Wonderfully Basic(Rating: 5)
Really loved this new book. I have a couple of her older ones and just loved getting this for Christmas. I have already tried many reciepts and they all come out great and my family loves them. Definetly a great addition to any cooks library .

Brownie Pudding--DIVINE(Rating: 5)
I am an "Ina Girl"--buying all of her books and using her recipes regularly. The Brownie Pudding in this book is the best dessert I've ever eaten. Easy, but lots of butter. Only can eat during the holidays. Ina's books are perfect for the new cook--to become acquainted with the basics and great ingredients.

New Year New Cookbook(Rating: 5)
I'm excited to start 2009 with this new cookbook in hand. It's my first Ina Garten book and I'm loving it. The food pics are fantastic and the recipes (so far) are delish. My family is going to rejoice when I bring some of these recipes to my table this year. I started today with Roasted Shrimp Cocktail and for dessert, Apple Turnovers. MMMMmmmmm!

Normally a HUGE Ina fan...(Rating: 3)
and I know this is called Back to Basics..so what can we really expect? Outside of a few recipes, it's a review session of what she's already given us. I LOVE to roast veggies because of her now..but I think I can figure out how to do it on my own now. It seems there are so many recipes with the same prep/method. I do still adore her as my favorite "celebrity" cook/chef.

While saying all of that, the book is beautifully done as usual and a very nice read. I'm ready for her to invite me to cook with her in the Hampton's..LOL

Not a good start...(Rating: 3)
I have all of Ina Garten's previous cookbooks and borrowed this new one from the library to see if I'd like to add it to my collection. Sadly, the very first recipe I tried (the beef stew contributed by one of Ina's chefs) turned out to be one of the most poorly-written recipes I've ever used. Was it even tested before the book was published? I cook a lot and make many varieties of beef stew. I knew immediately that this one was not going to work as written. Two cups plus two tablespoons of flour to dredge a mere 2 1/2 lbs of meat? I used one cup and still had to discard some excess. And it was impossible to brown all the meat in just two batches or to use only the left-over bacon fat to do so, as directed. I had to add extra oil almost immediately. That being said, the finished stew (with my changes to the recipe) did taste very good and my family ate every scrap. But it was awkward to prepare and the inaccuracies in the recipe were annoying. I wouldn't make it again. I shall try more recipes before giving up on this book (gingerbread next) but this was a disappointing start. On the plus side, it's a very attractive book to look at and read, though the sections like "What Not to Serve at a Dinner Party" seem like rather pointless "make-weights".