# Barefoot Contessa



## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Apr 2, 2006)

Maybe its me. The picture of feet or a bare foot is not something I associate with anything positive. I'll say it. I hate feet. THERE! I feel better now.  

Anyhew, associating anything foodie, with the name "barefoot" in it really makes me stay away. Far far away. Its like saying "I just Picked My Nose Contessa"  

Am I the only one that feels that way?


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## licia (Apr 2, 2006)

I'd never thought about it. I think there was a movie or book or something long ago called the Barefoot Contessa. I just thought perhaps she took the name from there. The way she pads about, she could be barefoot sometimes. I love her cooking - simple but elegant. BTW, most of the time I'm barefoot when I'm cooking - or at least in sockfeet.


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## SizzlininIN (Apr 2, 2006)

I too love here cooking Licia.  Sorry Sush but I never associated that with the name.  I just thought it reflected how down to earth she was but with an elegant twist. I love the name myself.....but then again I don't have a foot phobia


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## kitchenelf (Apr 2, 2006)

You're right licia - she did take that name from the movie - I think it was the name of her shop.  I like bare feet.  I hardly ever wear shoes in the house - I like the feel of the seagrass rug, the Oriental rug, the hardwood - I even like to walk across gravel (as long as it's not too small) in my bare feet.

Julio Iglesias had a CD out along time ago called Crazy - love his bare feet! 

Hey Sush!  I bet if she had red hair you would overlook the foot thing


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## SizzlininIN (Apr 2, 2006)

kitchenelf said:
			
		

> You're right licia - she did take that name from the movie - I think it was the name of her shop. I like bare feet. I hardly ever wear shoes in the house - I like the feel of the seagrass rug, the Oriental rug, the hardwood - I even like to walk across gravel (as long as it's not too small) in my bare feet.
> 
> Julio Iglesias had a CD out along time ago called Crazy - love his bare feet!
> 
> Hey Sush! I bet if she had red hair you would overlook the foot thing


 
Me too Kitch.....thats one of the things I'm looking forward too with Spring/Summer coming. But then again the grass and barefoot thing may not be such a wise idea around here since we're getting a dog..  

Now theres an image for you Sush..........dog poop and bare feet.


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## kitchenelf (Apr 2, 2006)

lol Sizz!!!  Yes, you just took us to a whole new level with the bare feet


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## SizzlininIN (Apr 2, 2006)

I think the worst so far would have to be the slimy hairball I stepped in about a month ago.......now that was gross


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Apr 2, 2006)

Ok ok..... enough.   All those things stuck between her toes.   ARRRRGGHHH!!!!!! Its like the Sienfeld episode where Kramer makes a salad when hes in the shower.


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## SizzlininIN (Apr 2, 2006)

oh come on Sush.......live a little..........free those piggies....a little poop and hairball slim never killed anyone


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## SierraCook (Apr 2, 2006)

*DS, it is just a name.  It is not like she cooks with her feet.*


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## Barbara L (Apr 2, 2006)

kitchenelf said:
			
		

> Hey Sush! I bet if she had red hair you would overlook the foot thing


What if she had long red hair all over her feet?  Would you like her then?    

 Barbara


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## Dove (Apr 2, 2006)

When we lived in Jacksonville Florida we took our shoes off when we went in the house. As you know they don't have dirt there..it is sand. Plays havoc on tile floors, ( old time cork tone tile)  We were out side so I left my shoes (loafers) on the stoop I guess you would call it. Well.........I came out with our ice tea ans slipped into my shoes...sort of a tight fit.... I pulled my foot out and found a very tiny {{{{{dead}}}}} frog between my toes. 

NO more feet with out socks on for me !!!!


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## middie (Apr 3, 2006)

No I hate feet too. Even though I'm barefoot 90 % of the time. at home anyway


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## The Z (Apr 3, 2006)

Me?  I prefer to wear shoes while I'm out... but I used to work very closely with a hippy dude who was barefoot most of the time and, after discussing the issue at length, he gave me an appreciation of bare-footedness.  I enjoy being barefoot at home but never out (not because I think it's vulgar or anything - - it's just for protection).  I enjoy giving my girlfriend a nice foot massage with lotions or oils.

I certainly do not equate being publicly barefoot with publicly picking one's nose.


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## Alix (Apr 3, 2006)

I almost wonder if the shoe thing is more about where you live. Most of the folks I know in Canada and the northern states go barefoot, or sock footed in the house. Its considered rude to wear your shoes in someone's house here. But I have visited places in the southern US where folks keep their shoes on outside and in and no one thinks anything of it.


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## GB (Apr 3, 2006)

I love going barefoot and do so every chance I get. During the summers I used to work on beaches and on boats so we never wore shoes unless we were going to a store or restaurant.

Feet don't gross me out unless they are not cared for. Trim those nails and keep the feet clean and I am fine with it


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## auntieshelly (Apr 3, 2006)

This is the image I get when I hear the name, The Barefoot Contessa ~  a young girl with long flowing dark hair, dressed in a lacy white dress, running barefoot through the lush, hillside vineyards of an Italian villa. (Forget the toe stuff, Sushi, and think beautiful thoughts!!!)


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## Constance (Apr 3, 2006)

I watched her biography on Food Network not long ago, and she was a very beautiful young woman. Barefoot Contessa was the name of her restaurant before she bought it, so the name did not originate with her. 
I always loved going barefoot, but can't do it anymore because of a nerve problem in my feet.


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## CharlieD (Apr 3, 2006)

It was a while ago, so I don’t remember details, but there was a study done about chemical content in the carpet in the houses where people wear shoes versus where people wear sleepers. The houses where people were wearing shoes carpet had a lot more chemicals in it. So after that I never wear shoes in the house, not that I ever did anyway.


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## mudbug (Apr 3, 2006)

I take off shoes every chance I get.  Lacy white dresses are another thing, though - more for my past than my present.

some of you Famous Movie Lines people - wasn't there a movie of the same name with Ava Gardner or Rita Hayworth or another of those 40s beauties?


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Apr 3, 2006)

> I pulled my foot out and found a very tiny {{{{{dead}}}}} frog between my toes.


 
SEE!!!!!!!!!!!  A dead *FROG* between her toes!!!!  Now what does THAT tell everyone?!? Wear shoes! Cover them old carrot-looking toes!   (unless you are wearing sandals because socks with sandals look rediculous!) 

Now go eat something and think about the dead frog STUCK beween Marges TOES! And tell me now if you think Barefoot Contessa is a good name.  
(and red hair would make no difference  )


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## licia (Apr 3, 2006)

I still like the Barefoot Contessa.  She made a recipe today that I will try soon - a Pear Clafouti.


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## fireweaver (Apr 3, 2006)

while i don't so much watch tv (resulting in a lack of opinion as to the contessa's show), i like the name a lot.  as previously pointed out, it's elegant yet down-to-earth.

and sushi, i *am* redheaded, and always barefoot , and trust me, it's a good way to be.  shoes are like necessary societal evils and all.  now, the whole issue where i forget that i moved to maryland from Texas 3 years ago, and step outside to get the mail in the snow, that's a bummer in bare feet...


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Apr 3, 2006)

Well dont get me wrong. I really like her show. Just not the nickname. And I can see everyones point. But for ME..... barefoot and food just dont go well together. 
SOOOOO....... fireweaver...... how YOU doin'?


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## wasabi (Apr 4, 2006)

i don't own a pair of covered shoes. It's slippers (flip-flops), sandals or bare feet with pretty red painted toenails for me. It's bad manners to wear your shoes in the house here in Hawaii.


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## licia (Apr 4, 2006)

We need to make that a habit at our house.  Our carpet is very light and dh cleans it about once a month to keep it clean. If you think about all the places your shoes have been, it makes lots of sense to take them off. Perhaps we should do as some cultures do and provide indoor slippers for anyone coming in from outside.


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## GB (Apr 4, 2006)

-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
			
		

> But for ME..... barefoot and food just dont go well together.


LOL for me Deadly and Sushi don't quite go together either. I like sushi too much to think of it killing me


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## SizzlininIN (Apr 4, 2006)

Sizz bows to GB!

We too take our shows off when we come into our home and into others. I don't tell people to take their shoes off but hope they realize that the neatly lined row of shoes by the door are there for a reason. 9 times out of 10 people do take them off though.  And if they aren't sure they usually ask and I tell them I'd sure appreciate it if they could.


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## Robo410 (Apr 4, 2006)

I'd much rather they stomp grapes for wine barefoot than with shoes on!
Barefoot in the park.  Barefoot contessa.  Beartrack john.  Bareback riding.  Barebones living.  just not a problem.


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## buckytom (Apr 4, 2006)

we are "no shoes in the house" people too. i was raised that way. my mom is norwegian, and i guess as alix said, being from colder and often snowy or muddy climes, you automatically take your shoes off when entering a home. 
i often try to notice if there are shoes lines up by the door to see if i should take off mine when entering someone's home. many of my friends and neighbors are and have been japanese and korean, whom are also shoeless indoors, so it's always just been normal to me.
 i feel kinda funny walking in with my shoes on, knowing i'm dirtying up the place.


as far as the barfoot contessa:

'bug, never heard of it, but here ya go: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046754/

btw, bookmark imdb.com for all of your movie needs... (ken and alix won't be able to slip any movie quotes by you then.)

i can tolerate her show, and the name barefoot contessa never bothered me. never, that is, until sush put the idea of ugly feet in my head.  

the thing i don't like about ina garten is that she comes off a little snobby to me, but i'm not sure why. i've watched a few shows, gotten some good ideas and tips, but still come away with that feeling. like she's a rich, spoiled, aloof snob. i don't know why. i guess it's the idea that she's a contessa (a rich countess or nobility), and being barefoot indicates being carefree. but then you see a short, overweight, rich woman with lots of free time on her hands.
it just doesn't fit well, imo.
now she has ugly feet too...


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## Debbie (Apr 4, 2006)

I don't care much for this show... and the name sure didn't make me hurry up and see what it was about, thats for sure.   Wonder why they did that anyways.  hmmmmm   but, even if it had another name... I still would probably not watch it very much, I just don't like it


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## licia (Apr 4, 2006)

BT, how mean is that! I agree she is a bit of a snob sometimes, but I don't know of a single cooking show that I enjoy totally. We've talked about the one who really rubs me the wrong way so I won't go into that, but for different reasons, I can take any of them(well not any)most of them for a short while, only.


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## Alix (Apr 4, 2006)

Darn you bucky for giving away all our movie secrets!! (Actually I just found that site this week. LOL, I've been sort of winging it with Google til now!)


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## GB (Apr 4, 2006)

IMDB is such a huge resource. We never watch a movie at home without having IMDB up on the screen first so we can look up who someone is or what else we have seen them in. It is not just for films though. They also list TV 

OK back on topic


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## buckytom (Apr 4, 2006)

licia, i'm only half serious. like i said, i've watched the show, and it has some redeeming qualities at times. i really can't put my finger on it, but she just annoys me enough to notice. the last time i watched it, i remember thinking that it wasn't so bad and why did i think the way i do about her. but by the end, i was still left with the same feeling. and now, like watching an accident, i'll look at her feet the next time there's a long shot.  

alix and gb, if you can only remeber a tiny piece of a movie, you can find out about it there by searching. that site is great.


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## cara (Apr 4, 2006)

The Z said:
			
		

> I enjoy giving my girlfriend a nice foot massage with lotions or oils.



your girlfriend can be very lucky.. ,o)
I love it, when Frank massages my feet when we sit in front of the TV.. he could go on for hours.. 
but I wouldn't let a stranger at my feet.. think it is something very intimate...


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## GB (Apr 4, 2006)

My wife and I massage each others feet every night and crack each others toe knuckles. It is something we love doing with each other. I have yet to find a frog between her toes though


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## buckytom (Apr 4, 2006)

gb, some day your gonna crack a 6th toe nuckle on mrs. b's foot, and some poor frog will have met his maker...

there's 2 benefits to rubbing your wife's feet, the least of which is nicely moisturized hands.

shea butter is much better than oysters, or chocolate...


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## cara (Apr 4, 2006)

well, if it's just for that, I would know a few other methods... ;o))


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## buckytom (Apr 4, 2006)

lol cara, right to business...

you vill begin to enjoy yourself,  *NOW!!!!!*


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## cara (Apr 4, 2006)

bucky, I already do, believe me, I do ;o)


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## BreezyCooking (Apr 4, 2006)

I'm not a fan of her Food Network show, & I used to shop occasionally when she still owned her store on LI.

I just find her too pretentious with reference to what she cooks.


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## fireweaver (Apr 4, 2006)

cara said:
			
		

> your girlfriend can be very lucky.. ,o)
> I love it, when Frank massages my feet when we sit in front of the TV.. he could go on for hours..
> but I wouldn't let a stranger at my feet.. think it is something very intimate...



ok, i just gotta bring it all together now...movie quotes...bare feet...massages:  "Now look, I've given a million ladies a million foot massages, and they all meant something. We act like they don't, but they do, and that's what's so *&#$ cool about them. There's a sensuous thing going on where you don't talk about it, but you know it, she knows it..."

which is to say, yes, imdb rocks more than any other source of dispute-resolution.  

but to get back on topic:  i've never met ANY cooking show (like lots of other people have pointed out) that i'm totally in love with.  something is going to be annoying about whoever is actually doing the cooking.  for me, that something is that no matter how friendly or charismatic the host is, _*i can't taste what the final product is*_, so it's all nowhere near as much fun as just going into the kitchen m'self.


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