Transcript of Presenting: Julia on Be My Guest with Ina Garten

Well, hello there. It's me, Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I'm so happy to be back with season three of Wiser Than Me. To celebrate that, I am so excited to share that we have partnered with Lingua Franca, a New York City-based luxury and sustainable clothing brand, to offer our listeners Wiser Than Me-specific, hand-embroadered sweaters, sweatshirts, and more. I've gotten to hand-select each of the items in this curated collection and have had so much fun with it along the way, adding a bunch of sayings from our podcast to the items. It all combines Lingua Franca's chic yet thoughtful designs with our mission to celebrate the wisdom of older women. So check out our collection by heading over to wiserthemeshop. Com and clicking on the Lingua Franca collection.

Lemonada.

Hello there. It's Julia. As you know, we love Ina Garten here at Wiser Than Me. I mean, I love her. You love her. I mean, who doesn't love her? Face it, who does not love Ina Garten? And did you know that Ina has got a podcast now? It's appropriately named Be My Guest with Ina Garten, because on each episode, a friend of hers, RSVPs, to go out to her house in the Hamptons for a day to cook and hang out in her gorgeous kitchen and home. And in some of episodes, there's a surprise visit from her lovely husband, Jeffrey, too. I had the thrill of being invited this season, and we're going to play it for you in just a second. But I have to tell you, it was such a delightful day for real. There was no fake in it. It was just like total bliss being with her. Now I know how to frost a cake correctly, and I know what kitchen countertops I'm going to get for my kitchen. So win-win. It doesn't get better than that. Head on over to be my guest with Aina Garten wherever you get your podcast to hear some other guests who RSVPed YES, too.

But before doing that, let's listen to my episode with Aina.

I'm Aina Garten. I love to invite interesting people to my house for good food, great conversation, and lots of fun.

The incredible 11-time, Emmy Award-winning actor, comedian, and producer Julia Louis-Dreyfus is coming to the barn. We're sharing a French omelet.

And I have the big hat.

Talking life, love, and laughs.

It's like endorphins you can taste.

Then we're fooling around with Frosting.

Don't make me laugh, you're ruining my cake.

Making an amazing chocolate cake, and I better watch out.

It looks good. I'm here to take over.

Be my guest.

What?

Julia has moved in. My guest is Julia Louis-Dreyfus. I mean, who doesn't love her? So I know she likes eggs, and I know she likes bacon. So I'm going to make her my French country omelet. And it starts with four slices of bacon that I've cooked until crisp. I'm just going to take them out and put them on a plate. And then what I'm going to do, with a little bit of fat that's left, I'm going to cook some potatoes. I mean, who wouldn't like that? Eggs, potatoes, bacon. Yum. This actually comes from a recipe from a bistro in Paris that I love. Okay, lots of salt and pepper. And that's going to cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are crispy on the outside and tender. And while they cook, let me tell you about my insanely talented and beloved guest.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the incredible actor, comedian, and producer, is one of the greatest performers in TV history, winning 11 Emmys. Born in New York, she divided her time living with her stepfather and mom, a writer, and her French entrepreneur and philanthropist father. Julia studied theater at Northwestern, where she met her husband, fellow comedian, Brad Hall. At just 21, she was discovered by SNL, the youngest member in history. There, she met Larry David, and three years later, she joined him and Jerry Seinfeld to play the beloved character Elaine in Seinfeld, where she won her first Emmy and went on to win a Golden Globe and five Screen Actors Awards. She won her second Emmy for her hit TV series, The New Ventures of Old Christine, while picking up a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2012, the political satire, Beat, Hit Our Screens, where she played Vice President Selena Mayer, a role she won six consecutive Emmies for. It's no wonder she has received the Covited Mark Twine Prize for American Humor. Her range also extends to incredible dramatic roles in movies such as enough said, You Hurt My Feelings, and Tuesday. She lives in California with her husband, Brad, and two sons.

I have met Julia virtually on her hugely successful podcast, Wiser Than Me, and I can't wait to meet her in person. She just does it all, doesn't she? She's got comedic roles and dramatic roles and streaming and movies. She's the real deal. She's amazing. Okay, the potatoes are cooked. Nothing like the smell of bacon and potatoes. I'm just going to put the potatoes on the plate. And now I'm going to get the eggs ready. So I've got five eggs. Just going to beat them. Three tablespoons of milk, lots of salt and pepper. So I'm going to put a little butter on the pan. Just let it melt. Okay, eggs go in. Just like that. So next, I'm going to put the potatoes and bacon in, but I want to mix them up. And then a little bit of chives, always looks good. Add a little onion flavor to it. I mean, that looks pretty good, doesn't it? Okay, I'm just going to put this in the oven, 350 degrees for eight minutes, just until the eggs are set, and I'll be ready when Julie gets here.

Okay, I am so excited because I'm in the Hamptons, and I've been invited to Ina Carton's house to help her make a chocolate cake. She needs my help, guys.

She needs my help.

All righty. So how much are they asking for this place? What if she isn't here? Wouldn't that be hilarious? Are you guys punking me? Did she not show? Is this not Ina's house? I swear to God, if this is some joke, it's funny. Aina? Okay, well, I'm cooking in here no matter whose house it is.

How good does that look? It smells just as good. I understand Julia is as big a fan of salt as I am, so I think good French sea salt would be perfect on it. Two plates, and I'm all set for Julia.

Aina? Aina? Julia. Aina, you're here.

Of course, I'm here. Where else would I be? I thought maybe you were punking me. I would never punk you. Come on in.

Oh, my goodness. Look at this. I'm so happy to see you. So wait a minute. Before anything happens, I brought you something.

You brought me something? I did.

It's a little hostess gift.

I love this blood orange marmalade.

I can't wait to eat this. We planted our first blood orange tree. Yes, and this is the fruit from the very first season. Thank you. I love you. Enjoy.

Thank you. I can't wait. Well, I've made you an omelet. Well, finally, you did something. With bacon and potato. Something nice and light for breakfast.

Perfect.

No, seriously. Is this a large enough piece?

Can I have the big hat?

You like salt, right? Yeah. I mean, just...

Everything. If you want to just pour the salt on the plate, and I'll eat the salt. Oh, you did give me the bigger piece.

I did give you the bigger piece. So what's it like instead of playing a character, actually being yourself on Wiser Than Me?

Oh, it's a different ball game.

It's totally different, isn't it? Yeah. In what way?

Well, it's not a performance. I mean, I know it is, but it doesn't feel like one at all. And also, We do the podcast over Zoom, and so there's something relaxed about it as a result. One of them we did in person for a variety of reasons when we talked to Carol Burnet. But other than that, everybody's on Zoom. And I think just because you get to be in your own house, you don't have to put on hair and makeup, even though this is how we look normally.

I always look like this. I get out of bed like this.

Oh, absolutely. I mic myself first thing in the morning.

That was great.

But anyway, so it engenders a intimacy in conversation, which is what we're going for.

But also, I think it's interesting because you really connect with people.

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to do.

And you do. You really do. And when you're playing a character, you're not really connecting with an audience. You're playing a character. So I think connecting with people is what we love to do, and it's just really satisfying. Yeah.

Although I agree with that.

But the thing is, too, is that when you're playing a role, you're actually also connected.

You're connected with the other characters.

Yeah, it's a different... But there has to be an authenticity in place as well, as a matter of fact. But anyway, so now, wait a minute. What is this?

It's Belgian It's Belgian granite.

Okay, I need a list. I'm taking this with me.

You'll have a hard time getting that into the car. It's fine.

You'll be able to replace it after I'm gone. You'll figure it out.

If it's missing, I'll know where it is.

Coming up, wisdom.

I didn't really succeed in any way there, except to say I learned by not succeeding.

Wise cracks.

You know what you need in this kitchen?

I know.

Paper towels.

And chocolate cake.

That's fantastic.

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People ask my friends, What's Ina really like? And my closest friend always said, Well, she's exactly the way you think she is, but her language is worse. Nice. What would your friend say about you?

Exactly what you just said.

I I would have thought so.

Yeah, I think so.

Exactly, right? Yeah.

Do you think that you're always meant to be a comedian, or is it just in your DNA?

I think it's in my DNA. It was certainly in the culture of our family. Who was funny? My mother was funny. My grandmother was funny. My dad was very funny.

Do you remember making them laugh when you were young? Sure.

What did you do? When I was really little, I was trying to make my mom laugh, and I stuck raisins up my nose, and she laughed just like that. It's so funny. And then she said, Okay, take them out. And I inhaled them, and we had to go to the emergency room. But it was totally worth it because I got the last.

I had a very complicated childhood. What was your childhood like?

I mean, my parents were divorced, and I went back and forth between the two homes, but I was really raised by my mom and stepfather. But this was back when divorce was like...

Yeah, it was...

It wasn't a dime a dozen.

It was whispered.

It was whispered. I went to jail.

Yes. They divorced.

But you still had your mother and your stepfather to ground you?

Yes, I did.

So in 1985, when you weren't renewed at SNL. What did you learn from that experience?

It must have-Well, I went to SNL very young. I was 21, and I was there for three years, and I didn't really succeed in any way there, except to say I learned by not succeeding. And I learned what I didn't want. I didn't want a tense work environment. I didn't want to be unhappy. And I thought to myself, well, if I can't find work that's happy making, like the work I was doing in Chicago in theater, I don't think I'm going to do this because it's not right for me.

I always think some of the worst things that ever happened turned out to be the best.

That's right. Because my final year on SNL, Larry David was the writer there for one year. He was deeply miserable there.

He was more miserable than you.

And I was deeply miserable. And so we connected through our misery.

And then a couple of years later, I heard from him about this show he was working on that was called the Seinfeld Chronicles.

And the rest is history. And the rest is history.

How does it feel to make people laugh?

It's like endorphins you can taste.

That's a good description.

I would say that the Sharing a laugh with someone is like another language. It's a very... God, it's just a great way to live life.

Just wonderful. Is it hard to play roles that are both dramatic and funny at the same time?

Well, first of all, playing a role that's both comedic and dramatic is where I live. I love it.

Because that's life. Yeah. That's how we live. I hate a movie that's just all door.One.

Thing.yeah.oh, hate it.Exactly. I wouldn't describe one as being harder than the other. I really enjoy doing dramatic work that has maybe a comedic shell over it. Finding those roles can sometimes be a challenge, but when I find them, I dive in headfirst. That's great. Yeah.

One of my favorite quotes of all time is Oscar Wilde said, Work is Easy. Fun is hard. I always run my business. If I'm having fun, everybody else I have fun, too. Yeah. And I think, am I right that you do the same thing? Oh, without question. People know what to do for work. They know how to do their jobs. But finding something that's fun to do, I think it's much harder, isn't it?

Yeah, but if you find it, don't let go of it.

Exactly. Keep it going. And you found it. I mean, it's just so magical, and it has so much energy and positivity. It's just fabulous. Tell me your recent movie, Tuesday.

It's an adult fairytale. The story centers around a mother and a daughter, and the daughter is quite ill. And so it has a lot of pathos to it, but it's magical. But it's completely fanciful. So I think people might really enjoy it. I hope you'll like it. Sure I will.

What was the toughest time in your career?

Well, getting employed. There was a period of time where I was, after SN Well, it was about a one, two-year period, three-year period, in which I was really pounding pavement. I nabbed a pilot, which is the first episode of a TV series, but then it didn't go to series. The other challenge for me in my career has been the juggling act, because while I was making Seinfeld, for example, I gave birth to both of my children. Super challenging, but also fabulous because I was becoming very famous at this time. And it really kept all of that in perspective. It did.

Isn't that interesting? Did they put you behind the potted plant so they couldn't see that you were pregnant? Yeah. Well, let's see.

The first go-around, yes, I stood behind things, I carried boxes, et cetera. By the time I was pregnant the second time, nobody cared. It was like it wasn't happening. I walked in, I was out to here, and no one said anything.

In 2012, you created the character of Selena in Veep, who is both ego-maniacal and crazy and delusional in some way, right? Totally delusional.

She's in a position of power, but she's not quite there yet. That's so smart. And so you think you've made it?

No, you didn't. And nobody cares.

Isn't that amazing? So I thought that there was so much to be... So much material could be mined from that position.

Starting with every time you walked into a room saying, Did the President call?

A hundred %.

Just love that line. And the answer is always no.

It was just the most exhilarating experience because there was a lot of improvisation and a lot of goofing around that got folded into the show. And it was all caps fun.

All caps. Isn't that great? Yeah. In your podcast, Wiser Than Me, you interview older women. What have you learned from them that was interesting?

The big takeaway for me is that all of the women, including yourself, there's a common thread, and the common thread is complete comfort in their own skin.

Isn't that interesting?

And that is very freeing.

And it's like rocket fuel. It really gives you freedom to do exactly what you want to do. That's right. But don't you think that a lot of your guests were that way when they were young? Actually, not necessarily. Jane Fonda wouldn't say that she was like that.

She would not. No. Jane Fonda said, It's so hard to be young.

Yeah.

And I thought, Oh, my God, she's so right.

I love that episode because in the middle of it, you ended up with a bomb cyclone, and you got disconnected. And you handled that so beautifully. It was total Julela Weed Drive.

I was screaming the universe.

It was so crazy.

But it became like a character in the show, and it was just brilliantly done.

I will say that in the second season of the show in which you are in, we have another technical snafu.

And I'm sure you handled it the same way.

Well, anyway, let's just say the audience gets another taste behind the scenes.

You made a wonderful documentary that I adored. About your late father and his wacky art collection, right? Yeah.

My father was an art collector, and he amassed quite a collection.

Describe his art collection because it's wild, right?

He was a mentor to a lot of the artists whose work he collected and was very interested in the outsider art world. He got to know people like Jacques Ametri and du Buffet and people like that. My father was French, French and American, both. Anyway, he just... My father, I think of him as... He was a hoarder, but a hoarder of really nice things, whatever that is.

And he collected what he loved.

And he collected what he loved.

He didn't collect what other people would love. He collected what he loved.

What he loved, exactly.

And I love what he did with it.

What he did with it was- Can you describing that? Yes. He set up his collection in such a way, and he has bequeathed the entire collection to the Harlem Children's Zone, its most magnificent school. And so the whole idea is to raise the awareness about the collection. We are slowly selling it down to benefit the Harlem Children's Zone. My father passed in 2016, and since he's passed, we have been, in fact, doing exactly that. Fabulous. Yeah.

I understand you like chocolate cake. Would you like me to show you how to ice a chocolate cake?

If you don't show me, I'm going to kill you.

Then I'm definitely going to show you. I give up.

Coming up, competitive cakemaking.

This This is our first fight.

With incredible results.

I can't talk to you. I got to eat this.

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And we're back. I'm Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and I'm with Ina Garten in her kitchen, and she's evidently going to show me how to do something.

You like chocolate cake, right? Love it. Okay, I picked the right thing. So I'm going to show you how to make a chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream. Okay. And we're going to get it all over ourselves, I'm sure.

Now, wait a minute. How did this happen?

Well, I'm going to show you how I did it. The cake is really easy. First, I sifted together one and three quarter cups of all-purpose flour, two cups of sugar, three quarters of a cup of good cocoa powder, two teaspoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of baking powder, and a teaspoon of kosher salt. Then I put the dry ingredients into the bowl of my electric mixer. Next, the wet mix. I combine a half a cup of vegetable oil, a cup of buttermilk, and two extra large eggs, plus one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and mixed them together. Then with the mixer on low, I added the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, plus a cup of freshly brewed hot coffee, and mixed it all together. Then I poured the batter into two eight-inch pans that had been buttered, floured, and lined with basement. Into the oven, 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Then I took them out to cool in their pans for 30 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack. Okay, so that's the cake.Yeah.Now the Frosting.Oh, boy, the best part.You're in charge.I am.How's that? Yeah. Two sticks of butter, unsaltet butter.

You're not going to put that in yet. Can I just drink it? No, you can do that. You can forget the icing. Okay, we're going to turn this on. Yeah, that's good. And then we're going to put in one egg yoke. Should I do it? You should just do it. And if you don't want to use an egg yoke, you don't have to use an egg yoke. But I just did. It makes the icing better.

You told me too late.

Exactly. One teaspoon of vanilla. Yes.

One teaspoon.

Good vanilla extract. And this is really strong coffee. It's a teaspoon of instant coffee grounds. Okay. And then slowly, this is one and a quarter cups of sifted confectioner sugar. Yes. And just slowly just put it in. You're in charge.

I'm in charge.

Hope I don't screw it up. You won't screw it up. Am I going too fast? No, you're doing just fine. Okay. That's why it's sifted, so it's like it won't clump.

How important do you think sifting is for real?

Actually, you know why I like sifting? It's because when you sift it, every cup is exactly like every other cup. So it lightens it. Sometimes it can be really packed and sometimes it can be light. So you get the same amount of confection of sugar every time. Or flour for that matter, right? Or flour, exactly. Actually, flour, I don't sift. You know what I do? I put cup in and I lighten it, and then I scoop it. What does it mean lighten it? Just fluff it up. You know, like fluffers? Excuse you? Different fluffer? She doesn't know what she's saying. She has no idea.

Poor dear.

You've been to the Hamptons before, right?

Yeah, when I was three.

For real. Really? You haven't been back since?

The story goes that my mom took me down to the Hamptons. I was at the beach. She was talking to a friend. She looked over. I was butt naked, running around and talking to everybody. I'd taken all my clothes off. And this was 1964.

Actually, I know that story because I've heard people talking about it.

I Horrible naked little girl running around. That was me.

And then this is six ounces of semi-sweet chocolate melted, and we're good. That's the other sink. That's it? Yeah. You ready to ice a cake? Yeah. Okay. I'm going to show you how.

Does this Is it a sink work or is it a prop sink?

No, it's a real sink.

You know what you need in this kitchen?

I know.

Paper towels.

Have you heard of paper towels?

It's a prop towel. Okay, next we're going to ice the cake. You ready for that?

Yeah, let's do it. Let's go.

And we're having a terrible time, as you can imagine.

It's really one of the worst days of my life.

So the first thing is you take the chocolate cake that we made before and put it on the cake stand. And I put on a rotating stand so we can turn it around while we ice it. How's that? I love it. So the trick to keeping the plate clean is I use parching paper or wax paper and just put it underneath the cake. And then you don't have to clean up the plate after you make a mess with the I'm going to put some icing. Just put it underneath there all the way around. That's interesting.

Smart.

So now, you want to put some Frosting on the middle? Do you want to make sure you have enough for the outside, too? That's perfect. Yeah, no kidding.

We can always make more. We've got our whole lives ahead of us.

It's Isn't it great having a turntable? Oh, my God. I love it so much.

I think I need more Frosting in here.

I think you're doing okay, though. Really?

This is our first fight.

That looks perfect.

Okay.

Excuse me, but I think you really know what you're doing.

You know what?

What?

It looks good. I'm here to take over.

Okay. And the second one I'm going to put on upside down because you want the top to be really flat. It looks more professional. It's good and sticky.

What's your technique for this moment?

I do the sides first and then the top.

I want to watch you because you're here to teach me.

So take the spatula and just do a thin layer. And the key is you don't go back and forth. If you go back and forth over the cake, what happens is-You're going to pull crumbs. Crumps. Just like this. Just smooth it in one direction, and then we'll smooth the whole thing when we're done. But just get the icing on first. I'm watching. You're watching? Okay. How do you decorate cakes? What do you like to do?

I certainly appreciate cake decorating, but usually when I'm making a cake, like if I make my son's orange cake, I decorate it with mandarin oranges on top. I love that.

So you know what it is. It just tells you what it is.

It's also a tasty thing to eat.

Yeah, exactly.

And then if it's a carrot cake, often I'll just really have really crumbly picanes and just put that on the top.

Which is in the cake. Exactly. That's exactly what I do.

What about you? Is there anything else you do?

I don't know. I'm pretty simple about decoration.

What about flowers? You ever put actual flowers on a cake?

For a wedding cake, maybe, but not a regular cake. I don't know why. And they can't be scented flowers. So I'm going to take the spatula. I'm going to put the rest of it on top and just smooth it out. May I? You may. I insist, in fact. And then I'll show you how I'd like to pipe it.

Look at this. I've seen the cake. That's it.

See it? There's enough, isn't there?We are so happy.Okay, so how about turning on the hot tap water?Yes.I'm going to show you what I do. It's going to warm up the spatule, and then we're going to smooth it all out. Okay, just a little bit. Just enough so that it's a little smoother. Lord have mercy.

It's a miracle.

And then just run your spatule around the edge, and you have a nice square edge. How's that? You get to lick that. Well, I'm going to tell you. What?

That's fantastic.

Thank you. Okay, so you want to pipe it? I have some icing in a piping bag. Just for you. So this is the way I learned how to do piping, just on the board. Okay. Just do it like that. And when you're comfortable with it, we'll do it on the cake.

Okay. I think I have to have a heavier hand with it.

Here, I'll show you what I do in order to do a shell. And you know what we can do, too? We can do it just stars. Would that be easier? Want to do that? Oh, sure.

But I'd also like to learn this. You want to look?

Okay.

Yeah. Okay. Well, that's easy peasy.

That's easy. And the other one is like a shell. I'll show you what you do. You start here and you go up and down, and then up and down.Oh, I see.How's that?That's what this is.That's what that is.

Up and down.

Up and then stop. And then start again. You're doing okay. I'm not doing okay.

Up and down and then stop.

Lift the bag. Stop. That's why it takes time. It takes time to figure it out. Up and down. Look at that. Stop.

Perfect.oh, I see.Now.

You got it. Yeah. That's like a rhythm to it.Up and down.up and down. Yeah, I'm getting there.Yeah, see?Yeah. It took me like 40 years Did you get that? So I'd say in five minutes, you did pretty well.I.

Did pretty well.Okay.Am I doing it on the edge?I'll start it.

Yeah, I'll do it around the edge. You start here and you go up and down, and then up and down. Oh,oh, I see. How's that?

So you really lift it, right?Yeah.

You're right. You've got it. Look at that. Fabulous. Fabulous. There's like a rhythm to it. I mean, how good does this look?

Up and down. Oh,oh, my God.

You got it. Are you going to go home and start a cake decorating business in your spare time?

Oh, 100%. I've got all the paperwork drawn up. Don't make me laugh. You're ruining my cake.

Okay, so I'm going to show you what to do in order to take the paper out. Just run your knife along the bottom, just like this, and just pull it out.

That is so clever.

And now you have a clean plate. All right, here we go. Big piece, little piece.Enormous.Enormous. Does that look like a classic- Still my beating heart. One for me, one for you.Thank you.Cheers.Cheers..

Here we go. Let's see what we think. First of all, the cake part is off the chain.

Don't you think?That's right. And the icing is yummy to the 10th power.

I can't talk to you. I got to eat it. Oh, my God. We need a picture of this. Does anybody have a camera?

Oh my God, I love it.

I'm just doing my career.

I love it.

That may have just been canceled.

If you love this episode of Be My Guest, the podcast with me, Ina Garten, please make sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. It would mean so much to me. Thanks. Cheers.

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