Books
Ina Garten’s top 10 recipes
We count down our favorites as beloved cook releases 11th book
Devil’s Food Cake with Coffee Meringue Buttercream (Photo courtesy Food Network)
Like so many home cooks and entertainers, I have followed Ina Garten’s career since her first cookbook, 1999’s “The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.” The books are beautifully photographed, the recipes easy to follow and the personal anecdotes and tips helpful and illuminating.
Garten famously left a White House job in the 1970s after seeing an ad for a specialty foods store for sale in the Hamptons. After 20 years there, she sold the business and later began writing cookbooks before being convinced to create a companion TV show for the Food Network. And the rest is history. On Oct. 23, Garten released her 11th cookbook, “Cook Like a Pro.” To celebrate, we’re counting down 10 of her best recipes. And, yes, I’ve made them all. (You can find the full recipes online or on the Food Network app.)
No. 10 Roasted Butternut Squash Soup, “Back to Basics.” This is a go-to fall/winter soup and I’ve made it so many times the pages of this recipe in the book are stained with splashes of pureed squash. A guilt-free dish, this one is naturally creamy with a hint of sweetness courtesy of the McIntosh apples. Take the time to make Ina’s homemade chicken stock to really turn up the volume, as she’d say.
No. 9 Greek Feast, “Parties” and “Make it Ahead”. This is several recipes combined to create the perfect Greek dinner. Start with grilled leg of lamb from the “Parties” book, a unique collection of full menus. She marinates the lamb with yogurt and herbs before grilling. Ina’s hummus recipe calls for a mixture of walnuts and pine nuts; for a twist try the butternut squash hummus from “Cooking for Jeffrey.” Her tzatziki is equally simple and the perfect companion for the lamb. Pastitsio from “Ahead” is a Greek lasagna with beef, lamb and lots of other ingredients like cinnamon, cayenne and heavy cream. It’s a filling winter dinner or a heavy side to the lamb. Herb-marinated feta is the perfect starter.
No. 8 French Potato Salad, “The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.” This is a welcome alternative to the usual mayonnaise-heavy potato salads found in grocery stores in summertime. Garten trades the mayo for a classic vinaigrette and mixes in lots of fresh dill, flat-leaf parsley and basil, which you surely have growing in your summer garden. The recipe is similar to Marcella Hazan’s — and that’s a good thing.
No. 7 Truffled Chicken Liver Mousse, “Make It Ahead.” This is a decadent and updated take on paté that gets a boost from white truffle butter and fresh thyme. It keeps for a week in the fridge but will never last that long.
No. 6 Herb-Roasted Fish, “Make it Ahead.” Often the simplest preparations are the best, which is certainly the case with this dish. It’s one of my go-to’s if I’m cooking for one but works great for a crowd. Use snapper or cod and wrap the fish in parchment paper drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice, add a sprinkle of fresh thyme and Cerignola olives. Then seal the paper into a pocket shape and cook for just 15 minutes at 400 degrees and you have a perfectly cooked, moist and flavorful fish every time.
No. 5 Devil’s Food Cake with Coffee Meringue Buttercream, “Cooking for Jeffrey.” As Ina notes, this cake is a showstopper with four towering layers of chocolate devil’s food. It’s labor intensive, too, and she recommends baking the cakes one day and preparing the frosting the next. The meringue buttercream is legit — no shortcuts involving shortening — so it takes a full hour to properly beat the egg whites at high speed. Don’t cheat, it really does take an hour. This recipe has some pitfalls; be sure the frosting mixture is absolutely at room temperature and never stir the boiling sugar. Take the extra time to frost with a pastry bag and decorate with chocolate-covered espresso beans. It’s massive and serves up to 16 people, who will be wowed when you bring this to the dessert table.
No. 4 Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart, “Make it Ahead.” This is another one that takes a little patience and practice but the result is a gorgeous tart showcasing thinly sliced zucchini (use a mandolin) arranged in tight circles. Ina adds vinegar to the crust, which she says makes it flaky (it does). Makes a perfect appetizer or light lunch.
Ina’s Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart (Photo courtesy Barefoot Contessa)
No. 3 Boeuf Bourguignon, “Barefoot in Paris.” My favorite of her books is “Paris,” showcasing Garten’s preference for French cuisine. As she notes in the recipe, boeuf Bourguignon can be tough and stringy as it’s often overcooked. The solution? Cook it in 90 minutes. And don’t forget to stand back when adding and igniting the cognac. This one tastes better the next day, so make it in advance and reheat for an easy dinner party.
No. 2 Make-Ahead Thanksgiving Dinner, “Make It Ahead.” Garten takes the stress out of cooking Thanksgiving dinner in this book, which offers options for the full meal. Forget all the debates about how to cook the perfect turkey – bag or no bag? Breast down or up? High temp or low temp? Baste or no baste? — Garten has the surprisingly simple answers (325 degrees for two hours). I prepared this menu a few years ago for a party of 18 and was nervous as it was my first time cooking such a large bird. When the timer buzzed, a crowd gathered round the oven; I opened the door and removed the golden-brown, perfectly cooked turkey to oohs and ahhs. Serve it with her turkey gravy with onions and sage (which freezes for up to three months) and leak and artichoke bread pudding (perfect substitute for traditional stuffing).
No. 1 Perfect Roast Chicken, “Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.” Ina is perhaps best known for her many excellent chicken dishes, including Tuscan lemon and mustard roasted chicken. Her roast chicken with radishes will have you convinced the radishes are potatoes if you’ve never roasted one before. But you can’t beat her classic roast chicken from her very first book. It’s famously her husband’s favorite dish. One recurring theme in Ina’s cooking is her use of salt and it’s essential here, liberally sprinkled inside and outside the bird. She stuffs it with lemon, garlic and thyme. The key to cooking most meat and poultry is to let it rest long enough for the juices to get dispersed throughout. As Ina would say, “How easy is that?”
Honorable mentions: Chocolate Chunk Blondies (“Foolproof”); Caramelized Bacon (“Make it Ahead”); Italian Seafood Salad (“Foolproof”).
Ina’s Perfect Roast Chicken (Photo courtesy Food Network)
Books
I’m a lesbian and LGBTQ books would have changed my life
Misguided parents pushing Montgomery County court case
As a child born in Maryland in the 80’s, I had very few LGBTQ+ role models other than Elton John and Ellen DeGeneres. In high school, I went through the motions of going out on Friday nights with boyfriends and dancing with them at prom, but I felt nothing. I desperately wanted to fit in, and it took me until my senior year of high school to finally admit to myself that I was different – and that it hurt too much to hide it anymore.
When I think back on those years, I feel the heartache and pain all over again. I used to lay awake at night begging God not to make me gay. When a boy on my Cross Country team accused me and my friends of being lesbians, I scoffed and said, “You wish.” I hid my true self in cheap wine coolers while my hate for myself festered.
I found healing in books, my creative writing class, and my school’s literary magazine. Writing allowed me to hold up a mirror to myself and see that I could be many things: a loving daughter and sister, a supportive friend, a dedicated member of the Cross Country team, and also a girl who wanted a girlfriend. In my love poems, I evolved from ambiguous pronouns to distinctly feminine ones. When I felt ready to tell my best friend, I showed her one of my poems. To my surprise, the world did not end. She smiled and said, “It’s a good poem. Are you ready to go to the mall?”
I’m one of the lucky ones. When I finally did come out to my parents, they told me they would always love me and want me to be happy. That’s not the case for more than 40% of LGBTQ+ youth, who are kicked out of their homes after they find the courage to tell their family who they truly are. We are facing a mental health epidemic among LGBTQ+ youth, with 41% seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, the vast majority living in homes that aren’t accepting.
Some of the dissenting parents in Mahmoud vs. Taylor argue that inclusive books aren’t appropriate for elementary school kids. To clarify, these books are simply available in schools – they aren’t required reading for anyone. There is nothing sexual or provocative about stories like “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding” or “Jacob’s Room to Choose” that send a very simple, non-political message: We all are different, and we all deserve to be treated with respect. Opting out of books that show diversity, out of fear that it might “make kids gay” fails to recognize a fundamental truth: art, pop culture, even vegan food cannot make someone gay. I was born this way. There were times I wished that I wasn’t, and that was because I didn’t have books like these telling me it was OK to be who I am.
I wonder how many parents opting out of these books will end up having a LGBTQ+ child. It is both horrible and true that these parents have two choices: love and accept your LGBTQ+ child, or risk losing them. Now that I’m a parent myself, I feel more than ever that our one aim in parenthood is to love our kids for exactly who they are, not who we want them to be.
For several years, a grocery store in Silver Spring, Md., displayed a poem I wrote for my mother in my school’s literary magazine. I wrote about how she taught me that red and blue popples can play together, and that Barbie doesn’t need Ken to be happy. I imagine that maybe, a girl passing through the store read that poem and saw a glimpse of herself inside. That spark of recognition – of I’m not the only one – is all I wanted as a child. I was able to find my happiness and my community, and I want every LGBTQ+ child to be able to do the same.
Joanna Hoffman was born and raised in Silver Spring, Md. She is the author of the poetry collection ‘Running for Trap Doors’ (Sibling Rivalry Press) and is the communications director for LPAC, the nation’s only organization dedicated to advancing the political representation of LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary candidates.
Books
A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat
New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story
‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages
Happy is the bride the sun shines on.
Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.
Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.
He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.
He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.
But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.
Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.
Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.
What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.
In short, this book is quite stunning.
Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.
If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.
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Books
Chronicling disastrous effects of ‘conversion therapy’
New book uncovers horror, unexpected humor of discredited practice
‘Shame-Sex Attraction: Survivors’ Stories of Conversion Therapy’
By Lucas F. W. Wilson
c.2025, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
$21.95/190 pages
You’re a few months in, and it hasn’t gotten any easier.
You made your New Year’s resolutions with forethought, purpose, and determination but after all this time, you still struggle, ugh. You’ve backslid. You’ve cheated because change is hard. It’s sometimes impossible. And in the new book, “Shame-Sex Attraction” by Lucas F. W. Wilson, it can be exceptionally traumatic.
Progress does not come without problems.
While it’s true that the LGBTQ community has been adversely affected by the current administration, there are still things to be happy about when it comes to civil rights and acceptance. Still, says Wilson, one “particularly slow-moving aspect… has been the fight against what is widely known as conversion therapy.”
Such practices, he says, “have numerous damaging, death-dealing, and no doubt disastrous consequences.” The stories he’s collected in this volume reflect that, but they also mirror confidence and strength in the face of detrimental treatment.
Writer Gregory Elsasser-Chavez was told to breathe in something repellent every time he thought about other men. He says, in the end, he decided not to “pray away the gay.” Instead, he quips, he’d “sniff it away.”
D. Apple became her “own conversation therapist” by exhausting herself with service to others as therapy. Peter Nunn’s father took him on a surprise trip, but the surprise was a conversion facility; Nunn’s father said if it didn’t work, he’d “get rid of” his 15-year-old son. Chaim Levin was forced to humiliate himself as part of his therapy.
Lexie Bean struggled to make a therapist understand that they didn’t want to be a man because they were “both.” Jordan Sullivan writes of the years it takes “to re-integrate and become whole” after conversion therapy. Chris Csabs writes that he “tried everything to find the root of my problem” but “nothing so far had worked.”
Says Syre Klenke of a group conversion session, “My heart shattered over and over as people tried to console and encourage each other…. I wonder if each of them is okay and still with us today.”
Here’s a bit of advice for reading “Shame-Sex Attraction”: dip into the first chapter, maybe the second, then go back and read the foreword and introduction, and resume.
The reason: author Lucas F. W. Wilson’s intro is deep and steep, full of footnotes and statistics, and if you’re not prepared or you didn’t come for the education, it might scare you away. No, the subtitle of this book is likely why you’d pick the book up so because that’s what you really wanted, indulge before backtracking.
You won’t be sorry; the first stories are bracing and they’ll steel you for the rest, for the emotion and the tears, the horror and the unexpected humor.
Be aware that there are triggers all over this book, especially if you’ve been subjected to anything like conversion therapy yourself. Remember, though, that the survivors are just that: survivors, and their strength is what makes this book worthwhile. Even so, though “Shame-Sex Attraction” is an essential read, that doesn’t make it any easier.
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