BFF with the Chef

This week's special Thanksgiving guest is author, traveler and amazing storyteller, Morgan Murphy. His most recent book, On the Road Again immediately hit #1 on Publisher's Weekly when it was released and his book, Bourbon & Bacon also launched #1 in Wine and Spirits. His other books, Off the Eaten Path and Second Helpings have helped to make him one of the culinary world's best-known food critics.

You may have seen him on the Travel Channel or read his work in Southern Living. In short, Morgan is everywhere, and it was great fun to reminisce with him about all things Thanksgiving.

In this episode, we talked about Morgan's family Thanksgiving memories, how you can expand your child's palate and why you should not feel guilty about eating whatever you want on Thanksgiving.

Links to Morgan's Books:

• Off the Eaten Path
• Second Helpings
• Bourbon and Bacon

You can find Morgan on his website. Here is also a link to the bourbon that Morgan discussed, Pappy Van Winkle. Good luck finding it and let me know if you do.

Come Visit BFF with the Chef:

• The BFF with the Chef Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

This week's guest is Haylie Abele, the blogger and force behind Our Balanced Bowl. Haylie's blog is a fun, lighthearted place where she shares recipes that come straight from her kitchen.

After losing 80 pounds and recovering from an eating disorder, she makes an emphasis on living a balanced lifestyle and is passionate about showing others how it can be done. Her recipes are mostly healthy, occasionally indulgent, and always filled with love.

In this episode, we talked about Haylie's journey to recovery from an eating disorder, how and why she started her blog and her love of the Pioneer Woman and how she and her husband make homemade tortillas.

Links to Recipes that were Mentioned:

• Haylie's Black Bean Burgers
• Southern Biscuits and Gravy
• The Best Stovetop Mac and Cheese

You can find Hayley on her website, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest

Come Visit BFF with the Chef:

• The BFF with the Chef Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

This week's guest is Wendi Spraker, the blogger behind the blog Loaves and Dishes, a website dedicated to unapologetic Comfort Food where Wendi also serves up funny stories, memories, and nourishment for body and soul.

In addition to running her blog, Wendi serves on the board of The International Food Bloggers Conference where she recently served as a moderator. She's the director of her local arts council culinary program, "Taste of Stokes" and she's a food columnist for her local paper, the Stokes News. When she's not writing, teaching or speaking at a food conference, you'll find Wendi at home in the mountains, enjoying her family, hiking, kayaking or hugging her pugs.

This week's guest is Kathleen Phillips, the food stylist and cookbook author behind Grits and Gouda, the blog that features a delectable array of gourmet southern recipes, but, with a healthy and frugal twist.

Kathleen's recipes and food styling have been featured numerous times in Southern Living and Cooking Light cookbooks, as well as Christian Woman, Coastal Living, and Parent's Magazine. Kathleen's goal is to inspire us to get into the kitchen, where she'll show you how to cook with fresh, seasonal ingredients, and encourage you along the way to share hospitality with others, all while on a budget. Her book, Magic Cakes, on sale now at Amazon, simplified the cake baking process and gives home bakers invaluable tips on how to easily make a layer cake.

This week's guest is Colleen Kokx, the registered dietician behind the blog, Mitten Dietitian. Colleen's blog is dedicated to providing her readers with the tools, tips, and recipes they need to live healthy lives. Colleen truly believes that diets don't work and wants her readers to stop worrying about food, and instead, embrace a no rules approach to eating that allows them to focus on their health and wellness. Colleen's a fan of intuitive eating and demonstrates how to live a culinary life that contains both carrots and cookies along the way.

This week's guest is Nicolas Hortense, the chef behind Blogtastic Food. Nick's goal for the blog, as he puts it, is to get as many people's butts into the kitchen as possible". Nick believes that home cooking can bring people closer together and he invites his readers to learn alongside him as he expands his food horizons. During the episode, Nick teaches us how to make no-churn ice cream.

This week's guest is Madison Surdyke, the incredible founder behind Sunny Thymes blog.

Sunny Thymes is a fun, colorful, anti-diet food blog that is dedicated to sharing delicious recipes as well as information on how to practice intuitive eating. Madison is passionate about helping other people make peace with food while discovering their own definition of health.

She's on a mission to help her readers unpack the often-misguided messages that we are given about food, and her goal is to release people from the prison of dieting and shame so that they can develop relaxed, joyful relationships with food, movement, and their bodies.

This week's guest is Brenda Sickles of Become Betty.

Brenda is a full-time teacher and the woman behind the blog: Become Betty.

Brenda's blog is dedicated to providing high quality consumer information about all things Trader Joe's and Stew Leonard's. During the interview, we talk about cinnamon rolls, Brenda's favorite Trader Joes products and why it's so important to keep your kitchen knives sharp.

This week guest is Rizwan Asad, a self-taught home baker who runs the blog Chocolates and Chai.

Riz was a finalist in the 2017 Saveur Blog Awards Reader's Choice for Best Baking and Sweets Blog. During the episode we talk about how he got nominated for this award, we go into details on how to make pate choux swans, and we give away our secrets tips to making the best French Madeleine cakes, plus Riz tells us why we should make a habit of mise en place.

This week's guest is Ben Myhre, the man behind the history-focused food blog, Ramshackle Pantry. Ben is a prior soldier who has dedicated a large portion of his blog to taking deep historical dives into the recipes that we all know and love.