Ina And Jeffrey - To Have And To Hold...

Till The Leftovers Run Out...Which Will NEVER Happen

Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten

Anniversary
Tiered Chocolate Buttercream Cake
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Coq Au Vin
Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Ina and Jeffrey are going to have a romantic dinner on the porch of the new barn to celebrate their 39th!!! anniversary. Their original wedding cake was a huge tower of a fruit cake. Ina said it WAS a little dry, but it was beautiful. She’s making one today for just the two of them. I like how she thinks!

Ina beats ¾ lb butter, in other words THREE sticks, with 1 1/3 cups of white sugar and the same amount of brown sugar. She beats until light and fluffy. She sifts 3 ½ cups flour with 1 tablespoon baking soda and 2 cups of “really good” cocoa powder and sets it aside. She beats in 4 eggs. (I wonder why not one at a time.) 2 cups of buttermilk gets mixed with sour cream and vanilla. Ina beats in the wet and dry ingredients alternately on low. She starts and ends with the dry.

Hmmmm. Where have I seen a cake like this before? And I wonder why she didn’t use Beatty's Chocolate Cake, which is fabulous. It has buttermilk and cocoa powder too, but it has oil instead of butter. I am certainly not going to second guess the Contessa…on this anyway. As she makes the cake, Ina tells us that she “can’t wait to see Jeffrey’s face…anytime.” Is that a hint of why her marriage has lasted so long?

She butters, lines, and butters and flours her 3 cake pans. Did you get that? This is important. First you butter the cake pans, so the parchment paper (I’m against parchment paper. I use waxed paper) will stay in place. THEN you butter the parchment. THEN you spoon in a bit of flour and twist and turn the pan until it’s coated evenly. Whack the bottom of the pan so the flour flies out into the second (or third) cake pan. Coat the pan again and do your final whacking over the sink or (wide-mouthed) garbage can.

There is no point using first class ingredients, and taking the time and effort to make a great cake, and THEN having it stick to the bottom of the pan. So do what Ina does and you won’t have to worry about it.

Ina pours the batter into the prepared pans and bakes them at 350°F - 50 minutes for the small one, 70-75 minutes for the middle one and an hour and 25 minutes for the big guy.

Ina reminisces by looking at her wedding album. Gosh, Jeffrey was handsome in his uniform. Ina was just lovely.

She tells a story about their first anniversary. They agreed to get each other ONE present that cost no more than 5 dollars. He comes home with a beautiful set of cashmere gloves and scarf. When chastised (I can’t imagine for too long) by Ina, Jeffrey says it’s a husband’s prerogative to get his wife lots of presents for their anniversary. How sweet is that? (We never did hear what she gave him.)

Back to the cake, Ina prepares an icing that won’t be for everybody, because it requires a handheld mixer. She begins by chopping 1 lb. bittersweet chocolate and ¾ lb semisweet chocolate and placing them in a bowl. She likes the flavor of the combination of the two more than either chocolate alone. She stirs the bowl over hot water, removing the bowl it just before the chocolates are completely melted. In another bowl, she mixes three-quarters a cup of egg whites, which she says is 4 to 5 whites.

Since 99.9% of us will be using large eggs, instead of Ina’s beloved extra large eggs, THIS is the measurement you must remember:
A standard large egg is 2 oz. The white is 1 ounce; the yolk is 1 ounce. So three quarters of a cup, which is 6 ounces is…SIX egg whites.

This is a useful thing to keep in mind when want to freezing just the yolks. Freeze them in a little plastic container all together, not separately. You can also add more whites on top of the already frozen ones. Then thaw the container and measure 1 (liquid) ounce per egg white, which is also 2 tablespoons.

Ina mixes her ¾ cup egg whites with 1 ½ cups sugar and cream of tartar. She beats the mixture while it heats up over the hot water. Her goal is to melt the sugar. She beats it until the mixture is warm and doesn’t feel gritty at all from the sugar, about 5 minutes.

She removes it from the heat and continues beating for another 5 minutes until it’s thick and fluffy like meringue. Then Ina adds 1½ lbs. of butter (do you realize how many sticks that is?), beating it in one tablespoon at a time. (That could 3 years…it's 48 tablespoons!) Ina then beats in the chocolate, vanilla espresso and 3 tablespoons “good” rum, probably not this stuff.

Ina says you don’t really taste each of those ingredients, it just adds to the complexity of the flavor.

Her plan is to meet Jeffrey on the porch of the barn at 8 pm for dinner. She thinks he’s working in the study, but really, he’s been shopping. I hope it’s for a little something in that classy blue box.

The cakes are done. There’s certainly adequate cake there for the couple. In fact, that cake could feed an entire army division. Ina cuts the tops off each layer to make a completely flat surface. She spoons dollops of buttercream on top and starts icing the sides with a palette knife, turning it as she goes, on a turntable. (I myself use a garage sale Rubbermaid turntable.)

She ices the top and smoothes the entire cake with a spatula dipped in very hot water. She puts the middle-sized layer on top of the large one and the little one on top of that. She pipes some icing with a serrated top to make vertical columns. Interesting. Then she uses a star nozzle to pipe a shell pattern on the top. She puts a flowers around. Purdy.

Have you ever made a big heavy multi-layered cake? To ensure that the layers don’t sink into each other, put straws on the bottom layers, which hold some of the weight of the upper layers. It’s cool. Before icing, insert - equally spacing them - 4 or 5 straws in each layer of cake that will have one resting on it. Place the straws about halfway between the center and the outside edge of the cake. Ice the cake, layer it up and the top layers are actually sitting on the straws and taking the pressure off the center of the cake. When using cardboard discs under each layer, you REALLY need extra support. I digress, so what else is new? It’s going to be their 40th anniversary if I don’t get a move on.

Jeffrey sneaks in with BAGS of presents. Atta boy, Jeff.

I guess since Ina knows she could feed 50 for dessert, it’s time to start dinner. She cooks 4 oz of bacon, or she says to use pancetta, in a pan with a splash of olive oil for 8 to 10 minutes. She salts and peppers chicken cut into 10 pieces. She removes the bacon with a slotted spoon. Why? To leave the fat behind, my lovelies. She browns the chicken in batches, so as not to lower the temperature too much. It looks fabulous. Really nicely browned.

She adds 1 ½ lbs carrots and big thick slices of onion to the pan with garlic and ¼ cup cognac. She puts the chicken back in and pours over a bottle of burgundy and 1 cup of chicken stock. She lays over a sprig of thyme and puts it in a 250°F oven for 1 hour.

Ina sets up lots of candles on the porch. The space is very simple with clean lines. It almost looks like it wouldn’t be out of place in the Iberian peninsula. Ina readies 1/2 lb. crimini mushrooms, telling us not use button mushrooms, because they have no flavor. She cooks them in a large sauté pan until browned.

The coq au vin gets removed from the oven. She mashes 1 1/2 tablespoons flour and 1 tablespoon soft butter together. She adds that to the pot to thicken the stew. She adds 1/2 lb. frozen pearl onions and the mushrooms and cooks the coq au vin for 10 more minutes.

Ina starts the garlic mashed potatoes by cooking half a head of peeled garlic in 1 cup(!) of olive oil. She cooks 1 1/2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes for 20 minutes in boiling salted water. (I've started adding the garlic with the potatoes in the water and then I put it through a garlic press. It's obviously milder than cooking in oil, but calorie-free. Do we care? Occasionally.)

Jeffrey sneaks in to the table with his bags and flowers. Ina puts the potatoes and the garlic through a food mill. She adds salt and pepper, some of the garlic oil and 2 tablespoons cream. She whisks it over hot water to keep it warm.

Ina serves dinner in deep square dinner plates. She's going all modrin. She says she just has to get his present. She got him an MP3 player, loaded with all his favorite music. How sweet and she kept to the one gift rule. She takes out dinner and spies all the bags. Husband's prerogative, he reminds her.

She brings out the wedding album over dessert. They feed each other cake (they could do that into the wee hours, there's so much cake), just like 39 years ago...Awww...But what was in those bags? Any guesses?

The Barefoot Quandary of Extra-Large Eggs and Bleu Cheese

Barefoot Contessa - Ina Garten
Barefoot Reunion

Barbecued Ribs
Blue Cheese Cole Slaw
Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes
New Potato Salad

To get the recipes:
Click here

Ina tells us about her store, Barefoot Contessa, which she sold in 1996. It almost sounds like another icon...this time on the big screen: "I had a farm in Africa". Anyway, Ina has invited 6 of her longtime co-workers from "the early years'" to dinner and she's making several of their famous dishes. And she can't wait to see how they're all doing.

She starts with barbecued ribs. Apparently, this recipe was a long time in development. They had several recipes they were working with and she decided to put them all together - Asian, Tex-Mex, traditional - to come up with what became the signature Barefoot Contessa Barbecued Ribs.

She cooks the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Then she adds chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, ginger, lime zest and juice. Goodness, there's more! She's adding vinegar, mustard and orange juice. She wasn't kidding about merging MANY different recipes and she obviously kept each and every ingredient from them all. She simmers it for 15 minutes.

I don't approve of something so far. Can you guess what it is?

Very good, if you guessed that Ina didn't cook the spices first, before adding all the liquidy stuff.

WHENever, HOWever, WHEREever, WHOever (ok, that last one doesn't make sense) you're adding warm spices, i.e. chili powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon (usually to sautéed onions and/or garlic), they should be stirred over the lowest heat you have for 3 minutes BEFORE you add anything even vaguely liquidy. This takes away the raw taste and develops the flavor of the spices. This can be the difference between a so-so dish and one that really sings. And, of course, I'm talking about sautéed dishes here, not baked goods, like cakes or rolls with cinnamon other spices.

To clarify, before you add the entire left side of your pantry to this barbecue sauce, stir in the entire right side (the spices) for 3 minutes on low heat...I just checked the recipe and the Contessa goes halfway. She cooks the chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes for ONE minute. Not enough, but, at least, she didn't skip it altogether. You and I know know what we have to do, right? 3 minutes, super low heat BEFORE the wet stuff goes in.

Luckily, we're moving on to the chocolate cupcake recipe. She creams room temperature butter with sugar, until it's light and fluffy. Then she adds 4 extra large eggs, one at a time.

Hold on just a minute. Just what exactly are we going to do about The Barefoot Contessa's use of EXTRA LARGE eggs in every recipe?

Very few food writers use extra large eggs in their recipes, the standard is large. I almost think Ina's doing it as a way to stand out and make it harder for anyone to copy her.

THIS is the problem: a large egg is 2 ounces. An extra large egg is 2 1/4 ounces. Obviously, this matters when you're baking, not making omelets.

What to do? I have NEVER used extra large eggs. EVER. After great thought, this is what I've come up with. When I crack open an egg, I make sure to get every drop of egginess from the inside of the shell. That could be an extra teaspoon or so. I may not be using the size she specifies, but at least I'm getting every last bit of the egg that I AM using into the recipe. AND when I'm adding liquid to her baked recipes, I intentionally add perhaps a teaspoon more.

Even though I've baked plenty of Barefoot Contessa recipes, I've never used the correct size egg and it doesn't seem to matter (although theory says it should).

However, if you have a recipe that uses A LOT of eggs, 8 extra-large for example, that WILL make a difference - a 2 ounce difference to be exact, which conveniently is the size of a large egg. So that one is easy...8 extra-large eggs equal 9 large eggs exactly. It's when it's less than that that you have the issue.

Here's a rather confusing chart that seems to say that if the recipe calls for 4 extra-large eggs, do what you want, use 4 OR 5 large eggs. After that, use one more large egg than extra-large. Thus, if the recipe says 5 extra-large eggs, use 6 large and so on. Got it?

Ok, so you've added whatever the heck eggs you're going to add, and now she's adding a 16 oz can of chocolate syrup!!! What? It's the secret ingredient. Ok, if you say so. And I guess all that liquid deliciousness will make up for the exactly 1 oz shortfall of egg protein that my cupcakes will suffer from. Add vanilla extract and then put the flour in the bowl. Beat only until it's JUST mixed, or you'll have tough cupcakes and noone wants that for you, least of all the Contessa.

This batter makes 12 cupcakes. She uses an ice cream scoop to get them into the muffin pan. VERY CLEVER IDEA! They bake at 325 deg F. for 25 to 30 minutes. She says 30 in the recipe - check after 25 minutes.

We're back to the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink marinade. Set aside some to be served with the cooked ribs. The rest gets spread all over the meat and it goes into the refrigerator to marinate for as long as possible - a few hours, overnight, a day or 2. She likes Country Ribs the best, which you may have to discuss with your butcher in advance. Ina doesn't think baby back ribs have enough meat on them and that spare ribs are too fatty.

Her friend, TR, arrives in a wild shirt. He's in charge of the grill. She cracks open the Veuve Clicquot and he starts the fire. She heads back into the kitchen to finish cooking.

For the cole slaw, she slices green and red cabbage in the food processor. Put it in sideways to get long slices. The red cabbage goes ON TOP OF the green cabbage. Don't mix them together yet. She grates the carrots with the grating disk and puts them on top of the red cabbage. She makes the sauce, starting with 16 oz. of mayonnaise. "This makes a lot", she adds rather sheepishly. Dijon and whole grain mustard get mixed in with apple cider vinegar, celery salt (tell me the truth, is your celery salt from the last quarter of the 20th century?) and salt and pepper. "Put enough sauce on so that it moistens it, but not so much that it's wet and sloppy." Ok, maybe I wouldn't have put it exactly that way, but you get the idea.

Ina adds Roquefort. "I know there are those of you who think this smells like gym socks, but it's really delicious." She adds parsley now. "I'm going to put it in the refrigerator and it's just going to get better and better as it sits." (Kinda like gym socks?)

I have mixed feelings about the bleu cheese. One thing I am completely sure of: the cole slaw doesn't need it. I do defend her right to add it, but I really prefer to enjoy bleu cheese on its own, where it doesn't taint, I mean overpower, the rest of what it's being served with. I think the best way to present it is at room temperature with a generous portion of good honey lavished overtop, dripping all down the sides and surrounded by well-toasted walnut halves and sturdy crackers or bread.

Back to the cupcakes. She's doing her ganache thing - heavy cream and chocolate get melted together with a bit of coffee powder in a double boiler arrangement. Stir until just melted. By the way, the usual way to make ganache is to heat the cream, just to boiling, and stir in FINELY chopped chocolate until smooth. No less an authority than Rose Levy Beranbaum loves to make it in the food processor, so that it's silky smooth.

TR lights the coals. The ribs are on. They really don't have to cook that long, maybe a half hour. They get turned once or twice. Ina sets the table with Barefoot Contessa colors - red and white. She puts bags of candy down the middle, tied with BF ribbons. BIG napkins (for the ribs) go on and she reminds TR (and us) that the coals should be even and not too thick.

Back in the kitchen to ice the cupcakes. She spoons a LARGE amount of ganache over each cupcake. The recipe says to dip each one, I like using a spoon. Ina places a large candied violet on each cupcake and they go on cake stands. That's an attractive way to present them. They look gorgeous.

The Barefoot friends arrive. They toast to the Barefoot Contessa - the store AND the person, I guess. They take a lot of pictures and hunker down with the ribs (they turned out BEAUTIFULLY) and cole slaw, these original foodies. And Ina didn't forget to serve the extra marinade.

The Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes come out. They remember them well. To old times, old friends and old recipes.