Challenge: Days 7-11

Ina Garten. You know what you are doing, lady. If gaining weight and clogging arteries are your specialty. Or making purely sinful, yet delicious food.

Good & evil recipes:

Wheat berry Salad: (Okay, admittedly, this one isn't evil. It's just good. Different, but fantastic- it blew my mind. Not good as leftovers.)

1 cup hard winter wheat berries (I used bulgur wheat and prepared it according to pkg direct.)

kosher salt

1 cup finely diced red onion

6 tbsp good olive oil, divided

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

3 scallions, minced, white and green parts

1/2 red bell pepper, small-diced

1 carrot, small diced

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place the wheat berries and 3 cups of boiling salted water in saucepan and cook, uncovered, over low heat for approx. 45 min or until they are soft. Drain.

Saute the red onion in 2 tbsp of olive oil over med-low heat until translucent, approx 5 min. Turn off the heat and add the remaining 4 tbsp of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

In a large bowl, combine the warm wheat berries with remaining ingredients. Allow the salad to sit for at least 30 min for the wheat berries to absorb sauce. Season to taste and serve at room temperature.

Mashed Yellow Turnips with crispy shallots-

Mediocre. Basically mashed rutabaga, prepared in the same way you would do mashed potatoes. If you want me to post the recipe, I can.

Sagaponack Corn Pudding -(This also blew my mind. Amazing. Makes a lot, tho.)

1 stick unsalted butter

5 cups fresh corn kernels off the cob (6-8 ears) or frozen corn

1 cup chopped yellow onion

4 extra large eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup ricotta cheese

3 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp kosher salt (Next time, I'll cut back on this. It was a titch salty)

3/4 tsp pepper

3/4 c grated cheddar, plus extra to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease the inside of an 8-10 cup baking dish.

Melt the butter in a large saute pan and saute the born and onion over med-high heat for 4 min. Cool slightly.

Whisk together the eggs, milk, and half and half in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the cornmeal and then the ricotta. Add the basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Add the cooked corn mixture and cheese and then pour into the baking dish. Sprinkle top with cheese.

Place the dish in a larger pan and fill the pan halfway up the sides of the dish with hot tap water. Bake the pudding for 40-45 min until the top begins to brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Potato Basil Frittata- (pictured)

(This is a great one to make for out of town company. I loved it. In advance: Yes, Aimee. I will.)

8 tbsp unsalted butter, divided (I couldn't. I used less.)

2 cups peeled and 1/2 inch diced boiling potatoes

8 extra large eggs

15 oz ricotta cheese

3/4 lb Gruyere cheese, grated (White cheddar would make a cheaper substitute)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3/4 chopped fresh basil

1/3 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 3 tbsp of the butter. Fry potatoes until cooked through, 10-15 min. Melt the remaining butter in a small dish.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a large bowl, then stir in ricotta, Gruyere, butter, salt, pepper and basil. Sprinkle the flour and baking powder and stir into egg mixture.

Grease a baking dish. Cover bottom with potatoes and pour egg mixture over. Bake the frittata until it is browned and puffed, 50-60 min. It will be rounded and firm in the middle and a knife inserted in the frittata should come out clean. Serve hot.

I was going to post the last one: Raspberry Cheesecake. But I haven't actually made it yet. Heh. So I better wait. For my recipe number eleven, I will tell you that I made a Pulled Pork recipe. It wasn't anything to write home about. Or, in this case, blog about. (Not from Ina.)

All in all? "Barefoot Contessa Family Style" is a good cookbook. The recipes are mostly fantastic. As with any celebrity chef/ Foodnetwork Star, you get great bang for your buck, just not a lot of bang. I guess you can skimp on the sheer number of recipes when you have credibility as a buffer.