Earlier Today On 'Anderson"

November 23, 2011
Jamie Oliver, Anderson Cooper Cook Thanksgiving Dinner Together, Hilariously (VIDEO)

First Posted: 11/23/11 -- 10:36 AM ET Updated: 11/23/11 -- 02:06 PM ET

One of the strangest revelations brought to light by Anderson Cooper's new-ish talk show is the extent of the host's apathy towards eating. Anyone who's seen the videos of Anderson swimming already knew that his love of food wasn't exactly Mario Batali-level. But every remotely culinary segment on Anderson has reinforced the notion that Anderson really knows almost nothing about any kind of food. He tried his first spinach leaf on air! So the bottom line is that he's, in the talk show food world, he's about as far as you can get from Jimmy Fallon.

But even if Anderson isn't going to go out of his way to feature foodie topics on his show, some occasions -- like Thanksgiving -- demand a cooking demonstration. He just needs a cooking guest who is used to wrangling people who don't know very much about food -- someone like Jamie Oliver, who appeared on his show this week to teach him how to cook a Thanksgiving meal.

The meal starts with turkey, of course. Everything seems to be going well; Oliver even gets Anderson to admit that likes clementines. Then, though, Oliver asks Anderson to don latex gloves, leading Anderson to realize that he'll have to touch the turkey. Jamie patiently explains the process of applying a compound butter to the bird, but Anderson is dubious. Scrunching his face, he asks, "What do I do, rub it?" At this, Oliver teases Anderson, saying "Don't try to tell me you haven't done it before," leading Anderson to reply, "You'd be surprised."


With the turkey in the oven, the unlikely duo moves on to the sides. Oliver is in the midst of preparing a truly delicious-looking Brussels sprouts with bacon dish that has the studio audience oohing-and-aahing over its aroma. Then, though, Jamie makes the mistake of entrusting Anderson with saute duty and asking him to flip the dish. Anderson spills sprouts all over the stage.


By the end of the segment, even the indefatigable Jamie seems a little exhausted. Anderson, it seems, is an even tougher cookie than the lunch ladies of the Los Angeles Public Schools. So rather than letting Anderson help him carve the Thanksgiving turkey, he just takes the reins and cuts the bird himself.