Category Archives: Barefoot Contessa

Renegade Barefooting: Asian Chicken Salad

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I so appreciated making this last night–I’d had a busy and not too happy day (I published a mistake in another blog that I am not happy about. I don’t do that.) taking care of problems. So Barefoot Bloggers a)decided what to make for dinner for me and b)made it simple.

Because it was already 5.30 p.m. when I was getting around to it, I bought a roasted chicken. I had the asparagus (thank you, Costco) and most everything else–I love a starch, so I picked up some rice noodles.

As I was cooking the noodles, I shredded the chicken. Chilled the noodles, then whisked together the ingredients. I have to say, as a peanut ginger dressing, Ina totally rocks it with the recipe. Dress the chicken and veggies, serve over the noodles. Happy me, happy family. Leftovers for lunch.

Renegade Barefooting: Asian Chicken Salad

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I so appreciated making this last night–I’d had a busy and not too happy day (I published a mistake in another blog that I am not happy about. I don’t do that.) taking care of problems. So Barefoot Bloggers a)decided what to make for dinner for me and b)made it simple.

Because it was already 5.30 p.m. when I was getting around to it, I bought a roasted chicken. I had the asparagus (thank you, Costco) and most everything else–I love a starch, so I picked up some rice noodles.

As I was cooking the noodles, I shredded the chicken. Chilled the noodles, then whisked together the ingredients. I have to say, as a peanut ginger dressing, Ina totally rocks it with the recipe. Dress the chicken and veggies, serve over the noodles. Happy me, happy family. Leftovers for lunch.

Not the Barefoot Blogger…Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart

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Okay. So I’m not on the blogroll at Barefoot Blogging any longer, and I don’t deserve to be…somehow, cooking what they were cooking WHEN they were cooking it has eluded me. So this is unofficial, unsanctioned Barefoot Blogging…but it was such a success it deserves a post.

The choice of the week is Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart in Puff Pastry from Ina Garten. I’ve had a recipe and a half of Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Pie Dough in my fridge for a few days and this seemed just right as a subsitution for the puff dough.

I rolled out the dough and lined 6 shallow ramekins with it–the kind usually used for creme brulee. Caramelize onion (black cast iron RULES for this). Sprinkle in grated parm. Top with herbed goat cheese (I stretched 4 ounces over 6 tarts). Top this with slices of the most beautifully ripened tomatoes (thank you, Florida!), then some very good EVOO (Badia a Coltibuono. I won’t tell you how much I paid for this, but it is WORTH it)…Basil. Salt (once again, thank you Mark from The Meadow for my sampler of sel gris). Pepper. Top all this with shards of shaved parmesan. Bake until pastry is golden brown.

Things to note about this dinner:
1. This is beautiful.
2. This is delicious
3. My kids LOVED it.
4. DH decided to eat crap at a British pub instead of this…you know, because he had homemade pizza (also with tomato and cheese) the night before. Poor him, right?

A tart, salad and a glass of crisp white wine…Lovely dinner. Try it.

Not the Barefoot Blogger…Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart

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Okay. So I’m not on the blogroll at Barefoot Blogging any longer, and I don’t deserve to be…somehow, cooking what they were cooking WHEN they were cooking it has eluded me. So this is unofficial, unsanctioned Barefoot Blogging…but it was such a success it deserves a post.

The choice of the week is Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart in Puff Pastry from Ina Garten. I’ve had a recipe and a half of Dorie Greenspan’s Perfect Pie Dough in my fridge for a few days and this seemed just right as a subsitution for the puff dough.

I rolled out the dough and lined 6 shallow ramekins with it–the kind usually used for creme brulee. Caramelize onion (black cast iron RULES for this). Sprinkle in grated parm. Top with herbed goat cheese (I stretched 4 ounces over 6 tarts). Top this with slices of the most beautifully ripened tomatoes (thank you, Florida!), then some very good EVOO (Badia a Coltibuono. I won’t tell you how much I paid for this, but it is WORTH it)…Basil. Salt (once again, thank you Mark from The Meadow for my sampler of sel gris). Pepper. Top all this with shards of shaved parmesan. Bake until pastry is golden brown.

Things to note about this dinner:
1. This is beautiful.
2. This is delicious
3. My kids LOVED it.
4. DH decided to eat crap at a British pub instead of this…you know, because he had homemade pizza (also with tomato and cheese) the night before. Poor him, right?

A tart, salad and a glass of crisp white wine…Lovely dinner. Try it.

Barefoot Blogging..

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Well, I’m a little out of order, and hopefully, by the time you are reading this you will have read my posts on baked eggs and on pasta, peas and pesto, but in case you haven’t, I’ve joined another cooking group. I realized Tuesdays with Dorie got me baking once a week..why not try some recipes I wouldn’t otherwise taste test? And thanks to my friend, Rachel, who sent me to the Barefoot Blog in the first place (she is a big Barefoot Contessa fan. And she can COOK. Why aren’t you cooking with us here, Rachel?). They (we) will be blogging from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa’s books…

So to entice my kids to the table, I jumped ahead an made Parmesan Chicken, the Contessa’s twist on Chicken Parmesan: great breading with seasoned bread crumbs and freshly grated parm topped with a lemony salad and shaved parmesan. I loved the savory coating paired with the lemony cool salad.

Start with the breading ready to go; the chicken breasts are pounded to about 1/4-inch thickness. I love cutlets like that. Easiest to do in a ziplock bag.
I love using my old Le Creuset cast iron skillet for things like this–nice browning. Thanks, Le Creuset.
For a side we have corn sauteed with a few little strands of hash brown…I stumbled on the combo when I wanted hash brown but only a few measly pieces of potato were left in the bag (who left three pieces of potato in that bag? Oh, me…) Anyway, over low heat with the barest bit of oil, butter and salt? I think it’s like candy..it gets this chewy sweetness that is so satisfying.

Great dinner, Contessa.

Barefoot Blogging..

Leave a reply


Well, I’m a little out of order, and hopefully, by the time you are reading this you will have read my posts on baked eggs and on pasta, peas and pesto, but in case you haven’t, I’ve joined another cooking group. I realized Tuesdays with Dorie got me baking once a week..why not try some recipes I wouldn’t otherwise taste test? And thanks to my friend, Rachel, who sent me to the Barefoot Blog in the first place (she is a big Barefoot Contessa fan. And she can COOK. Why aren’t you cooking with us here, Rachel?). They (we) will be blogging from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa’s books…

So to entice my kids to the table, I jumped ahead an made Parmesan Chicken, the Contessa’s twist on Chicken Parmesan: great breading with seasoned bread crumbs and freshly grated parm topped with a lemony salad and shaved parmesan. I loved the savory coating paired with the lemony cool salad.

Start with the breading ready to go; the chicken breasts are pounded to about 1/4-inch thickness. I love cutlets like that. Easiest to do in a ziplock bag.
I love using my old Le Creuset cast iron skillet for things like this–nice browning. Thanks, Le Creuset.
For a side we have corn sauteed with a few little strands of hash brown…I stumbled on the combo when I wanted hash brown but only a few measly pieces of potato were left in the bag (who left three pieces of potato in that bag? Oh, me…) Anyway, over low heat with the barest bit of oil, butter and salt? I think it’s like candy..it gets this chewy sweetness that is so satisfying.

Great dinner, Contessa.