Welcome to Dining With the Stars, a series where we sit down with celebrities and chefs to discuss all things food. Grab a seat at our table to find out their favorite restaurants, dream dinner party guest list and more delicious details.
For more than 20 years, Ina Garten invited millions of viewers into her East Hampton kitchen with her Food Network shows, “Barefoot Contessa” and “Be My Guest.”
As Garten serves her famous engagement chicken and outrageous brownies — all while wearing her signature denim button-down shirts and silk scarves — it’s easy to feel comfortable with the woman on the screen. In her newly published memoir, “Be Ready When the Luck Happens,” Garten connects to her audience in a whole new way, opening up about her childhood, career and marriage.
During a whirlwind media tour promoting the book, Garten found time to take a seat at our table for this edition of Dining With the Stars. Throughout the interview, she offers advice to home cooks, reveals her favorite recipe that she’s developed and shares her pick for the best place to eat in the Hamptons (hint: she doesn’t need a reservation).
What is your hosting philosophy?
You know, I think the most important thing about hosting is remembering these are your friends and that you want to have a good time with them. It’s not about the meal. It’s really about spending time with your friends. So while I’m planning the menu or planning where we’re going to have the party, that’s my overriding principle.
I always say to myself, ‘If I make this peach tart versus ordering one from a bakery, will my friends have more fun, or will the store-bought version be just fine?’ — and it is.
How do you balance giving your fans what they know and love while trying new things? Or do you like staying in your comfort zone?
I pretty much stay in my comfort zone. I think a lot of people are writing cookbooks to show off their talent. I’m writing cookbooks to help people make dinner. I know what I like to eat and it’s very simple — it’s roast chicken, roast carrots and coconut cupcakes. And so I really pretty much stick to what I like.
What advice do you have for aspiring home cooks who are just beginning to find their footing in the kitchen? And where do home cooks go wrong?
I think everybody needs, like, two or three dishes that they can make without worrying about it — and to make them when nobody’s looking. So pick whatever you like to eat and make them a few times on your own. And then when you have a dinner party, you’re ready to make it well and not, like, have your hair on fire while you’re doing it.
I think a lot of people find a recipe from, you know, 1956 from Gourmet magazine, and they say, ‘oh, wouldn’t this be fun to make for a dinner party?’ You have no idea how it’s going to come out. You don’t know how long it’s going to take to make. You don’t know a lot of things about it. And that’s not when you should experiment.
I have several things: In the summer, I like to make lobster Cobb salad. In the winter, I like to make red wine-braised short ribs on polenta.
I think home cooks go wrong trying to make something that impresses people, rather than something they know how to make.
What do you think has been the thing that’s allowed you to continue connecting with readers all these years?
I think I have a good sense of what people want to eat — and that’s from my 20 years of running a specialty food store where people came and bought things and took them home.
Those are the recipes that I like to make, and I think they’re simple. I think you can find the ingredients in a grocery store and people feel good about making them.
It seems like the same things that sold back then would probably still be popular today. Do you agree?
Yeah, I agree. I mean, coconut cupcakes were delicious then and they’re still really good.
Favorite restaurant in the Hamptons?
My kitchen.
Cooking at home or dining out?
Cooking at home. I just like the experience of being at home and sitting around a table and somebody serving wine — just very casual and private.
Go-to comfort food?
Well, it’s the fall — I love butternut squash and apple soup.
Dream dinner party guest list?
Jeffrey, Julia Child, Eric Ripert; there’s so many to choose from.
Favorite recipe you’ve ever developed?
I think the thing that I’ve made the most is the French Apple Tart. It’s got a crisp crust and sweet apples and butter and sugar, and it’s easy to make. To me, it’s just simple and elegant, which I love.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
