Oh, Auntie. You've Led Me Astray!

There was a time when I whole-heartedly believed in anything that Auntie Ina had to say. Her word was golden. I needed to have the brands that she suggested, I wanted to have her fabulous cookware and kitchen, and I absolutely had to make a pilgrimage to the Hamptons to visit the original Barefoot Contessa store.

Granted, I was all of 26 and still impressionable at the time.

But....if Auntie said it was faaaaabulous? I wanted it.

Until I got the Loaves and Fishes Cookbook.

Loaves and Fishes is a food shop in Sagaponack that opened in 1980 and is apparently a favorite of Auntie. She references their cookbook ALL of the time, and even has visited the store numerous times on her show. Of course, if Auntie loves it so much it HAS to be amazing. Right?

Interestingly, the book was not easy to find. Eventually I was able to get a hold of a copy on Amazon and I was very excited to see what all of the fuss was about. I imagined it would be like a gift from my fairy godmother...because Auntie Ina is the epitome of fabulous.

So, umm. Yeah.

Not so much.

Most of the recipes call for either butter, mayonnaise or sour cream. Even the meats! And it wasn't decadent sounding stuff, it just sounds gross. It's very 1980's and not in a good way.

Lamb, Mint and Spinach Salad. Cheese Chowder. Scallops with Tomato, Garlic and Cream. Calve's Liver with Tarragon Butter Sauce. Sausage and Duck Casserole.

Eww.

It became clear that there was nothing that was going to fit in with the 17 Day Diet in this book. When this happens, my boys are the lucky ones.

They're getting baked goods.

In the Loaves and Fishes book, even the sweets were fairly unappetizing. Yeesh.

I chose something basic...Oatmeal Cookies. Supposedly it is one of Loaves and Fishes most popular items, and it happens to be one of my husband's favorite cookies.

Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal (instant will not work)
3/4 cups walnuts, chopped
3/4 cups raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream butters, sugars, vanilla and egg until the mixture becomes light in color.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and oatmeal. Add to the butter mixture and blend well. Add the walnuts and raisins, folding them into the mixture to incorporate them evenly. Drop tablespoons of batter onto greased or parchment-covered cookie sheet 2 inches apart.  Flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

According to my husband, the cookies are good. Not the greatest, but good. All I can vouch for is the smell. They smelled SO good.

The best thing about this book is that it is worth a lot of money. For some reason, this $15 book is now going for $50 or more online. I'm going to cash in, because there is no way we are going to be eating these retro, fat-laden monstrosities. Bye-bye, cookbook #6 of 98. Auntie may think you're the bee's knees, but I'm still queasy from just reading your recipes!