All she wants for Christmas is to … cook up a storm! Mariah Carey chatted about her holiday essentials in a video interview with GQ published on Monday, December 2, and it turns out the “We Belong Together” songstress loves to spend plenty of time in the kitchen each December.
“I like to cook every year. I cook on the 23rd, 24th and 25th — all different menus,” the 49-year-old explained.
Seemingly speaking of a specific dish, Carey added: “One of them is one of my father’s recipes. Before he passed away, he left me this recipe that I like to make every year on Christmas Eve.”
When it comes to Christmas dinner, however, the Grammy winner takes a more “traditional” approach that includes poultry. “It took me a while to learn how to do the turkey,” she admitted. “You have to know what you’re doing to make a turkey. You can’t poison people.”
Though the New York native refused to reveal the “very specific” menus she follows at her numerous holiday feasts, she did share her No. 1 secret ingredient. “Love, darling. Love,” she said without missing a beat. “You gotta cook with love. If you don’t cook with love, it’s not going to taste good.”
And as it turns out, Carey is keeping those holiday meal details under wraps for a good reason, “One day I’m going to put out a Christmas cookbook,” she declared.
Though the Glitter actress confessed to typically enlisting a professional sous chef to help with her holiday gatherings, Carey maintained that she does do plenty of the meal prep on her own. “People don’t believe that I cook, by the way. They think that I’m lying,” she explained. “But the truth is that I do, and I actually love cooking.”
Added the musician: “I don’t usually cook during the year until Christmas time, but I’ve been cooking a little bit more recently because my kids kind of like it when I cook.” The “Obsessed” singer shares 8-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe with ex-husband Nick Cannon.
For Carey, cooking often acts as a welcome reprieve from her packed schedule. “Even though it takes up a lot of time, it’s relaxing for me because I’m not thinking about business,” she noted. “I’m not thinking about anything else, I’m just down there in the kitchen cooking.”
Addressing those who believe she can’t cook, Carey concluded: “They’d be surprised if they came over for dinner!”
