This is my favorite Contessa Cookbook. All of them are fabulous though. She gives easy instructions and only cooks with items you CAN find at your local grocery. AND there are colorful pictures so you know what you are making.
She is fantastic!

I've been casually re-reading Ina Garten's cookbooks. I had read this one a few times in the past, starting when it was first published. It's rather amazing, looking back, at her first efforts. It was interesting to read her biographical sections tucked into the book. Her husband, a former investment banker, bought her the Barefoot Contessa shop on Long Island as a "whim," never thinking they'd get it. But you need some capital to start, don't you? I think he's head of the Yale Law School now. So they are both doing all right. Many of the recipes in this book came from her days of running the gourmet shop. Some seem dated--a lot less exploration of the exotic things we see on the party table now. She freely admits that Julia Child's book was the Bible during that era, and it reflects in the dishes she presents in this book. Far fewer recipes than you would expect: large typeface and a lot of text, which I don't mind. I didn't really see anything I'd want to go back and make in the recipes.

Ina garten is a great cook and I got a few awesome recipes from her cookbook.

I enjoy Ina’s style of cooking. Rarely do I have to tweak a recipe. It’s always fun to browse through and be inspired.

Beautifully written and designed book. I love Ina’s relaxed approach to making food and her philosophy of great ingredients produces great food. Excellent collection of recipes sure to become family favorites.

I used a fair amount of recipes from Barefoot Contessa and never had one fail. Not sure why I never bought it to keep in my massive collection of cookbooks...

I love the Barefoot Contessa (Have you ever seen her TV show? She's reminds me of the guy who used to paint on PBS - very mellow and soothing). I'm not the cook (rather the baker) in our house, but I love this cookbook. Her recipes are homey, easy and delicious. Surprise, I love the bread pudding make with croissants. Hoping for another of her cookbooks this Christmas!

This is my first Ina Garten cookbook and even after now owning 4 more, this one is still my favorite and my "go-to" for company dinners.

Ina never disappoints! Her recipes are always tasteful and there is something for everyones pallet in her cooking! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

This is, I believe, Ina Garten's first cookbook and is basically the recipes from her store. There are very few stories, photos are passable and some are less than a sixth of a page. This is before Ms. Garten came into her own as a writer, and before she let her personality shine through. What is so wonderful about her ocokbooks is the joy she brings. This book doesn't have it. I'm glad she kept at it, though. It shows how much an author, even a cookbook author, can grow through their career.

Sometimes I like to read a cookbook cover to cover and tab all of the recipes that inspire me. This one ended up with a lot of tabs. I love our collective aunt Ina’s approach: imbuing a few fresh ingredients with interesting texture/flavor combinations that I wouldn’t necessarily have thought of myself.

Tried another Ina book thinking her original would be better, but still felt very fancy. Good ideas for a dinner party but not for working parents trying to get dinner in the table.

Made the Rosemary Cannelli Bean soup but was accidentally a Thyme Great Northern Bean soup. The tomato basil soup is a favorite when I can find basil.