Turkey Time

Thanksgiving With the Stars: Molto Mario Heads to Michigan, Donatella Arpaia Gets a Mani-Pedi

Barneys’ first floor was packed last night for the store’s Have a Foodie Holiday window unveiling. Copies of the The Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Cookbook were on sale everywhere, and people like Lee Schrager and Paula Deen were signing copies right and left. The scene was highly festive until around 10:30 p.m. when all the chefs scattered (per Twitter, Bourdain went to Morini, Bobby Flay went to John Dory, Lee Schrager had some Hill Country Chicken). But we were still able to snag a few and ask them for their best Thanksgiving tips.

Mario Batali
“We cook our turkey in a wood-burning pizza oven at our summer home in Michigan. It’s REALLY delicious. I take all of the bones out, I stuff it with stuffing, I wrap it up and tie it again. It’s boned out — that’s the thing! [His wife nods in agreement.] Then you slice it and it has crisp, smoky skin, succulent flesh, and a tube of dressing in the center of every slice. And you can cut it really quickly.”

Michael White
“It’s all about stuffing IN the bird. It’s a total malarkey that you can’t put the stuffing in the bird. Trust me, there’s nothing like in-the-bird stuffing.”


Jennifer Rubell (a recent New York Diet subject!)
“My best Thanksgiving tip is my one-hour thanksgiving dinner! You buy the turkey in parts, stick it on a tray, and put everything in the oven at once — everything. Like, you wrap your cranberries in tin foil and stick them in the oven, in a packet. I forget what you do with the stuffing, but you stick it in there too. Cook everything for one hour and it comes out totally great.”

Donatella Arpaia
“Okay, well, I’m a little messy. So the day before Thanksgiving, I get my entire apartment and my bathroom cleaned. Then I feel like half my work is done. I spend money on that. There are a few things that are better when you make them a day before, like baked pasta. So I’ll get that done too. And a mani-pedi! Then the day of, I’m a bit more at ease, things are more peaceful for me.”

Thanksgiving With the Stars: Molto Mario Heads to Michigan, Donatella Arpaia