Ina Garten's Store-Bought Hack For An Easier Dinner Party
Many of us have done it. Pressed for time and with guests on their way, we reached for a pre-made entree and passed it off as our cooking. It turns out that Ina Garten is just like us. On the "Today" show she revealed her hack for a quick and easy dinner party: Use a pre-made lasagna.
While it may seem strange for a celebrity cook to suggest not cooking, it also feels like a sigh of relief. Not all of us have Garten's passion or skill for making homemade food, but we still enjoy the process of entertaining friends and family. Whether you decide to order out like Garten suggests or buy a frozen lasagna, having a pre-made entree takes the guesswork out of hosting and ensures food gets on the table in a timely manner. Here are a few of Garten's tips for using store-bought foods to wow guests.
How to serve your guests store-bought food, according to Ina Garten
If you plan to serve a hot entree that isn't homemade, you need to get a little sneaky. If you've purchased a lasagna (or another entree) that's premade, Garten suggests discarding its container and serving it in your own casserole dish for a homemade feel. Bonus points if your casserole dish looks a little banged up and like it was just pulled from the oven.
Secondly, pairing one or two "fancy" ingredients with something from the grocery store can make a dish taste much more complicated than it is. In the Today Show clip, Garten quickly elevates plain vanilla ice cream by drizzling it with limoncello and garnishing it with biscotti purchased from a bakery — a recipe she says will make everyone "lose their minds."
As Garten explains, the easiest dinners are assembled, not cooked — and according to Garten, you're not required to spill the beans to guests. Whether they're complimenting you on a simple dessert or on your "homemade" lasagna that came from the freezer aisle, she suggests you reply simply, "I'm so glad you like it."
Lastly, if you're worried your guests may catch on to the ruse, work on perfecting an easy, fancy cocktail. After a few good drinks, what your guests don't know won't hurt them.