Ina Garten and Allison Janney Get Cheesy

You’ve seen Allison Janney everywhere from Broadway and The West Wing to the Academy Awards. One place she’s never been is in the kitchen with Ina Garten. The two have been messaging back and forth for a year, and it’s all been leading up to this meal. To prepare for their cheese-filled afternoon, Ina stopped by her favorite store in Sag Harbor for some Fontina Val d'Aosta and aged pecorino. The fontina’s nutty and fruity undertones are perfect for baked fondue. The pecorino is a sheep's milk cheese — similar to Parmesan, save for some of the nutty and salty characteristics. That serves as the base for Allison’s favorite pasta dish: cacio e pepe.

It’s fitting that the one-of-a-kind Allison has a childhood birthday tradition you’ve probably never considered: birthday fondue. It was a four-course meal: cheese fondue, beef fondue, chocolate fondue and birthday cake. Ina sadly omitted the latter three, but her baked fontina fondue was enough to elicit an “Oh my God — that was delicious!” from Allison. She may have said, “That was ridiculous.” Despite her professionally trained diction, it wasn’t easy to decipher her praise through a mouth overflowing with fondue.

Ina starts this one-pan dish with 1½ pounds of cubed fontina in an unheated cast-iron skillet. After drizzling ¼ cup of olive oil over the cheese, she evenly distributes six cloves of thinly sliced garlic around the pan, followed by a sprinkle of fresh thyme, rosemary, a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of pepper. After six minutes in the broiler — with the pan placed roughly 5 inches from the heat — it comes out “browned, and bubbly, and delicious, and ready for Allison.”

“I Better Stick to Acting.”

Much like her fictional daughter in I, Tonya, Allison’s first experience with performing was on the ice. But her figure skating career was tragically cut short when a collision with a plate glass window sent her into early retirement before she’d even gone off to college.

After a year of recovery, she enrolled at Kenyon College to study theater. During that time, a new theater was built on campus, and a notable Kenyon alumnus returned to direct the inaugural play. His name was Paul Newman. Along with his wife Joanne Woodward the two became early mentors as she began her stage career. Hollywood wasn’t ready for Allison just yet, but Broadway was dying for her.

Allison’s Broadway career began alongside Frank Langella in Present Laughter. Like all great stage actors, she made her way to the Delacorte Theater to star as Katherina in a Shakespeare in the Park production of The Taming of the Shrew. Her screams were so powerful that visits from the NYPD became a common occurrence. As she recalls it, “Someone’s getting murdered in the park — no, that’s just Allison Janney screaming.” She later went on to play guidance counselor and budding erotic novelist Ms. Perky in 10 Things I Hate About You, a 1999 high school retelling of the aforementioned Shakespearean classic.

After years of performing for audiences of 300, she landed the role of C.J. Cregg on The West Wing. Across the show’s seven seasons, Allison received six Emmy nominations, securing four wins. Indicative of her exploding star status, her first two nominations (and victories) were under the “Best Supporting Actress” category. The latter four were for “Best Lead Actress.”

Before the two set out to make her favorite pasta dish, Ina hit Allison with a last-minute task that she dubbed the “easiest thing in the world”: a simple vinaigrette. All she needs is two ingredients (plus salt and pepper).

After arming Allison with a whisk and ¼ cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, Ina begins pouring ½ cup of olive oil into the bowl as Allison vigorously mixes the two substances. She adds 1 teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper and boom: the perfect vinaigrette.

Once the arugula has been dressed and wine poured, it’s time for what Allison really came there for: pasta. They start by adding 2 tablespoons of salt to a pot of boiling water for ½ pound of tagliatelli — cooked per the bag’s instructions until al dente. Note: Never forget to save some precious starchy pasta water when draining. Your sauce will thank you.

Now, it’s time for the cacio (cheese) and pepe (pepper).

Once the pasta’s been drained, Ina returns it to the empty pot over low heat and has Allison add 2 tablespoons of cream, 1 tablespoon of butter (it’s never enough!), 1½ teaspoons of salt, ½ cup of pecorino, 1 tablespoon of Allison Janney-ground peppercorns and a splash of pasta water to ensure it stays saucy.

After mixing everything together, Ina adds 2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley and an additional ½ cup of ground pecorino.

Having now mastered the art of Italian cooking, Allison is ready to host her Los Angeles friends (provided Ina tags along).