-Our next guest is an Emmy
and James Beard Award-winning Food Network host
and best-selling cookbook author.
Her 12th cookbook, "Modern Comfort Food,"
is on sale now.
Please welcome back to the show our friend Ina Garten.
Hello, Ina. How are you?
-Hi, Seth. [ Laughs ]
So good to see you. -It's always so good to see you.
-Wish we were in the same place, though.
-I know, it's not the same place.
Of course, the last time we saw each other
was maybe the most fun time we've ever had together.
We went day drinking together, Ina.
-[ Laughs ] I have a bone to pick.
-I think we could admit I drank more than you.
-I understand I drank less than anybody ever drank
on "Day Drinking with Seth Meyers,"
so I need a redo. [ Laughs ]
And none of those little shot glasses, you know?
I'm bringing my own glass.
-Well, I notice you posted this.
Oh, my God! There! Thank you for showing that.
-That's what I'm bringing. [ Laughs ]
-'Cause I saw that you posted this on social media,
and I was like, "Where was this Ina...
-[ Laughs ]
-...when we were drinking it up?"
-Now it should be noted, you drank less than I did,
but, you know, a lot of your --
at the time, people you worked with,
some of your colleagues were there, and they did say
it was the drunkest they'd ever seen you,
so you did have something. -[ Laughs ]
-That was something. And I have to say --
-I was very drunk. And I just want to show
everybody how supportive a friend you are.
Look at that lovely -- just a hand on my arm,
being like, "There, there." -[ Laughs ]
-"It'll be over soon."
-I do remember you trying to decorate a cake.
-Yeah. -It wasn't pretty.
-Let's try to -- I don't think we need to
remind everybody how badly -- -It was so much fun.
It was just great. -It was a blast.
This is -- This is a lovely book.
A book that was planned.
The idea of food as comfort is comfort food.
It was planned for the election. -Yeah.
-You did not know that it would also be coming back
when people, during a pandemic,
might want to find comfort in food.
So it's a well-timed book, unfortunately.
-And all the layers -- I mean, the pandemic
and racial justice and all the issues that are going on,
everybody is so completely stressed.
It's amazing. It really is crazy.
-And I think, you know, when you're stressed
and yet you also want to cook,
maybe now is not the time for more experimental cooking.
Maybe now's the time to sort of cook the sort of recipes in here
that are the food you're familiar with
that have sort of simpler preparation.
-So, what are your favorite comfort foods?
-I mean, you know, mashed potatoes.
-Yeah.
-You know, baked chicken, stuff like that.
-I have mashed potatoes with lemon zest in it,
in the book, that's so good. -See?
-And you know what else? Emily Blunt gave me a recipe
for her roast potatoes that you actually cook --
parboil and then you let them dry out.
And then you toss them with oil and bake them,
and they are so crisp on the outside,
and the inside, they're like mashed potatoes.
They're amazing.
So if you like mashed potatoes, you'll be gone on this one.
-I didn't know this about Emily Blunt.
I didn't know that people were allowed to just pitch...
-She's a great cook. -...pitch recipes to you.
It feels like, based on our friendship,
you should've asked if I had any.
-You know how it is. Trade makeup secrets.
[ Both laugh ]
-Hey, one of the things a lot of people cooked
that I think they thought would bring them comfort
and maybe didn't during this pandemic,
and, obviously, much has been written about it
are sourdough -- the sourdough starter.
How do you feel like this trend will last?
-I can't tell you how many people e-mailed me and said,
"What should I do about the sourdough starter?"
And I'm like, "I've never made a sourdough bread in my life."
So I had to make stuff up.
I think it's gonna last for about five minutes.
-Yeah. -It was maybe the first week
of the pandemic I got a lot of questions.
After that, nothing. Radio silence.
-My takeaway is, it is -- I've always been a fan of sourdough,
and then you try to make one, and you're like,
"This is a pretty needy bread.
Like, it wants a lot of attention."
-Everyone is different. You know, do you start
with the starter or do you get the free yeasts in the air?
I mean, like, how about go to the bakery
and get sourdough bread and have a good time?
-Absolutely. And I think, you know,
now is a good time, obviously, if you can, if it's safe,
it's really important to go to things like bakeries to,
you know, support restaurants. -Yeah.
-This is a really hard time. How do you feel like
this time that we're living through has reminded people
the importance their relationship to food has,
insofar that it supports your relationship
with your friends and family?
-Well, you know, the thing that happened was,
everything was so busy.
Everybody was running around like crazy.
And all of a sudden, it was just stopped.
It was quiet. And I think we really got back
to the stuff that was important,
which is cooking and taking care of the people around us,
maybe roasting something
and leaving it at a neighbor's house.
It was -- I think we got back to what we really
used to love doing, and it was simple.
I mean, I had a dinner party the other night, and, literally,
I had no time to cook, so I got pizzas from Sam's
in East Hampton, which is great, and I set a great table,
and we sat out under the stars,
and it was a gorgeous night with a big fire in the fire bowl.
And we had a wonderful time, and that's all we need.
I mean, it doesn't have to be some big fancy dinner
with octopus eyeballs and foam. [ Laughs ]
-Right. -It just needs to be something
where you're sharing something together
and you have a good time.
-Something we shared during this time was that
we both produced our shows remotely, by ourselves.
Basically, we were the full staff.
How did you find that time? -Wasn't that fun?
[ Laughs ] -It's fun to be back
around people that know what they're doing.
-[ Laughs ]
-Well, you had Alexi, right?
-Alexi was not that helpful.
-[ Laughs ] -Well, I don't even have Alexi.
-She doesn't watch the show, so she didn't really know
what we were aiming for. -[ Laughs ]
-And I feel safe to say this about her
with the confidence that she'll never see this.
-[ Laughs ] Yes.
But you didn't have to cook food.
-That's true, that's true. -I had to do my hair.
-I should take a big step back and make sure that's clear.
-I was the food stylist, the prop stylist, the mic person.
I wasn't very good at the mic. I used to forget to turn it on.
I had two iPhones as cameras.
I had to set them up, the detail shot.
And then I had to -- I was exhausted.
Then I had to be the presenter.
It was -- [ Laughs ] -Yes.
-It was hard. -You had a far --
Now that you mention it, a far, far higher bar than I had, so...
-Oh, and then I had to do the dishes.
You didn't have to do the dishes.
-No, I didn't have to do the dishes.
Now I am worried my wife's gonna see this,
so I'll just say I love you, babe.
[ Laughter ]
It's always such a pleasure to see you, Ina.
Congratulations on the book. -Thank you, thank you.
-And I can't wait to see you in person again soon.
-It was really fun. Okay, great to see you.
Stay safe. -Great to see you, too.
"Modern Comfort Food" is available now.