Ina Garten Quotations

You can get bogged down in a recipe that's got a lot of steps and a million ingredients, and it takes all day to make. And then you realize, you've just got one dish. For Thanksgiving, you want an abundance of choices, and so you want dishes that you can put together really quickly, but that doesn't mean less flavor.

I think the best shortcut is to choose really simple recipes. Because I think you can make simple recipes that are as delicious as complicated ones.

The planning is everything. Deciding which dishes you're going to prepare can turn into the make-or-break decision five days later, when you actually serve the meal.

It's so important that you don't put the stuffing in the bird, where in order for the stuffing to get cooked you have to overcook the turkey. It's better to do it on the side.

My extravagance is my garden - it's the first thing I look at every morning when I wake up. It gives me so much pleasure.

I've lived in the Hamptons since 1978, when I first bought my store Barefoot Contessa.

People have more fun if they don't eat so much they have to be taken home in an ambulance.

I always like to have flowers on the table. I think they make it look special.

I get up every day, do the best that I can do, and go home and have a good time.

I time everything. I'm a scientist at heart.