Testing My Limits Barefoot Contessa-Style

Out of boredom, I challenged myself a few weeks ago to try some new recipes.  I had just purchased the newest Ina Garten cookbook in hopes of gaining some inspiration but to be honest, the first time I flipped through it I kinda thought, “hmm.”  Clearly I wasn’t in the mood to be inspired.

So last week before assembling my weekly shopping list and heading off to the farmers market, I flipped through it again and this time I was in the mood for inspiration.  (That, or I was just really, really, really hungry which is always a possibility too.)  Anyway, I decided to try three new dinner recipes: Roasted Shrimp with Feta, Chicken with Shallots and Bangers & Mustard Mash.

Now before I’m accused of relying too heavily on one celebrechef for inspiration, first let me explain that I don’t think I’ve ever made any of Ina’s recipes EXACTLY as written.  I don’t have access to quite as diverse a pantry as the Barefoot Contessa does, nor do I have a “good quality specialty food store” right down the street.  So for the five years or so I’ve been cooking from her cookbooks, I’ve always improvised a little.  I like to think that its made me a better cook and somehow I think Ina would approve.

For dinner Tuesday night, I made the Roasted Shrimp with Feta.  And I actually used almost all of the ingredients the recipe called for, (I omitted the Pernod.  Someday it will have a permanent place in my pantry AND I ran out of parsley but substituted diced fennel greens.)

The result? A deliciously Mediterranean-style dish that had us all picking shrimp out of the pan.  Dinner Experiment #1=Success!  (Oh, and I served it with artichokes which Madison LOVES.)