New Ways For The Holidays With Kate Berry of Domino
Kerry Diamond: Hey Bombesquad. Welcome back to New Ways for the Holidays, our special miniseries on Radio Cherry Bombe. For the next few weeks, I'll be chatting with Cherry Bombe's favorite entertaining experts to get their tips and tricks on decor, cooking, virtual celebrations, and more. We know the holidays are going to be very different this year, so the Cherry Bombe team wants to help you make the season special, no matter how you're celebrating.
Last week, I interviewed Athena Calderone of EyeSwoon for the first episode. Make sure to check it out wherever you get your podcasts. It's always a pleasure talking to our friend Athena.
On today's episode, we have none other than Kate Berry, executive creative director of Domino Magazine. I am a long time fan of Domino, and I know a lot of you are, too. Kate is a designer, entertainer, mom, and all around creative pro. She also worked for Martha Stewart for several years, so Kate's a wealth of entertaining information and inspiration. Kate sat down with me to talk about all things holiday and I got a lot of great advice, including tabletop advice. So all you tablescape enthusiasts, get your notebooks ready.
If you are new to the world of Cherry Bombe, welcome. Be sure to head over to CherryBombe.com to learn more. You can subscribe to Cherry Bombe Magazine while you're over there, or become a member of Cherry Bombe and join us for special events and monthly membership meetings.
Thank you to the Wines of Sicily for sponsoring today's episode and supporting our New Ways for the Holidays miniseries. Sicilian wines are terrific all year round, but especially during the holidays. Here's a word from Sicilian wine maker José Rallo on what makes her wines so special.
José Rallo: Ciao. I'm José Rallo, the fifth generation of a wine producing family in Sicily. In fact, we have more than 160 years of experience in wine making, and I'm honored to carry on this family commitment. I wish I could welcome you to our beautiful island in the middle of the Mediterranean for a tour and tasting, but until then, there is another way to enjoy the unique wines produced in Sicily.
Did you know Wines of Sicily are made up of more than 480 wineries from across the island? We produce wines using indigenous grapes such as Nero d'Avola, Grillo, and Frappato. So the next time you are at your favorite local wine shop, look for Sicilia DOC on the label. Maybe pick up my favorite Nero d'Avola, our iconic black grape producing rich regal reds, perfect for this time of the year. Until we can share a glass together, enjoy one with your loved ones this holiday season. Cin-cin. Toast. Visit winesofsicily.com to learn more.
Kerry Diamond: Now here's my conversation with Kate Berry of Domino Magazine.
Kerry Diamond: Kate Berry, hi.
Kate Berry: Hi. Hi, Kerry.
Kerry Diamond: Good to see you again, Kate.
Kate Berry: Likewise. Actually, I love seeing you with your navy indigo tie dye. So nice. And I'm wearing a striped blue shirt, so.
Kerry Diamond: Well, we're going to learn that Kate is all about the details very quickly. I wanted to start with asking you a few questions about your job and just how the crew at Domino Magazine is doing. I'm sure if you're a Cherry Bombe fan, you're also a Domino fan. I have been a Domino fan since day one. I love the new crew who's there right now. So, what's the latest? How's everybody?
Kate Berry: We're good. We're good. It's just it's been a rough many months, and I think everyone really misses each other so we're slowly, a few of us that are in the city are going back to the office a couple of days a week just to be together and work together and have lunch together. We've been doing that every week on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and then we're slowly getting back into doing photo shoots. So yeah, it's really fun.
Then also we just launched Kids, so it was our first kids print issue, and we also do a newsletter that's called Kids Corner, so we have digital content. Yeah, lots of things happening with kids.
Kerry Diamond: And then on a grander scale, people care about their homes and their spaces in a much different way right now.
Kate Berry: Yeah. Yeah, so I know a lot of people have slowed down during the pandemic, but for us it's been super full steam ahead, and exploring all new ways of getting the content out there and being sensitive to the economy and how people are living and sharing spaces. So, just trying to navigate that.
I live in New York City. I live in a super small apartment with my husband and my child, so I totally get it. I feel like a lot of our readers needs are what I need to know, organizing, navigating your space, and rethinking your space.
Kerry Diamond: And everyone's needs are different. I think that's the other thing. Just being sensitive to the fact that everyone's situation is very different. We'll talk about that a little bit more when we talk about what Kate and her family are doing for the holidays. So Kate, tell us what your job at Domino is. You have a fascinating job.
Kate Berry: I'm the executive creative director, so I co-edit the magazine and the digital platform with Jessica Romm Perez, who is my friend and partner, and she also has a podcast that she works on called Design Time.
Starting in April I started co-editing with her, and overseeing the content for digital has been a new thing for me, so that's been a huge learning curve and a fun experience really.
Kerry Diamond: Absolutely. I'm sure it has been.
Kate Berry: Yeah.
Kerry Diamond: So before Domino, you spent a decade working with Martha Stewart. What was your job with Martha?
Kate Berry: I started as a style editor and then was the style director and then creative director for Weddings Magazine, and then I also contributed to the Living Magazine, so I was editor-at-large. It was such an amazing experience, and now when I think back to that, I'm like, "Oh, that was a job?" It was like 10 years of grad school.
Kerry Diamond: What would you say were some of the main things you've learned from Martha? And she's a tough boss. I mean, I've been around Martha, and she's tough just hanging out with her.
Kate Berry: Yeah, she's been on your cover, as well. God, what have I not learned from Martha? I've learned so much. My daughter has learned so much. Everything about living, and the biggest takeaway or one of the biggest takeaways from Martha personally would be she instilled this like can-do or you can do anything attitude. Just put your mind to it and do it. It's like don't talk about it, just do it. That's kind of probably one of the biggest takeaways.
And then I've always loved flowers and gardening coming from my mother, but I think Martha really reminded me just the simple joys of planting something. Because every time I would be with her, if we were on vacation or whatever, we'd go to nurseries and I'd just bring back a ton of plants from the nurseries and put them in the ... She'd always have a U-Haul that goes up to Maine to bring all her plants from the greenhouse in Bedford up to Maine for the summer, and so we'd go to all the fun nurseries up in Maine and bring back a bunch of plants to New York. That's why I have a bunch of giant begonias and just different plants that are harder to get here in New York.
Kerry Diamond: That's so cool.
Kate Berry: I guess that, yeah. And just simple cooking, just all the basic home things that you would think that you learn from Martha, you really do.
Kerry Diamond: I'm imagining the attention to detail was unlike any other.
Kate Berry: Oh yeah. I mean, I worked in magazines there, so it was like ... I remember one of my first shoots, there was a photographer, David Meredith. We were shooting, I think a flower story or something like that. I used to be a florist. I was a flower designer in San Francisco and that's how I met the Martha crew and got a job becoming a style editor, and I was under these hot lights, styling a piece of ribbon and literally flipping this piece of ribbon for like 10 minutes until it was perfect. I mean, so crazy. It was so crazy.
Kerry Diamond: The things we did back then. You mentioned your mom, so that's a great segue. I wanted to ask you where you grew up. I know Kate Berry today. I don't know Kate Berry from back in the day. So where did you grow up, Kate?
Kate Berry: I grew up in Orange County. Do you know it? Orange County, California, in a suburb called Irvine. Yeah, it was just like a suburban youth. I rode my bike around. I had orange groves across the street and strawberry fields across the street.
Kerry Diamond: Wow.
Kate Berry: Yeah, that was my childhood.
Kerry Diamond: Do you have a favorite holiday memory from your childhood?
Kate Berry: I would have to say favorite holidays, Lunar New Year, which is Chinese New Year. I'm Vietnamese, so I call it Vietnamese New Year. That holiday, and then also the fall, I guess the Harvest Moon Festival holiday. So one is in the spring or winter/spring, and one is in the fall, and those were my favorite holidays. I think because I just have vivid memories of it, just the colors, the branches. We'd bring in these spring blossoms and the little cakes, and we'd have an altar that we would make to pay respects to our ancestors. It was just a really good time for family to be together and you'd go visit family.
So that was more of the Lunar New Year and we got these little red envelopes with money, so it's like a fun holiday for kids. But then the fall holiday was, I remember it was like we grew up Buddhist, so we went to a Buddhist temple and we were lotus scouts or some kind of organized little kid group, and we were the lotus kids. We'd have these little lanterns and we'd parade them around at night during this festival and we'd stay up super late, and it was really like a kid festival.
Kerry Diamond: It really sounds lovely and evocative, Kate.
Kate Berry: Yeah.
Kerry Diamond: How about Thanksgiving? We're going to talk about Thanksgiving since this will air right before that holiday. How did your family celebrate Thanksgiving, or did you?
Kate Berry: We did. I definitely know we did, but I can't picture it. I just don't have the memories like I do these Vietnamese holidays. We did celebrate western holidays, but we came from Vietnam when I was a baby and we're Buddhist, and so it's not like we were celebrating Christmas. We really only started doing these holidays when we got a little older because my parents were, "Well, we're Americans, and so we do what Americans do." But it wasn't like I have early childhood memories from it. I guess, like a little bit older. Then as I got older, even in my late teens, celebrating it with friends and my sister and my siblings, that's kind of like more when the Thanksgiving memories happened.
Kerry Diamond: And then how about today? How does the Berry family celebrate?
Kate Berry: Well, we usually do it with friends. We've been in New York for 13 years, and so we're usually with friends, or if my sister comes out from San Francisco or if we go back to California with my siblings. So, friends that have kids. I have a seven-year-old daughter, Quinn, and so it's usually a bunch of people gathering around and everyone brings a little bit to the table. Either we're in the country or we're here in the city. Just lots of food, walks, being out in nature.
Yeah, I love it so much. I love Thanksgiving. I love just the whole meal preparation and gathering and spending time together in our pajamas or sweats and just hanging out. But last year, we did something different. We live down by the Seaport, so we went to the Fulton for lunch and then we got on a flight and went to Rome.
Kerry Diamond: Wow, that's different.
Kate Berry: Yeah. It was really great. Ian, my husband, and Quinn, my daughter, the three of us and then my friend Katie Hatch, the four of us flew to Rome for a week.
Kerry Diamond: That's fun. What prompted that?
Kate Berry: I think we just wanted to try something different. Oh, I was in Milan for Salone, the design festival, and I was in Rome before that, and it was the first time I had gone to Rome. I loved it so much and I was only there for a couple of days, and so I'm like, "I have to go back." It was so beautiful and so monumental, and my husband is an illustrator and he loves to draw architecture, so that's what we did. It was really fun.
Kerry Diamond: So, let me ask. We know you have flare for decorating. Would you say you have a flare for entertaining?
Kate Berry: Oh, for sure. I mean, I think it goes hand in hand.
Kerry Diamond: You do? Okay.
Kate Berry: Yeah, for sure. I mean, we have a terrace, and so that acts ... Because we have a super small apartment and then we have this terrace, so that's an extension of our apartment, and so as soon as we can get out there, as soon as it gets warm enough we're out there all summer into ... I just started not hanging out there because it's raining. I've been gardening out there and we grow a lot of our food. Now that all that is kind of settling down and we're pulling up plants, my friend Hannah has come over and planted all her saffron corms so now we're growing saffron out there. But yeah, it's non-stop dinners, and when we started working from home, we had a couple of friends that we were hanging out with, I guess potting with consistently, and so this was our space.
Kerry Diamond: Oh, that's so much fun.
Kate Berry: Yeah.
Kerry Diamond: So tell us what some of your, I don't want to call them rules, but I'm guessing you have sort of some rules for entertaining, that you always do certain things. What would that be? Or is it more freeform for you?
Kate Berry: It's pretty freeform, but as you know, I cook a lot with my friend Camille, and so she was one of my pandemic pod buds. We'd just hop on the phone. We're like, "Okay, I'm going to the farmer's market. I'm going to ahead to Eataly," and we kind of make a plan and we compare notes of what we picked up and then we just cook a meal together. A lot of it is just really being with friends and preparing together, and then enjoying the meal together. And when we're not doing it that way, that's the way I relax and just get my chill time. I have the house cleaned and everything's in order, and then I get home from the farmer's market or I pick whatever is in my garden and I make a menu from that, and then I just spend the whole day preparing.
Kerry Diamond: So your preparer?
Kate Berry: Yeah.
Kerry Diamond: I guess you can't work for Martha Stewart for 10 years and not be.
Kate Berry: Oh, yeah. I mean, I chop all my vegetables a certain way. But it's good, it's very relaxing for me and it's my way of meditating. I don't really meditate or do yoga or anything like that, so it's my way of getting into my space and-
Kerry Diamond: Yeah. I'm sure a lot of our listeners share that with you. There's something very meditative about cooking.
Kate Berry: Right.
Kerry Diamond: All right, so let's talk about this years Thanksgiving.
Kate Berry: I really have not thought about it. Well, I have thought about some things, but I haven't thought about the actual meal, but I have thought about the table setting and what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. In the past, what we've done is I have a friend that started doing flowers, and so we had a meal together and she would do the flowers, I would bring the table setting and table cloths and we'd put the table together, and then everyone made a different part of the meal.
I'd imagine with my pod buddies, we'll probably do the same thing, but I've already ... Yeah, I've definitely thought about what the table would look like. I have a lot of different china and plates and ceramics that I've collected over the years.
Kerry Diamond: I was looking through your Instagram and I was like, "Kate has so many beautiful plates and glasses."
Kate Berry: Oh my God.
Kerry Diamond: I was wondering, did you borrow them from the Domino prop closet?
Kate Berry: I am the Domino prop closet. Are you kidding me? My place is just like, I have my buffet and my side ... I have so many pieces of furniture that are just like things are pouring out and I just can't stop. I definitely have a problem. I was like, "Oh, I saved so much money during this pandemic not going out to dinner, not taking cars anywhere, not taking cabs anywhere," and so I just now am indulging by buying plates and napkins. Really, I have a lot of friends that have linen companies. There's so many people that make beautiful things, and so I really love supporting my friends and talented makers, so that's kind of my excuse.
Kerry Diamond: Do you buy vintage and new?
Kate Berry: Yeah. One of my vintage stories, I was at Brimfield and this guy had KPM, which is, I think it's from Berlin, china that's like white porcelain and they have little cameos, so it's like a glossy white plate with white cameos. All the pieces have different cameos. Some have horse heads on them, some have a naked lady, but very, very beautiful and very refined. I know the cost of this set, and I found him later in the day, and basically he was like, "I'm going to Africa tomorrow. I need to get rid of this." So the price for the 11 settings-
Kerry Diamond: Wow, that's a lot of settings.
Kate Berry: 11 settings, the serving pieces, the tea pot, the soup bowls, the tea cups, I mean, it's insane, for $1,500. That is a major deal, because when you really add it up it was like $15,000 is what it was worth. So that was my big buy. I called my friend who's an antique dealer. I'm like, "Okay, there's this opportunity here. Should I do it? I can always resell it, right?", and he's like, "Yeah, yeah." And then when I bought it, he's like, "Oh." I put it on Instagram. I'm like, "Does anybody want this?," and I got a bunch of takers, but I was like, "I cannot even part with this," so I ended up keeping it.
Kerry Diamond: Oh. Well it was still a little pricey, but not as pricey as it could have been, but it sounds like it made you very happy.
Kate Berry: Oh, I mean for what it is it's a major deal. And then Cabana Magazine, they have a site, an e-shop with beautiful tabletops, so I just got some splatter plates from them that I think I'm going to use for Thanksgiving. It's like kind of a rainbow-y splatter plate, so it's fun.
Kerry Diamond: Do you have any good online vintage sources?
Kate Berry: Cherish is good. One Kings Lane has a lot of good vintage on it. Because my place is so small, I'm staying away from bigger purchases like furniture because I literally have no room, so that's why I indulge in all the tabletop.
Kerry Diamond: Let's talk specifically about tabletop and how you approach it. Are you into matchy-matchy or do you mix things up a lot?
Kate Berry: Oh, I definitely mix things up, but I also am a matchy-matchy person. I think if anything, like my style is just like pattern on pattern on pattern. It's fun. It's just fun to look at. And because I've collected so many different pieces, I have a lot of room to play with colors. I've collected so many different textiles from Oaxaca or Sweden or wherever, Asia, wherever I've been, and so it's great to mix styles with florals and stripes, and then that way you kind of can't go wrong.
Kerry Diamond: You are not a minimalist. You are not the person to turn to or the Instagram feed to turn to if you're looking for a nice white plate on a nice white tablecloth with a nice white napkin.
Kate Berry: Right. I mean, I can do that, too. I have my Martha days, you know?
Kerry Diamond: Exactly, exactly. So don't be afraid to mix and match.
Kate Berry: That's the thing, there's not a recipe for the perfect table. I use things from around my house. I'm like, "Oh, I love this thing on the shelf. It will look cute on the table." My daughter also, I'm not precious about a table, she'll throw things in. She'll throw her Lego little Kitty thing in that she loves, and she's like, "Let's make this a Japanese-y table, mommy." And I'm like, "Okay, sure." It's fun to involve her, because now she really loves it, as well.
Kerry Diamond: We also spoke to Athena Calderon as part of this miniseries, and similarly, I mean you to a very different aesthetics, but similarly Athena is really drawn to color and organic tablescapes. I've seen this in yours, as well. Fruits and vegetables you can get at a supermarket, beautiful use of flowers. So just talk a little bit about how you incorporate natural elements into tablescapes.
Kate Berry: I was really into growing Armenian cucumbers this summer. You know what they look like.
Kerry Diamond: Okay, I'm going to confess. I don't know what the difference is between ... Are they the curly ones?
Kate Berry: Yeah, the curly, stripey, green ones. They look like snakes. I fell in love with these a couple summers ago and I'm like, "I have to grow these," and so I went nuts and I grew so many of them, and they're delicious, by the way, and they grow quickly. From the time that they are pollinated, they grow in a few days. So I would go pick those, and it's just a shame, I don't want to put it in the fridge, so I just leave it on the table and then I'll pick a couple of plums from the garden and a couple of leaves here and there. It'll just kind of come together, and that's kind of my way of relaxing in the morning, just to put together a little tablescape or whatever, and my daughter will come out and be like, "Oh, that's pretty," and we'll talk about it or she'll just eat off of it or something.
But yeah, there's no prescription or recipe to it. The beauty of it is it just comes together because it's a beautiful thing. It's nature. It's a beautiful shape and it's organic. I was growing zinnias and cosmos, and you don't need a giant bundle, you just need a few. I think the key is having some smaller bud vases that you like, and I have a few Ted Muehling egg shaped vases that are so beautiful and so simple and white porcelain. So you put a few sprigs in that, and that's it. That's all you really need.
Kerry Diamond: The bud vase is a great tip. You have a flare for flowers. You were a floral designer at one point, but if you've only got the flowers at the supermarket or the deli or the bodega or whatever you have, sometimes they're not the best, but I do think don't try to make them into an arrangement. Break it up.
Kate Berry: I love bodega flowers. My corner store has great mini carnations. I love a mini carnation. They last a super long time. They smell super good. So yeah, I'm not a flower snob at all. I'm into mums, I'm into baby's breath, I'm into it all. Or just a simple gesture like a branch or something like that. It just can be simple and poetic.
And then, we always have candles. I just got these new HAY candlesticks and we used them last night. They're so pretty. They're just glass ones. They're on sale right now. So, HAY, H-A-Y.
Kerry Diamond: H-A-Y. Okay.
Kate Berry: Yeah. Yeah. So beautiful. I have a pink glass one and it's piped with a wine color, and then I got an amber one. They're also on Domino's gift guide, so if you check out Domino's gift guide, they're in that as well. Yeah, we always have candles, tapers lit. It's just what we do, and it just really dresses the table up. We could be eating takeout, but we always have the candles.
For Thanksgiving, I tend to go simpler on the tablescape and maybe have something on the side. I always have bowls of fruit and vegetables in our windows sill in our kitchen, and so that's kind of like a display. And then I found these beautiful Tahitian squash. They look like a butternut squash, but they're elongated, so they're sculptural.
Kerry Diamond: Are these are the ones that almost look like they have swans necks?
Kate Berry: Yeah, exactly.
Kerry Diamond: Okay.
Kate Berry: Exactly. So I bought a couple of those and I interlocked them and they look like sculpture. They're a beautiful nude color. The first time I saw them was just recently in Pennsylvania. I was in Pittsburgh doing our cover shoot and we were at the farmer's market and I saw the stand. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, we have to go get those," and we jumped in line and we're like, "Oh my God, I hope no one buys these," because they look like sculptures. We actually had them on this home's dining table as beautiful sculpture, just sitting there like that, so beautiful, and then you can cut them in half and roast it.
Kerry Diamond: You know, Kate, you mentioned Quinn. Anyone who knows you knows that you have this fabulous child Quinn, who is clearly as creative as her mom. I would imagine that just because of the nature of we're home more, or if you are home with your family and your children, you are spending more time together. I'm guessing a lot of kids will be incorporated way more into the holidays. Kids are cooking more. Do you have any advice for involving your children and holidays maybe in ways you haven't in the past?
Kate Berry: She is pretty involved. Always wants to know what everyone's doing. Sometimes I do want her to be out of the way. We can do some things together. It's concord grape season, so we've been buying a lot of concord grapes and making granita, so I'll let her rake the granita and that keeps her busy for a while. But sometimes I do want to just, like I said, I relax when I'm doing this so I need to pick things that she can do that we do together and things that I just want to do on my own, and I have my process and my chill time.
Her window opens out to the terrace, so she puts up a sign that says QB's Bar, and she and her father go to the market and they get all the different drinks and she sets up her bar and she makes this sign and menu, and yeah, she sets it up with olives and little snacks and fruit. That's just like a fun way of her interacting with our friends that come over and it keeps her busy, which is the most important part.
Kerry Diamond: So if you need some mom time, find an activity.
Kate Berry: Yeah, find an activity, and they're also a part of it. She'll make signs for the door to welcome guests, or she'll pick the flowers out in the garden or do something like that to make everyone little gifts. So yeah, there's a lot of things that keep them busy and then also make them feel like they're a part of it.
Kerry Diamond: So Kate, this is the tough one. We know there are a lot of people who aren't with their loved ones. They're in a situation that they didn't anticipate and certainly didn't think they would still be in those situations for the holidays, so we know there are going to be a lot of Zoom celebrations, whether it's for Thanksgiving or the December holidays. I'm sure the folks at Domino have talked a lot about how to add a little zip to the Zooms.
Kate Berry: I do not have good advice on this. This is terrible of me to say, but I cannot stand group Zoom meetings. I'm on Google Hangouts 24/7, back-to-back meetings all day. The last thing I want to do is get on a Zoom call with everyone. I've done it and it's a little awkward I have to say. The thing about gathering is that people are having side conversations, and you can't have that with Zoom. There's one person, they have the platform. Not everyone wants to be the center of attention, and I'm one of those people, and so it always makes me kind of nervous and it's a little awkward. So, I'm not into it.
Kate Berry: But I've tried, I think House Party, that app. At the beginning of the pandemic my friends and I did that, and I felt like you could talk over each other. Or FaceTime. I like it better when you can all talk.
Kerry Diamond: Athena mentioned House Party, also. I have not played around with House Party. Maybe I need to check it out.
Kate Berry: Yeah.
Kerry Diamond: I'm sure a lot of folks have reached out to Domino though, about what we talked about earlier, the Zoom background.
Kate Berry: Uh-huh (affirmative).
Kerry Diamond: Maybe part of it is Zoom can feel so oppressive because you're looking at yourself, like I am right now, and all you can focus on is like, "Oh my God, my apartment's a mess. The lighting is terrible. I look like I haven't slept." Et cetera, et cetera. So, maybe there's a little bit about put a tiny bit of effort if you have time into what the Zoom is going to look like.
Kate Berry: Yeah. I mean, I'm certainly impressed with your background and your matching top. I'm like, "Oh, that looks really nice." I'm looking at it. Your eye can wander a bit. My apartment, there's just so much going on and so I have to go from room to room. You are giving people a glimpse into your home. Hopefully if it's your family and your friends, you don't really care. But it is a conversation starter, because people ... For my husband, he works at CNN and I think when he started doing his Zoom calls with his office they were really surprised. They were like, "Whoa, what jungle are you in?", because we have so many plants. So I think that for him, it was kind of cool because people had no idea. They all work in these cubicles in the newsroom, and so it's like, "Oh, this is Ian's home. He has all these plants." So it does give a glimpse into your style and how you live.
Kerry Diamond: All right. Let's move on. We have a few year-end questions and holiday questions for you, Kate. Okay, ready? We're going to do a few final questions and then a holiday speed round.
Kate Berry: Okay.
Kerry Diamond: So Kate, what are you most thankful for this year?
Kate Berry: I am really, really thankful that we are healthy and my family is healthy. My parents, my siblings, my family, most everyone is in California, and so fires very close to their homes. Luckily my sister lives by the beach and my mom also lives by the beach so they have better quality of air, but my brother lives by the hills and it's scary. I feel bad for everyone, but I feel very fortunate that everybody's safe.
Kerry Diamond: Okay. We're going to do a little holiday speed round. I think I know the answer to this first one. Pumpkin spice, yay or nay?
Kate Berry: Yes. Yes.
Kerry Diamond: I wouldn't have called that.
Kate Berry: You know why? Because it's only once a year, and it's very special. It's like that peppermint bark thing. It's just you nibble on that once a year.
Kerry Diamond: We could do a whole episode on that peppermint bark thing. That's very funny. Okay, if you could invite one guest past or present to your holiday dinner, who would it be and why?
Kate Berry: Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I mean, do I need to explain why?
Kerry Diamond: No, you don't need to explain why. This is a good one because I know you love music. What's one holiday song that always makes you smile?
Kate Berry: This is actually very embarrassing, but I'm just going to tell the truth. It's the Band Aid song, Do They Know It's Christmastime? I mean, when I listen to the lyrics now, I'm so mortified. I'm like, "What? What are these crazy lyrics?" But I have to say I'm a product of the '80s and I love that song, and all the cool Brit bands that were involved in that. That video is like Kool & the Gang, Jody Watley. It's so cool. That just brings me back to very happy memories of my childhood.
Kerry Diamond: 80s babies, absolutely.
Kate Berry: Yeah.
Kerry Diamond: Okay, favorite Thanksgiving side dish?
Kate Berry: Cranberry sauce. I know that's a condiment, but I'm into cranberry sauce. I put it on everything.
Kerry Diamond: Interesting. Okay, I like that. Homemade?
Kate Berry: Yes. Yes, tart cranberry sauce.
Kerry Diamond: Not from a can?
Kate Berry: No, no, no. But it's so easy. It's just cranberries, sugar, and water, and maybe a little lemon, but very simple. I don't need a bunch of zest in it or anything.
Kerry Diamond: Pie of choice?
Kate Berry: Key Lime. I like Key Lime. I like tart, vinegar, yeah.
Kerry Diamond: So even that would be your holiday pie of choice?
Kate Berry: Yeah, I have some kefir, lime. Yeah, yeah, yeah. My mom just sent me a bunch of passion fruit. I might make some kind of passion fruit something.
Kerry Diamond: I'm so jealous. Don't even tell me it grows at her house.
Kate Berry: She grows passion fruit. She just sent me a giant box of pomegranates. Not the gross ones at the grocery store that are kind of pink. Like real ones that are bursting with deep red little seeds.
Kerry Diamond: I'm officially jealous. I am obsessed with pomegranates.
Kate Berry: Yes. I'll send some over.
Kerry Diamond: Last one, Kate Berry, podcast virgin. If you could get one gift this year, what would it be?
Kate Berry: Is this just like anything I want in the world, even if it's not real?
Kerry Diamond: Yeah, anything you want in the world. You don't have to say world peace. We know you're a [crosstalk 00:36:15].
Kate Berry: No, no, I'm definitely more selfish in that. I want a country house. My daughter just recently asked me, "I want a place where I can do cartwheels and plant a tree into the ground." I'm like, "Oh my God. All right, well we have to move out of New York City." I mean, that's a big gift though.
Kerry Diamond: Well, we all know it would be the most beautiful country house.
Kate Berry: I'm not saying I need a McMansion or a grand thing. I mean, just a little fixer upper.
Kerry Diamond: A little patch, four walls. Kate's going to be very happy.
Kate Berry: Yeah. That's all I need. That's all I need.
Kerry Diamond: And room for cartwheels.
Kate Berry: And a garden.
Kerry Diamond: That's it for this episode. Thank you so much to Kate for speaking with me and sharing her tips with all of us. Want more from Kate? Follow @kateberryberry on Instagram, and pick up Domino wherever you get your magazines.
Thank you to the Wines of Sicily for supporting New Ways for the Holidays, and thank you to José Rallo for sharing her wine making story. I'm looking forward to meeting you and seeing your winery one day soon. Be sure to ask for Sicilia DOC or Sicilia Doc at your favorite local wine shop, and visit winesofsicily.com for more.
Radio Cherry Bombe is edited by Kat Garelli and produced by Cherry Bombe Media. Hang in there everybody, and thank you for listening. You're the bombe, and I hope your holidays are, too.