Before Freda DeKnight began writing for Ebony Magazine in 1946, American publications that centered on Black cuisine were overwhelmingly written by white writers for white audiences, often using harmful caricatures and dangerous stereotypes. This week, we’ll discover how one Black American food writer changed the culinary narrative. 

Freda DeKnight’s food column and book - A Date With A Dish - helped revolutionize Black culinary coverage in post WWII America, breaking new ground for an entire generation of African American chefs and home cooks. Join veteran food writer Donna Battle Pierce as we follow Freda’s story from her home town of Topeka Kansas, all the way to the largest Black publishing company in the United States. And hear some of the stories and recipes she championed along the way.

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guest:

Food writer Donna Battle Pierce

Site: https://www.skilletdiaries.com/

Blog: https://skilletdiaries.substack.com/

Recipe:

Ebony’s Barbequed Spare Ribs

To learn more:

Look through the 1948 first printing of Freda DeKnight’s book, A Date With A Dish.

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In today’s episode we turn the mic on our listeners and hear what food matters to them  - and why. We hear hilarious and touching stories from Italy to Iceland, Cairo to Los Angeles. Get ready to be transported and hear about some of the most delicious (and well, not so delicious) stories that will have you laughing, crying, and connecting. 

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

Kamilia Hanna (Claudia’s mom)

My Greek Table Host Diane Kochilas 

Yan Can Cook Host Chef Martin Yan 

Recipes:

We have 4 recipes for you to explore this week: 

1. Teta’s Whole Wheat Berry Cereal (Baleela)

2. Diane Kochilas’s Greens Pie

3. Mexican Wedding Cake

4. Spanish-style Kabocha Squash Au Gratin

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Thank God for wine. No, really! Wine has always played a part in the culture of the church. It’s what Jesus drank at the last supper, priests bless it during Catholic mass, and if you drink enough of it you might start having visions of the divine. But in the early 20th century, this millenia-old church culture was under threat. The temperance movement ushered in an era of prohibition. Wine barrels were cracked open with axes. The streets and sewers ran red, white, and sparkling. And in Southern California, winery owners like Santo Cambianica were given little choice but to shut down. As an Italian immigrant and a Catholic, prohibition wasn’t just a response to the rise of alcoholism, it was an attack on his culture and religion. But a little known exemption in the prohibition laws was about to change that. Instead of shutting down, Santo’s winery boomed. In fact, he did better business during prohibition than before it. All thanks to the holy loophole.

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

Santo Riboli (President, San Antonio Winery, Los Angeles, CA)

Father Gregory Elder (Historian and Pastor, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Palm Desert, CA)

Recipe:

Wine Pairings from Season One

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There are more Chinese restaurants in the US today than there are McDonalds, Burger Kings and KFC’s combined. It's neck and neck with pizza as America's most ordered takeout. How did Chinese-American cuisine become so deeply embedded in American communities? 

This week, we’re talking with New York Times bestselling author, journalist and documentary producer, Jennifer 8 Lee about the origins of 3 famous Chinese American dishes. Chop Suey, Fortune Cookies, and General Tso’s Chicken. We’ll uncover the American history that shaped them, and follow Jennifer’s journey to discover how understanding the past helped her find peace in the present.

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode guest: 

Jennifer 8 Lee - Journalist, Documentary Producer and Author of New York Times Bestseller The Fortune Cookie Chronicles

Episode recipe: Beef Broccoli

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Bison meat has been showing up on many restaurant menus lately, but Native Americans have a relationship with the iconic animal that goes back thousands of years. Today we meet Jayme Murray, who runs a tribal-owned bison herd on the Cheyenne River Sioux reservation in South Dakota, and Chef Ben Jacobs, co-founder of Tocabe in Denver. Their stories help explain why the bison is so central to Indigenous American history, and how a new generation of Native American ranchers and chefs are restoring indigenous foodways — and reinventing them for the future. 

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

Jayme Murray, CEO of the Cheyenne River Sioux Buffalo Company. 

Ben Jacobs, Co-Founder of Tocabe: An American Indian Eatery in Denver, CO. Tocabe’s online marketplace is here. 

Recipe:

Bison Meatballs in an Agave Glaze

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We are putting together a show all about the special dishes in our lives. Be they elaborate all day affairs or quick and simple we know it's not just about nutrients and taste, it's about people and story. So, we want to hear from you! As we are nearing the holidays and the end of the year, we are thinking about the food in our own families and lives. We all have recipes that have been passed down… or even meals that … stay with us. What do these dishes say about who we are, and where we come from? 

That’s the question we want YOU to answer. We’d like you to share a recipe and story about a dish you love. And we want to hear specifics: How did this dish find its way into your life? Is it served on a special occasion or in a special way? Can you tell us about a time that you made it – or it was made for you? Who was it with, and why was it special for you? 

Please record a voice memo for us. Include your name, the dish or meal you’re thinking about, and the backstory. We’d also love for you to email us the recipe! Send your voice memo and recipe to [email protected]

We may use your voice and story in an upcoming episode and the recipe on our website. We can’t wait to hear from you! 

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As a child in eastern France, Jacques Pépin learned never to waste a scrap of food. Raised during and after the rationing of WWII, he watched closely as his mother, Jeanette, built a successful career as a restaurateur by the skin of her teeth (and her chickens). Today, Jacques is a beloved celebrity chef. And yet he’s never forgotten what he knows about keeping food, and life delicious, without squandering ingredients or time. Jacques sits down with Host Claudia Hanna to explain how what he calls “miserly” cooking became his philosophy and his superpower. He shares how this approach has served him in the humblest, and the highest, of kitchens, and how you can apply it in yours, too. Plus – over Jacques’ long career, there have been some pretty radical changes in people’s attitudes about food waste. Food Historian Helen Veit joins us to explain why what we eat, and what we throw away, has changed so much in just a few generations. 

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

Jacques Pépin is a chef, author, television personality, educator, and artist, and has starred in twelve acclaimed American Public Television cooking series. His dedication to culinary education led to the creation of the Jacques Pépin Foundation in 2016. He is the winner of sixteen James Beard Awards and author of more than thirty books, the most recent of which is Jacques Pépin: Cooking My Way.

Helen Veit specializes in the history of food in the U.S. Her first book, Modern Food, Moral Food: Self-Control, Science, and the Rise of Modern American Eating in the Early Twentieth Century was a 2014 James Beard Award finalist. 

Recipes:

Claudia’s Homemade Caesar Dressing

Leftover Hacks

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In recent years, more and more fermented foods like kimchi, probiotic yogurt and kombucha have hit supermarket shelves in America, along with news of their purported health benefits. But where did fermentation come from, and how did this ancient practice help change the landscape of our world?

Today, on If This Food Could Talk, we are taking a deep dive into the art and science of fermentation – a food practice with a universal history. One that is deeply intertwined with the evolution of humanity itself. 

We’ll meet New York Times bestselling author and fermentation expert Sandor Katz, and follow his journey from New York City to the hills of Tennessee. Along the way we’ll discover how fermentation has changed the landscape of our world. And we’ll hear why Sandor believes reclaiming these ancient practices may have an important role to play in our collective future.

We’ll also speak with James Beard Award winning chef Ann Kim, about the traditional Korean fermentation practice that helps her celebrate her heritage. 

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

Sandor Katz, fermentation expert and author of New York Times Bestseller “The Art of Fermentation” 

Ann Kim, James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur. Owner of Pizzeria Lola, Hello Pizza, Young Joni and Sooki & Mimi

Recipes:

Authentic Tzatziki 

Make your Own Yogurt from Scratch! 

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In the Mediterranean, olive oil is more than an ingredient. It’s a way of life. For thousands of years, the humble olive has been used for everything under the sun. It’s been made into a cooking oil, a holy offering, a balm, a bite-sized snack, and even sunscreen. Today, we’re taking you to the ancient Greek isle of Crete to explore the early life of one of the oldest living olive trees in the world and to uncover its sacred relationship with the Minoan people. We’ll then follow olive oil’s influence from past to present with a guided tasting from an olive oil sommelier. Plus, we share a few tips on how to choose and store your olive oil, and a roasted olive recipe that will be the star at your next dinner party.

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Episode Guests:

-Diane Kochilas (Cookbook author, Host of My Greek Table)

-Tassos Kyriakides (Olive Oil Sommelier & Associate Professor, Yale School of Public Health)

-Anaya Sarpaki (Archaeologist and Olive Oil Preservationist)

Recipe:

Roasted Black Olives

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Americans can’t seem to get enough pizza. We eat billions of pies every year. So, how did this love affair with pizza begin? Look back with us to the Persian Empire, where young soldiers fill their bellies with flatbread cooked over an open flame. Then travel to 18th century Naples, as pizzaiolos slice thick wedges of pizza on Napoli streets. Plus, meet a modern-day pizzaiolo in the Midwest and learn to bake the perfect pizza crust, with just the right amount of chewiness and crunch.

Hosted by Claudia Hanna

Guests: 

Carol Helstosky, history professor at the University of Denver and author of Pizza: A Global History 

Brian DiCintio, founder of DiCintio’s Pizza Cucina in Marlow, Oklahoma 

Recipes from this episode:

Persian Flatbread Recipe

Pizza Dough Recipe

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