Barefoot Contessa Foolproof - Recipes you can trust by Ina Garten

                                  

I've got a fascination with Ina Garten.  I could watch Barefoot Contessa episodes all day.  That said, I often feel her recipes seem too complex and fancy for me.  Foolproof drew me in with promises of successful dinners made easy.  It seems much more laid back, but still with the Barefoot Contessa flair.  The first paragraph could easily be a line from something I post on Facebook occasionally: Why go through the trouble if the result is just ho-hum?  Well, I don't use the phrase ho-hum, but you know what I mean.  Foolproof means just that, but also satisfying to eat, company friendly and delicious.  She believes each recipe should be made as-written the first time around, but from then on, it's fair game.  We should tweak it to make it our own.  But making it right the first time helps give confidence and shows us what the recipe is "supposed" to look and taste like.
One thing I noticed right away: she's an obvious East-Coaster.  There's Lobster Mac & Cheese, Lobster Corn Fritters, Lobster & Potato Salad...those are recipes I probably won't try.  I don't think I can get the quality of lobster that comes when you live on the East Coast...at least not without paying through the nose.  But, I bet it's all delicious.  Her pictures make it look so, anyway.
I often wonder if something I make would be ok to freeze...I have a small family (1/3 of us are VERY picky) so the chances of a meal getting eaten before spoiling are sometimes slim.  Ina gives us a few tips on that very subject.  Don't re-freeze meat that's already been frozen and thawed.  Same goes for cooked meat.  And don't freeze a frosted or glazed cake.  Freeze the cake and make the frosting or glaze fresh.
Are you the hostess with the mostest?  Or do you long to be?  That would be me in a nutshell...the dream of having a huge dinner party and not having a clue where to start.  She's got a game plan for you, and she even shares her personal place settings to give you an idea.  She's created menus, and even a foolproof Thanksgiving meal.  And in a brilliant marketing move (she's a former White House nuclear policy analyst if that tells you about the way her mind works!) some of these menus include recipes found in her other cookbooks.  Ding ding ding, we have a winner!  Winner winner Fennel & Garlic Shrimp dinner!

Joy The Baker Cookbook - 100 Simple And Comforting Recipes by Joy Wilson

I'll start off by saying I'm not a baker, but that I'd love to be able to make a deliciously moist cake once in a while.  This book makes me want to learn, and it doesn't seem as complicated as I am making it out to be in my mind.  I was drawn to Joy's blog  because of her writing style more than the actual recipes - they looked delicious, but again, I'm not a baker.  Thankfully she has recipes that dont require any baking, like Pineapple Malt Milkshakes and Raspberry Fudge Pops.  She keeps it as real in this cookbook as she does on her blog.  The cover shows her holding a beautiful pink cake with sunflowers and strawberries on top, as well as the tattoo on her arm.  She admits her kitchen gets messy, which I can totally relate to.  My kitchen "gets clean" because it probably spends more time being messy than the average person!  She wants her recipes to be approachable, comforting and delicious.  You don't always need to make a pie crust from scratch.  She shows us various ways to get on with your baking when you're out of buttermilk.  Or you don't want to buy cake flour because you only need 1/2 cup, and who knows if you'll make this recipe again.  And how to make our own brown sugar.  She's in with the bacon-in-my-dessert trend, but not just chocolate covered bacon, or brownies with bacon.  No, she makes bacon black pepper waffles and peanut butter bacon cookies, both of which I'm eager to try.  There's a recipe for Vegan Pumpkin Bread, but it's not the typical "scary" vegan recipe with all sorts of ingredients you have no idea how to find.  Her recipes really are simple and look absolutely delicious.  How about Chocolate Bourbon Spiked Banana Bread?  Sounds divine, right?!  She offers up Single Lady Pancakes, whether you're really single, or just don't feel like making a ton.  Baked Coffee Cake French Toast sounds perfect for a weekend brunch.  And up until now, I thought I could do without an ice cream maker.  That was before I saw her recipes for Honey and Toasted Walnut Ice Cream and Strawberry Cookie Dough Ice Cream. But my favorite part of the whole book?  Confirmation in writing that chocolate pudding really can mend a broken heart.  That right there is worth the purchase price!

Keep an eye out for my reviews of some of her recipes, like Peanut Butter Bacon Cookies, Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes, and Baked Chili Cheese Fries.