9 Cooking Techniques That Ina Garten Wants You To Know

Fluffy, light and creamy scrambled eggs require some practice, as well as a lot of patience. Ina advises starting out with low heat and slow folding to allow for gradual cooking, then rapid stirring to break up the curds to give the dish a custard-like texture.

A light and fluffy biscuit recipe is worth more than gold in some kitchens, and this recipe of Ina’s definitely gilds the lily. The work of the initial mixing stages is taken up by a stand mixer, leaving just a quick knead and egg wash before baking to golden perfection.

Boning the rib out of a structured vegetable such as cabbage allows you to roll and stuff the leaves with delicious fillings. Ina’s method starts with coring the cabbage, briefly dipping it in boiling water to loosen the leaves, and using a paring knife to extract the rib.

Instead of oiling the pan, Ina coats each salmon filet with a bit of oil to allow seasonings to stick better. Placing them in a hot pan jump starts the searing process, and giving the filets a quick flash in the oven allows the cook to have a few hands-free minutes to do other last minute prep.

This method for a proper prime rib is so simple, it will leave you with plenty of time to assemble a Sunday supper’s worth of side dishes. Blasting the oven at high heat results in a browned and delicious exterior and a tender medium-rare inside.

With a traditional vinaigrette in your repertoire, your salad game is bound to improve immensely. Once you’ve mastered the basics of the vinegar and oil emulsification, customize to your heart’s content by varying the types of vinegar, mustard or oil for various flavour profiles.

Ina soaks chicken livers in milk, adding a mellowness that’s enhanced by plenty of butter (and a Barefoot Contessa favourite ingredient: truffle butter). A layer of duck fat helps seal and protect the chicken liver from oxidizing and affecting the final flavour.

Meringues reward patience on the part of the cook with Ina’s set it and forget it method of leaving the baked cookies in the oven overnight. If some of the meringues are a little imperfect in the middle, Ina’s got a quick fix with an orange-liqueur topping that will mask any mistakes.

Ina’s got some pretty precise instructions for these fruit tarts, but it’s worth following every step. Small things, such as freezing the flour first (ensuring the added butter stays cold even with the friction of the mixer) and buttering the aluminum foil before adding weights to blind bake (to prevent sticking), all make a world of difference in the finished product.