Michael Barbaro
Be My Guest with Ina Garten
Ina Garten welcomes acclaimed journalist and The Daily co-host Michael Barbaro to her barn for a delightful afternoon of cooking, conversati
Key takeaways
- The Daily was born out of a need to reimagine news storytelling through immersive audio experiences after the 2016 election.
Main topics
- The creation and evolution of The Daily podcast
Notable quotes
'I was thrust in front of a microphone in the only space that the New York Times was willing to give… a utility closet on the 16th floor.'
Conclusion
The episode captures the warmth and intellectual depth of Ina Garten's home, where food, conversation, and
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:00) I'm Ina Garten. I love to invite interesting people to my house for good food, great conversation, and lots of fun. My friend, the incredible journalist and podcaster, Michael Barbao from The Daily, is joining me for a wonderful day at the barn. I'm welcoming him with spicy hermit bars with ginger and molasses, their flavors he loves. And he's sharing stories of his amazing life in journalism. I Speaker 2 (0:25) was thrust in front of a microphone. in the only space that the New York Times was willing to give. A utility closet. A utility closet on the 16th floor. Speaker 1 (0:34) Then he's making his signature old-fashioned cocktail. Yum. And I'm showing him my updated chicken marbella that's perfect for easy entertaining. Speaker 2 (0:42) You're Speaker 1 (0:43) the perfect guest. I am? You are. Speaker 1 (0:49) I met my friend Michael Bobaro about a year ago. He came to the barn to record an episode of The Daily about Thanksgiving. We had such a good time together. I understand he likes ginger and molasses, and I thought, I'm going to make him my spicy hermit bars. I think he'll love them. So I've got butter and sugar in the mixer. I'm just going to add one egg. It needs to be room temperature. Okay, next I'm going to add molasses, about a quarter of a cup. Hermit bars are kind of like ginger cookies, but in a bar shape. Finish them with a rum glaze, which is so good. Okay, next the dry ingredients. I'm going to combine them and add them to the mixer. So first I'll put two cups plus two tablespoons of all-purpose flour in a sieve along with two teaspoons of baking soda. Then to amp up the flavor, two teaspoons of ground ginger, one and a half teaspoons of ground cinnamon, and the last spice, one and a half teaspoons of ground cloves. Finally, I'll add half a teaspoon of kosher salt. This just makes sure there are no lumps in the mixture. Next, I'll turn the mixer on low and slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter, sugar, and molasses, mixing just until they're combined. That's perfect. Smells so good, you can really smell the ginger. I'm going to add raisins. I add golden raisins. I just think they have great flavor. And minced crystallized ginger. Okay, that's it. And now I'm going to just chill the whole thing in the bowl for 30 minutes. Okay, this looks good. And it smells incredible. And while that chills, let me tell you about Michael Barbaro. He's amazing. Speaker 2 (2:23) Michael Barbaro is an award Speaker 1 (2:25) -winning journalist and co-host of the New York Times' wildly popular podcast, The Daily. He grew up in Connecticut and was always destined for a career in journalism, from delivering papers with his sister Tracy as a kid to writing for his high school newspaper before heading to Yale to study history, where he was editor-in-chief of the Yale Daily News. After college, he was a reporter for The Washington Post, then moved to The New York Times. becoming a political correspondent and host of The Run-Up, a podcast about the 2016 presidential race. The following year, he and three colleagues, including Lisa Tobin, his future wife, created The Daily, a podcast about the biggest news stories of our time. Speaker 2 (3:09) I'm Michael Barbaro, and this is The Daily. It's Speaker 1 (3:13) become one of the world's most downloaded podcasts, listened to by four million people every day. winning many prestigious awards, including the Spotify Gold Milestone Award for surpassing 500 million streams. Michael co-hosts the show and his famous first distinctive staccato speaking style and incredible journalism. He lives in Brooklyn with Lisa and their two children, where he loves to entertain. I can't wait to see him again. I just love him. Okay, so the dough is chilled, 30 minutes, and I'm going to cut it in two. Okay, I'm going to roll each one into a log about 12 inches long. It's interesting, they go on the baking pan round, and when they bake, they flatten out a little bit. You'll see. Okay, that's one log. And the second one. And now into the oven, 375 degrees for 20 minutes. They'll still be soft in the middle. They're so good. So the hermit bars are baked, and see how they spread out the way I said? And I'll show you how I drizzle them. So I've got a cup of confectioner's sugar and two tablespoons of rum, but if you don't want to use rum, you can always use a little maple syrup. Just kind of back and forth like that. They look so much better like this, don't they? Doesn't have to be perfect. You want them to look very homemade. And they are. Okay. And then the last thing I'm going to do to give them extra flavor is a little bit of lemon zest at the end. Just right on top. And then when the icing is set, I'm going to cut them into bars. So these are going to be all ready when Michael gets here. Hope he likes them. If he doesn't, he's never invited back. Speaker 2 (4:58) I am en route to Ina's house. She has asked me to be her guest. And when I got that call, time stopped. The earth stopped rotating. Because so deep is my love for Ina Garten that there's frankly nothing I wouldn't do to, frankly, just make her happy. Oh my goodness. The perfect shrubs. The perfect purple dahlias. Stunning. I feel like if Ina has taught me anything, it's how to be a good guest. And so I'm going to wait my feet. I'm Speaker 1 (5:42) so happy to see you. I'm Speaker 2 (5:44) so Speaker 1 (5:44) happy Speaker 2 (5:44) to see you. Speaker 2 (5:48) This isn't a thing no one knows about you, but should. You give the best hug in the entire business. Oh, Speaker 1 (5:52) you do. It's infused with love. It is. It's meant. So the last time you were here, we did Thanksgiving for your show. Yes. And that's what I call hard-hitting news. Speaker 2 (6:02) It was a different kind of episode. It was so much fun. Of our