Gourmet's 50 Women Game Changers in Food: # 39, Ina Garten

I'm posting this week's game-changer Ina Garten a day in advance. I'll leave it up today and tomorrow and then post Darina Allen's Champ for St. Patrick's Day. I also thought I'd do this week's game changer a bit differently. Her story is out there on the net everywhere and most of us are familiar with her. 

For those who aren't, briefly: 
Ina Garten was born  Ina Rosenberg, in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. Garten's mother refused her daughter's requests to assist her in the kitchen and instead directed her to concentrate on schoolwork. 
She met her husband, Jeffrey Garten, while visiting Dartmouth College. They married in 1968  and spent 4 years at Fort Bragg (Ina filled her time dabbling at cooking and actually got her pilot's license) while Jeffrey completed his military duty. Then they spent four months camping out in France. Ina has described this as the beginning of her love for French cuisine.
Returning to Washington, she honed her cooking skills, finished her schooling (got her MBA) and ended up working in the White House from 1974 to 1978 during the Ford and Carter administrations. She worked in the Office of Management and Budget on nuclear energy issues.
But she was not entirely happy with this work so on weekends, Ina threw dinner parties and soirées at her home and in her spare time, she bought, refurbished, and resold homes for profit. This gave her the seed money to buy a specialty food store in the Hamptons in New York. The store was named Barefoot Contessa. 
And the rest is history. Cookbooks, Food Network, you name it.

You might like to read this older interview with Ina Garten. It's good background. 

I found yet another interview in which she gave some wonderful advice on dinner parties. So true. I loved it.

1. "Simplicity is the key. The simpler it is, the more elegant -- like a great couturier dress."
2. "Entertaining is about connecting with people. It's not about the dinner, it's about the friends."
3. "It's not about impressing, but about making people feel good."
4. "I don't care who they are, when faced with a coconut cupcake, everyone's the same. Remember this about your guests: You bring your fun in your pocket, and if you're not having fun, it's no one else's fault."
5. "I have to really like the guests too; otherwise I end up resenting them. It's a lot of work to entertain. I do a column in Martha Stewart Living called 'Entertaining Is Fun,' but the truth is, it's not that easy."
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Talk about recipe choices! No problem this week. Ina's one of my favorites and I've got her cookbooks, made and posted so many of her recipes I didn't know how to narrow it down to one. So I didn't. You're going to get a twofer today. One old, one I've never made before, but both brunch dishes. Don't you think brunches are the best? Fun giving them and fun going to one. 

First, the fruit, which I serve every Christmas morning to rave reviews. It has become a tradition and the photo is taken right from our Christmas table. The topping is so simple and so delicious, you'll want to use it over fruit all year round. Be sure to always have a bowl of extra topping on the table. For the kids, skip the limoncello. This is a fabulous surprise treat if you've got houseguests.
The second one, Ina's  Baked Blintzes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce, is new to me. Thought it was a super idea to make blintzes in "bar" form rather than individually rolled up crepes, especially if you're entertaining. Unusual and delicious. The blueberry sauce would be wonderful over ice cream, it's that good.

Fruit Salad with Limoncello
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ingredients:

7 ounces Greek yogurt (recommended: Fage Total) 

1/3 cup good bottled lemon curd 

1 tablespoon honey 

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

2 cups sliced strawberries (1 pint) 

1 cup raspberries (1/2 pint) 

1 cup blueberries (1/2 pint) 

2 tablespoons sugar 

3 tablespoons limoncello liqueur 

1 banana, sliced 

Fresh mint springs

Method:

For the lemon yogurt topping, whisk together the yogurt, lemon curd, honey, and vanilla and set aside at room temperature. 

For the fruit salad, carefully toss together the strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, sugar, and limoncello. Allow them to stand at room temperature for about 5 minutes to let the berries macerate with the sugar and liqueur. Gently fold the banana into the mixture. 

Serve bowls of fruit with a dollop of lemon yogurt on top. Top each with a sprig of fresh mint. 



Baked Blintzes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ingredients:

For the batter: 
1 1/4 cups milk 
2 tablespoons sour cream 
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
4 extra-large eggs 
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour 
2 tablespoons sugar 
1 tablespoon baking powder 

For the filling: 
3 cups (24 ounces) ricotta cheese 
8 ounces mascarpone cheese 
2 extra-large eggs 
1/3 cup sugar 
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons) 
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice 
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1 teaspoon kosher salt 
Fresh Blueberry Sauce (recipe follows)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13-inch cake pan or baking dish. 
For the batter, place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and blend until smooth. (You can also use a blender.) Pour half the batter (about 1 3/4 cups) into the prepared dish and bake for 10 minutes, until set. 

Meanwhile, for the filling, whisk together the ricotta, mascarpone, eggs, and sugar in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and mix until thoroughly combined. Spread the cheese filling over the baked pancake. Carefully spoon the remaining pancake batter to cover the cheese. 

Return the pan to the oven and continue baking for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and the filling is almost set. Remove from the oven and allow to stand 10 to 15 minutes. Cut the blintzes in squares and serve warm with the fresh blueberry sauce. 

Fresh Blueberry Sauce: 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 oranges) 
2/3 cup sugar 
1 tablespoon cornstarch 
4 half-pints fresh blueberries 
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest 
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method:
Combine the orange juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. When the mixture is translucent and thickened, stir in the blueberries and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, just until a few berries have burst but most are still whole. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and cool. Yield: Makes 2 cups. 

Join Mary from One Perfect Bite and all the other participants in this fun series.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast
Joanne - Eats Well With Others
Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed
Susan - The Spice Garden
Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey
Heather - girlichef
Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney
Jeanette - Healthy Living
April - Abby Sweets 
Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud
Mary - One Perfect Bite
Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen
Sue - The View from Great Island
Kathleen Van Bruinisse - Bake Away with Me 
Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds
Martha - Lines from Linderhof
Amy - Beloved Green
Linda - Ciao Chow Linda

Nancy - Picadillo
Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits
Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen
Annie - Lovely Things

Claudia - Journey of An Italian Cook
Alyce - More Time at the Table
Amrita - Beetles Kitchen Escapades