2 min read- Ina Garten revealed her secret to planning easy-to-achieve dinner party meals.
- She shared that side dishes can be the main attraction, highlighting her beginner-friendly truffled mashed potatoes.
- Garten’s strategic cooking approach combines stovetop, oven, and room-temperature dishes.
Who among us hasn’t looked at Ina Garten and thought, How does she do it? We might know her secret to picking a toast-worthy Thanksgiving wine and hosting the perfect dinner party, but what about her menus? Whenever we see Garten’s meals, they’re always effortlessly elegant, well-planned, and look downright delicious. Fortunately, the Barefoot Contessa broke down her process in a recent Substack—and it’s surprisingly simple.
Garten acknowledges that planning a meal around her guests’ dietary preferences and restrictions, as well as seasonal ingredients, isn’t always easy, but she chooses her courses as a director would cast a play. “My first rule is that there should be one ‘star’ on the plate, and the other dishes can play a ‘supporting’ role,” she wrote. “You don’t want all of the flavors screaming at you at once.”
Conventional wisdom might suggest that an entrée should be the star; however, Garten argues that side dishes also have main-character energy. She specifically likes to put the spotlight on her beginner-friendly truffled mashed potatoes. “It’s so simple and good, it makes everything you serve with it even better,” she explains.
Of course, every home chef knows juggling multiple dishes can be a challenge, which is why Garten always comes up with a game plan. “There’s usually something on top of the stove, something in the oven, and something that can be served at room temperature or made ahead,” she says. That way, you don’t have to stress about manning multiple burners and an oven stuffed with food.
So, what’s Garten’s dream lineup? The Barefoot Contessa typically pairs her mashed potatoes with her crowd-pleasing chicken with goat cheese and basil, along with a generous helping of broccolini. Bonus points: She typically preps her broccolini ahead of time to streamline the entire process.
In the immortal words of Garten herself, How easy is that?