The Time Alec Baldwin Went Vegetable Shopping for Ina Garten
Barefoot Contessa star Ina Garten is a Gawker.TV favorite—remember?—and my personal hero. On yesterday's episode, Garten held a luncheon for some women who donated $100,000 to charity to eat her food. Oh, yeah—Alec Baldwin did the shopping.
Before we delve into the hilarious clips from the episode, here's some context: Garten is friends with Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, to whose charity she donated a fabulous luncheon. A small group of women (five, I think) with insanely good taste and an equally insane budget bid $100,000 for an afternoon in Garten's company.
Because of the large amount that Garten had raised for her charity, Hargitay wanted to attend the luncheon... and set the table! In the process, she was able to wrangle 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin to join in the fun, too. His task? Shopping for the groceries that Garten needed to make the lunch (chilled cucumber soup with shrimp, lobster and shells, Eton mess). It was an interesting excursion, to say the least:
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Once Baldwin regained his breath, he delivered the goods to Garten's door (and before you ask, yes, I ended this clip at the moment it cuts off on purpose—can you guess why?):
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Then, it was time for the luncheon! First up: chilled cucumber soup, topped with shrimp, and including the herbs that Baldwin nearly broke his back to pick out of the ground (which he reminded us of several times). Naturally, all of the women at the table fawned over the soup, tirelessly and simultaneously:
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And for the second course, our God Ina created lobster and shells, followed by do-it-yourself Eton mess—a parfait with layers of raspberries, crushed meringue, and freshly whipped cream—for dessert:
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And that's a wrap! Well, except for this, just because:
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