I’ve lived in the Hamptons since 1978, when I first bought my store Barefoot Contessa. Ina Garten Read Quote
The thing about all my food is that everything is a remembered flavor. Maybe it’s something I had as a child or maybe it’s something I had in Milan, but I want it to taste better than you ever thought. Ina Garten Read Quote
I always have music. I love it to be very upbeat. When you’re having drinks, I like something like Cesaria Evora. During dinner, I like the much more traditional – old Frank Sinatra and things like that. Ina Garten Read Quote
The most important thing for having a party is that the hostess is having fun. I’m very organized. I make a plan for absolutely everything. I never have anything that has to be cooked while the guests are there. The only thing I might have to do is take something out of the oven and carve it. Ina Garten Read Quote
I’m really a scientist. I follow recipes exactly – until I decide not to. And then I’ll follow something else exactly. I may decide I could turn this peach tart into a plum tart, but if I’m following a recipe, I follow it exactly. Ina Garten Read Quote
People have more fun if they don’t eat so much they have to be taken home in an ambulance. Ina Garten Read Quote
You don’t have to do everything from scratch. Nobody wants to make puff pastry! Ina Garten Read Quote
I absolutely adore Thanksgiving. It’s the only holiday I insist on making myself. Ina Garten Read Quote
When I wrote ‘Barefoot in Paris,’ I wanted to make simple recipes that you could make at home that tasted like French classics. Ina Garten Read Quote
I’ve taught myself how to use good, fresh ingredients and to prepare them as simply as possible by cooking only to enhance their intrinsic flavors. Ina Garten Read Quote
