Modern Comfort by Ina Garten

Ina does it AGAIN with her newest book called Modern Comfort. I will tell you that although I love Ina, I just somehow didn’t gravitate to her last few books as much as I did her first eight or so books. They were filled with good recipes – I just didn’t find myself cooking from them as much as I did from her older books and maybe it’s nostalgia because she inspired my cooking so much. MODERN COMFORT REALLY FEELS LIKE HER ORIGINAL BOOKS which are some of my absolute favorites. So many recipes to make and love.

My favorite recipe in this whole book is the OFF THE CHARTS Lemon Orzo with Feta. This recipe is FLAVORFUL and VERSITAL because you can serve it both warm and chilled (delicious both ways) and can be a side or a main dish if you added chicken.

Lemon Orzo with Feta

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Although it’s not seasonal now – I have to share the Butternut Squash with Brown Butter and Sage. If you asked me what I wanted for my last meal on this earth. Butternut squash ravioli with brown butter and sage would definitely be on the plate. This trifecta of ingredients is always an incredible pairing. This is a flavorful side dish that can be served with ANYTHING, and my guess is even your kids will love it.

Roasted Butternut Squash with Brown Butter and Sage

Modern Comfort

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Another incredible non seasonal great side dish that I could not leave out was the Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Orange Butter. The secret to this recipe is compound butter. If you are not familiar with compound butter it’s really just flavored butter that you make ahead, and it transforms recipes with the combination of flavors. It’s SOOO EASY. In this case it’s a stick of butter with maple syrup, and the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (which again sounds intimidating but trust me it is not. It is on the shelf in your grocery store and adds INCREDIBLE FLAVOR). You soften up the butter, mix the ingredients together and refrigerate until you are ready for serving. This recipe would be awesome to serve at Thanksgiving or any day of the week. TIP: I love to serve compound butter on corn on the cob in the summer. Corn is just coming available in Michigan, and I plan on trying this chipotle butter on it. So far, my favorite is one tablespoon of Chili Lime Seasoning (which can be found at Williams Sonoma and Trader Joes) per stick of butter. It really adds flavor to the corn.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Chipotle Orange Butter

Modern Comfort

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Let’s talk breakfast. I think I have mentioned my family’s love for a DUTCH BABY – which for those that don’t know is an incredible breakfast treat that is a mix between an omelet and a pancake. THEY ARE INCREDIBLE. My husband grew up eating this deliciousness because his mother made them for him all the time. Fast forward one generation and now my kids make them all the time especially my youngest. Ina’s Dutch Baby includes apples which we had never tried, and she ABSOLUTELY KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK. Please try this, IT IS SOOO GOOD. I find these are best made in a seasoned and well-greased cast iron skillet.

Apple Cinnamon Dutch Baby

Modern Comfort

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There are so many great recipes between the covers of this book that it was challenging to pick my favorites. This book has so much to offer so pick up your copy today and enjoy cooking your way through Modern Comfort. You can view my chart below for my tips and ratings.

1-3 Could not eat
4-5 Would not make again
6-7 Might make again
8-9 Definitely make again
10 Make again SOON

Modern Comfort – Ina Garten
#	Date	Recipe	Category	Rating	Page	Difficulty	Notes
1	11/1/2020	Hot Spiced Apple Cider	cocktails	6	31	easy	Not a drink to have several
2	11/2020 Thanksgiving	Kielbasa with Mustard Dip	Cocktails	7	52	super easy	Dip not use a lot of the dip. could 1/2 recipe. Served for appetizer thanksgiving since i didn’t have to use oven
3	12/20	Split pea soup w/ crispy kielbasa	lunch	8	62	medium	Takes 2+ hours
4	fall 2020	Crispy Chicken w/ lemon Orzo feta	dinner	7	111	easy	The Orzo was the star of this dish. boneless w/ skin on breast very hard to find
		Lemon Orzo Feta	Dinner	10
5	2/8	Roasted Sausages	dinner
6	12/1	Roasted Broccolini	Vegetables & Sides	8	150	easy	Nice to touch to bring to next level
7	12/2020	Roasted Cauliflower	Vegetables & Sides	9	154	easy	Love roasted cauliflower – Would be great with steak
8	fall 2020	Roasted butternut Squash with brown butter and sage	Vegetables & Sides	9	158	easy	Perfect side dish for fall. Loved the combination of flavors.
9	fall 2020	Roasted sweet Potatoes with Chipotle orange butter	Vegetables & Sides	8	178	easy	Served at Thanksgiving – easy make ahead
10	winter 2020	waffle iron hash browns	Breakfast	9	242	easy	FUN – great for special occasion
11	2/10	Zucchini Gratin	Vegetables & Sides	8		easy	Used pumpkin pie spice instead of nutmeg.
12		raspberry mini corn muffins		9	241	easy	These were easy nd delicious. This recipe makes ALOT. consider halfing or sharing with friends.
13		Emily’ English Roasted Potatoes	vegetables and sides	8	171	medium	These are delicious but do take a considerable amount of time to make.
14		Cheddar and scallion creamed corn	vegetables and sides	9		easy	This was so good. Cheesy and creamy. Would defenatley make this again as it is a crows pleaser
15		Skillet Roasted Chicken & potatoes	Dinner	8	108	medium	Potatoes werent as crispy as I usually like but did soak up chicken juices creating extra flavor.
16	3/29	Chocolate Cake	dessert	9		medium
17	5/1	Giant Crinkled Chocolate Chip Cookie	dessert	9		easy	A lot of steps but worth it.
18	5/12	House salad		9		super easy	made without the egg. Very simple loved the dressing
19	5/9	Salmon with red pepper aolie		9		easy	Cooking method gave salmon a crisp exterior. loved the sauce used on burgers and crab cakes later in the week.