The Barefoot Contessa

Just finished making a lemon yogurt pound cake from an Ina Garten recipe.

I absolutely  adore Ina, aka the Barefoot Contessa. Her show is the epitome of understated food elegance.

Here’s why she’s the best on Food Network: Not as annoying as Rachael Ray, not as plastic as Sandra Lee, not as ostentatiously obese as Paula Deen, and not as, um, big headed as Giada diLaurentiis.

Her Hamptons farmhouse is always gorgeous and her huge garden is fabulous. She uses locally grown food to make simple, delicious food. She does not use prepackaged crap like other chefs and takes her time in cooking.

My only problem is that her food tends to be geared to the palate of a picky child, or fearful adult- lots of chicken and rice/potato type dishes, perhaps with a bit of lemon or pesto to provide variety. Even so, the food pictures are gorgeous.

The stab at a whole Barefoot Contessa dinner has yet to be made, although I always am looking for roast chicken guinea pigs.

If you’ll excuse me, I have a cake to attend to.