Cooking with Bruce and Mark

In this last segment of our three-part series on how to freshen up take-out, we're getting down to the nitty-gritty and talking about specifics--what things can you do at home to make whatever you've ordered better?

We're veteran cookbook authors and food writers Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've developed over 10,000 original recipes in our career. But we've also taken out or called in a lot of food when we're just too worn out to cook.

In this final installment of our series on freshening up take-out, we're all about specifics that you can do to certain dishes to make them better. Skip the microwave. There are better ways to make take-out terrific!

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

[00:53] How to make take-out pizza better at home.

[04:59] How to make grilled sandwiches better at home

[06:30] How to make most Asian take-out taste better once it's at your home.

[07:43] How to freshen up things with a steamer basket.

[09:32] How to freshen up take-out with an air-fryer

[11:12] A few tips on how to take the it's-so-depressing factor out of take-out

The second in our three-part series on how to make take-out better.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of over three dozen cookbooks but also veteran take-out diners. We love calling in food when we're too tired to cook.

But take-out can lose its oomph in transit. And prepared foods suffer after a day or two in the fridge.

How do you bring back all those great flavors? In this second part of our series on freshening up take-out, we talk about better condiments. Just because you're ordering in doesn't mean you shouldn't have a few things in the pantry to make your food taste better.

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

[01:10] Use a finishing olive oil to brighten up take-out.

[02:30] Use better salts, not just table salt, to bring out flavors lost in transit.

[04:40] Asian take-out requires its own doctoring

[08:35] A great story about what it's like to run a restaurant!

The first in a three-part series on how to freshen up take-out.

We're veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written over three dozen cookbooks. But we've taken out a lot of food, too.

And let's face it: Take-out is not always great. How can you make it better?

Join us as we offer you our first (maybe surprising) answer: eggs. Fried, poached, scrambled, hard-boiled: they'll make your take-out special every time.

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

[00:57] Fried eggs are a great addition to burgers and pizzas!

[05:57] Scrambled eggs freshen up stir-fries every time!

[09:24] Hard-boiled eggs make take-out salads or sandwiches much better!

Brining is the key to success on the grill, in the oven, and often in a skillet. Brined meat is tastier, juicier, and more tender.

Join us, veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, as we offer you the secrets to making a brine: tips, hints, and even a few recipes.

We've written over three dozen cookbooks. We've developed over 10,000 original recipes. We've been Contributing Editors at EATING WELL and COOKING LIGHT, as well as columnists for EATING WELL and weightwatchers. We know a lot about brining. Get ready for all the tricks, tips, and secrets.

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

[00:21] What is a brine?

[02:42] What to brine-and what not to brine.

[06:15] To brine you need a good container. But what kind?

[9:39] How does brining work? 

[14:35] What's basic timing for stuff in a brine?

Oil--mostly plant-based and liquid in some form--is a culinary staple. But the sun doesn't rise and set on vegetable oil. There are so many different oils on the market.

Join us, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, as we run down the specifics of many sorts of oil, all designed to make your food tastier.

Listen, you're spending 120 calories on every tablespoon of oil. You might as well get great flavors, too!

Olive oil. It's now a global standard. But finding the best is tricky without shelling out tons of money.

Here's a podcast episode based on a listener's request. Someone wrote us in the Facebook group "Cooking with Bruce and Mark" and asked if we'd do a deep dive into olive oil. We were only too happy to oblige!

Join us, veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough as we talk about olive oil: what's changed in its production, what's changed in its marketing, what you need to look for, and what's worth a splurge at the supermarket.

Rice is a global staple--and a U.S. success story. Rice farmers in California's central valley and the lowlands of the American south have turned rice into a staple crop.

There's a lot to know about rice: types, grain sizes, cooking tips.

Join us, veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written over three dozen cookbooks. We know quite a bit about the ins and outs of rice: shopping for the best, preparing it, and enjoying the most flavor per grain.

We promise laughs and know-how. That's what we aim for in our podcast COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK.

We've got ten food gifts this year, all ready to go for the holidays. Join us, Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, as we work down our list for the best holiday gifts this season. Many of us are spending the holidays far from family or friends. A food gift in the mail would surely cheer the day as we're far apart.

Just a note: we are not endorsed by nor have we received any compensation from any of the suppliers we've listed here.

Get your pencil and pad ready. We've got website addresses galore!

Every winter in the northern hemisphere, citrus fruits show up in abundance in our supermarkets.

Join us, veteran cookbook Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, with over three dozen titles to our names, as we walk you through what you need to know to pick the best citrus and get the most flavor for your money.

Citrus is one of the best reasons for the weather to turn cold: that refreshing bite of summer sun on the coldest days. Tangerines, oranges, limes, grapefruits--up here in New England, we wait impatiently as the snow starts to fall for these to come into our supermarkets.

Here's the second part of our two-parter on smaller holiday meals.

This episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK was recorded during the COVID pandemic lockdown. We were thinking about ways to make a comfy, cozy holiday meal for just the two of us.

But what we learned says a lot for anyone who doesn't necessarily want or need a crowd for the holidays. Sometimes, it's nice to have a very small meal when you expect to be doing dishes for hours that night.

Join us, veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, for this second part of our series on how to make a smaller holiday meal that's just as festive and delicious as any you could make for a crowd.