- 10 hours ago
Be.My.Guest.With.Ina.Garten.S07E01
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00:00I'm Ina Garton. I love to invite interesting people to my house for good food, great conversation, and lots of
00:07fun.
00:07The incredible award-winning actress Allison Janney is joining me for a wonderful day at the barn.
00:13I'm welcoming her with Baked Fontina as a tribute to her childhood love of fondue.
00:18And she's sharing incredible stories about her life and work.
00:22It was the first time I was seen by millions.
00:26Millions.
00:26Then we're cooking and having the best time as I share the secrets of making perfect cacio e pepe in
00:33my take on her all-time favorite pasta.
00:36You were totally my dream guest.
00:38Oh, thank you so much.
00:39I love you so much.
00:40You're my host from hell.
00:49I can't wait to meet Allison Janney.
00:51I'm such a huge fan.
00:54We've actually been messaging each other for a year, but we've never met.
00:58She'll be here later, and I need cheese, and I'm heading to my favorite store in Sag Harbor.
01:06We're here.
01:09Okay, I need some fontina for a baked fontina, and I need some pecorino for a delicious pasta we're making
01:15later.
01:18Oh, I love the way it smells in here.
01:20I just want everything.
01:22Hi, I know.
01:22How are you?
01:23Okay, I'll take one of everything.
01:24No problem.
01:25Okay.
01:25I need one and a half pounds of fontina valdosta.
01:28All right.
01:28And one pound of aged pecorino.
01:30Perfect.
01:31So fontina is a very flavorful cheese.
01:33The best one is this one from valdosta in Italy, and it's got, it's kind of like nutty and fruity
01:39at the same time.
01:40It's going to be delicious.
01:41And pecorino, aged pecorino, is a little like parmesan, except it's made with sheep's milk cheese, so it's a little
01:47less salty and a little less nutty.
01:50It's delicious.
01:56Thank you very much.
01:57Thank you so much, Michael.
01:59Have fun.
01:59Bye.
02:00Take care.
02:03So I'm heading back to the barn to get everything ready.
02:05In the meantime, I'll tell you everything I know about Alice and Janney.
02:09Alice and Janney is an incredible, multi-award winning star of stage, screen, and TV.
02:16Brought up in Dayton, Ohio, with her two brothers, real estate developer dad, and actress mom, she dreamt of becoming
02:23an Olympic figure skater.
02:24But after injuring her leg in a freak accident, her destiny changed, and she studied theater at Kenyon College, where
02:31she met her mentors, superstar actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward.
02:35Her acting career had a slow start, and after years of struggling playing minor roles, she made her Broadway debut
02:43at 37 in Noel Coward's Present Laughter, followed by View from the Bridge, earning her a Tony nomination.
02:51Her big TV break came with The West Wing, where she played C.J. Craig, winning four Emmys.
02:57More awards followed for Masters of Sex and the sitcom Mom.
03:01Her recent series include Palm Royal and The Diplomat, where she plays the president.
03:07She starred in amazing movies from American Beauty, The Hours, to her Oscar-winning performance playing figure skater Tonya Harding's
03:16mom in the biopic I, Tonya.
03:19Allison lives in California with her beloved Australian cattle dogs, and I can't wait to meet her.
03:25Isn't Allison amazing? There's nothing she can't do.
03:29So I'm back at the barn, and I'm cutting up fontina.
03:32Allison always requested fondue for her birthday when she was a kid, so I'm making baked fontina, which is an
03:37adult version of it.
03:38So it's the easiest dish to make in the world.
03:41Just take all the fontina, one and a half pounds, just put it in a pan.
03:46I like to use a cast-iron skillet, and then a quarter cup of olive oil.
03:50This is a one-pan dish, and it's so good.
03:54And then I'm going to slice up lots of garlic, six cloves, really, really thinly.
03:58This won't take long.
04:00I'll be cooking with Ina in just a few minutes.
04:07I hope she remembers that I'm coming.
04:12Okay, garlic's done.
04:14I'm just going to put it right in the pan.
04:15Just distribute it around.
04:17You don't want to dump it in the middle.
04:19And then lots of fresh herbs.
04:20Fresh thyme.
04:22And then rosemary.
04:24Just sprinkle it all over.
04:25Lots of salt and pepper.
04:27Teaspoon of each.
04:28Okay.
04:30This is ready to go in the oven.
04:31What I've done is preheat the broiler, and I'm going to put it in about five inches from the heat.
04:35And in six minutes, it's going to be browned and bubbly and delicious and ready for Alison when she gets
04:40here.
04:43Oh, my God.
04:43My heart's kind of...
04:45My heart's kind of beating a little fast.
04:48Okay, wait.
04:51Oh, my God.
04:52Okay.
04:52I think we're here.
04:53Oh, my God.
04:54We're here.
04:54Okay.
04:55Okay.
04:55Okay.
04:55Here we go.
05:00Wish me luck.
05:02Oh, and keep the...
05:05Engine running in case things don't go well.
05:07I'm just cutting up some crusty French bread to dip into the baked fontina.
05:11I love recipes like this.
05:13One pan.
05:13No muss.
05:14No fuss.
05:15Hello?
05:24Ina?
05:25Hello?
05:26Anybody here?
05:28God, let me tell you.
05:30She was falling on 100 times.
05:32Hello?
05:33Hello?
05:34Anybody?
05:36It's Alison Janney.
05:38I'm here.
05:41Ina?
05:43Yoo-hoo?
05:45I'm coming in.
05:46Don't shoot.
05:48There she is.
05:50Oh, my God.
05:51Alison Janney.
05:55I'm so happy to see you.
05:57I have been looking forward to this.
05:57Are you really here?
05:58I am here.
05:59I can't believe it.
06:00But yes, I am.
06:01So, I understand when you were a kid, you didn't want a birthday cake for your birthday.
06:05You wanted fondue.
06:06Oh, I wanted fondue and cake.
06:08And birthday cake.
06:09Well, but I, you know, it was cheese fondue, beef fondue, and then chocolate fondue, and
06:12then the cake.
06:14So, in your honor, I decided to make a big fontina.
06:17Okay.
06:18So, will you have some with me?
06:21No, I've got other plans.
06:23I know.
06:23I'm sorry.
06:23I have to go.
06:24Oh, my God.
06:25That smells amazing.
06:26And the best part is you don't even need a play.
06:28You just dip right into it.
06:30You just dip right in there.
06:30Have you been to East Sampton before?
06:31I have.
06:32I used to actually, I used to come out here quite a lot.
06:35Really?
06:35As I did plays at the Bay Street Theater Festival.
06:39How did I not know that?
06:40You were at East Sampton and I didn't know that?
06:42Yeah.
06:42Why is that?
06:43I don't know.
06:43Why were you not supporting me?
06:45A major failure of mine.
06:46Yeah.
06:46I'm telling you.
06:47Because we did some great, fun plays out here.
06:48So, this is really messy, isn't it?
06:50Yeah, it is.
06:51But it looks fabulous.
06:53Here, let's have fun.
06:54Oh, what a mess.
06:57Cheers.
06:57Cheers.
06:58Boom.
06:59Oh, my God.
07:01It's not any fun unless you're wearing it.
07:05This is fantastic.
07:07Is it good?
07:07Okay.
07:07I'm so glad you like it.
07:10Wait a second.
07:11I don't want that whole glob.
07:12You say, oh, my God.
07:13You took all my cheese.
07:15You took all my cheese.
07:16I think we need help.
07:17Okay, this is like really.
07:20There it is.
07:23Oh, my God.
07:25That was ridiculous.
07:26That was ridiculous.
07:31I just can't believe the fabulous Allison Janney is here with me.
07:36You've played so many different people.
07:39I mean, it's just extraordinary from CJ Craig, who's strong and smart and vulnerable.
07:44Yeah.
07:45To I, Tonya, where you play this just reputable, horrible mother.
07:53Yeah.
07:53How do you find the humanity in the really terrible ones?
07:55It's so great that you say that because that's my job.
07:59That's what I want to do.
08:00I can't ever judge my characters.
08:03I didn't hate LaVonna Harding.
08:06I felt her wound inside.
08:08I found what it was that made her vulnerable and knew how much she hated herself.
08:15But it's always the writing for me.
08:16I see someone I read, you know, Aaron Sorkin's West Wing.
08:19This is incredible.
08:21There's nothing like that.
08:21And no one's going to ever watch it because nobody likes politics.
08:25Little did I know.
08:26Did you think that when you started?
08:27Because I was like, no one's going to watch this.
08:29It's a show about politics.
08:30I was so wrong, thankfully.
08:32And then I read the show Mom, and that was about recovering alcoholics.
08:37And that was important to me because I lost my brother to that disease.
08:41And I felt that that was an important thing for me to do.
08:45It felt good to do that.
08:46I mean, you're hard-pressed to find anybody who doesn't have somebody in their family who struggles with it.
08:51Early in your career, did you ever doubt that you were going to make it?
08:54I really thought at one point it wasn't going to happen for me
08:56because everyone kept saying I was just too tall.
09:00I couldn't play ingenues.
09:02I wasn't fitting in anywhere.
09:04And I thought, well, what am I going to do?
09:07And I just kept holding out.
09:09I went to the Johnson O'Connor Institute in New York.
09:13They have an aptitude test.
09:14Oh, really?
09:15And I went there and did that.
09:15You were really desperate, right?
09:17I was.
09:17And they told me I'd make an excellent systems analyst.
09:20A systems analyst?
09:21Yeah, I had no idea what that is.
09:22So I thought, well, I better stick with the acting.
09:24Jeffrey says, you never know your good breaks from your bad ones.
09:27Something bad happens.
09:29And then from that, something good happens that never would have happened.
09:33Do you agree?
09:33I 100% agree.
09:35I had wanted to be an Olympic figure skater when I was growing up.
09:40And I spent a lot of time at the rink skating and doing my compulsory figures and doing the
09:46tests.
09:46And I was pretty good.
09:48And then one night I was at a party and I ended up running through a plate glass window.
09:53And that ended my skating career.
09:56I had to heal from that for a year at home.
09:58So I had to defer going to college.
10:00And then I finally went to Kenyon College where I ended up meeting Paul Newman and Joanne
10:04Woodward because Paul came back to direct the first play in the new theater they had built
10:10there.
10:10And I got cast in it.
10:12And so began my relationship with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, who became huge mentors
10:18for me.
10:19Which would never have happened.
10:20No.
10:20If you hadn't fallen through that plate glass window.
10:22Exactly.
10:22And waited a year to go to the college.
10:24Isn't that incredible?
10:25It is.
10:25It is.
10:25It seemed like the worst thing that could have happened.
10:27And then it turned out it was the making of your career.
10:30I love that story.
10:31Always a silver lining, you know.
10:32Yeah.
10:33What were the early highlights of your theater career?
10:36Noel Coward was my first Broadway production with Frank Langella, Present Laughter.
10:41And then I did Arthur Miller's View from the Bridge.
10:45Wow.
10:45I did do The Delacorte in the Park.
10:47I did Taming of the Shrew.
10:49And I played, you know, Catherine the Shrew.
10:51And I had just, I screamed so much that the police would come always in the park because
10:56they'd get complaints.
10:57Someone's getting murdered in the park.
10:59Murdered in the park.
11:00It was, I don't know, it's just Allison Janney screaming in the park.
11:03There was one play with a hilarious name, Fat Men in Skirts.
11:07You'll have to tell me about this.
11:09It's the most bizarre title.
11:11I don't even know what it has to do with the play.
11:13It was about a mother and son who are getting a plane wreck and they survive on a desert island.
11:20And I remember one of my funniest lines I had to say to Matt McGrath, my son.
11:24And I said, I want you to march back to that plane, cut the arm off that nun, bring it
11:28back here and I'll cook it and we'll eat it.
11:31And you had to do that without laughing?
11:32It was just so funny.
11:33I was trying to be matron.
11:35You go back to that plane, cut the arm off that nun, bring it back here, I'll cook it and
11:38we'll eat it.
11:39And it was so funny.
11:41Marissa Tomei was in that with us and Stanley Tucci.
11:43Oh, my God.
11:44I love Stanley Tucci so much.
11:45I love him inappropriately.
11:48And he used to do something really funny with you.
11:50This is so counterintuitive and so Stanley.
11:52It was so right for me.
11:54It was exactly what I need to hear before I go out on stage.
11:57He said, I want you to go out there and be as terrible as I know you are.
12:01I want you to go out there and suck.
12:03Go show those people what an awful actress you are.
12:06And I was like, I'll do it, Stanley.
12:08I'm going to show them I'm actually not.
12:10And it made me, I couldn't go on without him doing that.
12:13I was like, Stanley, come here, do the thing, say the thing.
12:15And I'd go on and we just had a ball doing that play.
12:18So what was the impact on you of playing the character of C.J. Craig in West Wing?
12:22It was huge.
12:24It was the first time I was seen by, instead of a, you know, 200, 300 seat theater, I was
12:29seen by millions.
12:32Millions.
12:32Millions.
12:32Millions.
12:33And all the awards you won for that role is just incredible.
12:36Yeah, I started to be recognized.
12:39And that was sort of interesting.
12:41It was a little off-putting and, but sometimes kind of fun.
12:46And I have one story that's funny.
12:47I was on the subway and I was, I was holding all these books.
12:50And I started looking, all these people were, were staring at me.
12:53And I was like, oh God, I'm getting so famous.
12:55This is, I don't know if I'm going to be able to ride the subway anymore.
12:57It's just, this is, everyone's looking at me.
13:00And I waited and my stop came and I, and I was getting up to go and I looked down
13:04and
13:05my entire blouse was completely open.
13:09And I was like, okay, I hear you universe.
13:12Let's just put your feet back on the ground.
13:15Isn't that great?
13:15Anyway.
13:17So what do you like to do when you're not working?
13:19I like to do absolutely nothing.
13:23Isn't that the best?
13:24My favorite thing to do, nothing.
13:26I mean, did not have anything to do and sit on the couch with my dogs and just maybe take
13:31a nap, maybe watch something on TV.
13:34It's a gift.
13:35It's what I call follow my nose.
13:37It's the ultimate luxury, having nothing to do.
13:39It's a real treat.
13:41It's my, my, my happy place right now.
13:44So do you cook for yourself?
13:47I don't cook for myself either.
13:49It's so boring to cook for yourself.
13:50It's so boring.
13:51I mean, I cook to bring people together.
13:53So like for myself, I'll make oatmeal for dinner.
13:56Really?
13:56Really.
13:57Oh my God.
13:57So this is my thing.
13:58The only thing I make for myself is pasta.
14:01I love it.
14:02I ate pasta and pesto in New York during the eighties.
14:05That's all I ate.
14:06And then I decided to get a fancy and try cacio e pepe, which I tried for the first time
14:12a while ago.
14:13And I was like, I need to make this.
14:14And, and I have failed at making it every single time because I can't get the, it doesn't,
14:19the sauce doesn't ever come together.
14:20I'm going to show you how to do it.
14:21Can I show you how to make pasta cacio e pepe?
14:24Would you please?
14:25It's really easy.
14:25And it's so good.
14:27You would make me the happiest woman alive.
14:29And, and, and, and, and also if you could teach me how to make just a simple vinaigrette
14:33to go with salad.
14:34Easiest thing in the world.
14:35Really?
14:35You're all set.
14:36Okay.
14:36Let's go cook.
14:37Let's do it.
14:43I'm here with Alice and Janney and we're going to cook together.
14:46Yay.
14:46We are.
14:47We're excited.
14:48So you want to know how to make, um, cacio e pepe.
14:50Cacio e pepe pasta and a vinaigrette.
14:52So I think we're going to start with a vinaigrette.
14:54I think we should.
14:54We'll start simple.
14:55Yes.
14:56Two ingredients.
14:57Two?
14:58You can do it.
14:58Two ingredients plus salt and pepper.
15:00Okay.
15:00Okay.
15:01So the first ingredient is a quarter of a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
15:04Okay.
15:04Are you on the whisk?
15:05Yes, I am.
15:06And then you whisk in half a cup of,
15:08Wait, half a cup?
15:09At the same, of olive oil.
15:10In addition, just up to, okay.
15:12So it's going to go up to three quarters of a cup.
15:13Oh, okay.
15:14So just keep whisking.
15:16And that is, with salt and pepper, that's a vinaigrette.
15:19No, it's not.
15:20I did.
15:21But that's too simple.
15:22And teaspoon of salt.
15:23Teaspoon of salt?
15:25Half a teaspoon of pepper.
15:27Is that really?
15:28That's it.
15:29People think vinaigrette's really complicated.
15:31Yeah.
15:32And it's not.
15:32And if you whisk it while you're doing it,
15:34then you end up with an emulsion.
15:36Just like that.
15:37You're done.
15:38You're working too hard.
15:39Way too hard.
15:40I like just,
15:42dum, dum, da-do-di-di-dup.
15:45Perfect.
15:46Okay.
15:46Is that lightly dressed for you?
15:48Yes.
15:48Okay.
15:51Oh, that's perfect.
15:52Isn't that perfect?
15:52Uh-huh.
15:53Okay.
15:53Great.
15:54Okay.
15:54Now, I think we're going to make some pasta,
15:56but I think we need a little glass of wine first.
15:58I thought you'd never...
16:00Wow.
16:01Cheers.
16:01Next, the pasta.
16:02Next, the pasta.
16:05We can do this, right?
16:06Oh, you can do it,
16:08and I'm going to help you do it.
16:09Okay, so first I want to salt the water.
16:11Oh, yeah.
16:11Two tablespoons of salt,
16:13and then it's a half a pound of tagliatelle.
16:15I'm going to dump the whole thing in, right?
16:17Just dump it in.
16:19Look at that.
16:20And stir it around.
16:22And you just check the package.
16:24This says six minutes.
16:25So do you do it under,
16:26or you do it exactly six minutes?
16:28Six minutes, yeah.
16:29Okay.
16:29Okay, in the meantime,
16:30we have two things we have to do.
16:31Okay.
16:31Cacio, which is the cheese.
16:33Yes.
16:33Which is pecorino,
16:35really good-aged pecorino.
16:36Okay.
16:37And pepe, which is pepper.
16:39So you want the pepper kind of ground,
16:41roughly ground.
16:42Okay.
16:42So this is some mortar and pestle,
16:44and you want to grind it around.
16:47Exactly.
16:47Okay.
16:47And I'm going to do...
16:49And what kind of pecorino is it?
16:50It's really good-aged pecorino.
16:52So do you like to entertain at home,
16:54or is it just, like, too much to do?
16:56I'll tell you what I like to do.
16:57What do you like to do?
16:57I like to, now that you're my friend,
16:59I invite people who know how to cook over to my house.
17:02I do, and I have them cook.
17:03I'll bring my knives with me.
17:04Yes.
17:05Exactly.
17:06Okay.
17:06Or, you know, if it's a small amount of people,
17:09I will cook the one thing I know how to cook,
17:10which is your version of engagement chicken.
17:13Oh, everybody needs to know how to make roast chicken.
17:15Right.
17:15It's the most important thing.
17:16And it's the easiest thing,
17:17and it's the thing everybody wants to eat.
17:18And I know how to do that and make a salad.
17:20So do we think...
17:20And now I know how to make a...
17:21Now you're going to make a vinaigrette, right?
17:22Vinaigrette.
17:22Look how good that looks.
17:23Does it?
17:23Did I do it well?
17:24Perfect.
17:24Everyone, look how beautifully I pounded that pepper.
17:28Okay.
17:29Let's see how the pasta's doing.
17:30All right.
17:31So the way I test it is just taste it and see if it's...
17:35Let me cut this in half.
17:37It's good and hot.
17:39Here, taste it and see if it tastes al dente.
17:45Mm.
17:46Nice and salty, too.
17:48It tastes good.
17:48It's good.
17:49Yeah.
17:49It's really good.
17:50Here, here.
17:50And this is the really important part.
17:52I always save some of the pasta water
17:54because it has starch in it
17:55and it makes a really good sauce.
17:57I always forget to do that part.
17:58Okay, so thank you.
18:00How about this?
18:00Me, too.
18:02Okay, I'm going to drain the pasta.
18:04All right.
18:04Okay.
18:06Should I turn off...
18:07I'm going to turn off the heat.
18:07Yeah, you can turn that off.
18:12Put it back in the pot.
18:13Okay.
18:15And then we're going to put all the ingredients
18:17for cocktail pepper in.
18:18Right in the pot.
18:19How's that?
18:19I love cooking with you.
18:21I love cooking with you.
18:27Allison and I are making cacio e pepe pasta
18:29and I promised her it wasn't going to be lumpy
18:31so it better not be lumpy.
18:33It better not be.
18:34It came a long way for this pasta.
18:37Okay, so...
18:37What do we do?
18:38You're going to be the chef on the sous chef.
18:40You want two tablespoons of cream.
18:41Just pour it right in.
18:42Two tablespoons of cream, pour it right in.
18:44And this is all over at low heat.
18:46Okay, one tablespoon of butter
18:47because, of course, everything's better with butter.
18:49Are you sure one tablespoon's enough?
18:51It's never enough.
18:53One and a half teaspoons of salt.
18:56And everybody, like, dumps salt in the middle
18:59but you want to shake it over it.
19:00Okay.
19:00So it gets really mixed in.
19:02Half a cup of pecorino.
19:06Alice and Jenny ground peppercorns.
19:09All of it.
19:10All of it.
19:10Oh, well, I guess it's, you know, cacio e pepe.
19:12It's cacio e pepe.
19:12It has to really...
19:13Pepe is the pepper.
19:14And you know what?
19:14It's going to, as it's cooking,
19:16it's going to get a little thick
19:16so that's what the pasta water's for.
19:18Make a sauce out of it
19:19rather than having it really thick.
19:22How's that doing?
19:23This is exhausting.
19:24I'm tired.
19:25Wait a second.
19:25Okay.
19:26Add a little bit of freshly chopped parsley.
19:31Okay, I didn't know I had to look at it.
19:32Should I take over?
19:33How about you switch?
19:34I'll take over.
19:35Because I feel like I'm not doing it right.
19:36You're doing it exactly right.
19:38Look at this.
19:38And the heat actually kind of cooks it a little bit more.
19:42That was exhausting.
19:45I'm not kidding.
19:46My heart is like...
19:47Really?
19:48It's good exercise.
19:49And then you can eat all this pasta, right?
19:51Yes, yes.
19:52And then the last thing we need
19:53is the rest of that pecorino.
19:54Okay.
19:55All of it at once or just sprinkle it?
19:57I'm just going to...
19:58Just put it right on top.
19:59There you go.
20:00That's it.
20:00Boom.
20:01The secret of me is
20:02I always think it's going to come out terribly.
20:04And when it comes out well,
20:05I'm just thrilled.
20:08You underestimate yourself
20:09and then you always surprise yourself.
20:10Totally.
20:11This is the way you're supposed to do it,
20:12but I don't know how to do it.
20:13Well, you just sort of did it.
20:15I sort of did it.
20:16So this is enough for like three people?
20:18Not in my mind.
20:19Three very hungry...
20:20Not in your mind.
20:20That's enough for one?
20:21Do we need a little salad to go with it?
20:23Yes, we do.
20:24We put it on the...
20:25We don't put it in the...
20:26We can just do it right next to it.
20:28Really?
20:29Yeah.
20:30All right.
20:30We'll improvise.
20:31I like it.
20:32And these are a little color, right?
20:33I like improv.
20:33I like it.
20:33I like it.
20:34I like it.
20:35Look at that.
20:35It really is a pretty...
20:37Look how gorgeous that is.
20:38Did we do good?
20:39Okay.
20:40Here we go.
20:41Cheers.
20:43How fun is this?
20:43I love you.
20:44Thank you for this.
20:45I love you too.
20:46I'm really...
20:46I'm so happy that I can now make this.
20:53Get ready, L.A. friends.
20:56I'm coming to make you dinner.
20:58And I may bring...
20:59For the best day ever.
21:00For the best day ever.
21:01Thank you so much.
21:03Mwah!
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