Ina Garten
Ina Garten
Ina Rosenberg Garten is an American author and host of the Food Network program Barefoot Contessa, and a former staff member of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Known for designing recipes with an emphasis on fresh ingredients and time-saving tips, she has been noted by Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, and Patricia Wells for her cooking and home entertaining...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionChef
Date of Birth2 February 1948
CityBrooklyn, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I think the best shortcut is to choose really simple recipes. Because I think you can make simple recipes that are as delicious as complicated ones.
I always like to have flowers on the table. I think they make it look special.
I measure everything, because I always think that if I've spent so much time making sure this recipe was exactly the way I want it, why would I want to throw things into a pot?
Never let 'em see you sweat. Guests feel guilty if they think you've worked too hard to make dinner for them - which of course you have!
My mother would never let me in the kitchen. I always wanted to cook, but I was never allowed to. Her view of the world was, 'Cooking is my job, and studying is your job.' I think, in retrospect, she didn't like the chaos. She was very orderly. It had to be her way.
If you think about a Thanksgiving dinner, it's really like making a large chicken.
There's something really wonderful about a party where you help yourself. Of course, first you get what you really want. But 'family style' service also really encourages people to connect with one another.
You can get bogged down in a recipe that's got a lot of steps and a million ingredients, and it takes all day to make. And then you realize, you've just got one dish. For Thanksgiving, you want an abundance of choices, and so you want dishes that you can put together really quickly, but that doesn't mean less flavor.
The planning is everything. Deciding which dishes you're going to prepare can turn into the make-or-break decision five days later, when you actually serve the meal.
It's so important that you don't put the stuffing in the bird, where in order for the stuffing to get cooked you have to overcook the turkey. It's better to do it on the side.
My extravagance is my garden - it's the first thing I look at every morning when I wake up. It gives me so much pleasure.
I've lived in the Hamptons since 1978, when I first bought my store Barefoot Contessa.
People have more fun if they don't eat so much they have to be taken home in an ambulance.
I get up every day, do the best that I can do, and go home and have a good time.