Best Puff Pastry Recipe Yet! Barefoot Contessa Easy Sticky Buns

After a delayed start and a snow day with no snow, we finally have a snow day with lots of snow.  The perfect day for a leisurely breakfast.

So, I used my last sheet of puff pastry to make Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics' Easy Sticky Buns.  The recipe is very simple.  No need to rolling, crimping or fussing with the puff pastry.  You unfold it, brush it with butter, sprinkle on brown sugar, raisins and cinnamon.  30 minutes later you have ooey, gooey sticky buns that melt in your mouth.

The family voted this recipe the best of the puff pastry experiments.  Little S asked if we could have it for dinner too.  I'm hoping for something at least slightly more nutritious.

Barefoot Contessa BtB: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

Rarely, in our house at least, is salad the highlight of the meal.  This salad, from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, stole the show at dinner tonight.

The salad provides a combination of flavors, textures and temperatures that meld together well.  Roasted butternut squash and a warm vinaigrette wilt the arugula and melt the parmesan cheese just the right amount.  

Preparing the salad requires more dishes than Mr. S would like to wash: a skillet for toasting the walnuts, a saucepan for warming the vinaigrette, a sheet pan for the squash.  But the result is worth the effort.

Note:  Kitchen novices might want to learn more about cutting a butternut squash before tackling this recipe.  I hacked mine apart.  You might opt for a more graceful approach.

Can't wait to see the full cookbook on October 28.  In the meantime, I'll be stockpiling butter.

Countdown to the New Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

When I was in college and law school, I thought it was un-feminist to cook.  At some point, I got tired of take-out burritos, moved into a house with a real kitchen, and started buying kitchen gadgets.  It was time for me to learn to cook.  

I asked one of my fabulous-cook friends her secret.  "Ina Garten," she whispered.  I promptly went out and bought Ina's Barefoot Contessa cookbook.  

I worked my way through that book and through nearly all of her following books: Barefoot Contessa Parties, Barefoot Contessa Family Style, Barefoot in Paris, and Barefoot Contessa at Home.  Some of the recipes challenged my nascent skills (see the marshmallow disaster of 2003), but I learned a lot about making simple food delicious (roasting) and embracing butter (see any Barefoot Contessa dessert).  

Ina's latest book, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, comes out on October 28th.  For those of you, who can't wait to try the new recipes, here are a few: butternut squash salad and mustard roasted fish, easy sticky buns, roasted turkey roulade and baked sweet potato fries. You can find more new recipes by watching Ina's show on the Food Network, starting Saturday, October 18.