Ina Garten

The beloved Ina Garten is the author of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks and host of “Barefoot Contessa” on the Food Network. Her next book, “Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust” debuts on Oct. 30. You can meet her at Williams-Sonoma South Coast Plaza for a booksigning Friday, Nov. 16, at noon.

1. “Barefoot Contessa Foolproof” is your eighth book. And you’ve been publishing one every two years, how many books do you think you’ll put out?
Hopefully I can do one ever two years until they drag me out (laughing.) I love the process of writing cookbooks. Developing recipes, tasting and retesting, trying out recipes on my friends and there’s editing and design. I always write down each step of a recipe and give it to my assistant and watch her to make sure I wrote everything down perfectly. I can catch my mistakes so that the recipes come out perfectly.

2.We just received our copy of “Foolproof”, and we haven’t had a chance to try the recipes. What should we start with?
There are two amazing dinners that I just love. A slow cooked filet of beef is something new that I’ve done and I’m really happy about it. Instead of searing the outside of the filet at a high temperature, I slow roast it and it’s brown on outside and consistent throughout, it’s phenomenal. I serve it with basil Parmesan mayonnaise. The seared scallops with potato celery puree is also a favorite; everyone goes crazy for it

3. Where do you get inspiration for new recipes?
I get inspiration everywhere I go. I draw from ideas from 1950’s dinner parties. I travel a lot and talk to people. I get new ideas at restaurants-- trying a pasta or a vegetable--and at food shows.

4. Do you ever get chef’s block?
I don’t. I always have a running list of 50 ideas. I will try something from the list and just keep it going. If the recipe isn’t good, I just throw it in the trash and start over.

5. What would your last meal be?
It would have to involve a good Sauternes. It would start with seared foie gras served with Sauternes; then lobster served with Sauternes, and it would end with an apple tarte with Sauternes.

6.You’ve been to Orange County several times - what do you like about it?
Everything about it! From the weather and the ocean; the people are very warm and always say “hello” and the food is great. You have some really good Orange County farmers markets.

7. You’re considered a culinary icon. Who is your culinary icon?
It would have to be Julia Child. I never had the chance to meet her, but I learned so much from her and the recipes in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

8. What is the one kitchen tool you can’t live without?
It would have to be a chef’s knife and I use Wusthof.

9. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Being married to the same person (Jeffrey) for 44 years.

10. What’s a typical day look like for you?
I wake up and have breakfast, get on my elliptical machine, and then I’m very fortunate, my office is only 100 yards away, so I walk there and then test recipes all day. Normally from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then I take care of business.

11. How do you feel about microwaves?
I think that they’re great for heating up butter or something else, but not for cooking.

12. What is your favorite international cuisine?
It would have to be French, but country French, not fancy French. I love beef bourguignon and chicken with 40 cloves of garlic.

13. Do you dine out often, or prefer to stay home?
Definitely dining out. I cook all day so I want to go out and try something new.

14. Is cooking relaxing for you? What’s the one part of cooking you don’t enjoy?
I’m not relaxed when I’m cooking. I find that it’s hard and it demands your attention. I’ve never worked the line in a restaurant, or had formal culinary school training, but I’m a person that understands that cooking is difficult. Getting everything on the table at once is hard. There’s nothing that I don’t enjoy, but I don’t like really long recipes. I can get bored halfway into it. That’s why my recipes are short. I want to make dishes that are delicious in less time.

15. In your book, you’re all about the “gameplan” and writing down the details of what to do every 15 minutes to make sure a dinner party runs smoothly. Have you always been that detail oriented? Or did you learn the hard way?
I’ve really learned the hard way in the past 20 years; I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I used to keep everything in my head, and then realized it’s so much easier to just write everything down. I just look at the list and I always know what I should be doing.

16. At home, do you grow your own vegetables, herbs or fruits?
In my garden I grow cherry tomatoes, basil, chives, rosemary and other herbs. I can never get a zucchini right. They’re either tiny or as big as a baseball bat. But I do love to grow as much as I can at home.

17. Were you interested in cooking when you were a child? Was your mom a good cook?
I was interested, but my mother didn’t want me in the kitchen. She wanted me to study and she wasn’t really excited about cooking. I really learned to cook when I got married.

18. Your chocolate chip (chunk) cookie recipe from “Parties” is the best I’ve ever made. What dessert should I make from “Foolproof”?
I have two favorites: the pound cake and the carrot cake are delicious. I call my simple pound cake, the “perfect pound cake.” It’s best with tea or with fresh berries; and the carrot cake with ginger mascarpone frosting is really good.

19. What do you think the future of food will be?
Simpler. It’s going to be focused on good ingredients, the way it used to be. We’ve gone to one extreme: mass produced food that looks good, but doesn’t taste good; and now I think I think that because of local farmers’ markets people are demanding better quality.

20. What are you looking forward to next?
People are always asking me to do something new and I think how much more can I do? But one of the ideas was to start a blog. I recently started one and I’m finding it very interesting and really fun. I also post my blog entries on my Facebook.