Good Food

This week, the Good Food team revisits their favorite segments of the year. KJ Kearney, founder of Black Food Fridays, works to recognize the contributions of his ancestors every week. Anthropologist Deepa Reddy explains banana diversity in India which makes the fruit ubiquitous and vital to the country’s culture. Food scholar Darra Goldstein describes the evolution of Russian cuisine despite scarcity and isolation. To understand his cultural history and deepen his culinary passion, Austin-born Rick Martinez moved to Mexico and visited 32 states. Coinneach MacLeod spent much of his time during the pandemic baking. Soon, he became a TikTok star. At Bé Ù, Uyên Lê serves Vietnamese comfort and street food while promoting equity and sustainability.

Screenwriters Seth Reiss and Will Tracy tackle issues of class, consumerism, art, and privilege in "The Menu." Katianna and John Hong, the husband-and-wife duo behind Korean American restaurant and deli Yangban Society, discuss their blended Hanukkah and Christmas traditions. Michael W. Twitty, an African American Jewish writer and culinary historian, considers the "braid of influences" that have shaped his Hanukkah traditions. Want a new twist on the latke? Chef Chris Scott’s herbed potato and onion waffle is the perfect Hanukkah treat. From the ancient history of the tamal (which existed before the tortilla), to the variety of fillings, to regional twists, to different methods of preparation, Indigenous culinary anthropologist Claudia Serrato talks about tamales, top to bottom. Food writer Aleksandra Crapanzano shares the French approach to making dessert at home. Finally, chef Scott Zwiezen reopens Elf Cafe in Echo Park with a new look and some new additions to the menu.

Soup is delicious, easy to make, versatile, and a great way to use leftovers. But despite its many virtues, it's not terribly chic or exciting. Journalist and cultural commentator Anne Helen Petersen aims to change that. Born of peasant food to become a national dish, food writer and cook Zuza Zak dedicates a new cookbook to the Polish pierogi. Chris Scott, a chef known for his Brooklyn soul food restaurant Butterfunk, draws out the Dutch and German influences in soul food. Italian grandmothers are still waking early to make pasta by hand and author Vicky Bennison is here for it. With a $350 tasting menu and a mere 35 guests a week, Bill Addison crowns Hayato with the top spot on the LA Times 101 Best Restaurants list.

Bookstore owner Celia Sack shares her annual picks for best cookbooks with a surprising trend from first generation authors. Anna Voloshyna, a Ukrainian-born food writer and cooking instructor living in the Bay Area, she gets closer to home by sharing family favorites and modern reimaginings of traditional recipes. Ghetto Gastro’s cookbook “Black Power Kitchen'' aims to change the narrative of Black food through history, art, culture, and recipes. Naomi Duguid traveled the world to research how the essential ingredient of salt is collected and used. Raghanvan Iyer’s upcoming book is a love letter to a spice blend that is celebrated among cultures around the world.

Author and essayist Priya Basi, the co-founder of Authors for Peace, reflects on hospitality and the roles of host and guest beyond the act of feeding someone. Environmentalist Paul Greenberg examines his relationship with his father and fishing. Environment lawyer Thomas Linzey looks at the rights of water from the point of view of water itself. Journalist Lucy Jones reflects on how the return to nature aids both the body and mind. Filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg sets the stage for a story of rebirth, rejuvenation, and regeneration in his documentary "Fantastic Fungi." 

As America prepares for its biggest cooking holiday of the year, Good Food taps cook and food writer Andy Baraghani to co-host a special Thanksgiving episode with Evan Kleiman. Peppering in answers to listeners’ most troubling kitchen and hosting dilemmas, the duo is joined by chef and artist DeVonn Francis, who has unique entertainment activities to keep the conversation lively while leaving politics and religion off the table. Pitmaster Kevin Bludso shares all you need to know about smoking and frying the Thanksgiving bird. Evan and Andy riff on turkey alternatives and their favorite side dishes. New York Times cooking editor Genevieve Ko developed nine new pie recipes, including a dessert inspired by breakfast. Finally, go beyond the turkey sandwich when using leftovers.

Food writer Rossi Anastopoulo shares the not-always-sweet history of pie in America. Rose Levy Beranbaum delivers the gospel of snickerdoodles in an epic cookbook devoted to cookies. Brian Levy deploys fruits, nuts, grains, and dairy to create "no sugar" desserts. Former Gramercy Tavern pastry chef Claudia Fleming is back with her first cookbook in 20 years, focusing on both savory and sweet baking. Local pie maven Nicole Rucker reveals what inflation and the rising cost of staples like sugar, flour, butter, and eggs means for professional bakers. Finally, baker Sasha Piligian readies herself for Thanksgiving with a sweet potato purchase at the farmer’s market.

“Diasporican,” the first cookbook by food columnist Illyanna Maisonet, explores Puerto Rican cuisine off the island. Lulady Moges brings Ethiopian dishes to the table in under an hour. In an excerpt from his three-part KCRW series “Exploring Africa in LA: A Little Ethiopia Story,” independent producer and LA native Shaka Mali Tafari introduces listeners to Mr. Fekere, owner of Rosalind’s, the city’s first Ethiopian restaurant on Fairfax Ave. Nigella Lawson brings her infinite kitchen wisdom to her new book, “Cook, Eat, Repeat.” What happens when a British rocker lands in LA and there are no pubs to be found? He opens one himself. LA Times restaurant critic Bill Addison reviews Saffy’s, the latest spot from Ori Menashe and Genevieve Gergis. And Good Food remembers New York restaurant critic Gael Greene, who passed away this week at the age of 88.

Graduate student Rosie Grant pays respects by baking recipes found on tombstones. Jessica Stevenson waxes nostalgic about vintage Halloween candy and today’s sour favorites. W. Scott Poole, who teaches a course in the history of horror, explains perennial fears of trick or treating, from razor blades to rainbow fentanyl, and the role the media plays. Growing up across the street from the panaderia, Esteban Castillo recreates his favorite Chicano sweets in a new cookbook. Ignacio Murillo embraces fall fruits, including pears, for his new cocktail menu at A.O.C. Finally,Victor Hazan weaves a spooky yarn about his wife Marcella’s search for a human skull.

In his new memoir, Chef Keith Corbin reflects on his childhood in Watts and awakening his palate in prison. Marion Nestle is best known for her groundbreaking work “Food Politics” but her path to get there was winding, as she shares in a new memoir. For Mazuba Kapambwe-Mizzi, when she was planning her wedding in her native country of Zambia, ichilanga mulilo was a part of the celebrations. Award-winning chefs Jody Williams and Rita Sodi have nurtured a legion of devoted diners in Greenwich Village and share their recipes in a new cookbook. Phil Rosenthal visits Philadelphia, Austin, Croatia, and Santiago in the sixth season of Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil.” Finally, La Princesita took home the gold at last weekend’s Tortilla Tournament. To commemorate their win, Good Food revisits a conversation with Monica Ramirez and Enrique Rodriguez.