bhnyc's Reviews
218 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date 
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Back to Square One: Old-World Food in a New-World Kitchen
By Joyce Goldstein
William Morrow - 1992
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Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes
By Giada De Laurentiis
Clarkson Potter - 2005
This is one of my favorite ways to serve (and eat!) broccoli rabe. It's easy to make and tastes delicious.
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This is a very good version of Amatriciana. I prefer it with guanciale, but used pancetta as instructed. I also prefer serving it with pericatelli or bucatini. Pasta is best when it is coated in a thin layer of sauce before serving. Too much sauce overpowers it. Add lots of fresh pepper and extra pecorino.
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Les Petits Macarons: Colorful French Confections to Make at Home
By Kathryn Gordon, Anne E. McBride
Running Press - 2011
Delicious! This would be a great macaron for Thanksgiving.
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This sounds so odd, but it is sooooo surprisingly good! I think it was one of my favorite fillings from the class I took.
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This was good. I would have liked a stronger pear taste though.
They are the pale green Macarons in the photo.
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Oh wow! This is delicious. I used it as the filling for the Cocoa Macarons. Beware- you will want to eat it by the spoonful.
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This is a really delicious ganache filling. I wished I had let the tea steep a little longer though. I paired this filling with the Orange Macarons.
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This is an excellent ganache filling. I used it to fill the plain almond macarons.
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These are delicious. The fresh zest really adds nice orange flavor. I paired these with the Earl Grey Ganache.
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These are really good and smell delicious. I over-baked mine and am looking forward to making them again. I paired these with Vanilla Buttercream.
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I took Kathryn Gordon's Macarons class at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE). This was the meringue that we made that day. It's not too hard to do- you just really need to follow the directions carefully.
The photo of many different macarons was taken in the class. All are this plain macaron with food coloring.
These take practice. As you can see from my other photo, I didn't really get good "feet" on the ones I baked at home. I also over-baked the cocoa macarons (but they tasted good anyway).
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Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2004
These are good- and easy to make. I divided the chocolate in half and flavored part with Grand Marnier (as instructed) and half with Amaretto. While I added the correct amount, I found that you could not taste the flavoring in either. That was disappointing.
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This is really good. While it isn't hard to make, it actually took longer than I expected given that the chicken all has to brown first. I was only using one Dutch oven, so it took quite a bit of time.
The garlic cooks in the oil and the rendered fat from the chicken, so it gets really soft and mild. I saved a lot of time (but spent a bit more money) by buying fresh garlic already peeled at the market. I would definitely suggest doing so!
I was a bit disappointed that the nicely browned chicken skin got soft and a bit soggy when it cooked in the sauce. I am not sure how to avoid that.
This dish can be made ahead and is really good paired with the Moroccan Couscous from the same cookbook. I doubted the pairing (cream and garlic with saffron and cumin) but it they were delicious together!
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This is really, really good. I wasn't sure how well it would pair with the Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic (from the same book) even though they were mentioned together- but I shouldn't have doubted Ina. The two were a really good combination. As with all things Ina, it makes many more servings than indicated.
An added bonus is that it is really good at room temperature so it can be made ahead.
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The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999
This is a nice way to jazz up plain yogurt. It's great with fresh berries and the homemade granola. I served both at a brunch and they were hits.
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This makes a very good but very rich cup of cocoa. One cup is all it takes to get my cocoa fix.
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These are so good. I have a friend who asks for them every time she comes to town. I bake them and freeze them too and they taste good. So yummy.
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I've made this a couple of times and like it. But it is really expensive to make!
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There's not much more to say about this but YUM. However, as I wrote in my review of the cake, I prefer Beatty's Chocolate Cake (and frosting) from BC at Home.
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There's not much more to say about this but YUM. However, as I wrote in my review of the cake, I prefer Beatty's Chocolate Cake (and frosting) from BC at Home.
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This is delicious but when it comes to making a chocolate cake, I always revert back to Ina's Beatty's Chocolate Cake from BC at Home.
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This is very good and I like that there are chunks of potatoes in it. I do admit to lowering the fat too. It tastes just as good. It goes really well with the Turkey Meatloaf.
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I love this! It's great served with the Baked Ham- or really with anything on a nice fall evening.
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I'm not such a fan of cooked carrots, but these are really good- especially if they don't get too soft. I serve these with the Indonesian Chicken and the Herbed Basmati Rice. It actually makes a really inexpensive dinner for guests but is easy and looks like you've spent much more time cooking than you have!
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After making this, you'll never want store-bought hummus again. It is so easy to make and tastes so fresh. I love topping it off with a swirl of olive oil and some toasted pignoli nuts.
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My cooking club made this years ago and everyone loved it. It is so easy to make- and was the first time any of us had actually cooked a ham. No one complained that there were tons of leftovers. It was delicious in sandwiches the days after.
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This is so easy since it gets shredded in the food processor. As with so many of Ina's recipes, it makes MUCH more than you plan for. It's nice served with fish and chicken.
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This was good. I used it with the Nicoise salad.
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This is good and simple. I agree with the other reviewer that it makes a lot of soup. I froze it and it was fine.
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This is very good but it is also very thick. We served it at a Thanksgiving meal, and I could barely eat anything after it! It's a meal in itself. Would be great, not as a first course, but as the main with some crusty bread.
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I think these are good- not great. They weren't as maple-flavored as I had hoped they would be. I brought them to a brunch and other people seemed to like them a lot, though.
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I'm not a fan of sun-dried tomatoes in anything BUT this dip. It is so good. Like with the onion dip, I serve it with vegetables so it isn't so rich.
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This is my go-to Nicoise salad. It's great for a lunch party. While it takes a while to make and assemble all of the ingredients, much of it can be done ahead.
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This is fabulous and truly addictive! I serve it with plenty of vegetables to balance out the richness. But it's great with potato chips too!
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Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2006
I love this recipe and have made it a number of times. I don't know why, then, I always forget just how much this makes! So much more than the servings suggested. Luckily it freezes well.
The first few times I made this, I made it as directed- with uncooked white rice. Both times, the rice didn't cook all the way through despite cooking for over an hour. I made it again and substituted cooked barley. That was really good. This time I used cooked brown rice, which I liked, but not as much as the barley.
Almost every time I make this, I use half beef and half pork. I like that more than all beef.
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So much simpler than baking a pie. This comes together quickly and serves a crowd. I baked it in a 9x13 dish rather than ramekins.
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This is the same recipe as in the Family Style Cookbook.
This is the recipe I always use for stock and soup. It does take a while to cook- 4 hours- but it is definitely worth it and the house smells so good while it is cooking. It makes a lot of stock which can be frozen to use later. I don't have a 16- to 20 quart stock pot, so I divide the recipe in half and make it in two smaller stock pots. The recipe calls for 3 5-pound chickens. This seems like a waste to me since most of the chicken ends up getting thrown out. Instead, I often make this with one whole chicken and lots of chicken bones which I have saved up in the freezer over time. I have also purchased the bones from the market in the past. This way you still get the rich flavor and color of the broth but don't spend as much money and waste so much chicken.
If you want to use the chicken in soup- follow the recipe in the Parties! book. That has you removing the breast meat after an hour so you can serve it in soup later. This is a lot less wasteful to me.
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Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2004
This was just OK. I thought it was way too sweet and then it got mushy fast. I won't be making it again.
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Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2010
These are very, very good. While I was slicing each and every pea in half lengthwise, I kept thinking, "No, this really isn't easy, and it's taking forever." However, the dish looks stunning because of this detail. It's a hit with guests. I love that it can be served at room temperature so it's easy to make ahead.
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Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2004
These are like crack. Beware.
Though the recipe says to serve this warm, I think it's better at room temperature the day after it's made. Be warned...once you start eating them, you won't be able to stop.
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How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition): 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food
By Mark Bittman
Wiley - 2008
This is an easy and delicious way to cook dandelion greens. I served this with Ina Garten's Creamy Cheddar Grits and with roasted shrimp.
I also like that these can be made ahead and served at room temperature.
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Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2008
This was my first time cooking grits. The recipe was easy and delicious. I served this with roasted shrimp (same cookbook) and dandelion greens (Bittman's How to Cook Everything.)
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Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2006
This was good and easy to make. It takes moments to put together and then gets popped in the oven. It's a nice alternative to plain roasted chicken.
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Website: New York Times - Dining and Wine
www.nytimes.com/pages/dining/index.html
This was a delicious version of linguine with clams. I usually make a white sauce. In this, the sauce is based on oven-roasted tomatoes and caramelized garlic. It really was delicious and easy. Using mint in place of the more traditional basil was a wonderful alternative.
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There's not much to say about this besides YUM. It's easy to make- I made two at the same time. Delicious with summer blueberries. I did cover the blueberries with some flour before adding them to the batter so they wouldn't all sink to the bottom of the cake. Looks pretty and tastes even better! And I used slightly more berries than the recipe called for.
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Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2002
Oh, this is really good! Creamy and delicious. I love it with the Tequila Lime Chicken since the acid in that balances the creaminess of the pudding.
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I love this recipe. It marinates overnight so all the work (there's not much to it) is done the day before. The orange juice is really nice with the lime juice and tequila. Simple and delicious. I served it with the Sagaponack Corn Pudding from the same cookbook.
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I'm not sure why you would need a recipe for this- and didn't realize until today that this cookbook even had one. Anyway- I pretty much make this daily in the summer. It's amazing. This summer I became addicted to Kumato tomatoes (they are dark purple/black). I can't get enough of them! In a recipe this simple, it's really all about the quality of the ingredients.
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