Fall is the season of comfort: Cozy nights in, warm beverages and stick-to-your-ribs type of meals. Cue Ina Garten's latest cookbook, "Go-To Dinners," which shares her recipes for her most satisfying and uncomplicated dinners — including overnight mac and cheese, goat cheese toasts, chicken in a pot with orzo, and buttermilk biscuits. Simple, unfussy, pure comfort.
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This is the easiest, cheesiest, crustiest mac and cheese I’ve ever made! It’s the perfect prep-ahead dish; you don’t even need to make a roux. Prepare the mixture a day ahead, refrigerate it overnight, pour it into an ovenproof dish and bake it before dinner.
Whenever I have leftover baguette, I slice it diagonally and keep it in the freezer so I can make these cheesy toasts in minutes. Toast the bread slices, then add the garlic and goat cheese. They’re perfect to serve with drinks or as a crouton to float on top of a bowl of soup.
I’ve been tinkering with a recipe for old-fashioned chicken in a pot for years, but they all come out just tasting like chicken soup. Nigella Lawson’s wonderful cookbook “Cook, Eat, Repeat” inspired me to brown the chicken first, which adds lots of flavor, and then add orzo to thicken the broth.
The goal with biscuits is for them to be light and flaky but still moist. Buttermilk gives these biscuits great flavor and grating the cold butter instead of dicing it makes them very flaky. A sprinkling of sea salt before baking adds even more flavor.