Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Parties! taught me how to entertain with simple, make-ahead recipes that actually feel doable. Here are my honest thoughts on the menu-focused format, what makes the book so useful, and my favorite recipes, from Panzanella to Caramel Chocolate Nut Ice Cream.
After cooking all 1,300+ Ina Garten recipes, I revisited her very first cookbook, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, 27 years after its release. Here are my 10 favorite recipes — classics like roast chicken, crab cakes, and onion dip — that still balance ease and elegance for effortless entertaining today.
I spent more than six years cooking, rating and reviewing all 1,353 Ina Garten recipes from her cookbooks and TV show. Now, ahead of Simply Ina, I’m revisiting her first 13 cookbooks, remaking a favorite from each before sharing my updated Top 50 recipes and ranking every cookbook.
Julia Turshen’s Olive Oil and Buttermilk Loaf is an easy, tender cake that’s perfect for using up leftover buttermilk. Made with olive oil instead of softened butter, it comes together quickly and has a rich, pound cake-like texture with a subtle grassy flavor and just the right amount of sweetness.
These brothy meatballs with Swiss chard and pearl couscous turn a mountain of greens into a cozy, satisfying dinner. Spicy Italian sausage and beef add richness to the garlicky chicken broth, while tender chard and couscous make the dish hearty enough to serve as a complete meal.
Smitten Kitchen’s Marbled Pumpkin Gingersnap Tart combines a warmly spiced pumpkin filling with swirls of tangy cheesecake in a crisp gingersnap-graham cracker crust. Finished with cinnamon whipped cream, this fall dessert offers pumpkin pie flavor with extra spice, texture, and creamy cheesecake richness in every slice.
Ella Quittner’s Teeny Tiny Meatballs pair crisp, breadcrumb-coated pork-and-beef meatballs with a vibrant kale, spinach, chive, and Pecorino sauce. The meatballs stay remarkably tender thanks to a milk-soaked bread panade, while the garlicky green sauce provides the perfect fresh, savory contrast to their richness.
Nok Suntaranon’s Green Curry with Beef Shanks, or Gaeng Kiew Waan Osso Buco, from Kalaya’s Southern Thai Kitchen is a rich, fiery Thai curry made with homemade green curry paste, coconut milk, eggplant, basil, lime leaves, and slow-cooked beef shanks that become incredibly tender after four hours.