Ina Garten??s bestselling cookbooks have consistently provided accessible?? subtly sophisticated recipes ranging from French classics made easy to delicious?? simple home cooking. In Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics?? Ina truly breaks down her ideas on flavor?? examining the ingredients and techniques that are the foundation of her easy?? refined style.
Here Ina covers the essentials?? from ten ways to boost the flavors of your ingredients to ten things not to serve at a party?? as well as professional tips that make suc"ing?? cooking?? and entertaining a breeze. The recipes--crowd-pleasers like Lobster Corn Chowder?? Tuscan Lemon Chicken?? and Easy Sticky Buns--demonstrate Ina??s talent for transforming fresh?? easy-to-find ingredients into elegant meals you can make without stress.
For longtime fans?? Ina delivers new insights into her simple techniques; for newcomers she provides a thorough master class on the basics of Barefoot Contessa cooking plus a Q&A section with answers to the questions people ask her all the time. With full-color photographs and invaluable cooking tips?? Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics is an essential addition to the cherished library of Barefoot Contessa cookbooks.
I don't know anyone who looks forward to carving a turkey on Thanksgiving. You're at the table?? everyone's watching?? and you're struggling to carve a hot bird. Instead?? I decided to make a roasted turkey breast stuffed with all kinds of delicious things--sausage?? cranberries?? and figs. No bones and it cooks to juicy perfection in under two hours. How easy is that? Sweet potatoes are available year-round?? but their prime season is really autumn and winter. Choose potatoes that are smooth and unblemished?? and use them fairly soon because they don't keep as well as other potatoes. These potatoes are crispy like fries but they're better for you because they're baked. --Ina Garten
(Photo credit Quentin Bacon)
Place the dried figs and cranberries in a small saucepan and pour in the Calvados and 1/2 cup water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat then lower the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Meanwhile melt the butter in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and celery and saut? until softened?? about 5 minutes. Add the sausage?? crumbling it into small bits with a fork?? and saut??? stirring frequently?? for 10 minutes?? until cooked and browned. Add the figs and cranberries with the liquid?? the chopped rosemary?? and pine nuts?? and cook for 2 more minutes. Scrape up the brown bits with a wooden spoon.
Place the stuffing mix in a large bowl. Add the sausage mixture?? chicken stock?? egg?? 1 teaspoon salt?? and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir well. (The stuffing may be prepared ahead and stored in the refrigerator overnight.)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place a baking rack on a sheet pan.
Lay the butterflied turkey breast skin side down on a cutting board. Sprinkle the meat with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Spread the stuffing in a 1/2-inch-thick layer over the meat?? leaving a half-inch border on all sides. Don??t mound "the turkey will be difficult to roll. (Place the leftover stuffing in a buttered gratin dish and bake for the last 45 minutes of roasting alongside the turkey.) Starting at one end?? roll the turkey like a jelly roll and tuck in any stuffing that tries to escape on the sides. Tie the roast firmly with kitchen twine every 2 inches to make a compact cylinder.
Place the stuffed turkey breast seam side down on the rack on the sheet pan. Brush with the melted butter?? sprinkle generously with salt and pepper?? and roast for 1-3/4 to 2 hours?? until a thermometer reads 150 degrees in the center. (I test in a few places.) Cove