If you're anxious about your party or planning a menu, Ina Garten has a message for hosts who fret over executing ambitious dishes with flawless precision: Stick to what you know.

"You're better off making something that you know you can nail without too much stress than finding some recipe in a cookbook that you've never used before," she told Food Network.

Leaning on old, reliable recipes might sound anticlimactic, but serving your guests something you know will be delicious allows more time to prepare the rest of your party.

The dishes you have memorized might be different than the ones the Barefoot Contessa turns to, but if you need inspiration, she's full of easy, elegant recipes for beginner chefs.

Garten prepares the food in advance and multitasks by having one dish in the oven, one on the stove, and a room-temperature dish to minimize last-minute heating and prep work.

Ina also told Food Network that she advises against making too many dishes: "I usually say make two or three and buy the rest — or assemble the rest."