Recipes go down easy in this time of stress
INA GARTEN’S RECIPES GO DOWN EASY IN THIS TIME OF STRESS
Ina Garten is one of America’s alltime favorite cookbook authors, specializing in fail-safe recipes of cozy comfort foods. So what better time to release her newest book than during a pandemic, when we’re all hunkered down soothing ourselves in the kitchen?
Flip through the pages of “Modern Comfort Food” and you’ll see gorgeous color photos of tempting twists on craveable cocktails, finger foods, sides, entrees and desserts. They’re all designed with simplicity in mind to deliver big flavors with little effort.
We caught up with the Food Network star of the three-time Emmy winning show “Barefoot Contessa” to find out how she brought it all together and timed it so precisely. Q Congrats on what looks like another winner. When did you come up with the idea for “Modern Comfort Food”? Were you already in the process when the pandemic hit?
A
I started this two years ago, and the last photo shoot was March 16. So it was completely done before this all happened.
Q
Wow! So you were thinking ahead?
A
When I finished my last book, I thought, there’s going to be an election. And this book is coming out a month before the election, and we’re all going to be stressed and we’re all going to need comfort food. So how can I do that in a new way? Little did I know it would be layers on layers on layers of stress by the time the book came out.
Q
Your timing is amazing.
A
I must be doing something right.
Q
Well, with a dozen cookbooks you’ve been doing this awhile. Tell us about your definition of modern comfort.
A
I think it’s basically a remembered flavor or a remembered dish. I would take each recipe and look at it and say, “How can I make this better and easier to make?” For example, for the beef stew, I added some things from beef bourguignonne and from a short rib stew that I’ve made. I made it with red wine, cognac, and instead of chuck, which tends to be a little tough, I
made it with short ribs. So in each case kind of working with fresher ingredients and hopefully making it easier to prepare. And that was my thought. More delicious. A
Nothing. Q
Wait! What? A My mother was a very basic cook and everything she made was just to feed her family. She was trained as a dietitian and so we had like grilled chicken and canned vegetables and maybe an apple for dessert. And I think I was starving as a child. It was kind of a reaction to that, you know, that all I wanted was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A I think in the past 10 years people make cocktails with real juice, which I think makes all the difference in the world. But I don’t know that I’m the one who knows what the trends are. A My British producers? Yes. Wasn’t that funny? I’m assuming you’ve never had that, a sandwich with baked beans and Kraft singles in it, right?
A
Yeah, exactly.
Q I grew up with Mexican food and I was so excited to see crab nachos, steak fajitas and chicken enchilada recipes! Is that a new influence on your cooking?
Q
In your hands? Always more delicious. You also mentioned
that comfort food is something that you grow up with. As a Catholic school kid, every Friday we had fish, so I still like tuna pot pie and even cod cakes. What did you grow up eating that might be in this book?
Q
I liked the anecdote about you trying to feed those Brits the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and they wanted beans on toast.
Q
I’ve had some crazy Canadian food because my husband’s from Vancouver, so poutine and things like that.
A
I kind of like those ingredients, so in my other books I’ve had things like pork pozole and Mexican chicken soup. But yeah, you’re right. It’s kind of crept into this, but it’s all comfort food from different countries. I mean, chicken soup. Everybody has some kind of a chicken soup and it’s one of the really good flavors we remember growing up. It makes you feel good.
Q
So how do you decide when a recipe is cookbook-worthy? A
When I’m done testing a recipe and I hand it to my assistant and ask them to make it, and when she’s done making it she wants to go home and make it for her family that day, I know it’s a good recipe for the cookbook.
Q
How do you know how many to put in?
A
I feel like every recipe has to earn its place in the book, which is why I only do 85 recipes. I mean, a lot of books are 250 recipes, but I want them to be spectacular. I love them to be real. I don’t want anybody to make something and say, that was OK, but it wasn’t great.
Q
I love that you included cocktails. We made the pomegranate gimlets last night. My husband is a gin guy and he loved them. They weren’t too sweet. So, what trends do you see in cocktails right now?
Q
One thing that’s a little different about this book, you don’t just talk about cooking. You remind us that — especially at this time — it’s a big deal to comfort people with food, right?
A
I know somebody that was having a hard time and a friend cooked a whole dinner and just left it on his doorstep. And I thought, “What a great gift because it’s hard to cook three meals a day. It really is.” And it’s a gift that you can give somebody that’s wonderful.