Leading up to Thanksgiving, we took a trip to the home of Ina Garten, the legendary cookbook author and TV star. For one glorious afternoon, the Barefoot Contessa gave us a master class on the art of hosting. She answered our questions big and small — seating arrangements, whether to have bread at the table, what to do with that difficult relative, how to zest correctly. Plus, she walked us through two of her signature recipes, which you can enjoy this holiday.
For photos and recipes from our visit with Ina Garten, visit nytimes.com/thedaily (http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily) . Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
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This was so wonderful. Thanks.
This was lovely! I really loved it.
So great!!!❤
Interesting what she said about NOT accepting help with the dishes! It made me think about the time I went to an older sister’s house near Philly for Thanksgiving. I had taken the train there from NYC after working a miserable 24-hour shift at a hospital, after which I burst into tears. It was all I could do to stay awake and interact with people. After dinner, she commanded me to make myself useful and handed me a dish towel. She did it with a smile on her face, and I, trying to mirror her levity, started singing “Ole Man River,” as I lifted the proverbial bale. Inside, I confess, what I was feeling was, “I really would have been just fine collapsing on my bed in my own apartment after I clocked out, but for the sake of ‘family togetherness’, I am here, so give me a f—ing break.” I suppose her way of seeing it was that she had spent the whole day cooking and had opened up her home for the holiday, and, unlike others, I had shown up without a dish to contribute—because I was traveling by train and had been working for the previous 24 hours. She didn’t understand that, in my view, I was already making a sacrifice of time, money, and sleep to be there. Anyway, I am pleased to hear Ina say it’s bad form to ACCEPT, let alone EXPECT, help with the dishes.
This was adorable ❤