Easy and Elegant Meals to Share! Recipes from Ina Garten’s Former Assistant Lidey Heuck

When Lidey Heuck began working for Ina Garten over a decade ago, she had no professional cooking background. Fast forward to today and the publication of her first cookbook, Cooking in Real Life, a collection inspired by her years of making meals alongside the Barefoot Contessa as well as her personal experiences with food.

“We all want pretty much the same thing when it comes to cooking at home,” muses Heuck. “We want dishes that are inventive but not overly complicated, food that’s healthy but not boring, and recipes that use familiar ingredients but encourage us to do things a little bit differently.” Try one of these delicious dishes tonight!

Cheesy Stuffed Squash

(Serves 6)

4 honeynut or 3 delicata squash, halved lengthwise and seeds scooped
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. chopped fresh sage
1 ⁄8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 ⁄3 cup white wine
3 cups chopped kale leaves
1 1 ⁄2 cups cooked brown rice
1 1 ⁄2 cups grated fontina cheese
1 ⁄2 cup grated pecorino cheese

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Brush cut sides of squash with 1 tbsp. oil and season. Roast, cut sides down, 25 minutes.
2. In a skillet, heat 2 tbsp. oil over medium. Add onion; cook 5 minutes. Add next 3 ingredients, 1 ⁄2 tsp. salt, pepper; cook 1 minute. Add wine; cook until most liquid has evaporated. Add kale; cook 2 minutes. Off heat, stir in rice.
3. Scoop out cooked squash; add to skillet.
4. Add half of cheeses to squash mixture. Spoon into squash shells and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 20 minutes. Serve.

PER SERVING: 411 calories, 15 grams protein, 51 grams carbs, 8 grams fiber, 8 grams sugar, 19 grams fat.

Shortcut Chicken Schnitzel

(Serves 4)

4 thinly sliced chicken breast cutlets
1 ⁄2 cup flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 ⁄2 cup canola oil

Directions:

1. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Set up 3 large, shallow bowls. Place flour in first bowl. In second bowl, beat next 3 ingredients. Place panko in the third bowl, crushing a few handfuls of crumbs to give them a slightly finer texture. Dip cutlets into flour, shaking off any excess, then eggs, then panko. Place on a clean plate.
3. Line a sheet pan with paper towels. In a 12″ skillet, heat 1 ⁄4 cup oil over medium high until hot. Place 2 chicken cutlets in pan; cook until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels and sprinkle with flaky salt, if desired.
4. Wipe out skillet with a paper towel, add remaining oil, and repeat with the other 2 cutlets. Serve hot.

PER SERVING: 503 calories, 32 grams protein, 21 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 1 gram sugar, 32 grams fat.

Lemon, Rosemary and Olive Oil Cake

(Serves 8)

1 cup olive oil
2 (4″) fresh rosemary sprigs
2 cups flour, plus more for pan
1 1 ⁄2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 ⁄2 tsp. vanilla
2⁄3 cup sour cream
Grated zest of 2 lemons
1 ⁄3 cup lemon juice
1 ⁄2 tsp. baking powder
1 ⁄2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt

1. In a saucepan, combine oil and rosemary. Bring to a simmer until rosemary sizzles, then turn heat to its lowest setting and cook 5 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Discard rosemary. Pour oil into a bowl.
2. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9″ round cake pan, line bottom with parchment paper, then flour sides.
3. Add sugar to oil and whisk until combined. Whisk in eggs, then next 4 ingredients.
4. In another bowl, whisk remaining ingredients. Whisk dry ingredients into wet. Pour batter into pan. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool 30 minutes in pan, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Serve cake at room temperature, topped with powdered sugar.

PER SERVING: 421 calories, 5 grams protein, 41 grams carbs, 1 gram fiber, 19 grams sugar, 29 grams fat.