Kitchen Radio

Jennifer comes out of podcast hibernation to talk about Thanksgiving with Meredith Heuer on her back porch in Beacon, NY, which is the closest they can come to cooking together in a kitchen during this very different holiday season.

"How do I make my food taste better?"

Salt, fat, and acid are the seasoning trifecta. Most people know that salt makes food taste better, as well as a dollop of butter, but "acid" is perhaps the least understand of the seasoning tools in the home cook's kitchen. But it is the most magical. Find out how to add just the right amount to make your food sing out for joy. Listen in.

"Which are the best cooking fats, and which should I avoid?" and "How bad is Pam cooking spray, really?"

Ah, fat! The wondrous ingredient that brings flavor and lusciousness to food. But the topic of "fat" also fill home cooks with questions, mainly about how to choose between the good ones and the bad. Jennifer breaks it all down to size for you. Listen in.

Chef John Scoff hails from Charleston, South Carolina, where he was the executive chef of a low-country bistro before coming to his senses and joining Home Cooking New York's teaching team in 2005 (he was following his then-girlfriend, now-wife who was moving north for a teaching job). His most sought after class is Southern Brunch, so I asked him to share some of his signature takes on this Southern classic.

Jennifer delves into the differences between Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (aka "the king of cheeses") and regular Parmesan cheese, and what you should know when making the choice. Find out why it's worth the centuries-old hype and the price tag.

Have a question you want answered on a future SIDEBAR episode? Follow us on Instagram @homecookingny.com and DM us your questions!

----

"Sidebar" is the bonus content of the Kitchen Radio podcast, where host Jennifer Clair takes time to answer listeners' culinary questions in between the bi-weekly cooking episodes. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast, so you can keep finding the answers to your burning culinary questions.

Brooklyn, New York

Erica Wides is one of our school’s beloved chef-instructors and the host of “Funny People Making Food,” a YouTube series that follows her attempts to teach comedians how to cook. Since Erica teaches our Handmade Bagel Workshop, and I’ve never attempted to make one from scratch, I thought it was time to remedy that hole in my repertoire and have her show me the ropes. I’ll happily gloat that the bagels we made were at the very least, on par with some of the best bagels I’ve ever eaten. I also created a signature bagel using some add-ins from Erica’s well-stocked kitchen, which I am surprised that not in rotation at every bagel shop. You’ll want to hear all about that. Listen in.

"When Should I Use a Nonstick Pan?"

Tune in as Jennifer breaks down the do's and don't's of nonstick cookware:

1) what foods you should always cook in a nonstick pan,

2) how to clean a regular pan so it washes up like a nonstick surface,

3) what are the better brands of nonstick cookware,

and

4) why browning your food is a good thing.

-----

"Sidebar" is Kitchen Radio's bonus content, where host Jennifer Clair takes time to answer listeners' culinary questions in between the bi-weekly cooking episodes. Email her your own question to [email protected] for a chance to have your question featured on a future episode.

Joe Dizney learned how to make gumbo from watching his grandmother cook batches of it in her 1950s Louisiana kitchen. Now he makes it out of his own kitchen on special occasions (or whenever he has a poultry carcass lying around) using the same, well-worn cast iron skillet his grandmother used. In this episode, Joe shows Jennifer how to make a proper Cajun roux and how to temper it before adding it to the simmering stock (to minimize its “Cajun napalm” quality), which Joe seasons with his own blend of “leaves and seeds.” Jennifer also learns a thing or two about sassafrass leaves, okra, and the trinity of black, white, and red pepper.

"When should I cook with convection?" -- Sarah F., Beacon

Tune in as Jennifer simplifies what daunts many a home cook: the convection oven setting on their oven. Learn how a convection oven works, when to use it, and why it isn't as scary as you think.

Have a question you want answered on a future SIDEBAR episode? Follow us on Instagram @homecookingny.com and DM us your questions!

LUCKY LISTENERS! Use code "KitchenRadio25" to get 25% off Jennifer's award-winning cooking-class-in-a-book: "Six Basic Cooking Techniques: Culinary Essentials for the Home Cook," based on the most popular cooking class at the cooking school. If you like listening to this podcast, especially the "Sidebar" episodes, then you'll find a lot to love in this book.

-----

"Sidebar" is the bonus content of the Kitchen Radio podcast, where host Jennifer Clair takes time to answer listeners' culinary questions in between the bi-weekly cooking episodes. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast, so you can keep finding the answers to your burning culinary questions.

Wappingers Falls, New York

Margot is tired of predictable flavor of the Indian food she makes at home, and wants to learn how to make a curry that will really knock her socks off. Her husband Josh is a newfound vegetarian, so we decided to cook up a batch of chana masala, a richly-spiced chickpea and tomato curry that has a secret, sour ingredient that will help Margot brighten up all of her future Indian dishes.