Click on image to view full PDF
“Always!” responds Ina Garten when asked if she usually spends Thanksgiving at home in East Hampton. “It’s my favorite holiday.” Which should surprise no one. What better than an occasion totally focused on cooking and entertaining for this eminent cookbook author and television chef?
Garten, with her years of experience in the Hamptons, ranges from one village to the next when shopping for this special meal: Pike’s farm stand in Sagaponack is at the top of her list for vegetables; Mecox Bay Dairy is where she goes for their free-range (with water view) Bourbon Red turkeys and hand-crafted cheeses; apples for her apple pie come from the Milk Pail in Water Mill; Cavaniola’s Gourmet in Sag Harbor is the spot for specialties; Loaves and Fishes Food Store on Sagg Main Street for pies and desserts. For the colorful table top flowers she heads to Bridgehampton Florist.
She chooses a menu that she thinks everyone will like—but, really, who wouldn’t be crazy about the Barefoot Contessa’s choices? It’s centered on the customary American Thanksgiving dinner: turkey and stuffing—but the two are kept apart until they get to the plate. It’s faster, she points out, and tastes better. Any traditional bread stuffing can be adapted to bake separately, coming out of the oven rich and savory with a crusty top.
Garten shops and cooks in quantity. “When I had the Barefoot Contessa store on Newtown Lane customers would come in on Friday after Thanksgiving looking for turkey and gravy because they did not have leftovers. So I always prepare enough for my guests to take food home. Basically, I do an extra whole meal for leftovers.”
For those of us aiming to create just a single exceptional meal, Garten offered a few hints. “Work ahead” is foremost. She is serious on this: one of her cookbooks is titled Make It Ahead. And don’t overcook the turkey, she cautions. Most turkeys need about two and a half hours as opposed to lengthy baking with dried out results. How do you roast a turkey to be more like hers? Use that erstwhile tool: a meat thermometer.