Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics

Food Network host and bestselling cookbook author Ina Garten was online Monday, Nov. 24 at 12 noon ET to take your questions about entertaining in the busy holiday season. Her brand-new cookbook, Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics features recipes that use ingredients available in any supermarket to create classic, simple and delicious dishes. As she says, "What truly fires my imagination is taking ordinary ingredients and cooking them -- or pairing them -- in a way that 'unlocks' their true flavors."

Holiday Guide

The transcript follows.

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Ina Garten: Hi there. I'm so glad to be here and answer your questions.

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Alexandria, Va.: My fiance and I will be traveling for the holidays and will stay with both of our families. I would like to bake something to bring to each hostess (other than cookies, which I will make anyway), but many recipes I have looked at say that the item will only remain fresh for a few days. Is there something that I can bake ahead of time that will stay fresh during the drive up north and the few days between each house that we are staying at?

Ina Garten: I would make bags of granola. And bring a bag of really good coffee and some wonderful jams. So it's something you've made yourself, as well as an assortment of things they can serve for breakfast. There's a recipe for granola in my first book, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

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Arlington, Va.: Hi, Ina. I am a big fan. I have a question about cheesecake. Should it be served cold or at room temperature and how long does it take to get to room temperature? thanks!

Ina Garten: Cheesecake is best served at room temperature, and if you leave it out of the refrigerator for two hours it should be fine. If there's a topping on it, I would add it when the cheesecake comes out of the fridge, rather than storing it with the topping on it.

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Washington, D.C.: I've heard stories for years that friends of my State Department parents knew your politically-active husband in the 1970s. Did you live here in D.C.? Do you want to tell any anecdotes about that?

Ina Garten: I lived here in the 70s. My husband Jeffrey worked for the State Department and I worked for the Office of Management and Budget in the White House, on nuclear energy policy. But I decided it would be much more fun to have a specialty food store, so I left Washington D.C. and moved to the Hamptons. And how glad I am that I did!

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Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Ina, I'm a huge fan of your TV show and your books and I've never made anything from your books that didn't turn out absolutely fabulous. I was wondering if you have any tips for baking cut-out sugar cookies. Whenever I try them they end up expanding so much that they lose their shape. I thought it might be because of the oven temperature, so I got a new oven thermometer, but that wasn't it. What am I doing wrong?

Ina Garten: I find that you get a crisper edge if you cut out the cookies and chill them before you bake them. And if that isn't enough, add a little more flour. But cut them, put them on the sheet pan, refrigerate them, and bake them right out of the refrigerator.

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Kansas City, Mo.: Help! I am having issues figuring out a menu to accommodate a vegetarian. I am having a holiday dinner party for 10. For my main dish, I am planning to make your Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese and Basil (love this recipe). I need a fairly hearty side dish that will accommodate the vegetarian in the group. I would like something that can be made ahead to a large extent, that works well with the chicken, but that also is can work as a main dish for the vegetarian. Any thoughts would be a huge help; I am having a hard time figuring out a solution for this.

Ina Garten: I would make Orzo with Roasted Vegetables from the Barefoot Contessa Parties book, which is one dish where the pasta and the vegetables are all together. It's hearty enough for the vegetarian for the main course but it's also a great accompaniment to the Chicken with Goat Cheese and Basil. You can also make it early in the day and then reheat it in the microwave so that it's hot for dinner.

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Boise, Idaho: For those of us that are not crazy about pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, what dessert would you suggest that day?

Ina Garten: I'm not crazy about pumpkin pie either, but I love pumpkin, so I make all kinds of pumpkin desserts. I make a pumpkin banana mousse tart (which is in Barefoot Contessa Family Style), I've made pumpkin mousse parfaits (pumpkin mousse, crumbled ginger cookies and whipped cream in a parfait glass or champagne flute, which is in Barefoot Contessa at Home) and in this new book, Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics, I have a pumpkin roulade which is wonderful: a pumpkin jelly-roll filled with mascarpone cream and crystallized ginger.

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Silver Spring, Md.: Ina, I need your help. I'm traveling two hours by car for Thanksgiving. I've been asked to bring apple and pumpkin pies and a sweet potato casserole. I work full-time. Can you help me come up with a schedule so that I can make all of this without staying up all night on Wednesday?

Thanks and thank you for taking the time to do this chat.

Ina Garten: Sweet potato casserole, you can make two days in advance. I would make the crust for the pies three days in advance and refrigerate it. And then all you need to do on Wednesday is make the filling for the pumpkin pie, cut up the apples, and bake the pies on Wednesday evening.

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Washington, D.C.: Ina, do you have any suggestions for a light snack early in the day on Thanksgiving day? Something to give me the energy to keep cooking without spoiling my appetite! Thank you.

Ina Garten: Hot apple cider. It makes the house smell good, makes you feel good, and you have something hot in your tummy. I like almonds as a snack -- keeps your energy up but doesn't fill you up.

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17th and Rhode Island Ave.: Hi Ina, thanks for taking my question. How many different kinds of hors d'oeuvres should I offer at my cocktail party and how much should I prepare? Also what are some of your favorites?

Ina Garten: If it's a cocktail party, I generally make five or six different things, and I try to choose recipes that feel like a meal: a chicken thing, a fish or shrimp thing, maybe two vegetable things, and I think it's fun to end the cocktail party with a sweet thing. I'd choose things I could buy prepared or make in advance. So I'd make Grilled Lemon Chicken with Satay Dip (Barefoot Contessa Cookbook), Roasted Shrimp Cocktail (Back to Basics), endives with blue cheese filling (which is easy - just assemble it). Also, I love Lamb Sausage in Puff Pastry, because you can assemble it and cook it in advance; Fried Onion Dip; and, if you want to make an extra one, I'd make Turkey Tea Sandwiches: turkey with basil and scallion cream cheese. (All three of those recipes can be found in the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook). And for the sweet, I'd make mini coconut cupcakes. I would make two to three pieces of appetizers per person, but it depends on how long the party is to last.

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Severna Park, Md.: Ina, you are by far one of my most favorite chefs! Thank you for all of your wonderful ideas and recipes.

In my attempt to become a great cook, I'd like to know what three kitchen tools you think are the most important to have in one's kitchen.

I'd greatly appreciate your input!

Ina Garten: Great Wusthof knives, a Cuisinart food processor and a KitchenAid mixer. And really good pots, like All Clad and Le Creuset. And half sheet pans. With these things, you can cook almost anything.

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Thanksgiving Centerpiece: I'm terrible at arranging flowers. Do you have any ideas for a nice centerpiece for the table that would not challenge my flower arranging skills?

Ina Garten: Take one flower that you like and get lots of them. And don't try to "arrange" them. It's surprisingly hard to do a flower arrangement the way a florist does one. Instead, bunch them all together or put them in a series of small vases all down the table. And don't be afraid to cut flowers a little shorter.

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DC: Love your tenderloin beef bourguignonne recipe. But tenderloin is really expensive and stew meat, while traditional, isn't nearly as pleasant. Any recommendations for an in-between cut of meat?

Ina Garten: In my Barefoot Contessa in Paris cookbook, I have a beef bourguignonne stew that uses chuck beef, which is a much less expensive cut of beef.

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Washington, D.C.: Ina, thank you for participating in this chat. I love your show and books! With our upcoming holiday baking, is it possible to substitute oil for butter (and in what amount) without sacrificing taste and texture in our traditional recipes?

Ina Garten: Sometimes it is. If you're sauteing, you can substitute half the butter for oil, but in baking, I wouldn't try it.

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Ina Garten: As the holidays approach, it's important to keep it simple and remember that it's about the friends and not the food. Thanks so much for joining me today and I'm sorry that I couldn't get to all of your wonderful questions!

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