I cannot tell you how excited I was to finally have my preordered copy of Ina Garten’s newest cookbook, Simply Ina, in my hands! If you’ve been around Dixie Delights for any length of time, you know that Ina is my absolute favorite. I own every single one of her cookbooks, and perhaps more importantly, I actually USE them all!
Naturally, I sat down and read the entire book cover to cover before deciding what to make first. Does anyone else read cookbooks like novels? I just love looking through all the beautiful photos, reading Ina’s notes and dreaming up menus.
Simply Ina is all about making delicious meals feel a little more manageable, with recipes organized around practical approaches like prepping ahead and one-pot cooking. It’s exactly the kind of cooking I love these days.
For our first meal, I chose the Sesame Ginger Chicken Bowl, and it was a big hit!
The chicken marinates in a delicious combination of soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and fresh ginger. It’s served with a cucumber and shallot mixture that adds a little freshness and crunch. I prepped everything earlier in the day, so when suppertime rolled around, all I had to do was cook the chicken and get the rice going.
Whit loves just about anything with Asian flavors, so I had a feeling this one would be right up his alley. He absolutely gobbled it up! My chicken didn’t look nearly as beautiful as Ina’s in the cookbook photo, but I can assure you it tasted wonderful. Haha!
Rather than serving the chicken with plain rice, I decided to try another recipe from the book, Herbed Basmati Rice. It has butter, fresh parsley, scallions and dill stirred in after cooking, and it was SO yummy! Such a simple way to dress up a basic side dish, and it made the whole meal feel a little more special.
I made the rice in my rice cooker, which is one of those kitchen appliances I wonder how I ever lived without. (We can thank Whit for the purchase!) I love being able to put the rice in, push a button and forget about it while I finish the rest of supper.
If you’re an Ina fan like me, you can find her new cookbook Simply Ina here. I’ve already marked several more recipes to try, and we picked out a few to enjoy this week. I have a feeling this book is going to get plenty of use in our kitchen!
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