Inside Mario Batali Bootcamp with Jimmy Fallon

Here, Mario’s cooking tips and a behind-the-scenes look at the two stars hamming it up in the kitchen. “When Jimmy Fallon saw that there was a bathtub in the studio, he insisted we all climb in—with strawberries!” recalls F&W editor in chief Dana Cowin from the shoot.

“Once you’ve made pizza dough six times, you own it,” says Batali about the base for his calzone recipe. “You’re the master of yeast.”

Batali warns not to overstuff these Mini Pesto-and-Pepperoni Calzones. “You’d think abbondanza would be better, but more is not better. More is actually worse.”

“Be aggressive with the salt, and from higher,” says Batali. “You need the scatter pattern right there.”

Always cook pasta in plenty of water when you’re making a dish like Fettuccine with Spicy Sausage and Cabbage, says Batali. “When pasta gets crowded, it doesn’t release its starch. All wrong.”

Batali selects a noodle and gives Fallon the opposite end, and they slurp toward each other, re-creating the famous scene from Lady and the Tramp.

When he hosts dinners, Mario Batali often makes braised dishes like this one. “I can leave the kitchen and talk to my guests,” says the chef. “And the most remarkable fragrance fills my house.”

Before the veal shank goes in the oven, sear it well on the stove, says Batali. “Let the meat go; you want a deep, dark caramelization before you even think of taking it off the heat.”

“The shank is the calf,” Batali tells his friend, pointing down at his own large legs. “Mine would be excellent.”

Serve baby artichokes raw for a dish like Artichokes Two Ways with Bresaola. “Slice them very thin—a mandoline is best,” says Batali.

Batali says to use canned beans instead of dried as a shortcut for this crab salad topped with mint oil. “If you have the time, let them marinate in the vinaigrette for a few hours to add flavor.”