He’s well-dressed, successful and has a smoking hot wife, so it’s safe to say that Jimmy Kimmel has figured out a few things along the way. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host chatted with Glamour magazine for their February 2015 issue, and his input is invaluable to men the world over.
According to Kimmel, “Being a modern guy means we have to do a little bit of everything. More is required of men nowadays because we’ve cast these old stereotypes aside. For instance, it is no longer OK to sit in the waiting room and smoke cigars while your wife is having a baby. When my daughter was born seven months ago, I was right there, being patronized by the doctor and nurses who pretended I was being helpful as I held a leg and said encouraging things. My wife [Molly McNearney, co–head writer of Jimmy Kimmel Live!] didn’t necessarily want me in the delivery room; she was concerned that our relationship would never be the same if I saw a human coming out of her. But it’s a pretty great thing to watch. And weirdly, it’s not that disgusting when it’s your own kid.”
Jimmy also extolls the virtues of shoe shopping- “I’ve never been good at buying clothing for the women in my life, but somehow over the last few years, I’ve figured out shoes. And it delights me to no end when I find shoes that I think my daughter and wife will like, and they actually do! I recently sent my wife an email with a link to a purse to see if she thought it was cool. So these are the things we discuss. To be honest, it drives her crazy, but I can’t help myself.”
And he insists that men need to cook and clean- “For me, it’s not enough to cook up scrambled eggs on a Saturday morning anymore. Guys have to cook some meals for the family. My wife and I each have our specialty areas in the kitchen; she usually makes a salad and dessert, and I’ll cook everything in the middle. I have a wood-fired pizza oven in my backyard, so I make pizzas. I make the dough and oftentimes make the mozzarella out of curd. I’ll make fresh pasta and roll it out and everything. But my real specialty is having nothing in the house and scratching something together. That’s when I really shine. I like doing laundry and vacuuming too. I think it might be some kind of OCD thing or something—I like creating those nice patterns. But making my bed? That does not appeal to me at all.”
As a help to men everywhere, Kimmel even shares a simple dish that will score big points for every modern man- “My tomato sauce is what I cook the most, and a lot of people have asked me for the recipe. It’s very simple, but it’s taken me many years to refine, and I’m actually still refining to this day. So here’s what you do:
1. Heat a few tablespoons of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil in a pan.
2. Slice some garlic into thin pieces, and fry them until they’re golden but not brown. If the garlic turns brown, start over. Remove the garlic from the olive oil.
3. Add a whole can of tomatoes to the olive oil, but remember: Not all canned tomatoes are created equal. I like Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes the best. They’re not easy to find, but you can buy them on Amazon. Add a little bit of sea salt and a few leaves of fresh basil.
4. Bring that to a boil for a minute, and then turn down the heat and let it simmer for at least 20 minutes. It can do this for quite a while—up to a few hours will get you an even deeper flavor.
5. Once you’re done, take a ladleful of pasta water and add it to the sauce. And that’s it. It’s a big favorite with everybody who eats at my house. I love it so much I could drink it. And I have.”
Photo Credit: Doug Inglish/Glamour
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