Copyright © 2014 by Ina Garten All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, a Penguin Random House Company, New York. www.crownpublishing.com www.clarksonpotter.com CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a registered trademark of Random House LLC. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Make it ahead / Ina Garten. pages cm — (A Barefoot Contessa cookbook) 1. Make-ahead cooking. 2. Barefoot Contessa (Store) I. Title. TX714.G3644 2014 641.555—dc23 2014004486 ISBN 978-0-307-46488-0 Ebook ISBN 978-0-77043449-6 Design by Marysarah Quinn Photographs by Quentin Bacon Garden photographs copyright © 2014 by John M. Hall Front jacket and title page photographs copyright © 2014 by Brigitte Lacombe Photograph on this page copyright © by Joshua Greene v3.1 contents thank you! make it ahead cocktails to start lunch dinner vegetables dessert breakfast make-ahead menus index recipe index Barefoot Contessa complete recipe index thank you! When I wake up in the morning, I sometimes ask myself, “What do I feel like doing today?” Happily, the answer is, “I feel like testing recipes!” My team, Barbara Libath and Lidey Heuck, and I work really hard but we also have a wonderful time together. There is no way these recipes would be so accurate if, after I was done working on them, they didn’t retest them over and over again. I’m as grateful for their constant support and counsel as I am for the joy they bring to work. Next is the team of people at Clarkson Potter/Publishers, which has been my home since my first book; I can’t imagine a happier place. I’m so grateful to Maya Mavjee, the lovely president of the Crown Group; Pam Krauss, the amazing publisher of Clarkson Potter; Marysarah Quinn, the creative director of Crown who also designs my books with such creativity; Rica Allannic, my wonderful editor; and Kate Tyler, who handles all the publicity so brilliantly. They are all extraordinary women and so good at what they do. Thank you! Then there is the amazing team of people who help create the photographs for my books. We spend weeks on end together cooking, baking, styling, and photographing the food. Quentin Bacon takes the most gorgeous food photographs! It may look easy when he does it but anyone who has taken a snap of their dinner for Instagram knows how hard it is to make food look that luscious! Cyd McDowell and Vivian Lui cook and bake gorgeous food for the photographs—and no tricks with motor oil are allowed! (In fact, after Quentin takes the picture, we often sit down and eat it!) Thank you also to my dear friend Sarah Chase, who constantly inspires me with new ideas and recipes. And my thanks to Barb Fritz, for finding the simplest, most stylish plate or bowl for us to use. These are some of the happiest days I have working on my books. Also, John Hall is a genius at photographing my garden at all times of the year. And one of the most exciting experiences of my life was being photographed by the incomparable Brigitte Lacombe for the book cover! I will always cherish that day that we spent together. Finally, there is the extraordinary support from my wonderful agent, Esther Newberg, who takes such good care of me so I can concentrate on writing books. And of course to my husband, Jeffrey: I can honestly say that none of this would be possible without you. Thank you for your unconditional love and your inspiration over the past fifty years.