To celebrate my mom’s 55th birthday this year, I knew I wanted to do something special. Ina Garten is my mom’s all-time favorite Food Network Chef, so I decided to host a Ina Garten-themed dinner party! I invited the whole family over for dinner and cooked up delicious appetizers, dinner, and dessert all from two of Ina’s cookbooks: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics and Barefoot Contessa Family Style. As everyone walked in, I welcomed them to my very own “Barefoot Contessa” Restaurant and greeted them with Ina’s Herbal Iced Tea.
For appetizers, I started with two different dips. I made Ina’s Sun Dried Tomato Dip and an Herb Dip. And then I even made homemade crackers: Ina’s Parmesan and Thyme Crackers! They were melt in your mouth good! After the dip and crackers, we moved onto Ina’s Roasted Vegetable Soup, which I made and then kept warm in the crock pot. I made a double batch so we were able to freeze some leftovers!
For dinner, I made Ina’s Baked Mac & Cheese which was unique with tomatoes and fresh breadcrumbs on top. For a vegetable, I made parmesan roasted asparagus. And the shining star of the meal was the Sunday Rib Roast!!! If you follow Ina’s recipe exactly it will be the best meat you ever made!!!!!!
To close out the meal for dessert I made two different treats! I made Ina’s coconut macaroons (so easy/so delish!) and also a Pumpkin Roll! I have to say, I did take on a lot making all these different things. And I would probably never try to make SO many new recipes at one time….but surprisingly all of Ina’s recipes are fairly easy!
My parents with my husband and I after our Ina Garten Dinner Party!
My mom loved the entire meal!! (And I’m pretty sure that she thought the meal was her actual birthday present!) But as we were finishing off the last morsels off dessert, I hushed the room to make an announcement! Her official birthday present is that I am taking her to see Ina Garten in person! Ina is coming to the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on Tuesday, November 12! She will sharing recipes, tips, and of course some great stories! Needless to say, my mom was completely surprised!! Best birthday present ever? I think so! We can’t wait to meet Ina!
Stay tuned over the next coming days for more pictures of ALL the food I made for my Ina Garten Dinner Party! I’ll also be sharing some of the recipes!!
[…] everything about this Herbal Iced Tea that I made for my mom’s birthday dinner! Since her birthday dinner was Ina Garten themed and I was making all of Ina’s recipes…I knew I had to find a drink recipe in addition to […]