Burnt Toast

Sourdough bread baking took over a lot of kitchens when the pandemic first began, but we don't think that sourdough should be 'just another phase'. We're bringing you an episode from the Hotline Offline podcast where Esther Choi is joined by Food52's resident bread baker Maurizio Leo to talk all-things sourdough bread baking.

Maurizio's instagram

The Perfect Loaf  website

In this episode of Hotline Offline, Esther Choi is joined by the Chief Spice Mama herself, Kanchan Koya, to discuss all of the incredible benefits of cooking with spices. From adding immeasurable amounts of flavor to your meals, to benefiting from the natural health boosters that spices have to offer, Kanchan and Esther cover it all! 

Be sure to check out Kanchan Koya on her Instagram @ChiefSpiceMama, and on her website, SpiceSpiceBaby.com. 

On this episode, Esther is joined by Hetty McKinnon and Ivan Orkin to talk stock! Soup is in a unique category of food because it seems like for all the people who find it intimidating, there are just as many people who find it boring, but really, there's no reason it should be either! Tune in to hear expert tips on making your own stocks, and ways to bring a massive amount of flavor to a broth with only a couple of ingredients. 

Have you been hearing about meal prep and been interested in trying it out? Have you tried it and were overwhelmed by the process and underwhelmed by the results? Well Dan Pelosi is here to help with all of your meal-prep needs! Dan and Esther talk through ways to tackle meal-prep with less stress and more flavor.  

Mentioned in this episode: 

• Bimpy's Giambotta (recipe)
• Bimpy's Giambotta (video)

A very special thanks to Dan Pelosi AKA Grossy Pelosi for helping to inspire us in prepping our meals for the year to come!

Got a question? Call ‪(518) 291-9877‬ and leave us a message on the hotline. We’ll get to the bottom of it together.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, be sure to find Hotline Offline wherever you listen to you podcasts.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow Hotline Offline to make sure you hear all the other tips Esther and  guests will be sharing this season.

Today we're celebrating our favorite food traditions. Esther is joined by her sister Jen to reminisce about their own traditions and hear from our listeners about eating a selection of german sausages on Christmas, a cooking a famous brisket, and somehow burning spaghetti every Friday night.

A very special thanks to Jennifer Choi for stopping by the podcast to reminisce and talk about our listener's favorite traditions! Got a question? Call ‪(518) 291-9877‬ and leave us a message on the hotline. We’ll get to the bottom of it together.

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow Hotline Offline to make sure you hear all the other tips Esther and  guests will be sharing this season.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Grandma Potatoes recipe
• Mama's Potato Clover Rolls recipe
• Carrot Ring recipe

A very special thanks to Ella Quittner for seeing and acceptingour patheti—erm—perfectionist tendencies, and to our listeners who called in their questions! Got a question? Call ‪(518) 291-9877‬ and leave us a message on the hotline. We’ll get to the bottom of it together.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Butternut Squash Lasagna recipe (as shared on Food to Love)
• Radicchio & Pickled Radish Salad recipe
• Chef Neal Harden's Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric-Tahini Sauce & Pistachios
• Raspberry & White Chocolate Tart with Cocoa Crust recipe
• How to whip coconut cream into, well, whipped coconut cream
• Seeded Brown Rice Crackers recipe
• Heirloom Bean Bourguignon recipe (as shared onThe Full Helping)

A very special thanks to author and Food52 Resident Amy Chaplin for sharing so much veg-spo, and also to our listeners who called in their questions! Got a question? Call ‪(518) 291-9877‬ and leave us a message on the hotline. We’ll get to the bottom of it together.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to hear more, be sure to find Hotline Offline wherever you listen to you podcasts.

For the past 10 years, the Food52 Editors have been answering the community's questions on the Food52 Hotline. We've debated the very best way to cut an onion, whether garlic pressing is sacrilegious, and compared notes on how to get the crispiest chicken skin. And now, we're taking those questions to the airwaves! Hosted by chef and restaurateur Esther Choi, Hotline Offline will leave you with a better understanding of how and why recipes and chefs say what they do (and empower you to abandon those rules completely!). On this episode: ATK's Elle Simone Scott joins Esther to tackle your questions all about holiday baking.

Got a question? Call ‪(518) 291-9877‬ and leave us a message on the hotline, and be sure to follow Hotline Offline so no question goes unanswered and no answer unheard.

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way. Feel free to pause, jump back, or navigate the steps via the podcast chapters.

If you're cooking along, here's the recipe we're making today; go ahead and grab the ingredients below (Francis starts listing them at 3:17), and start the episode when you're ready to cook.

Chinese American Thanksgiving Meatballs

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 bunch scallion, finely chopped
• 7 cloves garlic, very finely minced
• 1/4 pound stemmed fresh shiitake mushrooms, medium dice
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 bunch scallion, finely chopped
• 7 cloves garlic, very finely minced
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/2 pound ground pork

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 teaspoons peeled, finely minced ginger (from 1 1/2-inch piece)
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1. Sear mushrooms: Heat the vegetable oil over high heat in a large saute pan. When the oil is shimmering-hot, carefully add the mushrooms and spread them out into one layer as best you can. Let sear, undisturbed, until richly browned, about 1 minute. Toss, spread out again, and let sear for another minute. Remove mushrooms from heat, season with salt to taste, and transfer to a medium bowl to cool.
    
2. Mix marinade: In a small bowl, combine the oyster sauce, sesame oil, 4 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and the chicken stock.
    
3. Mix aromatics: Add ½ cup of the chopped scallion and 3 cloves of finely minced garlic to the bowl with the mushrooms and stir to combine.
    
4. Make meatball mixture: Place the turkey and pork in a large mixing bowl and gently fold them together with your hands to start to combine. Pour in the marinade. Hold the fingers of one hand apart, as if holding a softball. Using that hand, stir the meat in one direction to mix in the marinade, being sure to agitate all the meat. When the meat has absorbed all the liquid and the mixture has gotten a bit sticky or tacky, stop. Add the mushroom mixture and gently fold to combine. Cover and let marinate for up to 4 hours.
    
5. Make sauce: Set aside 2 tablespoons of scallions for garnish. In a Dutch oven or other large, lidded braising pan, heat the olive oil over high heat until you see the first wisps of smoke. Add 4 cloves of minced garlic and stir until very aromatic, about 15 seconds. Add the ginger and stir until very aromatic, about 15 seconds. Add the remaining scallions and stir for 15 seconds. Add the can of tomatoes, bring it to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer. Season with 2 teaspoons sugar and salt to taste. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
    
6. Form and cook meatballs: Meanwhile, use a large soup spoon to scoop up the meat mixture and using your hands, very lightly pat out 1 1/2-inch diameter meatballs. Set them on a plate. (You should have about 24 meatballs). After the sauce has simmered for 15 minutes, remove the lid and gently add the meatballs in one layer. Adjust heat to a bare simmer and cover the pot. Let poach / steam until the meatballs are just cooked through, 10-12 minutes.
    
7. Serve: Garnish with the reserved scallions and serve.

Is there a Food52 recipe you'd like to hear us make? Email it to us at [email protected].

Lobby Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

We hear from food writer and soon-to-be cookbook author Eric Kim, Los Angeles Times cooking columnist Ben Mims, and from you (!), our community, about ghosts of Thanksgivings past.

Referenced in this episode:

• Why You Should Make a Turducken (Even if You Don't Want to Eat it by the End) (Food52)
   

Genius-Hunter Extra-Credit:

• Follow along with Eric (and Jean's!) recipe testing for the book 
• Check out Ben's Thanksgiving spread
   

Special thanks to listeners Sarah Copeland, Melissa Dain, and Myo Quinn for sharing their stories. We'll be back next week with a genius recipe; if you come across one in your holiday prep, I'd love to hear about it at [email protected].