SEVERAL MORE grilled cheese-specific cookbooks, i'm high-fiving this first statement, while still keeping room in my heart for the lowbrow appeal of wonder bread and white kraft singles. grilled cheese is a spectrum, and all of it is good.
Megan and 24 other people liked this
If you don’t have a panini press, you can make these in a sauté pan with a small skillet on top.
ina garten has ALL OF THE THINGS.
Helen and 5 other people liked this
All cuisines have their own “comfort food” and often it’s based on peasant food. This decadent potato, sausage, and melted cheese dish is a blend of Swiss, French, and Spanish country food and it’s simply amazing. Serve it with a big green salad and a crusty baguette, and all your worries will simply melt away.
i come from hearty peasant stock, and my emotional response to this passage is the equivalent of a normal person hearing their almost-spouse deliver their wedding vows.
Marc and 11 other people liked this
To fan the cornichons, slice each cornichon lengthwise almost to the stem but not quite and gently spread the fan open.
dear diary, today i made a cornichon fan
For this chicken dish, I was inspired by the classic Italian method of cooking chicken breasts “al burro,” or in butter. Then I gave it a Greek twist by serving it with orzo, feta, and dill.
and iiiii gave it a "karen" twist by omitting the dill because meh.
Could there possibly be a new way to make hamburgers that I didn’t know about?? As it turns out, there is! You form the burgers and freeze them for fifteen minutes, then sear them in a hot cast-iron skillet (smashing them lightly with a metal spatula) so the outsides get browned and crusty while the insides are still rare.
i didn't notice an appreciable difference making the burgers this way, but it certainly is a more dramatic preparation - whisking them from freezer to cast iron had me feeling like a legit chef.
Leslie Gudermuth and 7 other people liked this
Place them on a plate and freeze for exactly 15 minutes.
i used to think cooking was more forgiving than baking, but whenever she got hyper-specific about the timing in these recipes, i had a lowgrade panic attack that i was going to Do It Wrong.
Nancy and 3 other people liked this
Is there anything more satisfying than an old-fashioned Italian sausage and pepper hero? Yes! It’s sausages and peppers served on a big puddle of Fresh Corn Polenta
"puddle" is an excellent description of the yumminess this recipe produced. photos coming soon!
Michelle and 2 other people liked this
To make the crumbs, crush the Ritz crackers into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until finely ground.
or smoosh 'em with your hands like the food-processor-lacking monster you are.
Helen and 12 other people liked this
4 (8-ounce) balls store-bought pizza dough
bless you for not forcing me to make my own dough.
Kwoomac and 7 other people liked this
To slice the Brussels sprouts, trim them and process through the feed tube of a food processor fitted with the slicing disk.
sigh. if you need me, i'll be over here slicing brussels sprouts by hand...
Leslie Gudermuth and 6 other people liked this
Pasta with shrimp and a spicy red sauce definitely qualifies as comfort food. This dish is packed with flavors—lots of caramelized red onions, garlic, and spicy arrabbiata sauce. You can certainly make your own sauce but sometimes I make it easy by using jarred Rao’s sauce, which is really good!
i have never had that brand of sauce and i'm sure it's tasty &yadda, but the arrabbiata sauce recipe in this book is fast, easy, and produces the best sauce i have ever made. i will never again buy jarred pasta sauce.
Kathleen and 12 other people liked this
No collection of comfort foods is complete without some kind of baked pasta—it’s so satisfying. Instead of the usual lasagna, I made this baked rigatoni with a hearty ragù of lamb, tomatoes, and good red wine. With a little mozzarella and Parmesan baked on top, you’ve got a dinner that will make everyone happy.
having fed this dish to several people, i can vouch for this statement. happiness was achieved.
Cathy and 11 other people liked this
Some comfort foods like mac & cheese just never go out of style. Kids love it and so do adults when it’s dressed up for company. This dish is particularly good for entertaining because you can assemble it a day in advance and bake it before dinner. Wild mushrooms, truffle butter, and cream sherry make this mac & cheese really special.
i know TWO people who do not like mac and cheese, and although i like to think of myself as open-minded and respectful of the whole kaleidoscope of human experience, i consider this stance to be a character flaw. one of them ALSO has an aversion to the chocolate-and-peanut-butter combination and...my brain...it just does not compute.
*JEN the booknerd* and 14 other people liked this
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Place the bread, garlic, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process to make fine crumbs.
*pulling out my blender, crossing my fingers*
Sara Rebotim and 4 other people liked this
Sprinkle the herbed crumbs evenly on the pasta and arrange the remaining mushrooms down the middle.
i'm not sure i agree with the aesthetics of this mushroom arrangement, but i plonked 'em as directed.
Nancy and 1 other person liked this
Spaghetti squash seems to be everywhere but it doesn’t have a lot of flavor on its own. I like to treat it like pasta, as with this baked squash with spicy arrabbiata sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil. It’s all the comforting flavors of chicken parmesan—but vegetarian and gluten-free!
gather 'round, all ye vegetarian celiacs!
SoRoLi (Sonja) ♡ and 6 other people liked this
We have a whole new approach to cooking veggies these days. The vegetables I remember from childhood were boiled or steamed, and sadly almost always overcooked and mushy. In the early 1980s, we started “blanching and shocking” vegetables—putting them in boiling water for maybe thirty seconds and then in ice water to stop the cooking and preserve the bright colors. The vegetables weren’t actually raw but they weren’t completely cooked, either. They were better than overcooked vegetables but not really delicious and comforting. Then in the late ’80s, I started roasting vegetables, and I’ve never
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"The past is a foreign country" &etc, but everything eventually circles back. i'm fascinated by food trends of yore, but when it comes to true comfort food, simplicity is best. some of the recipes in here are more labor-intensive than they need to be (i'm looking at YOU, truffled mac and cheese), but the humble roasted vegetable is the homiest, most comforting food of them all. covered, of course, in cheese.
Wendi and 8 other people liked this
While I don’t automatically think of vegetables as comfort food, they definitely qualify if you give them a little love and attention. Creamy, crispy, and cheesy are all things that make vegetables appealing.
one of my favorite cold weather comfort foods is a sheet pan full of roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts. occasionally some butternut squash if i have the energy to dismember a butternut squash. olive oil, sea salt, and veggies - low-maintenance and satisfying.
Christine and 2 other people liked this
In the 1950s, cooks used to hide frozen vegetables under some mystery “cheese” sauce. The combination of green vegetables and cheese was a good idea but I prefer roasting broccolini (it’s sweeter and more tender than broccoli) and, instead of making a sauce, I simply melt good sharp Cheddar on the broccolini. We love this!
far be it from me to malign cheese sauce in any of its permutations, but this recipe is one of them "next level" situations.
Nancy and 1 other person liked this
I’ve loved zucchini gratins since I wrote a recipe for one in my Barefoot in Paris cookbook—but this one is even better.
out with the old garten-gratins, in with the new garten-gratins!
DuhOrio and 8 other people liked this
The adorable and talented Emily Blunt came to film an episode of Barefoot Contessa with me when her fabulous movie Mary Poppins Returns debuted in theaters. We prepared a proper English Sunday lunch together and she showed me how to make her family’s roasted potatoes. She describes them as crispy on the outside and creamy inside, which is exactly what they are! Yum!!
you know you're ina garten when you casually reveal that emily of "emily's english roasted potatoes" fame is famous for more than her dang potatoes.
Harvrabb and 6 other people liked this
It’s amazing served with Roasted Sausages, Peppers & Onions (this page) or even on its own with a simple roast chicken.
she could have stopped at "amazing."
Garlic bread from the 1960s was usually soft, doughy Italian bread dripping with garlic butter. I’ve taken a fresh look at it and made the ultimate garlic bread by slathering a crusty baguette with lots of slow-cooked garlic, Parmesan, parsley, and lemon zest and baking it until it’s beautifully browned on top. It’s so good!
this garlic bread didn't knock my socks off, but this guy over here is Doing the Work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkV_fU5GoXM
Leslie Gudermuth liked this
Lemon posset is a charming name for a delicious old-fashioned English lemon pudding, which I’ve tweaked with limoncello liqueur. This is crazy easy to make!
let's see if this is, indeed, crazy easy to make. stay tuned!
Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (see note), until the top puffs up and cracks and the cake doesn’t wobble when you jiggle the pan. (A toothpick will not come out clean.)
i can vouch for this. doesn't come out clean, but DOES come out delicious.
Nancy and 1 other person liked this
This is the most astonishing way to bake meringues and it comes from Yotam Ottolenghi in London. Rather than the usual hard meringues, his have crunchy exteriors and insides like fluffy marshmallow.
this description was the selling point for me. mine...did not turn out this way.
Leslie Gudermuth liked this
Don’t make meringues on a rainy day or they’ll come out sticky.
awwwwwwwwww rain makes meringues feel GLOOMY!
Harvrabb and 3 other people liked this
These may be the most decadent drink I’ve ever had!
i'm a garbage-pig who thinks a milkshake should have > a pint of ice cream in it, and even i thought this one was decadent (i.e. perfect).
Christine and 3 other people liked this
These cookies are her invention but I added more chocolate and some sea salt because…why not??!!
this was my philosophy for all the cheese-measurements in this book
Harvrabb and 2 other people liked this
