French cuisine doesn't have to mean impossibly fancy or formal when it comes to cooking for family and friends. Ina Garten, author of “Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Really Make at Home,” was invited on the "Today" show to share some simple French country fare and some time-saving tips. Here are the recipes:

Raspberry Royale
Makes 4 to ­6 drinks

Kir royale is Champagne with a splash of crème de cassis. I decided to try it with raspberry liqueur and it was even more delicious. When you go to the liquor store, look for the red raspberry liqueur rather than the clear eau­-­de­-­vie, which has a totally different flavor.

6 teaspoons raspberry ­liqueur
1/2 pint fresh ­raspberries
1 bottle of good Champagne, ­chilled

Pour 1 teaspoon of raspberry liqueur into each champagne glass and add 2 or 3 raspberries. When guests arrive, pop the cork and fill each glass with Champagne. Serve ­immediately.

Cheese ­Straws
Makes 22 to 24 ­straws

FREE VIDEO Classic French food made easy Nov. 5: Ina Garten, aka "The Barefoot Contessa," shares recipes for easy classic French cuisine with "Today" host Matt Lauer. Today show

In Paris, I was lucky to be invited to dinner at the house once lived in by Louis Vuitton, which is now an amazing museum filled with his old suitcases, dating back to the mid–nineteenth century. With cocktails, the hosts served only freshly baked cheese straws piled high, Lincoln Log style, on a square platter. They’re meant to stimulate your appetite for dinner, not to ruin it. With frozen puff pastry from the grocery store, these cheese straws are really easy to make.

2 sheets (1 box) frozen puff pastry (such as Pepperidge Farm), defrosted overnight in the refrigerator
1 extra­-­large ­egg
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan ­cheese
1 cup finely grated Gruyère ­cheese
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme ­leaves
1 teaspoon kosher ­salt
Freshly ground black ­pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 ­degrees.

Roll out each sheet of puff pastry on a lightly floured board until it’s 10 to 12 inches in diameter. Beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the surface of the pastry. Sprinkle each sheet evenly with 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, 1/2 cup of the Gruyère, 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and some pepper. With the rolling pin, lightly press the flavorings into the puff pastry. Cut each sheet crosswise with a floured knife or pizza wheel into 11 or 12 strips. Twist each strip and lay on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned and puffed. Turn each straw and bake for another 2 minutes. Don’t overbake or the cheese will burn. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Boeuf Bourguignon (Beef Stew With Red Wine)
Serves ­6

I never really liked beef bourguignon. After cooking for three hours, the meat was stringy and dry and the vegetables were overcooked. So, I tried to solve the problem and came up with a delicious stew that cooks in an hour and a half. The good news is that it’s even better the second day, so it’s great for entertaining.

1 tablespoon good olive ­oil
8 ounces good bacon, ­diced
2-1/2 pounds beef chuck cut into 1­-­inch ­cubes
Kosher ­salt
Freshly ground black ­pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1­-­inch ­chunks
2 yellow onions, ­sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 ­cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac or good ­brandy
1 (750-ml) bottle good dry red wine, such as ­Burgundy
2 to 2-1/2 cups canned beef ­broth
1 tablespoon tomato ­paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme ­leaves
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all­-­purpose ­flour
1 pound frozen small whole ­onions
1 pound mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thickly ­sliced

For ­serving
Country bread, toasted or grilled
1 ­garlic clove, cut in half
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (­optional)

Preheat the oven to 250 ­degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large ­plate.

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Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set ­aside.

Toss the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 2 teaspoons of pepper into the fat in the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Add the wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a boil, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid, and place it in the oven for about 1-1/4 hours, or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from the oven and place on top of the ­stove.

Combine 2 tablespoons of the butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium pan, sauté the mushrooms in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned, and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Season to ­taste.

Rub each slice of bread on one side with garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

If the sauce is too thin, you can add more of the butter and flour mixture.

To make in advance, cook the stew and refrigerate. To serve, reheat to a simmer over low heat and serve with the bread and ­parsley.

Asparagus With ­Hollandaise
Serves 6 to ­8

Hollandaise is one of those sauces that has to be made at the last minute. When I’m dressed for a party I certainly don’t need to be standing over a steaming double boiler, whisking madly, while my friends are waiting patiently for dinner. This is a quick way to make hollandaise in advance and it really doesn’t separate.

12 tablespoons (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted ­butter
4 extra­-­large egg yolks, at room ­temperature
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon ­juice
Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black ­pepper
2 pinches of cayenne ­pepper
3 pounds fresh ­asparagus

Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and cayenne in the jar of a blender. Blend for 15 seconds. With the blender on, slowly pour the hot butter into the blender and blend for 30 seconds, until the sauce is thick. (You can leave it in the blender at room temperature for up to 1 hour. If it is made in advance, add 1 tablespoon of hot tap water and blend for a few seconds before serving.)

Remove the tough bottoms of the asparagus stalks. If the stems are thick, peel halfway up the stalk. Blanch the asparagus in a large pot of boiling salted water for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on their thickness, until cooked through but still al dente. Remove to a platter with tongs or a wire skimmer and sprinkle with ­salt. Pour the hollandaise sauce over the warm asparagus and serve.

Thick asparagus have more flavor than thin ones. They just need to be ­peeled.

To reheat the sauce after refrigerating, place the container in the microwave for a few seconds, until it’s just warm enough to ­pour.

Profiteroles
Serves ­6

One of my favorite restaurants in Paris, Benoit, offers a few little pro­fiteroles at the table to snack on while you’re deciding about dessert! French puff pastry, or pâte à choux, seems complicated, but once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty fast to make. Then you also can make cheese puffs, cream puffs, and eclairs, all with the same basic recipe. Personally, I love the combination of pastry, ice cream, and chocolate, so profiteroles are my first ­choice.

1 cup ­milk
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted ­butter
Pinch of kosher ­salt
1 cup all­-­purpose ­flour
4 extra­-­large ­eggs
1/2 cup heavy ­cream
12 ounces semisweet chocolate ­chips
2 tablespoons ­honey
2 tablespoons prepared ­coffee
Good vanilla ice cream, such as Häagen­-­Dazs, for ­serving

Preheat the oven to 425 ­degrees. Heat the milk, butter, and salt over medium heat until scalded. When the butter is melted, add the flour all at once and beat it with a wooden spoon until the mixture comes together and forms a dough. Cook, stirring constantly, over low heat for 2 minutes. The flour will begin to coat the bottom of the pan. Dump the hot mixture into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the eggs and pulse until the eggs are incorporated into the dough and the mixture is ­thick.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain round tip. Pipe out mounds 1-1/2 inches wide and 1 inch high onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You should have about 18 puffs. With a wet finger, lightly press down the swirl at the top of each puff. (You can also use two spoons to scoop out the mixture and shape the puffs with damp fingers.) Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned, then turn off the oven and allow them to sit for another 10 minutes, until they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Make a small slit in the side of each puff to allow the steam to escape. Set aside to ­cool.

For the chocolate sauce, place the cream and chocolate chips in a bowl set over simmering water and stir just until the chocolate melts. Add the honey and coffee and stir until smooth. Set ­aside.

For serving, cut each profiterole in half crosswise, fill with a small scoop of ice cream, replace the top, and drizzle with slightly warm chocolate ­sauce.

To make in advance, freeze the baked puffs in a plastic bag, then reheat in a 350 degree oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until crisp. Cool before ­filling with ice cream.

Crème Brûlée
Serves 5 to 6

Crème Brûlée is the ultimate “guy” dessert.  Make it and he’ll follow you anywhere.  Most recipes are a little more complicated, but this one you can make in about ten minutes — and it’s really good. Caramelizing the tops adds the “Wow!” factor.

1 extra-large egg
4 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it’s very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and Grand Mariner and pour into 6- to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken.  Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar caramelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

Excerpted from “Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Really Make at Home” by Ina Garten. Copyright © 2004 by Ina Garten. Published by Clarkson-Potter. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt can be used without permission of the publisher.

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