Is bacon. These bacon-topped cornbread squares are a riff on our already beloved makeover of Ina Garten’s cornbread. As with all of our Barefoot for Babies recipe makeovers, our version is healthier, sweetened with honey and packed with either wheat germ or ground flaxseed. But there’s also lots of plain yogurt and milk in there, resulting…
roasted lemon chicken with vegetables, the perfect make-at-nap-time dinner
RIGHT AROUND 5PM THINGS GET ROUGH at my house, maybe even 4. There’s too much whining and not nearly enough wine. That’s why I love to make dinner earlier in the day and let it just hang out — or in this case, roast away — until we’re ready. When the cranky hour arrives I…
mini chicken pot pies with flowers & star crusts
I MADE THESE POT PIES TWICE RECENTLY, once big (for the family) and once small (for each person). The second time I used leftovers from Gwyneth Paltrow’s delicious Rotisserie Style Roast Chicken. Estelle LOVED it. Phoebe was sick. Paul liked them both though he did say that more crust on the bigger version was better….
Barefoot Contessa Makeover: Mini meatloaves
WE HAD COMPANY OVER CHRISTMAS, including a 3-year old guest from Amsterdam. Phoebe was thrilled to have another “big girl” around but as you may know (and be reminded daily), it’s not easy to guess what will go over at this age. But when in doubt, I say go for comfort food. This recipe is…
Barefoot Contessa Makeover: Plum-blackberry crisp
WE WERE HEADED FOR THE BEACH and needed to bring a dessert for lunch afterward. The requirements were simple enough: must be baked ahead of time and also hold up for an hour in the car. (And if it could not involve a 30-pound Le Creuset baking pan, even better.) There would be six adults,…
Barefoot Contessa Makeover: Lemon chicken with pesto potato salad
WE’VE HAD A BREAKTHROUGH in the potato department. Never a fan of them, Phoebe actually said, “I ont aunt tatoes” when I was trying to play up tonight’s dinner—a tough task considering that we were swimming (aka, the most fun activity ever) just before the potato conversation. But potatoes it was. Only I added a…
Barefoot Contessa Makeover: Corn muffins with jam filling
ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER PLAYGROUP, ANOTHER BAKED GOOD. This time we tried something even more healthy…but it didn’t start that way. Barefoot’s corn muffins promise to be moist and delicious, which is easy to believe when you consider the half pound of butter called for in the original recipe. That won’t work for us so we…
Ina Garten’s Roasted tomato basil soup
I’VE MADE IT BEFORE BUT THIS TIME, I ADDED A LITTLE MORE OOMPH. By now you know that I love my Barefoot Contessa. But you also might be aware of her delicious yet wildly fattening food, a dilemma for someone who is already 14 pounds heavier than usual, also trying to keep a 17-month old…
Barefoot Contessa Makeover: Oatmeal raisin scones
WE’RE ON AN OATMEAL KICK HERE IN ROME. The temperatures are cooling off and Phoebe has recently discovered dried cranberries which means oatmeal every morning, naturally. We’re just doing the quick oats which cook in one minute…except they don’t. It takes several minutes to boil the water, then another couple to cook the oats. I’m…
Barefoot Contessa Makeover: Cranberry wheat germ muffins
THEY’RE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THEY SOUND, REALLY. And Phoebe loves them. Every morning this week I’d ask, “do you want a muffin?” She’d nod as emphatically as someone can without being hauled off to an institution, start saying “mmm, mmm, mmm” and jamming her finger into her empty plate so hard I thought it…
Ina Garten’s white bean and rosemary soup
I LOVE THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA. I just do. I always have, I hope I always will. Her recipes are always delicious, they inspire me to try new things and she just seems fun, doesn’t she? With that husky laugh and a button down shirt, there she is making all manner of soups, roasted chicken and…