Cooking with Bruce and Mark

Mustard or ketchup? Which camp are you in? Or are you some sort of envoy between the camps?

We're talking about mustard and ketchup, a culinary showdown in many North American homes.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three-dozen cookbooks (and counting). We've developed over ten thousand original recipes in our career. And we've been contributing editors for old-school publications like EATING WELL and COOKING LIGHT.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:46] Our one-minute cooking tip: Make ketchup more interesting by spicing it with five-spice powder, prepared horseradish, tamari sauce, or another savory condiment.

[02:20] Our mustard-ketchup showdown! We're talking about our personal histories with these condiments as well as their cultural history. Which camp are you in?

[19:29] What’s making us happy in food this week: lemon-pear oat cookies and kasha varnishkes.

Pizza. Seems easy enough. Except it's not. So many choices . . . which lead to so many debates. Thick v. thin. Tomato sauce v. pesto. Meat or not. Parm cheese or not.

We've even written a pizza book: PIZZA: GRILL IT, BAKE IT, LOVE IT! It's a collection of recipes in which everyone is made for both the grill and the oven. If you want to see that book, you can check it out here.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of thirty-six cookbooks, plus two knitting books (from Bruce), plus a memoir (from Mark), and yet more cookbooks in the works. We're delighted to share our passion about food and cooking with you. Thanks for joining us.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[01:03] Our one-minute cooking tip: Ignore the TikTok trend of washing ground beef.

[04:22] The great pizza debate: crust, toppings, origins, the whole thing!

[18:32] What’s making us happy in food this week: sake and fresh-caught tuna.

If you're as old as we are, you grew up with a slow cooker on the counter during the day as dinner got made over the long haul. Slow cookers: a history, not just the ways they've come in and out of style, but what's happened mechanically to the machines over the years.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written over three dozen cookbooks, including THE GREAT AMERICAN SLOW COOKER BOOK, which was a giant hit on QVC. If you'd like to check out that book, click this link.

We're talking about slow cookers: their history, their ins and outs, and the changes that have happened to them over the years.

[00:51] Our one-minute cooking tip: Save the olive oil from tins of sardines and anchovies for the base of a stew.

[02:22] How did the slow cooker come about? (Invented by Western Electric's first Jewish engineer.) How did they come to be called "crock pots"? And what's happened to them over the years, including the mechanical changes to them nowadays?

[18:16] What’s making us happy in food this week: lamb kofta and lemon marmalade.

Who doesn't love donuts? They're the treat many of us crave. But they do have a storied history. And they do inspire a great debate: glazed (or yeast-raised) vs. cake donuts.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We want to talk about all things donuts! We want to hear your favorites, too. We've also got a one-minute cooking tip about simple syrup. And we'll tell you what's making us happy in food this week.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:46] Our one-minute cooking tip: Consider simple syrup your go-to sweetener for drinks.

[02:44] The history of donuts and the debates they inspire: glazed vs. cake donuts.

[16:45] What’s making us happy in food this week: fresh corn and plum tomatoes.

We love baking. And Mark is from the U. S. South. He grew up on great baking, particularly because his maternal grandmother was a professional baker.

Join us as Bruce talks with the legendary Anne Byrn. You may remember her from those cake-mix doctor cookbooks. She's back with a giant, new cookbook: BAKING IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH. If you'd like a copy, here's a link for it.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, the authors of three dozen cookbooks (and counting!), not to mention Bruce's two knitting books, Mark's memoir (available with his own reading of it on Audible), and several books ghost-written for celebrities.

This is our podcast about food and cooking. Thank you for joining us.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:53] Our one-minute cooking tip: consider soy sauce as an alternative to salt in savory recipes.

[02:48] Bruce's interview with Anne Byrn, author of BAKING IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH.

[22:40] What’s making us happy in food this week: pears from Costco and veal stew.

Girl Scout cookies! We can't resist. They've got a storied history. And they've changed over the years.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written three dozen (and counting!) cookbooks. We're up for anything food and cooking. And this is our podcast to explore that passion--including Girl Scout cookies! Thanks for coming along on our journey.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:52] Our-minute cooking tip: Use tweezers in the kitchen!

[02:38] All about Girl Scout cookies. Where they came from. What happened to them. And how they taste now.

[14:57] What’s making us happy in food this week: grilled peaches and homemade kimchi.

Everybody seems to love cooking shows and now cooking videos. We've been in the food business for twenty-five years and have seen the major changes in these videos firsthand.

Shows have moved from instruction to almost shorthand entertainment on TikTok. We've made them all, appearing on PBS shows and even The View, then creating instructional videos for craftsy, and now creating lots of videos on TikTok and Instagram reels.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three dozen (and counting!) cookbooks. We're happy to share our passion for food and cooking with you. Thank you for being with us.

[00:54] Our one-minute cooking tip: Wrap boxed cakes in their boxes.

[02:25] What has happened to cooking videos from Julia Child to TikTok.

[20:07] What’s making us happy in food this week: bagels and egg salad.

Plum chutney! It's a favorite in our house. We hope we can make it a favorite in yours, too.

We're making it from scratch in this episode of our podcast. We've got a one-minute cooking tip. And we'll tell you what's making us happy in food this week.

We're veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three dozen cookbooks (plus more to come!). We've been contributing editors at EATING WELL and COOKING LIGHT and had food columns in both magazines.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:47] Our minute-cooking tip: an easy way to make great hot chocolate with store-bought plain truffles.

[02:24] We’re making plum chutney!

Here's the recipe:

Makes about 8 pints (can be halved). The jars, lids, sealing rings (if using), funnels, and ladles must be sterilized in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.

• 8 pounds or 3.65 kilograms of small red plums, preferably Santa Rosa plums, although any juicy, sweet, red plum will do
• 2 1/2 cups or 600 milliliters apple cider vinegar
• 2 1/2 cups or 540 grams demerara sugar
• 2 cups or 400 grams granulated white or caster sugar
• 9 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• One small-hand-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and
• minced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 cup or 60 grams finely chopped crystallized or candied ginger
• 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup or 150 grams raisins

1. First, a trick. Pour 16 cups (8 pints or 4 quarts) or 4 1/2 liters of water into a large stock pot. This is how much chutney you’ll make. You need a pot about a third larger than this for boiling. And notice where the water is—you’ll need this mark for later.
2. Pour out the water. Mix the plums, vinegar, and both sugars in the pot.
3. Set the pot over medium-high heat and add the remaining ingredients. Stir constantly until the sugars dissolve. Bring to a boil, stirring often.
4. Reduce the heat to low and simmer slowly, stirring often, until thickened a bit, until the chutney in the pot comes to about that mark where the water was in the first step.
5. Ladle the chutney into eight clean 1-pint or 570-milliliter jars. Either seal, cool for no more than 1 hour, and store in the fridge for up to 1 month or in the freezer for up to 1 year; or seal the jars and water- or steam-can them for 10 minutes.

[16:48] What’s making us happy in food this week: Italian meringue on a cake and smoked beef chuck stew!

The Instant Pot became a true craze. Even an international craze. At one point, a major department store was selling up to sixty Instant Pots per minute.

But things have dramatically changed. And we know why. We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written three dozen cookbooks including THE INSTANT POT BIBLE and THE INSTANT POT BIBLE: COPYCAT RECIPES. (Click those links if you're interested.)

We rode the Instant Pot roller coaster. And we're here to report back what happened. Join us for our food and cooking podcast. We're glad you're here.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:50] Our one-minute cooking tip: Trash your garlic press and use a small hand-held grater.

[03:27] What happened to the Instant Pot? It went from an international craze to a much smaller presence. We rode this roller coaster. We're here to report back, from our initial reserve about the pressure cooker to our giant, big-selling Instant Pot bibles!

[23:31] What’s making us happy in food this week: unexpected food pleasures and lemon marmalade.

JM Hirsch is no stranger to this podcast. He's got a new book out, all about building cocktails you can keep in your freezer door, ice cold for when friends drop over or you want to kick back. Join us as we welcome him back to our show.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three dozen cookbooks (with more coming!). We've been contributing editors and columnists for the likes of COOKING LIGHT and EATING WELL. We've written for WINE SPECTATOR and THE WASHINGTON POST. And we've developed tens of thousands of original recipes during our twenty-five-year tenure in the food and cooking business.

This is our podcast about our passion. Thank you for being a part of it.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[01:09] Our one-minute cooking tip: toasting nuts in a microwave.

[03:22] Bruce's interview with JM Hirsch, author of the new book, FREEZER DOOR COCKTAILS. If you'd like to get a copy, you can find the book at this link.

[22:00] What's making us happy in food this week: smoked knackwurst and kimchi!