These Are Some of Ina Garten’s Favorite Cookbooks That She Keeps on Display in Her Kitchen
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She may have a few published cookbooks under her own belt, but Ina Garten is a cookbook reader, too. In her memoir, Be Ready When The Luck Happens, Garten talked about how she loved making recipes out of her favorite cookbooks while she was teaching herself how to entertain, host, and cook, and it turns out she still has a vast collection of books from other chefs — and some of them are still available to purchase on Amazon.
In a recent Instagram post, Garten shared a few snaps of display shelves from inside her kitchen, writing in the caption that she loves “working in a kitchen with beautiful things.” However, she’s not a fan of purely decorative items.
“If you display dishes and trays that you actually use and love, your kitchen just feels alive,” Garten wrote. “If you’re setting up your own kitchen shelves, you can just move things around until you find the most pleasing arrangement!”
She wrote that she likes to “mix old and new,” work within a small color palette, play with shapes and heights, and “mix it up with books [she] loves.”
One of the books Garten loves is Eggs by chef Michel Roux. The book is a deep dive into all the different ways to prepare eggs, from poached and scrambled for breakfast to whipped and worked into a custard for dessert. “Classic recipes such as Hollandaise Sauce, Eggs Benedict, and Lemon Soufflé are given a modern twist, while Michel’s original recipes boast new combinations of flavors or a lighter, simpler style of cooking,” the Amazon listing reads.
Eggs by Michele Roux
“This is a beautiful and easy-to-apply cookbook about all things having to do with eggs,” one Amazon reviewer wrote. “From descriptions of the various types of eggs to detailed advice on how to prepare the most common and the most heavenly egg dishes you can imagine … I bought it for the Carbonarra recipe and I’ll keep it for the sections on poaching and baking eggs. There’s even a section on custard and ice cream.”
Another favorite of Garten’s is the 2003 title Bistro Cooking at Home by Gordon Hamersley. This cookbook is packed with “sophisticated yet easy-to-prepare comfort food,” as the description reads, such as stews, roasts, and braises. It features 150 classic and contemporary dishes from Hamersley that are hearty, packed with flavor, and feature that home-cooked feel restaurant meals just can’t compete with.
Bistro Cooking at Home by Gordon Hamersley
“This is coming way too late, but if you can get your hands on this book, do so,” one Amazon shopper wrote. “I purchased a copy years ago and have never, not once, been disappointed with a recipe. Great food, clear instructions, and a good ‘personality’ to the book. This copy we purchased for a couple who love to cook. That’s how confident we are that this book is the real deal.”
Garten has a well-loved copy of Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe on her display shelf, too. This book by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano contains 140 recipes made and served at New York’s acclaimed Union Square Cafe. Recipes include Fried Calamari, Salt-Baked Chicken, Bollito di Vitello, Roasted Root Vegetables, and Blueberry-Lemon Meringue Pie.
Second Helpings from Union Square Cafe: 140 New Recipes from New York's Acclaimed Restaurant by Danny Meyer and Michael Romano
“Best cookbook ever,” one person wrote in their review. “I have bought 15 copies for different friends. Every recipe is incredible, if time-intensive. But delicious.”
If Ina Garten loves these cookbooks, chances are that you will, too! Grab them from Amazon and add them to your collection. They might also become part of your display of beloved kitchen items.
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