Everything Ina Garten Cooked on This Season of ‘Be My Guest’

Few people have a roster of lunch guests like Ina Garten. And on this season of Be My Guest, Garten’s Food Network show, her guest list runs the gamut from movie stars to astronauts, but they all have one thing in common: a love of good food. And while we all know that Garten can whip up some truly delectable meals, some of her guests have chops in the kitchen, too. Jennifer Garner brings along some family favorite recipes for her episode, while British actress Emily Mortimer shares her recipe for classic Yorkshire pudding. 

Whether you’ve tuned into Be My Guest like appointment television or just caught stray clips here and there, you probably know that it’s a mouthwateringly lovable show. (You can watch all of the episodes now on Max, if you need an extra dose of Ina.) That’s why we’ve rounded up all the recipes Garten and her friends have made this season, so you can kick off your rewatch in cook-along style. 

Read on for all the details on Garten’s recent menus—plus some nifty tricks for making your cooking process simpler and healthier.

Brown Butter Skillet Cornbread

The main event in Jennifer Garner’s episode of Be My Guest is a family recipe makeover. For this delicious Brown Butter Skillet Cornbread, Garten borrows Garner’s grandmother’s cornbread recipe and makes some tweaks to give it richer flavor and a fluffier texture. It’s the kind of simple but swoon-worthy quick bread that would pair great with a big salad or a bowl of soup—that includes recipes like our Summer Greens Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette and Instant-Pot Chicken Taco Soup.

If you want to add some more fiber to this Garten-Garner collaboration, you could always replace the all-purpose flour in the recipe with whole-wheat flour. And if this cornbread-baking adventure leaves you ready for more, be sure to add our Creole Skillet Cornbread to your to-make list.

Garner Garten Pizza

Garner borrows her three-ingredient pizza sauce from the pros over at Pizzana, a Los Angeles pizza shop. Combine that sauce with meal-prepped or store-bought dough, and this pizza can be an easy weeknight meal. The Garner Garten Pizza is an elevated take on Garner’s crust and sauce, Garten adds mozzarella, goat cheese and fresh basil before the pizza hits the oven. After the bake, she tops it all off with a very simple arugula salad, pizz’alad style. The fresh greens on top add vibrance and crunch to the savory tomato sauce and funky cheese. 

If you’re in the mood to make your own dough and add a little healthy twist, you could try our delish whole-wheat pizza dough, which is a fun way to add some whole grains to your day. 

Jen’s Pizza Crackers

At the end of Garten’s cooking sesh with Jennifer Garner, the Barefoot Contessa makes a confession—she’s obsessed with Garner’s simple Pizza Cracker recipe. Garten first got a taste of it when Garner showed off her cracker-baking skills on Instagram, and it just so happens to be the perfect recipe for using up leftover pizza dough. 

Simply roll out the dough very thin and brush it with olive oil. Then sprinkle the surface with fresh chopped herbs, plus some flaky salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Bake the dough on a preheated pizza stone or a piping hot sheet pan for just 3-4 minutes at 500°F. When it comes out of the oven, it should be bubbly, crispy and ready to break into snackable pieces. 

As with the Garner Garten Pizza, you could definitely sub in some whole-wheat pizza dough in this recipe—just be sure to keep an eye on the oven as it bakes so you don’t singe your dough.

Apple Crostata

In episode two of this season, Garten linked up with astronaut Nicole Mann, whom she met via Zoom while Mann was serving on the International Space Station. During their first conversation, Mann mentioned that she missed the smell of food—particularly apple pie. To welcome her to the Hamptons, Garten made a simple, gluten-free Apple Crostata that comes together fairly quickly.

Of course, Garten makes her own pie crust with gluten-free flour. We’re fond of our whole-wheat pie crust, which brings some complex carbs to the table. But we also have a classic gluten-free version and even a vegan option, so you can adapt this recipe for whatever guests are en route. The best part of a crostata, though, is just how quick it is to pull together once the crust is ready. Garten shapes hers into a freeform pie on a cookie sheet, pulling the edges of the crust over her apple mixture and baking for about 20 minutes. (If you’re in the mood for a more typical pie recipe that still has a gluten-free crust, our Gluten-Free Apple Pie is also a solid choice.)

Seared Scallops with Potato Celery Root Purée

Another goal for Mann was learning to make delicious scallops. It can be tough to perfect scallops—we’re big fans of our Lemon-Garlic Butter Scallops—so Garten offers two major tips for the best possible sear. First, you’ll want to dry your scallops well. Get out a paper towel and dab at each scallop until the excess moisture is a thing of the past. When your pan is hot and drizzled with a neutral oil, Garten’s second tip comes in: don’t adjust the scallops in the pan. Let them sit undisturbed until you’re ready to flip them—that’s how they’ll get the very best sear. 

Garten pairs her scallop recipe with a root veggie purée, and she has a shopping tip, too. If you can’t find the recipe’s recommended celery root in your store, don’t panic—just use parsnips instead. 

Croissants with Smoked Salmon

Garten mostly lets restaurateur Danny Meyer handle the cooking in this episode, but she can’t get the day started without a refreshing croissant sandwich. This French twist on a classic bagel with cream cheese, smoked salmon and capers trades the bagel for a croissant and the cream cheese for mascarpone. Pile on the arugula, and you’re all set for a simple lunch. 

If you want to flesh this lunch idea out a bit more, pair it with something like our Watermelon, Orange, & Cucumber Salad with Calvestrano Olive Vinaigrette as a fun side, or even use some spare arugula to whip up a Citrus-Arugula Salad.

Orechiette with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage

Danny Meyer, the man behind Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern and Shake Shack, takes over Garten’s kitchen to make a veggie-packed pasta at the end of his episode. He offers three major tips when it comes to making the most of this pasta—first of all, have your white wine at the ready. He and Garten opened a bottle of pinot grigio for this recipe, though Meyer says he typically uses whatever white wine is in the fridge. Keeping the wine at hand when you start cooking is a great way to keep your garlic from overcooking. When Meyer sees that his garlic is getting overheated, he adds another splash of white wine to cool the pan down and deglaze. 

Meyer also suggests getting kitchen scissors out for this recipe. Once his broccoli rabe is cooking in the pan, he dives in with the scissors and cuts the thicker stems to smaller pieces, which means that the rabe cooks more evenly and gets distributed throughout the pasta. That’s key when you’re working with a small noodle, like orecchiette. Lastly, use a blend of pecorino and Parmesan cheese. Buying a small quantity and grating them both might be a tad annoying, but it adds more robust flavor to the dish. Plus, as Meyer notes, you can’t have too much cheese.

You can also modify this recipe based on your preferred eating pattern. Choose whole-wheat noodles or even gluten-free noodles if you’re aiming for more complex carbs or trying to avoid grains. The kind of sausage you use is also up to interpretation—as long as you use a mixture of sweet and spicy sausage, it doesn’t matter whether you use pork, beef, turkey or chicken. You could even try a plant-based option.

Gruyère & Herb Omelet

If you need an omelet tutorial, the Frank Bruni episode of Be My Guest needs to be your next watch. Garten says she brushed up on Jacques Pépin’s omelet technique to perfect her cheesy, herbaceous omelet. The first trick she gleaned from Pépin’s method is adding about a tablespoon of water to your eggs before beating them. The water adds a touch of lightness to the eggs and adds some volume without having to reach for heavy cream. Her next tip is also crucial—be generous with a mixture of butter and neutral oil. Even though Garten uses a nonstick pan for this recipe, the butter is necessary for better flavor and the oil helps make a clean release from the pan, which is key to a successful omelet. Garten’s omelet reminds us of our own Goat Cheese & Fresh Herb Omelet, a breakfast dish so tasty, you’ll want to eat it for lunch and dinner. For the full Garten effect, serve it up with a quick iced espresso with vanilla and sweetened condensed milk—it’s a morning beverage that feels straight out of a coffeehouse. 

Parmesan & Thyme Crackers

Garten’s ultra-flavorful cheese crackers are the perfect addition to a cocktail hour or a big cheese board. Think of them like cheese straws, but with lots of fresh herbs and punchy Parmesan flavor. These crackers do include all-purpose flour, which you could swap for whole-wheat if you’re looking to bump up the fiber and get in some more complex carbs. Add them to something like our Ultimate Summer Fruit & Cheese Board at your next get-together, and your friends will vote you host of the year.

Boulevardier

Guest Frank Bruni brought along this classic cocktail recipe as his contribution to the episode, and it’s bound to be a favorite of folks who enjoy a negroni. Pair it with Garten’s Parmesan crackers for an elegant cocktail hour or even sip on it while you work on your dinner. And if you love rye, feel free to follow Bruni’s lead and add an extra splash to your cocktail shaker—this cocktail is open to tweaking based on your taste. 

Yorkshire Pudding

Actress Emily Mortimer’s Yorkshire puddings might offer you the most bang for your buck out of any of these recipes. After all, these pretty, light popovers come out of the oven looking like miracles with just five ingredients. Of course, you’ll have to be very careful with your popover prep. Vegetable oil gets preheated in a muffin tin for this recipe, so be mindful of the hot oil as you pull the tin out of the oven and pour in the batter. Mortimer says her pudding recipe is always served with her Sunday roast, which means a delicious main dish and lots of gravy. Serve these popovers alongside something like our Slow-Cooker Chuck Roast with Potatoes & Carrots to let the puds soak up all that delicious jus. 

Brunch Board

Garten is once again proving her classic catchphrase, “store-bought is fine.” For this no-cook recipe, Garten gives Mortimer tips on putting together a no-cook brunch spread that feels light and approachable. But her main tip is crucial—don’t make the board too beautiful. Garten fills her wooden board with scones, fruit, muffins and cheese, but she leaves room on the board for guests to reach for a treat and muss the arrangement slightly. If a board is too curated or crammed, Garten says, guests might feel intimidated or uncomfortable messing the dish up. After all, no one wants to send strawberries tumbling to the ground while trying to serve themselves. 

Pair Garten’s board with a stunning main dish like our Quiche Lorraine for a brunch that will delight your guests without breaking the bank. 

Ravioli en Brodo

Mortimer and Garten also share bowls of Ravioli en Brodo, a cozy and comforting soup starring convenient frozen ravioli. The homemade chicken broth is a big part of making this soup special, but if you don’t have any homemade broth around, you can simply use the store-bought variety. If you opt for store-bought, hunt for the brand that’s best for you. Some brands may offer a low-sodium option, which is great for folks who have kidney, heart or blood pressure issues. And if you want the full Garten experience, you could always check around to see if your local deli or even a poultry farm offers their own chicken stock. 

Parmesan Chicken

When The New Yorker’s David Remnick comes to Garten’s place for a meal, she is quick to let him know that he’s getting a free cooking lesson. Together they make these lightly breaded chicken cutlets topped with a light arugula salad and lemon vinaigrette. You can modify the seasoning in this recipe to your taste and needs—you may want to dial back the salt or amp up the pepper. And if the idea of frying chicken in a little bit of oil feels intimidating, you could always adapt our Air-Fryer Chicken Cutlets to be the base for your arugula salad. Just add some Parmesan to the breading, and you’re all set. 

Overnight Belgian Waffles

For these Belgian waffles, the world is your oyster. After letting the batter rest overnight, you can cook these waffles in the iron, then toss them on a sheet pan and keep them warm in the oven for a while so that everyone gets served at the same time—that’s one of Garten’s top tips for flawless hosting. But if the waffles are all for you, Garten has a suggestion on that front as well. Place one or two cooked waffles in a bag and freeze them for later. If you prep ahead, you can have on-demand waffles whenever you need a sweet bite to turn the morning into a party. To level your waffles up, serve them with some fresh fruit or even a creamy nut butter for extra staying power. Even a touch of strawberry jam and goat cheese could be a great way to liven up this sweet breakfast.