Braised & Confused

Welcome to Beer School. As is fitting for the final episode of Season 1, my hubby Zach returns ― but this time, he's running the show (sorta). Zach is a Certified Cicerone® and professional brewer, and here he takes us through the history of the Czech Pilsner. All other pilsners owe their lives to this one. So grab a beer and listen in.

PLUS: Why a lil foam on top of your beer is gooooood

AND: Keep listening and sharing so I can keep gathering dollars. All of it goes toward The Black Feminist Project's operating costs! Go ahead and support them on your own, too. Spread! The! Love!

Let's spill the tea on tea: how it's made, where it comes from and why it's so good. This ep features my lovely sister-in-law, Coral, who is an actual pro. (She's a registered dietician, after all!) Grab a warm cup of Ceylon (or your tea of choice) and get into it.

PLUS: More fun marketing nonsense, this time from Heinz!

AND: Keep listening and sharing so I can keep gathering dollars. All of it goes toward The Black Feminist Project's operating costs! Go ahead and support them on your own, too. Spread! The! Love!

Howdy, y'all! Today we're talking pulled pork with an amateur smoker who studied (by taste-test) the art down in NC for many years. It's my dad!

Buckle up for some good ol' fashioned butt jokes (from me only), sauce talk and regional history. Then get yourself to a barbeque-ery! (For ye vegs and vegans, I hear jackfruit makes a decent pulled pork alternative, so set your sights there while you listen!)

PLUS: This Fact About Berries Will SHOCK You!

AND: Keep listening and sharing so I can keep gathering dollars. All of it goes toward The Black Feminist Project's operating costs! Go ahead and support them on your own, too. Spread! The! Love!

Welp, we finally made it to the trendiest episode yet: Sourdough. Thankfully, Kate Bakes is here to get nerdy and talk fermentation science, Bread Therapy and why we name our sourdoughs.

PLUS: Pringles ARE Potato Chips!

AND: I know, you're hearing that same ad AGAIN. Keep listening so I can keep gathering dollars. All of it goes toward The Black Feminist Project's operating costs!

ALSO: Here's a lil think piece on that OLD BREAD we mention: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-bread-did-ancient-egyptians-eat 

Let's get ~JiGgLy~ with it, y'all. This ep, were talking JELL-O, aka America's Most Famous Dessert.

Did you know this sugar-water-magic used to be elegant?! (Who's to say it isn't still? Not I.) Learn more about the journey from gelatin to Jell-O to, yes, Jell-O shots in this quarter-hour with my mother-in-law, Rachel, and me.

Plus: HONEY DOESN'T SPOIL!

NOTES:

- Many states DO have declared snacks!!! This is wild, please read all of the strange official foods of these 50 states: https://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/slideshow/state-official-snacks (h/t Bon Appetit)

- There are some audio hiccups (literally?) in this ep. Sorry! I'm not a sound engineer and I probably used my hands while talking!

- I know, you're hearing that same ad AGAIN. Keep listening so I can keep gathering dollars. All of it goes toward The Black Feminist Project's operating costs!

There are few things in the culinary world that I love more than the sacred pierogi, pan-fried in (a lot) of butter. Here to discuss these starchy dumplings is none other than my mother, a second-gen Polish gem. Na Zdrowie and dig in.

Plus: fun food phobias!

*HOT TIP: This ep starts with an ad, read by me, for anchor.fm. Anchor is the creation tool I use to make this podcast. Any $$ made from it will go to Black Feminist Project's operating budget, via their GoFundMe. Please share!

**AND A DEDICATION: My mom and I recorded this episode in May, shortly before my grandma Eleanor (a pierogi queen) got sick with COVID-19. At 99 years old, she beat the virus but passed away in early July. So, this episode (a regular Polish pride fest) is all for her <3

The time has come to bring a little booze into the conversation. VinePair calls amaro, "one of the best expressions or terroir to be found on the spirit side." Pour yourself an Aperol spritz (or, a shot of Fernet if you're industry) and let's get bitter.

Plus: a cake for illiterate bakers.

*HOT TIP: This ep has an AD (for anchor.fm, the creation tool I use to make this podcast)! Any $$ we make from it will go to Black Feminist Project's operating budget, via their GoFundMe. Please share!

*NOTE: The Brooklyn fernet I mention loving is from Arcane Distilling, and it is truly delicious.

Are you drooling yet? (I am.) Eater says of cannoli, "there are legions with a white-hot burning passion for these miracle cylinders of cream, crunch, and sweetness," and they are very right. Join me and my cousin-ish Raisa as we basically freak out over how good and interesting cannoli are.

Plus: the reclassification of rhubarbs

*HOT TIP: This ep starts with an ad, read by me, for anchor.fm. Anchor is the creation tool I use to make this podcast. Any $$ made from it will go to Black Feminist Project's operating budget, via their GoFundMe. Please share!

In our second episode, we tackle ketchup. National Geographic calls it, “at once savory and sweet, with just the right amount of puckering twang.” I call it: yucky. But that doesn't stop me from chatting with my father-in-law Jon about it's fascinating history and many uses.

Plus: what gets a red wine stain out of clothes?

*HOT TIP: This ep starts with an ad, read by me, for anchor.fm. Anchor is the creation tool I use to make this podcast. Any $$ made from it will go to Black Feminist Project's operating budget, via their GoFundMe. Please share!

This is Braised & Confused, episode one, and we're starting where it all started: Braising.

A technique that Bon Appetit calls "a well-kept secret ... that makes heroes out of weekend cooks," braising has a history that's intertwined with industrialization and the working family.

Plus, in our first Food Scraps segment, I teach myself the difference between regular lemons and Meyer lemons. Eureka!

Send me your food scraps! There are the fun food and drink tidbits that aren’t big enough to talk about for 10 minutes. Submit via this form.

TY to Zach Edelson, Casey Trela and Rheanna Bellomo for brainstorming, pitching in and getting excited about this project with me.