My Barefoot Contessa :)

I have to say I'm pretty luck to have my very own barefoot contessa at home. Now, I have to admit I have no idea what a contessa is - and although emily has explained Ina's restaurant and such to me a million times since she has visited the Hamptons many times, I still don't get it. What I do know? This is Emily cooking. And it smells awesome. And she is, in fact, barefoot. :)

Today, our friends Emily and Josh are coming over for dinner and Emily is cooking from her new cookbook she received from her sister Jessica for Christmas. It's "Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics."

Below are pictures from the experience. :)

This is the log of dough as Emily prepared the parmesean & thyme crackers (more like tasty cookie!) for our appetizer.

And here they are finished! There were two more  -- we ate them. :)

Here is the recipe from Ina's cookbook. This should make you run out and buy the cookbook for sure. :)

parmesan & thyme crackers

makes 24 cackers

1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

4 ounces of freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

First, grind the Parmesan in a food processor fitted with a steel blade.

Then, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter for 1 minute. With the mixer on low speed, add the Parmesan, thyme, salt and pepper and combine. With the mixer still on low, add the flour and combine until the mixture is in large crumbles, about 1 minute. If the dough is too dry, add 1 teaspoon water.

Dump the dough onto a floured board, press it into a ball and roll into a 9-inch log. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or for up to 4 days.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Cut the log into 3/8 inch-thick rounds with a small, sharp knife and place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 2 minutes until very lightly browned. Rotate the pan once during baking. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Enjoy! I'll post picture of the unbelievable beef stew and party soon. :)