I make these 3 easy Ina Garten recipes for Thanksgiving every year

In her cookbook "Go-To Dinners," Garten said her overnight mac and cheese is the "creamiest, crustiest, most delicious mac and cheese."  

And believe me, she's not exaggerating.

To make Garten's dish for four, you'll need:

• 8 ounces of cavatappi or elbow macaroni
• 3 cups of heavy cream
• 2 cups of Gruyère cheese, grated
• 1 ½ cups of fine fresh white breadcrumbs
• 1 cup of sharp white cheddar, grated
• 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Garten's mac and cheese couldn't be easier to assemble — you don't even need to make a roux. Plus, it requires less than 30 minutes in the oven, so it's an easy dish to bake right before Thanksgiving dinner.

More importantly, Garten's overnight mac and cheese is extremely delicious. I love the crunchy breadcrumbs on top, and the sauce is decadent without being too rich. When I made this dish for the first time at Friendsgiving, my fiancé praised it for being "exceptionally creamy," while a friend said it tasted "like a hug in your mouth."

It's my favorite "Barefoot Contessa" mac and cheese recipe, although Garten's "grown-up" mac and cheese is a close second.

Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's overnight mac and cheese here.

I wasn't much of a cook before the pandemic, unless you count warming up frozen food from Trader Joe's. But when I wanted to contribute something to my family's holiday menu, this recipe seemed like a good place to start.

Garten's potato-fennel gratin, which appears in her first cookbook, "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook," is 100% foolproof.

Plus, it tastes amazing.

"I love to make potato gratin and fennel gratin, so I decided to combine the two," Garten writes in the recipe's description. "If you make this in an old French gratin dish, it looks wonderful and can go from the oven to the table with style."

To make Garten's gratin for four, you'll need:

• 1 pound of russet potatoes (2 large ones)
• 1 small fennel bulb
• Half of a yellow onion
• 1 ½ cups of Gruyère cheese
• 1 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon of heavy cream

If you're trying to make the dish for a larger party, Garten also has a recipe that serves 10.

Garten's potato-fennel gratin is such a satisfying dish, with perfectly cooked potatoes and a deliciously cheesy cream thanks to the Gruyère. The sautéed fennel also adds a lovely mild sweetness to each bite.

This is easily one of my favorite holiday side dishes, and it's so much better than mashed potatoes.

Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's potato-fennel gratin here.

Garten included this corn-bread recipe in the republished version of "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook," calling it the "best corn bread I've ever made!"

I decided to try the recipe for the first time before a Friendsgiving party a few years ago, where it was a huge hit.

To make Garten's corn bread, which serves 10 to 12 people, you'll need:

• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 cups of whole milk
• 1 cup of fine cornmeal (Garten says this makes moister corn bread than medium grind)
• 1 cup of sugar
• ½ pound of unsalted butter
• 2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons of baking powder

Garten's brown-butter skillet corn bread is one of my favorite "Barefoot Contessa" recipes of all time. It's perfectly baked and delectably moist, which is evident the minute you cut the first slice.

The warm, golden hue makes for a stunning centerpiece, and the corn bread just tastes so deliciously fluffy. It's the perfect blend of sweet and savory, and I can never resist getting seconds — no matter how stuffed I am.

Get the full recipe for Ina Garten's brown-butter skillet corn bread here.