Counting on the Contessa

My mother is a huge fan of Ina Garten, who's probably better known as the Barefoot Contessa. I'm not sure what my mom loves most about Ina...her gorgeous house in the Hamptons, her seemingly effortless ability to throw together a dinner party or her to-die-for recipes. It also doesn't hurt that my mom actually got to meet Ina one night a few years ago, and despite wanting to gush and fawn over her, somehow just managed to inquire about her cute purse.

I happen to agree with my mother regarding all things Ina, and often find myself perusing through my Barefoot Contessa cookbook.


So, it only seemed fitting that when I invited my parents up to our house to celebrate my mother's birthday, that the Contessa featured somewhere in our dinner plans. I try not to extend myself too much when hosting a dinner party. There's that fine line between wanting to be a good hostess and putting out a perfect meal, but also enjoying your guests at the same time. In that vein, I try to choose recipes that will essentially cook themselves, but still turn out well.


Thankfully, the Barefoot Contessa seems to have a few of those up her sleeve. In addition to my own dishes of simple lemon and herb roasted chicken, green salad, cabbage, and roasted potatoes, I chose two dishes from Barefoot Contessa At Home to try out. Both came out beautifully.


The first was broccolini with a balsamic dressing and couldn't have been easier.

Ingredients

• Kosher salt

• 4 bunches broccolini (1 1/2 pounds)

• 1/4 cup good olive oil

• 11/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 lemon

Directions

In a large pot, bring 8 cups of water and 2 tablespoons salt to a boil. Remove and discard the bottom third of the broccolini stems. If some stems are very thick, cut them in half lengthwise.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper. When the water comes to a full boil, add the broccolini, return to a boil, and cook over high heat for 2 minutes, until the stalks are just tender. Drain well and place in a large bowl. Pour enough dressingover the broccolini to moisten and toss well. Splash with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice, sprinkle with salt, and serve warm or hot.

 The second was a hearty and flavorful stewed lentils with tomatoes. 

My brother does not eat meat, so I always try to have something on hand that would be considered more of main dish than a side, and these lentil fit the bill. For some reason, cooking with curry always makes me a touch nervous, but this ended up being tasty without being overpowering and actually, was even better the next day! I can see this dish quickly becoming a winter staple in our house for sure. 


In all, the Contessa did not let me down, and as we sat around the table (listening to my mother's "how I met the Contessa" story for the 18th time) I think everyone else seemed to agree.  


And now...seeing as it's Monday, I'm off to raid the pantry in hopes of finding something tasty to whip up...