Thanksgiving With Ina Garten

2 hours 32 minutes plenty of time to do. whatever a few weeks ago in the wee. hours of the morning can I get you a. tushy warmer yes please I started out on. a very long drive with my colleagues. Paige cowt Wendy door and Tina Antolini. but I feel like I should probably should. have gone left we should probably go to. the big yeah and our destination was the. home of a person who has very much been. having.

a moment okay so so far not much traffic. and that is the cook television host and. creator of her own media Empire AA. Garden aka the Barefoot Contessa this is. Billy Joel singing about the island. [Music]. Ron and if you know anything about AA. you know that she's written over a dozen. bestselling cookbook books I have almost.

all of them and that she's been married. to her beloved husband Jeffrey for more. than 50 years so now it's about 7:40. a.m. and we have hit our first big patch. of traffic and as she lives in the. Hamptons oh we are in eastampton in a. stately home that if you've ever seen. her TV show is instantly recognizable. like uh and I just missed her house. except if you're the one. driving I'm so busy talking to you that. I just missed her house now back to that.

moment that Ina Garden is having she. just wrote A Memoir about her childhood. and her marriage and her improbable. Journey from working as an analyst in. the Ford White House to purchasing a. small specialty food store in the. Hamptons that becomes wildly popular. under her. ownership okay um and we have just. arrived at H Garden's house all of which.

put her on a path to becoming a kind of. Guru for a relaxed real not too Prim or. glamorous way of entertaining at. home. wow. Hi H to see you I hear you all the time. to actually see you I insist oh I'm so. happy to see you Michael thank you so. much for coming and so after a few. emails AA to our Delight agreed to meet.

with us in her home studio welcome to. the. barn which she calls the barn and to. talk to us about the thing that so many. of us are going to be doing today. hosting or being hosted I live next door. and I my commute is um on the grass it's. 90 ft it's 90 ft through the through the. beautiful Hedges and shrubs I'm Michael. babo this is a special Thanksgiving. episode of The Daily today someone is in.

the kitchen with AA and that someone is. me it's Thursday November. [Music]. 28th well I want to give you something. oh you didn't have to bring me anything. now of course I wouldn't dream of coming. to Ina Garden's house empty-handed this. is a tote and a bottle of what I. understand according to Google according.

to is your is your favorite kind of wine. from burgundy I love burgundy oh this is. gorgeous thank you so much and. eventually the two of us sit down so. will you help yourself to hooking sugar. at a table inside the barn for a. conversation over coffee and a basket of. pastries I feel like you're you're. literally modeling the behavior that. we're that we're going to be talking. what I. do the hosting begins early. here IA thank you so happy to see you so.

I just want to set the table yes for. this conversation as it were to me. there's nothing as special as being. invited into somebody's home as you have. invited us for a meal whether it's a. dead simple Backyard barbecue or an. elaborate multi-course sitdown dinner. and it's always felt to me that good. hosting is a kind of magic and you are. such a master of this particular art. form this magic of convening people and.

making the togetherness feel so special. well it's what I love to do because my. um my whole goal in life is to connect. with people I love and it doesn't happen. easily when you have that connection you. feel like. um uh you're you're taking care of. people and and they're taking care of. you and God knows we need that well. where do you think that comes from that. desire to.

Comfort people to make them feel cared. for well you know in my Memoir I tell. the story that my mother was very cold I. think she just wasn't capable of being. warm so I think I never felt connected. to her at all and at all at all at all I. think pretty that's a pretty Stark thing. to have to say yeah I think I was really. hungry for that um in my life and so. that's what I try and do with my friends. I think entertaining for me is really. about bringing people together and being. making them part of my family mhm well.

do you remember the first time that you. really hosted on your own I do and it. was a total. disaster Jeffrey and I just got married. he was in the military and I decided to. have a party for 20 people bad idea. because your first party 20 people 20. people and they didn't know each other. and for some reason I decided I was. going to make an omelet for everybody. now I barely know how to make an omelet. now I mean I kind of do but I certainly.

didn't know how to make an omelette then. and what I know now is you have to make. them one at a time yeah so I spent the. entire time in the kitchen making. omelets so Jeffrey poor Jeffrey was in. the living room with 20 people trying to. keep the conversation going well how did. it play out so you're in the you're in. the kitchen you're making omelets you're. recognizing this isn't going super well. this isn't going well it was like I was. on a cruise ship and I was the chef and. we didn't have a table for 20 people so. that there were chairs in the living. room that were just an an big circle and.

everybody had an a plate and an omelet. on their lap but not at the same. time so it. was bad it was bad it was really bad. could you feel it like was it tangible I. think I was so busy making omelets I. didn't even think about it until. afterwards and I knew it was it was a. quiet party and with 20 people you can't. connect with them. mhm but you keep at it quite obviously. so what does it look like for you to. grow into a more confident less omelet.

Centric host I think um what by the time. Jeffrey and I got to Washington um I had. been to France and I was really. interested in the food and um I started. working my way through Julia Child's. mastering the art of French cooking and. so my first parties were very elaborate. Affairs you know they were fancy it was. fancy food and so I picked the most. complicated things which is why how I. taught myself how to cook so I'm glad I. did and then one day we were invited to. somebody's house for dinner it was a guy.

and I said to Jeffrey oh this is going. to be a disaster cuz no men cooked in. their 70s I mean they just didn't and we. went there and he served a simple fillet. of beef that was roasted simple. vegetables it was a absolutely simple. elegant meal and I remember thinking to. myself this is it everybody had a. wonderful time his hair wasn't on fire. he wasn't he wasn't cooking from Julia. Child he wasn't making some elaborate. thing and that at that moment I decided. to change how I cook and so the thing.

that I expected to be a disastrous. dinner turned out to be a lesson I'll. never forget the lesson being that. cooking is part of Hosting but it is not. the totality of and the simpler the meal. is the more fun everybody has the irony. is it's not about impressing your guest. with a great dinner it's about making a. dinner that's perfectly delicious that. allows everybody to have a good time. together right. [Music].

well so let's get kind of clinical here. and talk about how all of this works. because it's not every day we get to. pick the brain of the Barefoot Contessa. and it's really only once a year that I. think so many of us are really focused. on the act of really hosting which is. Thanksgiving so just talk us through the. elements of a good meal a good dinner.

party what's essential what's not let's. allow ourselves to go rather deep on. this subject in a way we normally might. not. otherwise so I was interviewing Frank. bruny who I just adore and I said to him. what's the keyo a great. restaurant and he said the most. important detail is how you're greeted. at the door and I thought that's exactly. true of parties because once you feel. like you're welcome you're always going. to feel good how much do you think about.

how much should we be thinking about the. group of people that you're bringing. together Thanksgiving is unique of. course you don't always have a choice of. who's in your family and who gets to. come who has to come but to the extent. that you do have a. choice how do you think about combining. the right mix of people well first I. think about who I want to see but I also. think about who would like to see each. other so people who know each other that. don't see each other and um or who would.

enjoy each other's company Jeffrey and I. pretty much choreograph each dinner. party um and you sit there and you talk. about it you think about it ahead of. time we totally think about and we think. about how the party is seated which is. really important so inevitably in a. group of six people around a round table. is my ideal dinner party and um. inevitably some people are extroverts. and some people are introverts so some. people are more talkative than others so. if you think about six people around a. dinner table I always put the most.

talkative people opposite each other and. the least talkative people opposite each. other on the other quadrant so that um. the PE if you put the talkative people. next to each other that's where the part. is going to be and then the people then. people can listen that want to listen. and people can talk that want to talk. mhm so and that and you'd be shocked how. two big a table or two people on the. wrong on the same side of the table that. are talking can just wreck a perfectly. good dinner.

[Music]. party okay the food how do you. decide what to serve or not to serve and. I'm not just talking about dietary. restrictions which by the way always. come up but just the whole question of. what is going to be possible within the. time that you have what's going to feel. the right level of. simple or if you wanted to fussy and. formal and meeting the occasion so this.

is like a New York Times. puzzle um there are a lot of layers to. it and the first one is I just remember. these are my friends and I want them to. be happy so when I'm doing the menu the. first thing I do is find out or if I. know figure out what everybody doesn't. like or doesn't eat and I want to make. one menu that everybody can eat because. you never want to be I'm having the you. know the roast ve dinner and this person. over there alone by themselves is having.

pasta I I want everybody to share the. same meal so that's the first thing then. I'll I'll write down a menu of what I'd. like to make and then I just start. Crossing things off and just go well do. we really need four vegetables when two. would be fine cross two off um can I. make that do I have to make that peach. hard or can I get it from a bakery cross. that off um is it hard to make a a first. course while the meat is in the oven. don't make a first course um then I.

figure out how am I going to make this. meal are there four things that need to. go in one oven or is there one thing. that's room temperature one thing that I. can cook on top of the stove and one. thing in the oven so that I'm not trying. to juggle things while it's happening. and then the last thing I do is make a. timeline how is this meal going to. happen I feel like I feel like I'm at. Nasa Command Center it is like that and. I think people are shocked that when I. have six people for dinner I do this.

because otherwise all day I'm like oh my. God should I start the dinner and then I. look at my schedule and I say 5:00 I. have to turn the oven on it's literally. that detailed 5:15 put the meat in the. oven 5:45 take it out it's really. detailed but then I know that before. 5:00 I'm fine I can. relax and it's hard it's not it's a. complicated thing to get everything out. on the table at the same time when it's. perfectly cooked and that's the only one. I I know how to do with us to make a.

schedule okay so now that we talked. about the food the table what's on the. table so let's talk about levels. of how much we're supposed to even care. about this I care about it um then it's. important my mother and I have been. fighting for as long as I can remember. about whether it's okay to use paper or. plastic plates how do you set how do you.

set the table and how much fuss do you. put into it and why does it even matter. well first I would say paper and plastic. are nice for a picnic on a boat but I'm. not sure that they belong on a. table so that should settle. that I think the table should be lovely. but I really like a modern table that's. simple I think there's nothing more. horrifying than sitting down to a really. fancy dinner table where there are like. six glasses at each place setting and.

you know you're going to be there. forever because there are six courses. each with a different wine right so or a. different fork or a different knife oh. my God it's just horrible so modern. simply means as simple as possible as. simple as possible but it can still be. beautiful and I use the same things over. and over again I like really good. napkins good linen napkins I have a wine. glass a water glass a dinner plate table. wear and that's that's the table setting. and then what I like to do is have like. garden flowers from the flower shop or.

from my garden if you do little you know. vases filled with flowers in the same. color palette as the napkin then it all. feels coordinated and you can move those. vases around until they look. great I think things that are fancy are. actually um meant to impress rather than. make people feel comfortable and I I. feel that way about food I feel that way. about table settings if for the holidays. you don't have enough chairs of one kind.

of chair who cares then who cares it's. fun just put chairs around the table if. you only have six white dishes in one. pattern and you have six white dishes in. another pattern just mix them all up and. I think that makes something feel simple. and elegant and fun which is at the end. of the day you just want your friends to. be there right everything we're talking. about here is really just a tool to. bring people together doesn't really. matter which tool we use exactly.

okay once the dinner's underway the food. is out the conversation's going I have. to imagine once in a while in this line. of business you're in you went into the. problem of of a guest a relative a. problem person and how do you deal with. that I'm thinking. of my family I'm thinking about an uncle. of mine I have we must have the same. uncle the disruptor the Dominator oh the.

Dominator yeah yeah what do you do you. don't do. anything that's pretty hard to think of. what to do except to invite them to come. join you and in the kitchen and say this. isn't okay but how do you do that it's. very hard to do and probably everybody. would like to do it um I mean I try and. change the subject I try to change the. subject yeah I think that's the only. thing you can do and I think everybody's. so grateful that you. do at this point I think some of our.

listeners might be thinking to. themselves serve the food already. Michael be done with it AA this is like. this is not how I think about dinner you. guys are overthinking the whole thing. are we overthinking these details you. and I I don't think so I think it's. really important right and I think it's. a skill you just you get better and. better at hosting people and I think I. mean you and I obviously find it's. really worth doing because it's the glue. between people. [Music].

I think with. that it might be time for us to think. about cooking oh you're going to come. cook with me would you do the honors of. throwing us to the. break we'll be right back Bravo. [Music].

so Anna tell us what you have picked for. us to cook for the. holidays and why and how it fits into. this conversation we've been having. about bringing people together in ways. that are simple efficient and without. the host's hair on fire so the first. thing is baked Virginia ham so what I do. is I buy a fully cooked smoked ham. really good quality ham that's. pre-sliced wow so you don't have to. slice it at the party and all I do is.

make a glaze with like five ingredients. in it goes in a food processor put it on. the ham goes in the oven and it bakes. for an hour so all we're going to have. to do is make the glaze exactly okay. okay you ready I am ready one thing you. need to know about me is I follow a. recipe exactly mhm so six cloves of. garlic you in charge of garlic I would. like to choose your weapon I'll get the. garlic I'm ordering Michael bu around. I'm not going to feel judged as I do. this because there is really no wrong.

way to there's no wrong way to do it. period sure there a better okay so we. need 8 and 1/2 oz of mango chutney which. is exactly what I have can you just. describe this Chutney cuz I I think that. is well it's it's mango but it's got. raisins in it and it's um it's chuny so. it's it's both sweet and. sour half a cup of Dijon mustard okay I. can do that I'll just dump it in one cup. of light brown sugar now we need the. zest of one.

orange I've always had a zesting. question is the zest of an orange or a. lemon or a lme simply when you've. covered all the surface area with one or. two goes like how deep do you go into. the skin it's called the piss which is. the lighter part um and you don't want. any of it cuz it's bitter so you just go. absolutely the just the absolute surface. where it's really dark orange or dark. lemon and then we need 1/4 of a cup a. freshly squeezed orange juice I love a.

[Music]. Jer oh that was a tool I didn't know I. needed okay we're ready to go so got a. food processor garlic in garlic in okay. so just turn the um food processor. on okay until it's all. puree this is the best glaz it's so good. okay and just describe this you're.

you're bringing this over to this. enormous amazing precooked pre-sliced. ham threaded with string just to hold it. all together mhm because it's pre-sliced. because it's pre-sliced and then we're. going to pour the glaze over it yeah. this glaze is just like did I miss any. places this glaze is caressing the. ham that's exactly what it's doing and. now this whole thing goes in the oven. okay let's get in the oven put that big.

baby in all. right okay so this is what I love about. roasting you put it in the oven set a. timer and forget about it mhm so this is. 1 hour and then 1 hour we're going to. have a delicious ham that was stunningly. simple and it feeds 20 people I mean. it's really quite extraordinary yeah no. it feeds more than that like 20 to. 30 okay ham is now in the oven so we. need something to drink while the ham. bakes don't we do we.

ever okay how about a cranberry martini. so you want to make it with me I would. love to make it okay I feel like. everyone listening to this wants to know. if the giant pandemic Martini cup. actually exists absolutely does would. you like your Martini in that glass no I. have it right here it's here it's here. can I just see. [Music]. it oh my. word this is like a it's glass like a. bird.

bath it was given to me as a joke but I. mean I had to use it and there's two of. them and there are two of them they're. like well you don't want to drink that. by. yourself so let's make that cranberry. martini you're going to love this so. first thing we need is 3/4 of a cup of. cranberry juice and it's actually. cranberry juice cocktail so it's got a. little sugar in it into the measuring. cup goes 3/4 of a cup half a cup of good. vodka oo this is from the this is from.

the freezer it's from the freezer. yeah4 of a cup of triple sa which is a. sweet Lor orange orange lur. exactly that perfectly. measured and then we need a cup of. ice and this is the key to cocktails. with ice is you have to shake it for 30. seconds and what it does is dilute the. cocktail enough so that it's not like. that like really hard. so it's absolutely delicious so how.

about you do 30 seconds and I'll time it. okay. go it's longer than you. think that's only 5. seconds I would give it probably at most. 12. seconds that's 15. seconds oh a. lifetime doesn't see like more than 30. seconds.

yeah it's like 2. days especially when you're thirsty. that's 30. seconds okay I'm getting the glasses in. the. freezer these are beautifully chilled. Martina glasses to the. touch this is a day to cheer. [Music]. M it's really nice isn't that good yeah. because it's you know what I love it has. no bite it has no bite exactly but also. so the flavors are layered perfectly and.

it doesn't have that hit of like vodka. even though you and I know how much is. in there the orange and the cranberry. kind of bubble up a little bit it's not. too sweet not too tart I think I'm going. to have to sell my whole family on this. one because it it just feels like a. perfect Thanksgiving. it's. [Music]. delicious that would be the ham Ham's. ready okay well it smells pretty good. doesn't it it does that's the first test.

Tak. this how's that look I love the way the. ham is kind of opened up and it's kind. of fan Fanning out isn't it and then so. what I like to do is I like to serve it. like a slice of ham with a little bit of. the glaze from the pan if nobody had. told you I would think that you had been. working on this for 24 hours isn't that. it'll be our little. secret it's just something I whipped up. in the few minutes before you got here. and I actually did and you actually did. because you plannned it h. and I have to.

say this looks really. good it's really Punchy isn't that. delicious MH I can taste the orange D. but it doesn't overpower the smoked ham. you still T I think it's really. important that the intrinsic flavor of. the thing that you're cooking shines. through and the ingredients just make. them taste better kind of layers of. mustard and orange and. Chutney not bad is it no it really. it's Ham on.

steroids it's really really good thank. you where's my Martin cranberry excuse. me I need to get mine. too crry I can't have you drinking alone. what a great day. cheers we made that sauce we did we. worked so hard too didn't we how. gorgeous that is I have learned a lot. thank you I'm so glad. we'll be right.

back so I normally at the end of an. episode we do the headlines of the show. today we're going to do something a. little bit different I'm going to throw. a bunch of Rapid Fire questions at you. about cooking and entertaining but to. begin this I need you to kick us off by. saying. here's what else you need to know.

today okay here are the questions best. cold appetizer that's ready when your. guests walk in roasted trimp cocktail. bread or no bread on the table depends. on the meal if it's not a sandwich bread. on the table. H your personal preference pumpkin or. apple pie apple pie stuffing or Mash. potatoes I love stuffing but I make it.

as bread pudding h a savory bread. pudding resolve a debate another debate. I've been having with my mother for. years the blade of the knife must face. the interior of the plate yes or no 100%. criminal to have it out the other. direction response that you give to a. guest who says can I. help absolutely except washing the. dishes and if they insist on helping. with the dishes I insist they they.

not are you giving your guests leftovers. I actually do one better than that I. actually make another Thanksgiving. dinner I'm sorry what when I make. Thanksgiving dinner I make a second one. so that I can cut it up and give it to. the guests to take home because. everybody wants Thanksgiving dinner. sandwiches the next day turkey and. cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes and. it's really terrible the next day when.

you've gone to somebody else's dinner. and you don't have those things so make. sure everybody has everything that is. hosting at a level I cannot fathom it's. a PhD in. hosting well on that note I. know Happy Thanksgiving Happy. Thanksgiving to you too I'm grateful to. you I'm grateful for everything you've. taught me as a amateur home chef and I'm. grateful just to have you in our world. I'm so happy to to be here thank you. thank.

[Music]. you I think I'd be remiss if I didn't. ask where's Jeffrey he's at Yale. teaching and he's coming home tonight. all right he's not going to be joining. us oh I'm sorry next time no day is. [Music]. perfect today's episode was produced by. Tina Antolini and edited by Wendy door.

it was fact checked by Susan Lee. contains original music by Maran Lozano. Rowan nisto Cory Shel and Dan Powell and. was engineered by Chris Wood special. thanks to pagee cowt Kate Tyler Sam. Harnett and my dearest mother Jean. Barbaro that's it for the daily I'm. Michael babo Happy Thanksgiving and see. you tomorrow.

[Applause]. [Music].