Obviously, I loved this memoir because Ina Garten is beyond likable. I’ve made her recipes for years - two of my absolute favourites are her insanely good sausage and fennel pasta and these decadent cauliflower toasts. And since this is her first non-cookbook, I was so eager to read this one. Favourite parts ahead.
<When talking about the French countryside> “On the road, even the infamous roundabouts that popped up every so many miles seemed charming to us. In the States, rotaries, as we call them, usually provoke squealing brakes, honking horns, and the occasional rude hand gesture, because nobody understands who has the right-of-way. But in France, these little traffic circles are a reminder that life is not about straight lines or the shortest distance between two points. Slow down, they seemed to say, you can take a little twirl and still get exactly where you’re going. Such a nice approach to life.”
“I love when changing your behavior - in this case how I dressed - changes everything without your saying a word. It’s a lesson that I’ve used many times in my life.”
“There’s a wonderful quote attributed to George Lucas: “We’re all living in cages with the door wide open.” That was me until I realized I had the power - and the responsibility - to set myself free. To step out of the cage of whatever I’d experienced in the past, to think for myself, and to believe in my choices.”
“I also learned that it’s important to listen to advice and then decide if it’s true to who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish.”
“I always say that you can’t be inspired at home alone by yourself. You have to go out into the world and see what people are doing, and that will trigger something else in you, and then you’ll do it your way.”
“Limit your liability. What’s the worst thing that can happen if it doesn’t work? Will it change your life or just be a learning experience? Who and what will it impact? What’s the upside if it does work?”
“I knew the past couldn’t hurt me now, but it’s always there deep inside. It’s what we do with those feelings that can determine the rest of our lives.”
“Everybody thinks that successful people are smarter, more talented, or just plain lucky. I don’t think it always works that way. The people I’ve known who are successful have faced enormous challenges, but they didn’t let the challenges stop them - they figured out some way over the wall or around the wall, or they just smashed the wall down. In fact, it was exactly those challenges that shaped their success.”
After hearing her descriptions of some of her recipes, I absolutely have to make these in the near future: coq au vin, grilled lemon chicken salad, outrageous brownies, coconut cupcakes, perfect roast chicken, banana crunch muffins and Beatty’s chocolate cake.
Such a great book, can’t recommend it enough.