Ina Garten is my hero - Every recipe in every book that she does works and tastes amazing - I am a mediocre cook at best but when I use her books people think I am amazing. What more can you ask for? Read these two articles and eat your heart out.
ROSEMARY ELLIS: I hear Thanksgiving is your favorite holiday — is that true?
INA GARTEN: I absolutely adore Thanksgiving. It's the only holiday I insist on making myself.
RE: Do you let anybody help you, or is it totally a solo thing?
IG: I got help one year. I decided it would be really fun for me; my husband, Jeffrey; and two friends, Frank and Stephen, to cook Thanksgiving dinner together. I got all the ingredients, I got everything ready, and I thought, I'll do the turkey, and everyone else can make a side dish, a pie, or something like that. I was so excited, thinking, This is going to be so much fun! Our guests arrived early...and then, at some point, the three guys ended up watching football. I had to make the entire Thanksgiving dinner! [Laughs]
RE: And I hope you gave them what-for for that.
IG: I didn't! Because I love them all. But I thought, I won't be doing that again. Which is fine, because I'm big on making things you can prepare in advance.
RE: Which is what Ina's Thanksgiving is all about.
IG: Right. For the string beans with shallots [see recipe, page 179], you blanch the string beans in advance, and just before dinner you sauté the shallots and heat the string beans up. The stuffing can be made ahead of time; the turkey can be seasoned. Almost everything can be done in advance — because you don't want to do anything when your guests are there. I really learned my lesson that time: It's better to do it yourself.
RE: Do you usually have a crowd, or do you keep it small?
IG: I like it really cozy. I never have more than six or eight people. The dishes are fairly consistent: Sometimes I make a truffle turkey, but the parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme version is my new favorite. That's wonderful. I always make herb and apple stuffing, but this time I decided to make it in advance to make it into bread pudding, put it in the refrigerator, and bake it before serving. It's so delicious!
And 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. And then with the bread pudding, it's crusty on the top and creamy underneath. When it comes out of the bird, it's all soggy, and I like the crusty bits. There's always some kind of a potato, cranberry fruit preserve, and a pumpkin dessert. The pumpkin mousse parfaits are just great. People dip their fingers into the glass to get the last bit.
RE: That's a good sign. [Laughs] So what was Thanksgiving like when you were growing up?
IG: My mother would get up at four o'clock in the morning to put the turkey in. I have no idea why, but there was this notion that turkey had bacteria in it and you had to cook it for 12 hours. And it was dry as a bone! You had to dip the turkey in gravy just to be able to get it down. It turns out, a turkey cooks in two and a half hours, and it's delicious.
RE: What did you help your mother with? Did you learn to cook from her?
IG: 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. But as Jeffrey says, the minute we got married and I started cooking, it was like putting a flame to dry wood — I just loved it.
RE: Do you now make what your mother made? Was she a turkey-and-dressing girl?
IG: Actually, the pumpkin mousse tart was hers. It's one of the very few things that she made that I still make. That filling is what the parfaits are; I've sort of taken it to the next level. I would say most of her cooking was very spare; it was flavorful, but not voluptuous. She was a dietitian and never let us eat much sugar or many carbohydrates.
RE: But part of the concept of Thanksgiving is about abundance.
IG: Exactly. And I don't think she was a happy cook. She made the meal because it needed to be done, but I do it because I love cooking for the people I love. It didn't feel like that was a component for her, I'm sorry to say.
RE: So tell me, how did you come to love Thanksgiving so much?
IG: There is something about the tradition of it, and it's really about family. And in my case, because I don't have children, family includes friends.
RE: And how do you set the table? With a centerpiece?
IG: I always like to have flowers on the table. I think they make it look special. One of the things I like to do for Thanksgiving is have dinner in the kitchen, which is unusual. And I'll set a gorgeous table with a satin or embroidered cloth — something really special. But I think sometimes it's nice to have that coziness of Thanksgiving in the kitchen. I'll make a big buffet on the counter. Everything is on platters, and everyone helps themselves. And I love when they get up and get more.
RE: Do you play music during dinner?
IG: Always. I always have music. I love it to be very upbeat. When you're having drinks, I like something like Cesária évora. During dinner, I like the much more traditional — old Frank Sinatra and things like that.
RE: Are there special drinks that you serve?
IG: Always. I took a wine class recently — it was about pairing wine with food — and I realized that most wines are really meant to be consumed with the main course, as opposed to with hors d'oeuvres.
RE: Can I say that I'm fascinated that you're taking a class at this point about pairing wine with food?
IG: Oh, I don't really know that much about wine, and I really wanted to. It was absolutely fascinating. I prefer to serve a cocktail: a whiskey sour or a pomegranate Cosmopolitan would be great for Thanksgiving. Anything in a martini glass makes you feel like it's a party, doesn't it?
RE: Absolutely.
IG: And then I would serve a good red wine — a light red wine with turkey, like a chilled Chinon. Or, you know, a big white wine like...I'm not so good with wines...like a Chassagne-Montrachet.
RE: Sounds great. Can you share a little bit more about how you plan and prep the meal — how you avoid spending the whole day in the kitchen?
IG: 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. So the first thing I'll do is make a list of what I'd like to make. And then I look at it and think, Do Ireally need seven vegetables?[Laughs] And I start crossing things off.
I'll decide upon the appetizers and the dessert; I think about the colors, the flavors, and the textures. If I'm doing string beans, I'll want something pureed with them, because it has a completely different color and texture. And then I'll want something that's sort of chunky or roasted crisp; for instance, the Brussels sprouts with lardons are completely different than the celery root — and-apple puree, which is completely different from the string beans and shallots. You want to make sure they all balance each other well.
The next thing I do is think about how many dishes on that menu have to be made in the moment. And if anything has to be made right before serving dinner, I take it off the list or find a substitute. The third thing I do is a schedule of how I'm going to get the meal on the table. Not Thanksgiving Day, but before I've gone shopping.
RE: So you'll go hour by hour?
IG: Even minute by minute!
RE: Wow. Please give me an example.
IG: I'll do a schedule saying, "I want to serve dinner at six o'clock." I'll work backward. The turkey has to go into the oven and cook for two and a half hours, and it has to rest for half an hour. I'll write, "3:00: Put the turkey in. 2:30: Turn the oven on." And then I'll figure out: If I only have one oven, what am I going to do about it? Can I make a gratin in the oven if I have a turkey in the oven? No, that's out. But I can make the string beans with shallots, because that's on top of the stove. And I can make a celery root — and-apple puree, because that's on top of the stove. So it's really important to figure out what your resources are and what you want to make before you go shopping, to figure out if you can do it.
RE: Tell me more about worrying about what will fit into the oven at one time.
IG: It's interesting. I renovated my house kitchen about two years ago. And I ordered a new stove — I'd had the other stove for 20 years. Then the new one arrived, and I thought, Oh, it's got one big oven and one tiny oven. And the big oven is great, but the tiny oven isn't the second oven. It's too small. All of a sudden I realized I really only had one oven, and I was going to go exchange it when I thought, It's a very good discipline for me, because most people in America really only have one oven. And so I kept it.
Read more: Ina Garten Thanksgiving Interview - Ina Garten Recipes for Thanksgiving - Good Housekeeping
Known for the famed—and now much missed—food shop Barefoot Contessa in East Hampton, New York, Ina Garten has written four cookbooks (her newest, Barefoot in Paris, is out this month) and become an authority on casual but elegant entertaining. Here, her best ideas for parties and Thanksgiving feasts.
What do you like to serve for Thanksgiving? I serve turkey with spinach gratin and smashed sweet potatoes with orange. You don't need stuffing. People have more fun if they don't eat so much they have to be taken home in an ambulance. And no hors d'oeuvres—I learned this from the French. Just cashews and Veuve Clicquot or Kirs Royales; I mix one teaspoon of cassis per glass of Champagne and serve them in my "Provence" glasses from Baccarat ($105; 800-777-0100).
What china do you use? I love faience pottery from France, especially the green- and cream-colored plates by the late Provençal potter Jean Faucon, and anything else in the same style. You can get similar plates at Le Fanion in Manhattan (from $42; 212-463-8760). I like solid colors. Patterns don't make food look as good.
What else is on your table? Hotel silver from a woman named Ginger Kilbane, who restores old pieces from hotels. She also sells great gravy boats ($285 from Bergdorf Goodman; 800-558-1855). I serve vinaigrette in them. After all, how often do you need gravy? To make vinaigrette, I whisk together 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup of olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
How do you decorate in the fall? I light a fire in the fireplace and put a bowl of dates and clementines on the table.
Any tips for avoiding pre-party anxiety? After I create a menu, I write down a schedule with everything on it. People are surprised when they walk into my kitchen and see the detailed timeline: "5 p.m. Start on apple crisp and turn on oven. 5:30 Put apple crisp in oven" and so on. I know my carrots take 30 minutes, and I want them ready when I sit down to eat, so I write down that they'll go in the oven a half hour before dinner. I'll even write down "4 p.m. Slice carrots." And I set a timer. Then I'm more relaxed.
Do you like to involve family or friends in cooking Thanksgiving dinner? It always sounds like fun, having everyone cook together. But they have to really want to cook. I don't ask them to bring ingredients; that doesn't seem generous. Instead people get assigned recipes to make at my house, like roasted butternut squash or brussels sprouts. I do the turkey. But one year, when I left the room for a bit, I came back to find everyone gone. They all went to watch the football game, and I was left with an hour to do Thanksgiving dinner by myself.
Any tips for designing a menu for a casual dinner party? Never make more than two or three things. If I have to cook more than two or three dishes, I'll do an easy dessert, like blue cheese, pears and a glass of port. Make things you can cook the day before, like beef bourguignon. It sits in its own juices and gets better.
What are your favorite tableware sources? I like H Groome in Southampton, which sells great handblown glass votives and table runners made from matchstick bamboo ($75 for votive and candle, $35 for runner; 631-204-0491). For linens, I go to Doucement on the Avenue Montaigne in Paris. You pick your linens at the store, and they embroider them. I have two sets of "Petit Carré"—a pattern of square dots—by Vis-à-Vis, Doucement's in-house line. I had them embroidered in orange and green, which is funny because those colors are so popular right now, but I've always had these sets ($300 for napkin and place mat; 18 ave. Montaigne; 011-33-1-43-12-55-40).
What's the best hostess gift? I like to give something that can be enjoyed for breakfast the next morning, like homemade granola or raspberry jam, or maybe a lemon loaf. At my company, Barefoot Contessa, we're launching three new coffees to add to my cinnamon-flavored Contessa Blend: Ina's All-Day, which has a nice round, full body; Breakfast, which has a hit of strong French roast to get you going; and Dinner Party, which is a little richer, just what you want after dinner ($12.50 a pound; 800-844-7002).
What's one of your entertaining pet peeves? I don't like sitting at a table that's too large, where everyone is too far apart. That's a party killer.
