A Couple Cooks | Small Bites

"'If the front door is closed, climb in through the window.' That's my life motto. You don't stop when someone says no. You don't stop when there's a bump in the road. You just have to keep going through it. It's tenacity, grit, and perseverance that gets you to the other side of tough times and to your goal." Ellen Bennett of Hedley & Bennett lives that inside and out. In just five years, she's built a multi-million dollar apron company from the ground up. She now sells to 6,000 restaurants all over the world, and counts Martha Stewart and Mario Batali as customers. Hear about her Mexican roots that led her to Mexico City for culinary school, and how she's propelled herself to the top of her game by age 30. This lady's got major hustle, and her positive, no-nonsense approach will have takeaways for your kitchen and life.

Ellen Bennett of Hedley & Bennett

Hedley & Bennett website

Hedley & Bennett on Instagram

Ellen on Instagram

Recipes:

Homemade sopes with black beans | A Couple Cooks

Pizza dough video | A Couple Cooks

Preorder our cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

"It's one thing to be influenced and inspired by a food tradition, but it's another thing to believe that's the only way to do it. When I was in Italy I loved so many things about it, but I knew the most Italian thing I could do was to use things in my backyard." That's Chris Bianco, award-winning chef and grandfather of artisan pizza in America. He joins us to chat about his new book, Bianco, and how he went from making pizza in the back of a Phoenix grocery store in the 1980's to one of the top pizza chefs in the country. Along the way, he shares how to be inspired as a home cook, cook for your eaters, and craft something truly simple. Hear us chat with one of the greats in American pizza-making.

Chris Bianco

Pizzeria Bianco website | Instagram

Chris Bianco makes pizza with Jimmy Kimmel & Billy Crystal

Buy his cookbook >> Bianco: Pizza, Pasta, and Other Food I Like

Recipes:

Homemade pizza dough (video) | A Couple Cooks

White pizza with pecorino, scallions and egg | A Couple Cooks

Kale & pistachio pizza | A Couple Cooks

Preorder our cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

Pizza tools: Tipo 00 flour | Pizza peel (standard) | Pizza peel (conveyor) | Pizza stone

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Feeding yourself is one thing, but feeding other people with various diets and food preferences? It can feel terribly overwhelming. Author and blogger Catherine McCord of Weelicious joins us for this episode to talk about her journey from modeling to culinary school to starting a blog focused on feeding families. We chat about the moment she redefined her career around food, how her son's health issues disappeared after eating a smoothie per day, and how to adjust to picky eating "seasons". And, we add few strategies of our own for cooking meals for eaters of all kinds.

Recipes:

Grilled shrimp and vegetable skewers | A Couple Cooks

Refried bean tacos with chipotle cashew cream | A Couple Cooks

Broiled salmon with fruit salad | Weelicious

The Smoothie Project | Weelicious

Catherine McCord

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Her cookbooks:

• Weelicious
• Weelicious Lunches

Her organic meal kit delivery service, One Potato

Use code "COUPLES25" to get $25 your order. One Potato delivers to the following US states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Food is the great connector—nothing transcends our differences like sharing food around the table. And no one knows that more than Daniel Klein, producer of The Perennial Plate, a James Beard award-winning online documentary series. Daniel has traveled the globe with his filmmaker wife Mirra making short films about sustainable food and the people who make it. He shares his journey from chef to shooting the first season in Minnesota to traveling the word. Along the way, we touch on some big questions: What's sustainable food, anyway? Should we buy organic? In the current political climate, how do we embrace people different from us and transcend differences? Daniel shares about his latest project telling positive immigrant stories, and we add a story of our own about how sharing food unites us all. All that, and a few new recipes to inspire your kitchen journey.

Recipes:

5 ingredient classic hummus

Herby tomato flatbread with rye cracker crust

Daniel Klein, of The Perennial Plate online documentary series

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Watch at: theperennialplate.com

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Twenty-one-year old British cooking phenom Izy Hossack started in food at the tender age of 15 with her food blog, Top with Cinnamon. Now an author of two cookbooks with a large Instagram following, she's a college student who proclaims a message of sensible, balanced eating—which isn't such a sexy message, she admits. Her latest book, The Savvy Cook, is all about everyday cooking with real, whole foods that even works on a college student's time table and budget. A student of nutrition science, she's also passionate about the spread of misinformation and health fads. As she cautions, "Don't believe anything you read on the internet!" All that, plus her recipe for spaghetti and vegetarian meatballs, and a few cooling summer treats.

Recipes:

Vegetarian spinach meatballs with spaghetti

Chocolate drizzled peanut butter popsicles

Cookie dough glow pops

Izy Hossack, author of Top with Cinnamon

Website | Instagram

Get her cookbook: The Savvy Cook!

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

"Slow it down and enjoy the journey" is author Nicole Gulotta's motto. She wrote an entire cookbook in the spare time in between her day job and raising her young son. This episode slows it down and explores Nicole's story, including her journey into the kitchen first for survival and later as a meditative practice. Learn how she made time for things that made her feel alive, like cooking and poetry, and how this evolved into the website and cookbook, Eat This Poem. Plus, a simple and satisfying simple weeknight meal inspired by a poem.

Recipes:

Mushroom and brie quesadillas

Nicole Gulotta, writer and author of Eat This Poem

Website | Instagram

Cookbook: Eat this Poem

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

This episode's guest had an office job for 15 years before landing on her dream cooking competition show, Master Chef! It's Tanorria Askew, quarterfinalist of Season 7 of the show. She shares about how she went from office job to personal chef, what it's like to be "famous", and how staring into Gordon Ramsey's baby blues makes her weak in the knees. She also shares about her passion for diversity and inclusion, and how eating around the table together brings unity even during difficult discussions. Plus, Alex surprises Sonja with her own mystery box challenge right in the A Couple Cooks studio.

Recipes:

Coconut bacon

Baked shrimp with tomatoes and feta

Garnish like a Salt Bae

Tanorria Askew, Personal Chef and Master Chef Quarterfinalist

Website | Instagram

Contact Tanorria about a Unity table

Join Tanorria on a Master Chef Cruise!

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

You've heard of four seasons, but six? This episode stars Joshua McFadden, chef/owner of the acclaimed Ava Gene's in Portland. Joshua shares about his massive cookbook project, Six Seasons, intended to teach everyone from first time cooks to foodies how to make seasonal vegetables taste incredible. He also chats about his journey from film school to chef of one of the premier restaurants in the country. Plus, we share how to make raw falafel, and tips for shopping affordably at your local farmer's market.

Recipes:

Raw falafel buddha bowls

Joshua McFadden, Ava Gene's Chef/Owner (Portland)

Website | Instagram

>>Order the cookbook: Six Seasons

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Think the Midwest is all cornfields and cow tipping? Shelly Westerhausen, author of the cookbook Vegetarian Heartland, joins us for this episode about adventurous eating in the Midwest. Shelly shares about her story growing up in the Midwest as a vegetarian, and how this overlooked region is full of culture, vibrant food, waterfalls, caves, and forests. We chat recipe ideas galore, and her favorite delicious restaurants in the heartland of America. (Giveaway included!)

Recipes:

Vegetarian reuben sandwich

Coconut curry shakshuka

Restaurants:

Bloomington, Indiana:

King Dough | Instagram

Siam House

Taste of India

The Owlery | Instagram

Chicago:

The Chicago Diner | Instagram

Shelly Westerhausen, Vegetarian Ventures

Website | Instagram | Facebook

>>Order the cookbook: Vegetarian Heartland

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Do you find yourself turning to food in times of stress or anxiety? If you've ever stress-eaten a pint of ice cream, this episode is for you. We go deep with Kathryne Taylor of Cookie and Kate about emotionally healthy eating and her new cookbook, Love Real Food. We also share a new tacos recipe that's simple and filling, and a life hack: how to manage your email inbox.

Life Hack: Inbox app for Gmail

Recipes:

BBQ bean tacos with pineapple salsa | A Couple Cooks

Extra vegetable fried rice | Cookie and Kate

Kathryne Taylor, Cookie and Kate

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Her cookbook: Love Real Food

Emotionally healthy eating: Survival Tips

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter