I grew up knowing Ina Garten’s basic schtick (Food Network star, owned the Hamptons specialty food store The Barefoot Contessa), but she wasn’t a staple culinary figure in my home. Until 2024, when she published her memoir, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, which I read immediately. All of a sudden, I was watching every interview with her and making her Beatty’s Chocolate Cake for every birthday. I got sucked into the Ina-verse and I (gladly) haven’t gotten out since.
It’s hard to summarize Ina’s charm. As a cook, she values good, simple food over pretension, which is the basis of her new cookbook, Simply Ina which is out October 20. Personality-wise, her joie de vivre is infectious, especially coming from a person who withstood a horrific childhood. As we near the end of the year, I find myself asking: what would Ina do? If you are, too, find fifteen fabulous ways to channel Ina Garten this fall and winter below.
1. Host one-on-one “dinner parties.”
Between aligning schedules, accounting for dietary restrictions, and all the prep and cleanup, hosting big dinner parties can be exhausting. Instead, let’s bring back the art of inviting a single person over for a meal — no extravagance, just the two of you. Ina Garten is a master of the “micro dinner party.” After all, it’s the concept behind her show, Be My Guest. It’s a great way to dedicate time to a single person you care about, whether you’re cooking for your best friend or someone you want to be your new best friend. Plus, you can curate the menu exactly to your guests’ taste, and cleanup will be a breeze.
2. Bring a bit of the Hamptons into your home.
Ina is queen of the Hamptons, which corresponds perfectly with the coastal grandma aesthetic that’s become popular in both fashion and home design recently. Offset the doom and gloom of the colder months by bringing beach vibes into your home. Decorate with seashells, wicker, and above all, white and blue.
3. Do as the French do.
The Barefoot Contessa is also a Francophile, with her appreciation for French cuisine and a Parisian apartment to match. Embrace the French mindset yourself, whether it’s by buying French butter, snuggling up on a cold winter night with a French film, or hosting a charcuterie night.
4. Wear fabulous scarves.
Any Ina fan knows her signature look: a plain button-down shirt and a scarf tied around her neck. Every time I see a new video of her, I approve of her outfit. It’s a uniform that’s so simple, yet so effective. While I’m not saying you should start dressing identically to Ina (although that would make an easy Halloween costume), using a scarf to zhuzh up an otherwise plain outfit is low effort and high impact.
5. Make your friends’ recipes.
If you’ve ever flipped through Ina’s cookbooks, you’ll find out that many of her favorite recipes are borrowed from her chef friends. Case in point: Ina credits her viral brownie pudding recipe to Anna Pump, owner of Hamptons food store Loaves & Fishes. The celebrities and chefs that appear on Be My Guest also sometimes share a recipe with Ina, like Tina Fey, who made her family’s Greek Lemon Potatoes. If you’re struggling with what to cook this holiday season, ask your friends to send you their favorite recipes. Or even better, invite them over to show you how to make it themselves.
6. Adopt the “store-bought is fine” mentality.
In a world full of pretentious cooks insisting that everything be homemade, Ina taught us her iconic catchphrase: Store-bought is fine. But cooking isn’t the only area in life you can optimize once you remove a layer of guilt for doing things the “easy way.” Here are a few ideas: Put down the boring, lofty novel you’re forcing yourself to read and go for the gripping thriller instead. Put a robot vacuum on your holiday wish list so you can save time spent sweeping. Use press-on nails instead of struggling with chipped polish each week (or wasting time and money at the nail salon.)
7. Make oatmeal for breakfast.
Waking up on a cold winter day to a warm bowl of oatmeal sounds so cozy. It also happens to be one of Ina’s go-to breakfasts, per an interview with Bon Appetit. Try the Barefoot Contessa microwave version with maple syrup. Or, on the weekend, turn to her nourishing Sunday Morning Oatmeal. The base includes whole milk, banana, and dried cherries, but it’s easy to adapt to the season by adding cinnamon or cardamom.
8. Bring florals into your life.
Ina is a big gardener, as proven by the fresh flowers on her cookbook covers. A bouquet of fresh flowers does wonders for sprucing up a space, especially in fall and winter, when outdoor gardens have died. But buying fresh flowers isn’t the only way to see some greenery: Visit a botanical garden or a museum with botanical paintings to get your fix.
9. Cook with fresh herbs.
There’s no better time to embrace the power of fresh herbs than during the coziest season. Ina is a huge proponent of fresh herbs, having once metaphorically slapped a viewer with a wooden spoon for suggesting he could use dried instead. Embrace fall flavors by trying recipes that put them at the forefront like her Roasted Butternut Squash with thyme or Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts.
10. Cut your hair.
I know, I know—people usually chop their hair in the summer. But long hair isn’t exactly conducive to the colder months, either. Getting your long hair caught in your coat? No, thank you. Take inspiration from Ina’s signature chic ‘do and get chopping. Taylor Swift just did it, so you’re in good company if you join the bob club.
11. Make homemade broth.
Ina Garten loves using her homemade broth to deepen the flavor of soups and stews. Consider this an exception to her “store-bought is fine” mentality. As a cozy weekend activity, prepare a batch of Ina’s “liquid gold” chicken stock or vegetable stock and freeze portions to use throughout the season.
12. Seek out adventures.
Ina Garten is known for trusting her instincts and prioritizing passion. The biggest example? When she quit her stable government job to buy The Barefoot Contessa store. Her memoir is full of other tidbits that exemplify this philosophy. Did you know she took flying lessons in the ‘60s?
As the year winds down, think of ways to infuse excitement into your life and ignore any internal doubt—or external naysayers. It could be as big as a career change or as small as trying a new activity, like joining an acapella group. As Ina recently put it on the Mel Robbins podcast, “We only have one trip around this merry-go-round, and if you’re not having fun, what in the world is the point of it?”
13. Shop local businesses.
We can’t all live a picturesque life in East Hampton, shopping at Loaves and Fishes or a French cheese shop. But you can support the local businesses in your neighborhood. This could be as simple as getting your next pumpkin spice latte at a local cafe and picking up a bag of their coffee beans. Or, grab ingredients for your holiday dinner at a farmer’s market and local butcher instead of Costco.
14. Snack on Tate’s cookies.
Looking for a thin, crunchy treat to accompany your PSL or hot cocoa? Ina loves Tate’s cookies, in part because the original Tate’s Bake Shop is in the Hamptons. In addition to the classic chocolate chip cookie, the brand has seasonal varieties like Pumpkin Spice and Double Chocolate Peppermint, available in most grocery stores.
15. Listen to Ina’s new podcast.
Okay, you’ve read the books, made the recipes, and watched the shows. If you still can’t get enough of the Barefoot Contessa, you can now listen to Ina weekly on Happy Hour with Ina Garten. The podcast features Ina interviewing celebrities in her New York apartment, which is worth it just to see the space!
Adriana Chavez, Contributing Writer
Adriana is a freelance culture and lifestyle writer. In addition to The Everygirl, her writing has appeared in BuzzFeed, Food Network, HGTV, Allrecipes, EatingWell, and more.
