This is the second Barefoot Contessa cookbook I picked up and I thought this one looked a bit better than Barefoot Contessa at Home.  I noticed that this cookbook didn’t have as much fluff as the “at Home’ cookbook did and I was hoping that the Family Style would provide me more realistic dishes to prepare.

In the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook, I found that the “everyday recipes you’ll make over and over again” were not everyday recipes for me.  Her everyday recipes were too fancy for me. My question when I opened up this cookbook was, are Ina’s “easy ideas and recipes that make everyone feel like family” actual recipes and ideas that we will use and like?  Are they family-time meal recipes or will they fancy meal recipes that we’ll make for company?  (These quotes were taken from the front of the cookbooks)

This cookbook has a bit of everything in it.  There is the simple dishes for individuals like me who like chicken stew with biscuits, oven-fried chicken, real meatballs & spaghetti, deep dish apple pie, string beans & shallots, and parmesan chicken just to name a few.  Yet, there is also garlic sauteed spinach, tiramisu, run raisin rice pudding, arugula with parmesan, lobster cobb salad, Sunday rib roast, saffron risotto with butternut squash and linguine with shrimp scampi for those who like something different. 

This cookbook has lots of different sections: Welcome Home, Planning the Meal, Starters, Salad for Lunch, Dinners, Vegetables, Desserts, Breakfast, Kids, Nine Ingredients, Ten Kitchen Tools, Menus, Credits, Index and Recipe Index.  Ina includes some personal information in the Welcome Home section and each of the recipe sections contains around 10-12 recipes.  In the Nine Ingredients section, Ina lists nine ingredients that are her favorite.  In Ten Kitchen Tools, Ina lists ten pieces of kitchen equipment that she feels individuals will use over and over again on a regular basis.  Ina puts together some of the recipes in this cookbook and creates menus for different occasions under the Menu section.  From a Winter Breakfast, to a Summer Brunch, to a Spring Lunch, Ina puts the dishes together for you.  There are 2 indexes which I like in cookbooks.  One is the general index and one is the recipe index.  Another big plus for me in this cookbook.  

For each of the recipes you will find, how many the dish will serve, a small paragraph describing the dish, a list of ingredients and step-by-step directions.  There is a picture to accompany each recipe which to me is a big plus. Sometimes she adds additional information to the recipe at the end, like additional cooking information, what to serve with the recipe, additional ingredients, etc. You will not find any nutritional information nor how much the serving size is or many total cups the whole recipe yields.  I really wish cookbooks would include either the total cups or the serving size per person as that really helps me when I am cooking.  Sometimes I can tell by looking at the list of ingredients but sometimes, it’s hard to tell.  The pictures make the recipes look delicious!  I liked that this cookbook has more recipes and these recipes looked appealing.  There were a few that looked out of my range but a majority of them were something I would try. 4 stars

This cookbook has about a handful of recipes that I’d be willing to try but the majority of recipes are for dishes that I typically wouldn’t eat or even prepare for others at my house.  They didn’t seem everyday to me. I’m not an adventurous eater nor do I stick to a routine when it comes to recipes but I guess you could say, that I have some limitations when it comes to food.  Here are some of the dishes that I think sound delicious: Caesar club sandwich, maple baked beans, summer garden pasta, honey white bread, garlic & herb tomatoes, old-fashioned potato salad and tomato, mozzarella & pesto panini.   That left is plenty other recipes that someone else might find appealing, recipes such as parmesan-roasted cauliflower, peanut butter & jelly bars, blue cheese coleslaw, stuffed cabbage, fresh pea soup, shrimp bisque and lemon fusilli with arugula.  These are just a few examples of the many recipes that are included in this book.

Ina gives us plenty of personal information in this book beginning in the intro and at the beginning of each of the sections.  Ina has included 6 food sections in this book, an intro, a credits sections, an “if you’re visiting the hamptons” … section, a menu section, and two indexes.

The food section consists of: soup & sandwich, salads, dinner, vegetables, dessert, and breakfast.   There are 14-17 recipes included in each section.  For each recipe you will discover a picture of the prepared dish, how many the dish will serve, a small paragraph describing the dish, a list of ingredients and step-by-step directions.  There is a picture to accompany each recipe which to me is a big plus. You will not find any nutritional information nor how much the serving size is or many total cups the whole recipe yields.  I really wish cookbooks would include either the total cups or the serving size per person as that really helps me when I am cooking.  Sometimes I can tell by looking at the list of ingredients but sometimes, it’s hard to tell.  The pictures make the recipes look delicious!

In the “if you’re visiting the hamptons…” section Ina highlights some of the places in the Hamptons that are her favorites.  From farmstands, places to eat, to places to visits, there are pages listing the establishment, the address and what makes this business so special.   Using this cookbook, Ina puts together some of the recipes and creates menus for different occasions under the Menu section.  From a holiday dinner, to a birthday breakfast, to a summer BBQ, Ina puts the dishes together for you.  There are 2 indexes which I like in cookbooks.  One is the general index and one is the recipe index.  Another big plus for me in this cookbook.  For content, I would give this cookbook a 2 for me but for the other aspects that I look for in a cookbook, I would give it a 4.5.    

I’ve always liked Barefoot Contessa recipes and this cookbook was one that missed my radar.   After looking through the recipes, reading some of the articles and recipes, I’m glad that I picked it up from the library.  It was interesting to read how Ina got into cooking and to know that this is her 10^th cookbook.  I don’t think I have read all of them yet so I’ll need to check into that next.  I liked her comment, “It doesn’t really matter what the occasion is – big or small – but it’s the connections that we have with people we love that nourish our souls.  Entertaining isn’t just about making dinner parties.  It’s about celebrating those connections and I think that’s what makes life worth living.” 

In essence, I feel this cookbook is not for me.  It recipes felt too fancy and/or the ingredients just didn’t hit my tastes.  I found only a few recipes that I would actually make.  The rest seemed to elaborate or had ingredients that I don’t care for.  Dishes like Vanilla Rum Panna Cotta, Vanilla Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Lamb Stew with Spring Vegetables, Perfect Poached Lobster & Corn or Kasha Varnishkes with Wild Mushrooms are just a few of the recipes that were included in this book, that I realize I would never make.  I will say though, that the pictures in the book look very appetizing.  If I didn’t see and read the recipes, that are located on the opposite page of these pictures, I might be tempted just to try a sample of that dish.

This cookbook consists of 6 different categories: cocktails, soups, salads & lunch, dinner, vegetables & sides, bread & cheese, and finally dessert.  The book begins with a thank you and an intro and wraps up with two different indexes, a list of Jeffrey’s all time favorite dinners (which could come from outside sources) and a resource page.  All of her recipes have a picture attached to them and how many the recipe will serve.   There is a short paragraph about the recipe before the ingredient list and the instructions are listed out in paragraph form.  Ida does include some little suggestions and ideas on the margins of the recipes.  There is no nutritional information provided.

I liked the layout of this book and the text fonts that were used.  The book image inside and out is crisp and sharp and it doesn’t look cluttered.  I wished there would have been more recipes that I liked though.  4 stars  

Die Gärten von Istanbul: Kriminalroman -...

Klasse Krimi in einer spannenden Stadt.

Ich bin nur auf Grund von Cover und Titel auf das Buch aufmerksam geworden - das Cover ist einfach nur wunderschön gestaltet.
Als großer Liebhaber dieser Stadt und Krimi Fan war dieses Buch ein MUSS für mich. Die Handlungsorte sind toll gewählt und für Leser, die sich mit dieser Stadt mehr beschäftigt haben, auch ein Begriff. Man erfährt als Leser auch sehr viel über die Geschichte der Stadt - für mich ein besonders interessanter Zusatz zu diesem Krimi.

Irgendwie hat mich dieses Buch etwas an Illuminati erinnert.

Zu dem Buch:
Das Buch hat über 700 Seiten und ist aus der ICH-Perspektive erzählt - manchmal kommt es etwas langatmig rüber.
Besonders gewöhnungsbedürftig waren für mich die türkischen Namen - Anfangs sorgten diese für große Verwirrung und Verwechslung bei mir.

Würde ich das Buch nur anhand der Krimi Merkmale bewerten, würde ich nur 3-4 Sterne vergeben (wohl eher 3). Ich bewerte dieses Buch aber aus Sicht eines Liebhaber dieser Stadt und Krimifan - und für diese Kombination kann ich 5 Sterne vergeben - ich habe mich wie auf einem Besuch in dieser Stadt gefühlt und konnte das Buch gar nicht mehr aus der Hand legen.