Thirty-two years ago, Ina Garten took a chance. She left a job in the White House Office of Management and Budget and bought Barefoot Contessa, a small specialty food store in Westhampton, New York. Despite Garten's complete lack of experience—she had never run a business nor worked in the food industry—the shop blossomed, eventually expanding to a 3,000-square-foot space in East Hampton.
In 1996, Garten sold Barefoot Contessa and shifted her attention to cookbooks. She's written seven, includingBarefoot Contessa at Home, Barefoot in Paris, and the recently publishedBarefoot Contessa: How Easy is That? Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips.Garten has also hosted several shows on the Food Network and created Barefoot Contessa Pantry, a line of baking mixes and other high-end food products.
Garten's fans—and she has many—love her simple, straightforward approach to cooking and effortless take on entertaining. Her recipes are built around big, bold flavors but won't have you slaving in the kitchen. And her fuss-free party ideas allow hosts to impress while actually enjoying their own get-togethers. In this exclusive interview with Epicurious, Garten talks about what inspires her and offers tips for first-time hosts. Plus, she shares three recipes from her new cookbook:Easy Provençal Lamb,Potato Basil Purée, andEasy Cranberry & Apple Cake. Together, they make a simple and delicious fall or winter feast.
Epicurious:In the acknowledgments for your new book, you say that writing cookbooks is what you most love to do—what do you love about it?
Ina Garten:I just think it's in my DNA. When I get up in the morning, I think, what do I feel like doing today? Testing recipes is what I feel like doing. And I get to walk out of the house and next door to this big, open barn and just have a good time.
I just can't believe I get to do this. After having had several careers first—as a nuclear energy policy wonk and running a specialty food store—this is as good as it gets.
Epi:Why did you decide to write your new cookbook,How Easy Is That?
IG:Well, I find as we get busier and busier, we have less and less time to cook, and I just wanted to challenge myself to see if I could do some recipes that have every bit of the Barefoot Contessa flavor and style and yet are easier to make. And it's not three ingredients thrown together—it's all the classic flavor, but in each recipe there's something that makes it easier to do than you expect. Like the turkey meatballs and spaghetti: Instead of frying them in a sauté pan, where you're standing over the hot stove, you roll them and put them on a sheet pan in the oven, and all you have to do is set a timer. So, in a lot of cases where you would normally make something on the top of the stove—like risotto, where you're standing there pouring in stock and stirring and wondering, am I putting in too much or too little? At least that's what I wonder—instead you put everything in one big Le Creuset pot and you put it in the oven and set a timer. So it's about sometimes less time, but more importantly, less stress.
Epi:Where does the inspiration for your recipes come from?
IG:Everywhere. It comes from a remembered flavor—something that I had as a child. It comes from a friend. My friend Sarah Chase is an incredible cook and tremendous inspiration for me. She also writes cookbooks. It comes from something I ate in Milan or—I think you don't get ideas by sitting at home and talking to yourself. I think you get ideas by getting out there. It comes from everywhere. It rarely comes from restaurants because restaurant food is a whole different category. It usually comes from something I ate at somebody's house or a specialty food store or something like that.
Epi:What are your go-to recipes from the new book?
IG:Oh, there are so many of them. I've made the Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts a lot. The Roasted Figs and Prosciutto are a perfect example of what this book's about. Very often, when you go to the grocery store, you can buy figs, but they're not ripe. And I found if you wrap them in prosciutto when they're not ripe, they're really not delicious. But if you wrap them in prosciutto and then throw them in the oven quickly, the sugars in the figs caramelize and they turn out absolutely delicious, like ripe figs. So, that is two ingredients and a very simple process, but you end up with something really delicious.
The other thing I've made a lot is the Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake. I asked a friend of mine who's a fabulous caterer for his easiest recipe, and he said, "My customers go crazy if I make them those Nabisco chocolate wafers and whipped cream that are all layered together." I think it's a classic 1950s kind of dessert, and all you do is layer them, and then you put it in the refrigerator and let it sit overnight. I made it, and I wasn't quite sure what was really special about it, but I thought it was such a good concept that I was going to do it with something more interesting. So, I took Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies—really good, crisp chocolate-chip cookies—and I added Kahlúa and cocoa powder. So, I made it into mocha whipped cream and then layered those and put it in the refrigerator, and, oh, my God, it makes grown men weep. And the whole thing takes five minutes to make. And you make it the day before, so it's easy when you're entertaining.
Epi:How has your approach to cooking and entertaining changed over the years?
IG:我认为我感兴趣并没有改变,but my insistence on flavor has gotten more intense. When I make a recipe that I used to make in 1980, I'll think it's interesting, but it probably took longer than it needed to because I know how to do things simply now. And it usually doesn't have enough flavor. So, I think the ideas of my recipes haven't changed at all. I think the quality of my recipes has gotten much, much more interesting. For example, one thing I've learned over the years: Instead of boiling chicken for chicken salad—which takes the flavor out of the chicken, and then you have to deal with all these big pots of boiling water—I've found if you roast chicken breasts with the skin on, and then take off the bones and the skin when it's done, you end up with really delicious, well-flavored chicken for chicken salad. It's a much easier process, and the chicken tastes better.
Epi:When you're at home just cooking dinner, do you follow recipes?
IG:Exactly. To the half teaspoon. I measure everything, because I always think that if I've spent so much time making sure this recipe was exactly the way I want it, why would I want to throw things into a pot? I'm really a scientist. I follow recipes exactly—until I decide not to. And then I'll follow something else exactly. I may decide I could turn this peach tart into a plum tart, but if I'm following a recipe, I follow it exactly.
Epi:Besides your own, do you use other cookbooks regularly?
IG:I use other cookbooks for inspiration. I must say I tend to cook from my own cookbooks for parties. But I like specialty food store cookbooks. Loaves and Fishes is a specialty food store [in Bridgehampton, NY] that has wonderful cookbooks. And as I said, Sarah Chase has wonderful cookbooks—Nantucket Open-House CookbookandCold-Weather Cooking.
Epi:In your books, you often talk about using simple ingredients. What are your secrets for turning simple ingredients into such memorable meals?
IG:I think one thing is to really respect the ingredients. Buy things in season, and then only do what you need to do to make [food] taste as good as it can taste. So, if plums are in season, there are a few things you can add to make them taste plummier—cassis really brings out that plum flavor. You don't know that the cassis is there, but you know it tastes better. And the classic is really coffee and chocolate. If you add coffee to chocolate, it gives it a depth of flavor. And vanilla—it gives chocolate a depth of flavor. You know the chocolate tastes better, but you don't really know that they're there. That's what fascinates me. And there's also something else that I think is important, that's not done a lot, which is that food needs an edge—it needs a little acid. Sometimes you taste something delicious, but a little hit of lemon juice or lemon zest or vinegar will just sort of wake it up.
Epi:When is your favorite time to entertain?
IG:Well, for me, Sunday afternoon—Sunday lunch—is the best time to entertain. Everybody's done all their chores, they're relaxed, nobody's falling asleep or looking at their watch, saying, "Can I go home and go to bed?" And the food is easy. You can make something really simple, like ricotta bruschetta with a salad, or just really easy things like a big pot of mussels with basil bread crumbs. And you don't need lots of courses, and you don't need lots of cocktails. You just need a good glass of wine and something absolutely delicious.
Epi:When you're hosting, how do you ensure you get to relax and have fun at your own party?
IG:The most important thing for having a party is that the hostess is having fun. I'm very organized. I make a plan for absolutely everything. I never have anything that has to be cooked while the guests are there. The only thing I might have to do is take something out of the oven and carve it. When I'm doing a menu for a party, I make sure I have at least one thing done the day before, at least one thing I can do early in the day, and then I only have one thing in the oven when guests arrive. It's the planning—just make sure the menu is doable.
Epi:What advice can you offer first-time hosts?
IG:There are two things. Don't make everything yourself; your friends will have just as much fun if you go out and buy a fabulous cake at a bakery. And the second thing is, everything doesn't have to be served hot. Some things are actually better at room temperature. When I'm making Rack of Lamb and Orzo with Roasted Vegetables [fromBarefoot Contessa Parties!], the orzo actually tastes better if you made it early in the day. I make the mustard and rosemary sauce for the lamb and then throw it in the oven, and it's 30 minutes. It comes out, it's covered, and all I have to do is cut it and we've got dinner. So it's not like I'm juggling four things in order to make dinner. It's nice to have one hot thing, but other things can be room temperature.
Epi:Do you ever think about what your life would be like if you didn't buy Barefoot Contessa?
IG:I can't even bear to think about it. Something in the government—I don't know. To think how lucky I was that I saw that ad for a business for sale in a place I'd never been—the Hamptons—and I just took a chance. I'd never even been here, and I had never had a business. I'd never had an employee. I'd never even been a waiter in a restaurant. I had never done any of it. And to think that I wouldn't have done this—I can't imagine. To say I'm lucky is an understatement.
For more on Ina Garten, go toBarefootcontessa.com. Plus, try her recipes forRoast Loin of Pork with FennelandIce Cream Bombe.
Photos: Quentin Bacon
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