Ina Garten

She is the warm, cosy aunt you never had – Ina Garten. With a beautiful kitchen, a ridiculously lush garden and a kind disposition, we have the ‘neighbourly’ cooking show – Barefoot Contessa. I love how classy and engaging Ina is, she has a very clean cut image and maintains this image in both her TV show, Barefoot Contessa and my favourite of her cookery books, How Easy Is That? Ina says that this “book is all about saving you time and avoiding stress.” Having read this cookery book like a novel a thousand times, I can truly say she is right! The dishes are easy to prepare and cook, especially if you don’t have time or if you’re not a fan of cooking! For instance, I've made the “Weeknight Bolognese” and of course the “Ultimate Grilled Cheese Sandwich.”

I love the fact that Ina cooks in her home kitchen, it’s such an intimate and generous setting where she shares her own recipes and forms of cooking them. I love the performance of her life on Barefoot Contessa, the very typical image of the Ina at home fulfilling her duties, taking care of the home and having mid-day lunches with similar women. At the end of this day, Ina is sure to prepare a delicious, intimate meal for herself and Jeffrey her husband. The very classic "Honey I'm home!" They both eat and all is right in the world. It is clear that Ina creates dishes that are easy, delicious and comforting. Having read, "Hearthstories: A Modern Woman's Quest for the Essential Self" Ina confirms this herself stating, "Comfort foods are for all seasons. It helps to know as the light recedes that we have a pot of food warming. This is the ultimate hearth food"(Devrais 182).

Seeing as though she creates her own recipes and love all kinds of foods, I've always wanted to know what chefs like eating on their days off when at home with their families. According to the Food Network website, just a few of Ina’s favourites include, ‘perfect’ roast chicken, linguine with shrimp scampi, herb-roasted turkey breast and ‘outrageous’ brownies. This is one of the reasons I love Ina, she mostly cooks classic dishes that don’t need much changes, but she adds personal touches that make the dishes better! I mean come on who doesn't want brownies, let alone ‘outrageous’ brownies!

'Perfect' Roast Chicken

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

It makes me both happy and sad that you can find recipes online. Happy just for ease, if you don’t particularly want the whole book and just one recipe, then you’re good to go! However, the rise in internet recipes and chefs having their own blogs posting recipes, slowly the cookery book trend is dying out. Personally, I love salivating over old cookery books and to me, there’s something very satisfying about seeing dirty finger prints of flour or spilt gravy on pages of cookery books!