Ina Garten - Barefoot Contessa Family Style

Recipe: Mashed Yellow Turnips with Crispy Shallots from The Union Square Cafe Cookbook by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano. Copyright 1994 by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Copyright 2002 by Ina Garten
Photographs copyright 2002 by Maura McEvoy

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garten, Ina
Barefoot Contessa family style: easy ideas and recipes that make everyone feel like family / Ina Garten; photographs by Maura McEvoy.
1. Cookery. I. Barefoot Contessa (store). II. Title.
TX714.G36423 2002
641.5dc21 2002074979

eISBN: 978-0-307-88551-7

v3.1

For Jeffrey,
who makes all my dreams come true

So many creative people work on my books. Maura McEvoy, thank you for all the gorgeous photographs; Rori Trovatoagain!knocks my socks off with her food styling, wonderful ideas, and sense of humor; and Miguel Flores-Vianna always brings such style and fun to all of our shoots. I cant imagine writing books without all of you. Also behind the scenes are Pam Krauss, my amazing editor; Marysarah Quinn, the sweetest book designer ever; Barbara Marks, my enthusiastic publicist; the unfailingly supportive Lauren Shakely at Clarkson Potter, Chip Gibson, formerly at Crown; and Esther Newberg at ICM. You all make me feel so special.

Parker Hodges and Amy Baiata Forst of Barefoot Contessa are a constant inspiration for methank you for supporting my new career. I couldnt be doing it without you.

And thank you to all my friends and family who show up for photo shoots at all times of the day or night, and most certainly when they have better things to do: my sweet husband Jeffrey Garten, Frank Newbold, Antonia Bellanca Mahoney, Tess Mahoney, Cecily Stranahan, Mike and Taylor Lupica (and family), Johnson and Janice McKelvy (and family), Lock McKelvy, Ken Wright, and Marilyn Bethany. And for Stephen Drucker, who artfully arranges to be out of the country during photo shoots, thank you for your constant support and unerring judgment. Thanks also to Ellen Burnie for her brilliant creative guidance and energy.

Also, thank you to all the fabulous friends who contributed recipes for this book: Eli Zabar from Elis Bread, Elis Manhattan, et al.!; George Germon and Johanne Killeen from Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island; Danny Meyer from Union Square Cafe in New York City; Anna Pump from Loaves and Fishes in Sagaponack, New York; Devon Fredericks and Susan Costner; Brent Newsom from Brent Newsom Caterer of East Hampton, New York; and Laura Donnelly from The Laundry Restaurant in East Hampton, New York.

And most of all, I cant imagine spending my day without my friend and partner in crime, Barbara Libath. Thanks for making everything so much fun.

Over the past three years, Ive been lucky enough to be asked to speak to groups all over the country and Ive met wonderful people. Each time I try to ask my audience, What kinds of recipes would you like to have? The response is always the same: people want more easy recipes that they can make for their familiesand for the dear friends they consider close enough to be family.

We all know that families now arent necessarily like Ozzie and Harriet. (It turns out even Ozzie and Harriets family wasnt all Ozzie and Harriet!) Family has a traditional context, but today its not as simple as two parents with 2.3 kids. Its about relationships. Its about people who are bound together by love and a sense of being responsible for one another. Its spouses with no children, like Jeffrey and me; its a group of women who meet to cook dinner together once a month; its a one-parent family with adopted children; and its two men whove made a life together.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL WE HAVE IS LOVE. GETTING LOVE, BUT EVEN MORE, FEELING LOVE. Its those feelings that let me know all the suffering in the world can be healed if we just stick together. And our families, no matter how we define them, are the glue.

This idea of family is behind much of what defines my cooking style. I want everyone who comes to my house to feel like family. Ill share with you lots of the ways I do this when I entertain, setting the stage (or the table) for sharing, connecting, and creating a true sense of community. People who have had this experience with you will go home feeling nurtured and loved, and the good news is, so will you.

I really like to entertain in the kitchen. I think its cozier and more personal than the dining room. The roast is coming out of the oven, dessert is on the counter, the dishes are in the sink; and it has an energy that I love. And best of all, I never have to leave the party to serve the next course. As Ive said many times, a round table seems to me to create the best setting for people to really connect; no one is left out of the conversation down at the end. I always have low candles, which represent the traditional fire in the hearth, and low flowers or decorations that dont impede anyones view. Bottles of water and wine are set out for everyone to help themselvesand each other.

DINNER MIGHT BE SOMETHING SERVED FROM A BIG PLATTER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TABLE.

A few summers ago, I gave a charity dinner at my house. Inevitably, most people at this kind of event dont know one another, so how was I going to help them make that initial contact? While I obviously couldnt have thirty-two people for dinner in my kitchen, I still wanted the guests to feel warm and connected. I decided to set up four small round tables of eight in the dining room, all very cozy. We served a simple tomato, mozzarella, and basil salad to start and then put huge steaming bowls filled with our Kitchen Clambake from my first cookbook in the middle of each table. Everyone rolled up their sleeves and dove in with their hands. People were passing lobsters and corn, everyone got into the fun, and I was delighted to see that all the tables had very lively discussions.