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Ina Garten is known for her simple, straight-forward recipes (and ingenious kitchen hacks) that let the ingredients shine, and with the release of her new book, “Be Ready When Luck Happens: A Memoir,” she’s reaching out to audiences with her clear, easy prose, too. A consummate go-getter and life-liver, Garten reveals in “Be Ready…” that she played beer pong for the very first time at the age of 67 — and it was all because of Taylor Swift.
In her book how she treated her team to tickets to Taylor Swift’s 1989 World Tour stop at MetLife Stadium in New York. Swift (herself a foodie, home cook, and baker) then invited the whole gang to the after party, which she threw for her crew after each concert, and Garten found herself facing off against members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team in a game of beer pong.
Never having played, Garten had no clue what the game even was; but that was quickly resolved when Abby Wambach, one of the greatest soccer players alive today who was fresh off her win at the 2015 World Cup, took her in hand and named herself Garten’s mentor. With the music blasting, Garten had a difficult time hearing Wambach, who simply scream-advised, “Just get the f-cking ball in the f-cking glass!”
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Garten And Swift’s Mutual Adoration Is Well-Documented
One of the reasons Swift no doubt invited Garten and her team to the after party in 2015 is that the two were well-known to each other. Just the year previously, Garten recounts in her book, they had been paired together for a photo shoot which teamed up musicians with their favorite Food Network personalities — and “Taylor Swift chose me!” the “Barefoot Contessa” star thrilled.
This was followed up in 2019 when Swift revealed that one of her favorite recipes of Garten’s to cook is her Real Meatballs and Spaghetti, which is one of her go-to’s for dinner parties. Later that same year Garten wished Swift a happy birthday on Instagram, calling her “a beacon of light for women of all generations, including me!” Three years after that when the Food Network magazine put together a tribute to celebrate 20 years of the Barefoot Contessa program, Swift wrote a lovely passage, describing Garten as “even better, funnier, warmer than you’d hoped her to be,” and saying that the iconic TV star “made cooking feel like self-care.”
For the longtime “Barefoot Contessa” fans out there who want to read more about the culinary icon, be sure to check out which kitchen tools Ina Garten can’t do without, and what her secret is for a delicious and creamy potato salad.
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