Ina Garten

Of all the chefs on the Food Network channel, Ina Garten is the classiest. She cooks her delicious dishes right there in her home in the East Hampton. In almost every episode, Ina will take us through the town of the Hamptons and take us food shopping with her. Ina’s plump body in her button down shirt strolls through town and is obviously well liked by the community because of her sweet personality. She seems to not be one of those celebrities who is stuck up. Her husband Jeffrey is usually away or “at work” during her show time. For awhile, I was convinced he was cheating on her since he would only show up on occasions. Ina usually cooks for her house staff like the gardeners or friends in the Hamptons. One episode I remember she brought a plate of food to her carpenter while he was hammering away. My mom has been cooking from her six “Barfoot Contessa” recipe books for years. When I watch her show while on the treadmill, I recognize every meal she is cooking. Watching the Food Network channel while working out motivates me to work harder. One of my favorite dishes of hers is her chicken salad. What makes this recipe so mouth watering is the sliced green grapes. They are a sweet addition to the chunky white meat. Every first course she makes is followed by a dessert. Her coconut cake is to die for. Fortunately for those who are not professional bakers, Ina has made a line of easy to bake desserts. Inside are packets of premade dough so you just have to add water, icing and bake it of course. One of the ready to make recipes is the coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. There are Outrageous Brownies, Chocolate Chunk Blondie Mix and a few more to chose from.