Cookbook Club

Join us for our farewell episode, where we talk about the process of making the podcast and hear from some of our listeners! Thank you all for listening for the last four years and making this such a fun project for us.

Recipes and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Eleven Madison Park granola (NYT)
• Baked eggs with crushed chickpeas, chorizo and herby breadcrumbs (Dining In)
• Cinnamon rolls (NYT)
• Curried chicken salad (Salt Fat Acid Heat)
• Chicken pelau (Small Victories)
• Shepherd’s Pie (Whole30)
• Strawberry summer stack cake (Smitten Kitchen Keepers)
• Strawberry summer sheet cake (Smitten Kitchen)
• Strawberry summer snack cake (Smitten Kitchen)
• Cranberry pear cake (Snacking Cakes)
• Almond olive oil rosemary shortbread (Smitten Kitchen Every Day)
• Beef stew (My Kitchen Year)
• Bacon & Egg spaghetti (Dinner in One)
• Third Culture Cooking by Zaynab Issa
• The Michael Scott Podcast Company podcast
• Home Cooking podcast

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers

Snacks, as Sara says, are a life raft in the chaos of motherhood. Renee has a whole snack system. We have, actually, a lot to say about snacks. Join us!

Recipes and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Costco high-protein granola bars
• That’s It fruit bars
• Rx bars
• Epic bars (bison & cranberry)
• Larabars
• Partake brand vanilla wafers or graham crackers
• Chomps
• Wild Zora
• GoMacro
• White bean spread (Super Natural Every Day)
• Hummus (Dinner in an Instant)
• Goat cheese with za’atar and lemon (Nothing Fancy)
• Penzey’s buttermilk ranch dressing & dip
• Honey roasted cashews (Cooking in Real Life)
• Pizza pistachios (EatingWell)
• Everything seasoned almonds (EatingWell)
• Curried cashews (EatingWell)
• Vegan boards
• That cheese plate will change your life

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers
• Cook along with us! Our next (and last!) cookbook episode (airing 7/9/2025): Ottolenghi Simple, by Yotam Ottolenghi

We’ve had listener requests for Ottolenghi books over the years, and we’ve saved him for out last cookbook episode! We talk about his signature flavors, whether this book is overly simple, and whether we love it.

Recipes mentioned in this episode:

• Gem lettuce with fridge raid dressing (page 37)
• Curried lentil, tomato and coconut soup (page 52)
• Roasted eggplant with anchovies and oregano (page 64)
• Chicken marbella (page 229)
• Sweet potato fries (page 145)
• Baked rice with confit tomatoes and garlic (page 174)
• Spring roast chicken with preserved lemon (page 227)
• Blueberry, almond and lemon cake (page 276)
• Plum, blackberry and bay friande (page 274)
• No-churn raspberry ice cream (page 292)

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers

We are revisiting one of our favorite topics: meal trains! After Renee’s cancer diagnosis and treatment, we both learned so much more about meal trains. This is the best way to support people in your world with your cooking skills. Join us for some new tips and ideas.

Recipes and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Green smoothies (NYT)
• Seed crackers with oil-packed tuna, avocado and supremed grapefruit (Health Nut)
• Eleven Madison Park granola (NYT)
• Ligurian foccacia (Samin Nosrat)
• Snacking Cakes, by Yossy Arefi
• Bentgo meal prep containers (Amazon)
• Spiced chickpea stew with coconut and turmeric (NYT)
• Cranberry apple cake (Snacking Cakes)
• Skillet chicken pot pie (NYT)
• Skillet chicken pot pie (Small Victories)
• Now & Again, by Julia Turshen
• Stella’s Kitchen

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers
• Cook along with us! Our next (and last!) cookbook episode (airing 7/9/2025): Ottolenghi Simple, by Yotam Ottolenghi

A very ambitious and comprehensive guide to pie — from crust technique to decoration to hundreds of unique and interesting flavor combinations — this book from Erin Jeanne McDowell really captured our interest. We talk about the recipes we made, and decide whether this book holds up to the promise.

Recipes mentioned in this episode:

• Striped citrus pie
• Creamy lemon custard pie
• Peanut butter cream pie with raspberry meringue
• Sweet corn pie with blueberry whipped cream
• Roasted pineapple pie
• Pumpkin pie
• Apple pie
• Caramel Earl Grey custard pie in a gingersnap crumb crust
• Blueberry swamp pie with cornmeal crust
• Citrus sugar pie
• Birthday cake pie
• Tres leches slab pie
• Orange vanilla panna cotta pie
• Creamy mango pie
• Mango pie (NYT)
• Peanut butter choco-shmallow pie

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers
• Cook along with us! Our next (and last!) cookbook episode (airing 7/9/2025): Ottolenghi Simple, by Yotam Ottolenghi

We like veggie burgers, but have we cooked that many? Turns out, this episode sent Sara down a rabbit hole of making veggie burger recipes and they are tricky! Renee weighs in with her favorite store-bought veggie burger options and we have some clear winners to recommend.

Recipes and resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Ultimate Veggie Burger (NYT)
• Black bean burgers (NYT)
• Really awesome black bean burgers (Serious Eats)
• Best Veggie Burger (Love & Lemons)
• Sweet potato, quinoa, spinach and red lentil burger (NYT)
• White bean burgers (NYT)
• Beautiful burger buns (King Arthur Flour)
• Multigrain veggie burger (Grains for Every Season)
• Vegetarian black bean burger (Ultimate Veg)
• Beet & Pinto burger (America’s Test Kitchen Vegan for Everybody)

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers
• Cook along with us! Our next cookbook episode (airing 6/11/2025): The Book on Pie, by Erin Jeanne McDowell

My Everyday Lagos is a critically acclaimed cookbook that brings West African cuisine to western audiences. Specialty ingredients, spice mixes and unusual techniques set this book apart for us.

Recipes and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Bon Appetit article featuring Yewande Komolafe
• Mom’s Sunday chicken
• Omo Tunde’s spice blend
• Jacobsen salt tins
• Citrus tonic
• Fermented grain bowls
• Stewed sardines
• Coconut milk caramels

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our Amazon storefront
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers
• Cook along with us! Our next cookbook episode (airing 6/11/2025): The Book on Pie, by Erin Jeanne McDowell

Breakfast for dinner is a favorite weeknight hack for our families. You can take it in a hundred different directions, make it dead easy or make it fancy. Here’s our favorite recipes and hacks to make this fun meal!

Recipes and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Multigrain pancake (Super Natural Every Day)
• Sour cream pancakes with roasted blueberries (Small Victories)
• Almond flour pancakes (King Arthur Flour)
• Cuisinart Belgian waffle maker with pancake plates
• Waffles (NYT)
• Simple yeasted waffles (NYT)
• Waffles (Kid in the Kitchen)
• Dutch baby (NYT)
• Dutch baby (Grand Central Baking Book)
• Crepes (Canelle et Vanille)
• Italian roasted potatoes (Nigella Lawson)
• Sheet pan full English breakfast (Dinner in One)
• Leek and red potato frittata with goat cheese and dill (Cooking in Real Life)
• Sweet potato quiche (Dinner in French)
• Pasta frittata (NYT)
• Joi plant-based milks
• Shakshuka (Dinner in an Instant)
• Artichoke shakshuka (One Pan and Done)
• Sheet Pan Suppers, by Molly Gilbert
• Green shakshuka with avocado, chile & feta (Dinner in One)
• Huevos rancheros (Ama)
• Huevos rancheros (Smitten Kitchen)
• Baked eggs with crushed chickpeas, chorizo and bread crumbs (Dining In)

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers
• Cook along with us! Our next cookbook episode (airing 5/14/2025): My Everyday Lagos, by Yewande Komolafe

This book is our first foray into the Chrissy Tiegen food universe, and it was a surprise to us — Renee enjoys Chrissy’s sense of humor and family-friendly dishes, Sara loves some of the fun treats and umami hacks.

Recipes mentioned in this episode:

• Peanut butter and potato chip seven-layer bars (page 238)
• Two-berry crumble with HBO crumble (page 22)
• Orange chicken fried chicken sandwiches (page 161)
• Meatloaf Wellington (page 141)
• Sourdough Jack hamburger helper (page 68)
• Shortcut khao man gai (page 170)
• Spicy sausage pasta fagioli (page 120)
• Crispy chicken caesar wedge salad (page 129)
• Chicken tikka masala with “garlic naan” pita (page 188)
• Broccoli salad with creamy cashew dressing (page 93)
• Frosted circus animal cookies (page 240)

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our Amazon storefront
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers
• Cook along with us! Our next cookbook episode (airing 5/14/2025): My Everyday Lagos, by Yewande Komolafe

We deeply love the magic that happens when you combine whipped egg whites with sugar. Join us as we fall down the rabbit hole of meringue treats, including one of our favorites, the pavlova.

Recipes and resources mentioned in this episode:

• Salted lemon cream pie (Sweet Enough)
• Vanilla meringues (NYT)
• Marshmallowy meringues (Salt Fat Acid Heat)
• Strawberry pavlova (NYT)
• Cookies-and-cream pavlova (NYT)
• The best pavlova wreath (Food52)
• Pull-apart pavlova wreath (Simply Delicious)
• Roasted rhubarb pavlova with pomegranate molasses (Sweeter off the Vine)
• Mary Berry’s baking bible

Join our Cookbook Club!

• Our Instagram, @cookbookclubshow
• E-mail us: [email protected]
• Find Renee and Sara on Instagram: @hipchickdigs and @realtor_saragray
• Our sponsors: Dropcloth Samplers
• Cook along with us! Our next cookbook episode (airing 4/16/2025): Cravings: All Together by Chrissy Tiegen