Hi there! This week’s episode is coming to you a bit later than normal, as I’ve been under the weather fighting what feels like my 47th sinus infection over the last few years. Thankfully, we recorded this chat with the wonderful Kristen Miglore several weeks ago—with both a live audience and a non-nasally host. That said, we’ve got a great show for you: Kristen is back for the second time on the pod, this time sharing a new batch of Genius tips and tricks (and hacks, if you will). Plus, recipes and tons of new cookbook releases this week. 🎃 Read on, if you dare!

* Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too:

Episode 143: Kristen Miglore

This week, Kristen Miglore returns to Salt + Spine to #TalkCookbooks!

As the first hire and Founding Editor at Food52, Kristen went on to become Creative Director for the brand before shifting her focus solely to the Genius vertical, for which she writes a Genius Recipes column and has now produced three Genius cookbooks. (We first welcomed Kristen to our studio back in 2018 to discuss her book, Genius Desserts.) For more than a decade, Kristen has been unearthing the best Genius tips and tricks from chefs, cookbook authors, and home cooks.

After studying economics in college, she reset her sights on food media. And throughout her career, she’s been drawn back to this desire that’s at the heart of Genius: helping home cooks tackle dinner (and the rest of the day).

So it only makes sense that her latest cookbook takes that idea to its simplest form yet. Titled Simply Genius: Recipes for Beginners, Busy Cooks & Curious People, it brings together 100+ of the simplest, most Genius recipes yet.

And you’re tuning in for a special one: Today’s episode was recorded in front of a live audience at Omnivore Books in San Francisco. We’ve got a great chat with Kristen about home cooking, what she learned during the pandemic (and becoming a parent), and our course putting her to the test in our signature culinary game.

Bonus Content + Recipes This Week

This week, paid subscribers will receive two featured recipes from Kristen Miglore’s Simply Genius—Jenné Claiborne’s Tahini Pistachio Granola and a Chickpea Soccata with Tomatoes & Kale from Ria Dolly Barbosa. How good do these look:

Also coming shortly to subscribers’ inboxes: the next installment of our Q&As with cookbook shops—and this week, our producer Clea Wurster is chatting with our dear friend Celia Sack from Omnivore Books in San Francisco.

Get all our bonus content—and our full archive of hundreds of exclusive recipes—by becoming a paid subscriber today:

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This Week’s New Cookbook Releases

Holy buckets it’s a big week of new cookbook and food book releases! Here are a few (a lot) of the new cookbooks we’re eyeing on shelves this week:

* Go-To Dinners by Ina Garten

* Tanya Holland’s California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West by Tanya Holland

* Delectable: Sweet & Savory Baking by Claudia Fleming with Catherine Young

* Ghetto Gastro Presents Black Power Kitchen by Jon Gray, Pierre Serrao & Lester Walker with Osayi Endolyn

* First Generation: Recipes from My Taiwanese-American Home by Frankie Gaw

* The Way Home: A Celebration of Sea Islands Food and Family with over 100 Recipes by Kardea Brown

* Baking by Feel: Recipes to Sort Out Your Emotions (Whatever They Are Today!) by Becca Rea-Tucker

* Milk Street: Cook What You Have: Make a Meal Out of Almost Anything by Christopher Kimball

* Listen To Your Vegetables: Italian-Inspired Recipes for Every Season by Sarah Grueneberg

* Oren: A Personal Collection of Recipes and Stories from Tel Aviv by Oded Oren

* The Miracle of Salt: Recipes and Techniques to Preserve, Ferment, and Transform Your Food by Naomi Duguid

* Love to Eat: 75 Easy, Craveworthy Recipes for Healthy, Intuitive Eating by Nicole Keshishian Modic

* Bigger Bolder Baking Every Day: Easy Recipes to Bake Through a Busy Week by Gemma Stafford

* Ballymaloe Desserts, Iconic Recipes and Stories from Ireland: Featuring Home-Baked Cakes, Cookies, Pastries, Puddings, and Other Sensational Sweets by Jr. Ryall

* The Hachland Hill Cookbook by Carter Hach

* The Whole Duck: Inspired Recipes from Chefs, Butchers, and the Family at Liberty Ducks by Jennifer Reichardt

* The Apricot Lane Farms Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from the Biggest Little Farm by Molly Chester and Sarah Owens

* Dynamite Kids Cooking School: Delicious Recipes That Teach All the Skills You Need by Dana Bowen and Sara Kate Gillingham

* The Instant Kitchen Cookbook: Fast and Easy Family Meals Using Your Instant Pot and Air Fryer by Coco Morante

* Cooking with Whey: A Cheesemaker's Guide to Using Whey in Probiotic Drinks, Savory Dishes, Sweet Treats, and More by Claudia Lucero

* Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ’Em from the Award-Winning Bar by Neal Bodenheimer and Emily Timberlake

* Cheers to Today: 365 Cocktails Because Every Day is a Holiday by Chris Vola

* The Cocktail Edit: Everything You Need to Know about How to Make All the Drinks That Matter by Alice Lascelles

* A Bartender's Guide to the World: Cocktails and Stories from 75 Places by Lauren Mote and James O. Fraioli

* Sweet Land of Liberty: A History of America in 11 Pies by Rossi Anastopoulo

Episode 142: Jorge Gaviria

This week, we’re thrilled to welcome Masienda founder Jorge Gaviria to #TalkCookbooks with us.

Jorge’s first cookbook, Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple, explores the deep history and significance of masa—the dough made of nixtamalized corn that goes on to become tortillas, tamales, sopes, and many more Mexican and global staples. 

It all started with a realization while apprenticing at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Jorge started to dream of opening the “tortilla equivalent of Tartine Bakery, the San Francisco–based high temple of sourdough.” That idea led to sourcing heirloom corn and masa harina (the dried version of masa) from local farmers in Oaxaca and supplying some of New York City’s top chefs. Jorge’s company, Masienda, was born.

Eight years later, Masienda is on a quest to revolutionize how we think about corn—and therefore, masa, masa harina, and other products. Today he’s sourcing heirloom corn from a network of 2,000 farmers across six states in Mexico. And yet, he realized something else was missing: a text.

And so, he created Masa the book. It’s a quite comprehensive tome (nearly 300 pages) on the history of corn and masa and a guide that’s as useful for a home cook as it is for a scientist. (Want to nixtamalize your own corn at home? Jorge walks you through it! And offers practical lessons on how to make high-quality masa at home.) Somewhat shockingly, this is the first major cookbook to focus on masa.

Of course, there are recipes, too. Masa offers 50 base recipes for tortillas, tamales, pozole, and more to build on, as well as inventive recipes from top chefs across the world. (Get two of them this week by becoming a paid subscriber to Salt + Spine!)

Jorge writes that “like sourdough before it, craft masa is on the brink of a global culinary movement.”

In today’s show, we’re talking with Jorge about what led him to focus on masa and launching his company Masienda, about how we’re now in a “third wave” of masa, and we’re putting him to the test in our signature game.

[[EPISODE DETAILS GO HERE. INCLUDE BOOKSHOP LINK.]] ALSO INCLUDE AN IMAGE OF THE BOOK COVER WITH THE CAPTION "GET COOKING: BOOKSHOP OR OMNIVORE BOOKS" with links to both referral URLs.

Bonus Content + Recipes This Week

This week, paid subscribers will receive three recipes from Jorge Gaviria’s Masa: Blue Masa Sourdough Bread (from Philippine-born chef turned cottage baker Karlo Evaristo) and Masa Tempura Batter (from chef Alex Stupak of New York City’s Empellón). We also have the Table Tortilla Masa.

And later this week, producer Clea Wurster kicks off a new series featuring beloved cookbook stores. First up, she’s chatting with Matt Sartwell of New York City’s Kitchen Arts and Letters.

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This Week’s New Cookbook Releases

A big week of new cookbooks hitting the shelves this week! Here’s a few:

* Diasporican: A Puerto Rican Cookbook by Illyanna Maisonet

* The Cookie Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum and Woody Wolston

* Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things by Yotam Ottolenghi and Noor Murad

* Cooking with Mushrooms: A Fungi Lover's Guide to the World's Most Versatile, Flavorful, Health-Boosting Ingredients by Andrea Gentl

* Justice of the Pies: Sweet and Savory Pies, Quiches, and Tarts plus Inspirational Stories from Exceptional People by Maya-Camille Broussard

* The Siete Table: Nourishing Mexican-American Recipes from Our Kitchen by The Garza Family

* Somebody Feed Phil: The People, Stories, and Recipes by Phil Rosenthal

* Make Every Dish Delicious: Modern Classics and Essential Tips for Total Kitchen Confidence by Lesley Chesterman

* Spice: A Cook's Companion by Mark Diacono

* Feed These People: Slam-Dunk Recipes for Your Crew by Jen Hatmaker

* Evergreen Kitchen: Weeknight Vegetarian Dinners for Everyone by Bri Beaudoin

* Mamacita: Recipes Celebrating Life as a Mexican Immigrant in America by Andrea Pons

* Kolkata: Recipes from the Heart of Bengal by Rinku Dutt

* Cooking with Nonna: Sunday Dinners with La Famiglia by Rosella Rago OCT 25

* The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining and Legendary Recipes from the Restaurant That Made New York by Max Tucci (NOV 1)

* 60-Second Cocktails: Amazing Drinks to Make at Home in a Minute by Joe Harrison & Neil Ridley

* Bar Menu: 100+ Drinking Food Recipes for Cocktail Hours at Home by André Darlington

* The Little Book of Aperitifs: 50 Classic Cocktails and Delightful Drinks by Kate Hawkings

* The Complete Book of Pasta Sauces: The Best Italian Pestos, Marinaras, Ragùs, and Other Cooked and Fresh Sauces for Every Type of Pasta Imaginable by Allan Bay Wildcrafted

* Vinegars: Making and Using Unique Acetic Acid Ferments for Quick Pickles, Hot Sauces, Soups, Salad Dressings, Pastes, Mustards, and More by Pascal Baudar

Episode #141: Sophie Minchilli

This week, Sophie Minchilli joins us to #TalkCookbooks.

Sophie leads food tours around Italy with her mother, cookbook author and previous Salt + Spine guest Elizabeth Minchilli. The two lead food lovers through Rome, Umbria, Puglia, and other destinations.

Growing up in Italy with a cookbook author as a mother, Sophie’s life has always revolved around food. She left briefly for university in London, before moving back home to Rome to devote her career to food.

Now, Sophie’s out with her first book—The Sweetness of Doing Noting: Live Life the Italian Way with Dolce Far Niente. It’s part cookbook, with a few recipes, but mostly it’s a guide to the southern Italian philosophy of “dolce far niente” and finding pleasure in the everyday.

As Sophie writes, “How often do you focus on being in the moment, doing nothing? Whether it’s sitting outside at a cafe watching the world go by, whiling away the hours with your loved ones sipping a glass of wine or being immersed in nature at the beach taking in the sun, these seemingly ordinary moments are the ones that bring happiness in the long run and highlight the joy in living.”

In today’s show, we’re talking with Sophie about growing up in Rome and Umbria, her career in food tourism and writing, and putting her to the test in our culinary game.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Sophie.

Bonus Content + Recipes This Week

This week, paid subscribers will receive three featured recipes from Sophie’s The Sweetness of Doing Nothing: her Carbonara and Amatriciana as well as Insalata Di Finocchi E Arance, which marries fennel, orange, and black olive.

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Episode 140: Erin Gleeson

This week, Erin Gleeson joins us to #TalkCookbooks.

What a fun episode! I packed up our recorder and microphones and headed south from San Francisco and into the woody, serene drive to Erin Gleeson’s charming cabin-esque home in the South Bay.

Just look at this enviable set-up—I wish we could record every episode here!

And Erin even prepped us a plate of lavender shortbread, which is featured in her latest cookbook, and a warm pot of coffee:

Anyway — we were at Erin’s house to talk about her latest cookbook, The Forest Feast Road Trip.

A California native, Erin spent her early career pursuing art and photography. But she was always drawn to food, and it quickly became the subject of much of her work.

When a cross-country move brought her from bustling New York to a serene cabin in the Santa Cruz Mountains, she set her focus on working on cookbooks. Before long, her content was finding an audience online, and her signature aesthetic (hybrid watercolor-photography) was born. Soon after came her first cookbook, The Forest Feast: Simple Vegetarian Recipes from My Cabin in the Woods.

To date, Erin has authored five vegetarian cookbooks. Her most recent, The Forest Feast Road Trip, is built around her family’s extensive road trip, covering more than 2,500 miles around California.

As Erin explored the state and stayed in 10 unique cabin-like places, she created recipes, art, and photography that evokes each stop, from Palm Springs to Mendocino.

In today’s show, Erin and I sit down on her deck to discuss her childhood filled with California produce, the career path that led her to Forest Feast, and about the travels that inspired her latest book. We’ve got a great chat and Erin takes a stab at our signature culinary game.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Erin.

P.S. Just as I was leaving Erin’s home in the mountains, I noticed her kids and their friends had set up a lemonade stand. For a few bucks you could grab a glass of lemonade—and, if you had enough cash on hand, a copy of The Forest Feast Road Trip. All in the family!

Bonus Content + Recipes This Week

This week, paid subscribers will receive two featured recipes from The Forest Feast: Road Trip—Walnut Enchiladas and Blender Muffins.

Later this week, we welcome back our friend Paula Forbes of Stained Page News to chat about what trends we’re seeing in this fall’s crop of new cookbooks and what to get excited about.

Get all our exclusive content by becoming a paid subscriber:

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.

Episode 139: Eitan Bernath

This week, Eitan Benath joins us to #TalkCookbooks!

Eitan is one of the most visible people in food media today. At just 20 years old, he’s amassed a remarkable 8+ million social media followers.

Odds are, if you have a social media account, you’ve seen Eitan. Whether on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or even Snapchat, where he’s hosted three cooking shows. Last year, his original content reached more than 350 million people with 3 billion views.

It all started with Food Network. Building on his childhood love for cooking, 11-year-old Eitan appeared on the first kids’ episode of “Chopped.” And there was no stopping him after that; he started a blog and social media accounts, becoming a near-overnight success thanks to his charismatic personality and his engaging content. (Case in point: Oprah Magazine called him “the internet’s most delightful chef.”)

Today, he’s president of his own culinary production studio, the Principal Culinary Contributor for CBS’ “The Drew Barrymore Show,” and just published his first cookbook, Eitan Eats the World: New Comfort Classics to Cook Right Now. It’s full of both classic comfort foods (Shakshuka or Chicken Tikka Masala) and creative spins like a Double Grilled Cheese With Blueberry-Thyme Jam and his tuna melt-Croque monsieur hybrid.

In today’s show, we’re talking with Eitan about how his childhood love of cooking morphed quickly into a career, about creating his first cookbook, and of course, putting him to the test in our signature culinary game.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Eitan.

Bonus Content + Recipes This Week

RECIPES!!!

This week, paid subscribers will receive two featured recipes from Eitan Eats the World: a childhood classic turned breakfast with PB&J Pancakes and a decadent Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Pie.

Hi there, happy Tuesday! This week, Nicole Taylor joins us in studio to talk Watermelon & Red Birds. Plus: We chat with Carla Lalli-Music later in the week—and bring you featured recipes and highlight new release cookbooks. Read on!

Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too:

Episode 138: Nicole Taylor

Nicole Taylor—author of Watermelon & Red Birds—joins us this week to #TalkCookbooks.

A Georgia native, Nicole pivoted to a career in food media when she relocated to Brooklyn with her husband in 2008. Her Heritage Radio Network podcast, Hot Grease, brought 162 episodes with an emphasis on highlighting Black food personalities and “reclaiming culinary traditions & celebrations, cooking at home and eating as a political act.”

That led to a couple of cookbooks: first, writing The Last O.G. Cookbook (yes, the cookbook-companion to the Tracy Morgan TBS comedy), and Nicole’s first solo project, The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie in a Brooklyn Kitchen, which pairs her Georgia culinary roots with New York influences.

After a stint at a major media company, Nicole embarked on her latest cookbook, Watermelon & Red Birds: A Cookbook for Juneteenth and Black Celebrations.

In the book, Nicole explores the history of Juneteenth—a history full of complexity, difficulty, and sorrow. Federal recognition of a holiday long recognized by Black communities in America only came in June 2021, amidst the pandemic, a national focus on long-standing racial inequality, and the unjust deaths of Black folks at the hands of police. As Nicole writes in her introduction, “Black joy often emanates from Black sorrow, and so it has been with that small Texas tendril of freedom, which has continued to spread and strengthen.” 

This cookbook is not just a historical text; it’s quite modern, and Nicole hopes it will be part of the ongoing conversation around Black food in America. Not only as a chronicle of the ways that Black ingenuity and cooking have shaped America’s food scene, but also how it will shape the 21st Century. 

In today’s episode, Nicole tells about growing up in Georgia, making the leap into food writing professionally, working with past S+S guest George McCalman to design a book that “breaks all the rules,” and the importance of finding joy where it has not always been afforded.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Nicole.

Bonus Content + Recipes This Week

RECIPES!!!

This week, paid subscribers will receive. two featured recipes from Nicole Taylor’s Watermelon & Red Birds: the Southern-ish Potato Salad and a Sweet Potato Spritz inspired by Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. A sneak peek:

THE FRIDAY NOTE!!!

Carla Lalli Music joins us this week for “The Friday Note” with Salt + Spine producer Clea Wurster, in which Carla shares some insights into how she approaches recipe development and what she’s been cooking lately.

Get all our exclusive subscriber-only content today:

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This Week’s New Cookbook Releases

Here are a few of the new cookbooks on shelves this week:

* Fresh Midwest: Modern Recipes from the Heartland by Maren Ellingboe King

* Homage: Recipes and Stories from an Amish Soul Food Kitchen by Chris Scott

* Evolutions in Bread: Artisan Pan Breads and Dutch-Oven Loaves at Home by Ken Forkish

* How To Cook Everything Fast Revised Edition by Mark Bittman

* Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking, 30th Anniversary Edition by Marcella Hazan

* More Mandy's: More Recipes We Love by Mandy & Rebecca Wolfe

* Don't Worry, Just Cook: Delicious, Timeless Recipes for Comfort and Connection by Bonnie Stern & Anna Rupert

* Chinese Homestyle: Everyday Plant-Based Recipes for Takeout, Dim Sum, Noodles, and More by Maggie Zhu

* Northern Soul: Southern-Inspired Home Cooking from a Northern Kitchen by Justin Sutherland

* World Cocktail Adventures: 40 Destination-Inspired Drinks by Loni Carr & Brett Gramse

Coming Soon!

Don’t miss our next live podcast recording!

Food52’s Kristen Miglore joins us on Oct. 1 at Omnivore Books in San Francisco to discuss her latest book, Simply Genius. Come hear Kristen and Brian record an episode of the show, get your book signed, and support local bookstores. Details are below—hope to see you there!

Episode 137: Ali Slagle

This week’s episode is a fun one — our first live event since pre-pandemic!

Ali Slagle joined me in front of a live audience at Omnivore Books in San Francisco recently. A Los Angeles native and UC-Berkeley grad, Ali started her career at Ten Speed Press, where she worked on several cookbooks as an editorial assistant. She joined the Food52 team after working on their Genius Recipes cookbooks (featured here in our 2018 chat with Kristen Miglore!) and later went solo with a freelance career.

A prolific contributor to the New York Times Food section, in which she’s published over 250 recipes, Ali’s work has also been featured in Bon Appetit, the Washington Post, Saveur, and more.

Ali’s first cookbook, I Dream of Dinner… (So You Don’t Have To), offers 150+ recipes for getting quick, crave-able meals on the table every day. From her mom’s chilli recipe to bacon-jalapeno smashburgers, Ali’s recipes come to her via a “dinner matrix” process that we discuss in the show.

We’ve got a great chat with Ali to share — and of course, we put her to the test with our signature culinary game, with a wild secret ingredient.

I hope you enjoy my conversation with Ali.

Featured Recipes & Bonus Content This Week

RECIPES!!!

This week, paid subscribers will receive two featured recipes from Ali Slagle’s I Dream of Dinner: a Spicy Seared Tofu & Broccoli and the cover-star, Turmeric Shrimp with Citrus and Avocado.

THE FRIDAY NOTE!!!

This Friday, Salt + Spine producer Clea Wurster is back with The Friday Note, in which she chats with someone interesting. This week, it’s a look at Toothache Magazine and a chat with creator Nick Muncy.

Consider a paid subscription today:

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This Week’s New Cookbook Releases

Here are a few of the new cookbooks on shelves this week:

Mezcla: Recipes to Excite by Ixta Belfrage

Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple by Jorge Gaviria

The Mediterranean Dish: 120 Bold and Healthy Recipes You'll Make on Repeat by Suzy Karadsheh

The Vegan Chinese Kitchen: Recipes and Modern Stories from a Thousand-Year-Old Tradition by Hannah Che

Bras, the Tastes of Aubrac: Recipes and Stories from the World-Renowned French Restaurant by Sébastien Bras

Dine in Palestine: An Authentic Taste of Palestine in 60 Recipes from My Family to Your Table by Heifa Odeh

Honey Cake & Latkes: Recipes from the Old World by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Survivors from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Foundation

The Complete Cocktail Manual: Recipes and Tricks of the Trade for Modern Mixologists by Lou Bustamante

Pierogi: Over 50 Recipes to Create Perfect Polish Dumplings by Zuza Zak

Dictator Lunches: Inspired Meals That Will Compel Even the Toughest of (Tyrants) Children by Jenny Mollen

Coming Soon!

Don’t miss our next live podcast recording!

Food52’s Kristen Miglore joins us on Oct. 1 at Ominvore Books in San Francsico to discuss her latest book, Simply Genius. Come hear Kristen and Brian record an episode of the show, get your book signed, and support local bookstores. Details below—hope to see you there!

Episode 136: Kristina Cho

This week, we’re joined by Kristina Cho to discuss her debut cookbook, Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries.

Kristina is a Bay Area-based recipe developer and writer who grew up in a restaurant family in Cleveland, Ohio. After a degree in architecture left her longing for something more, she turned to food blogging and launched Eat Cho Food.

As her recipes grew in popularity, she realized some of the hits were items you’d find at Chinese bakeries (one of the first to resonate: the hot dog flower buns). Before long, Kristina had made another realization: the cookbook world was missing a book dedicated to Chinese bakery-style recipes. So Kristina set out to write up.

Mooncakes & Milk Bread is the result of that effort, and it landed Kristina two coveted James Beard Awards earlier this year (in both the Baking & Desserts and Emerging Voice cookbook categories.) The book is packed with classic and inventive recipes, from pineapple buns to almond cookies. Sweet and savory items share the space, as they do in most Chinese bakeries. And Kristina offers essays on the history of Chinatowns, profiles of some storied bakeries, and more.

I met up with Kristina in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where we strolled past long-standing bakeries, sampled some fare, and chatted about her career and her first cookbook. We were meeting just before the Mid-Autumn Festival (or Moon Festival), one of the most important Chinese holidays and an important time for enjoying and sharing mooncakes.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Kristina Cho.

Bonus Content + Recipes This Week

This week, paid subscribers will receive Kristina’s recipe for Youtiao (Chinese Doughnut), which we enjoyed together in San Francisco:

Also later this week: Chef Ji Hye Kim on how she celebrates Chuseok, the Korean Mid-Autumn Harvest Festival.

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

This Week’s New Cookbook Releases

Here are a few of the new cookbooks on shelves this week:

Dinner in One by Melissa Clark

The Weekend Cook by Angela Hartnett

Prep and Rally by Dini Klein

Healthy in a Hurry by Danielle Walker

Modern Bistro from America’s Test Kitchen

Chetna’s Easy Baking by Chetna Makan

Pasta Night by Deborah Kaloper

The Little Book of Gin Cocktails from Pyramid

Cocktail Botanica by Elouise Anders

Flavor by Fire by Derek Wolf

Hi there — happy Tuesday! We’ve got a great conversation for you today with author Adrienne Cheatham on her first cookbook, Sunday Best. Check out the episode and more—featured recipes!—below. But first, a few announcements:

* Our Summer Cookbook Club is in full swing and we’re baking our way through Jessie Sheehan’s Snackable Bakes. Next Tuesday, we’ll come together on Zoom with Jessie to make a cherry clafoutis (if you’d like) and to discuss cookbooks, sweets, and more. Reserve your seat now!

* Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too:

And now, here’s Adrienne:

Episode 135: Adrienne Cheatham

This week, we’re joined by Adrienne Cheatham to discuss her debut cookbook, Sunday Best: Cooking Up the Weekend Spirit Every Day: A Cookbook (with Sarah Zorn).

Adrienne is a Chicago native who grew up spending a lot of time in the restaurants that her mother managed. She was drawn to the kitchen and, before long, it became a safe place for her to thrive.

After college, Adrienne dove into the back of the house, working in kitchens and enrolling at the Institute of Culinary Education. From there, she landed at Le Bernardin under Chef Eric Ripert, where she spent eight years and worked up from a commis to the Executive Sous Chef of the 3-Michelin star restaurant. She went on to work as the Chef de Cuisine of the Marcus Samuelsson Group, where she helped open new concepts and served as executive chef of the flagship Red Rooster.

And of course, through it all were cookbooks. As Adrienne tells us, she worked with both Eric Ripert and Marcus Samuelsson on their books before she landed a deal of her own. And that debut book, Sunday Best, builds on the longstanding family tradition of gathering for a Sunday meal. The roots of the name actually run back to the days of segregation, when enslaved Black people would wear their “Sunday best” in order to “demand respect from those who didn’t accept them as equal.”

Today, Adrienne — who also came in second place on season 15 of “Top Chef” — also hosts virtual Sunday Best conversations on her Instagram, an extension of the Sunday Best pop-up dinners she planned pre-pandemic. And now her first cookbook, she brings the “weekend spirit” to everyday cooking with 100 recipes ranging from grilled skirt steak with mustard-green chimichurri to green tomato chili to yuzu banana pudding. 

Bonus Content This Week

PAID SUBSCRIBERS (you can become one!) this week will get two featured recipes excerpted from Sunday Best: Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Bacon and Grilled Green Tomato Salad with Buttermilk Vinaigrette and Pepitas.

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

We’ve got a great show for you today. Check out my conversation with Adrienne, and thanks for joining us to #TalkCookbooks.

–Brian, Clea, and the Salt + Spine team

Hey there,

We’re back with a very special episode for you: Today’s episode was the first we’ve been able to record in-person in 899 days! We met Bay-Area native Andy Baraghani at The Civic Kitchen (our studio home in San Francisco) to hear about his first cookbook, The Cook You Want To Be.

We’d almost forgotten how magical in-person interviews are. While we’re grateful to have been able to bring you great conversations, recorded remotely, during the pandemic, there’s something special about how the conversation flows naturally, how an author’s personality fills the space and the interview with ease, and, of course, the way the colorful spines of hundreds of cookbooks brighten the wall behind us.

Here’s a shot of us at The Civic Kitchen after our chat:

It felt so great to be back in the studio and it feels so great to share that conversation with all of you!

-Brian & Clea

Episode 134: Andy Baraghani

This week, we’re joined by chef and author Andy Baraghani to discuss his debut cookbook, The Cook You Want To Be.

Andy is a California native who grew up in the East Bay and was influenced by shopping trips at the awe-inspiring produce paradise that is Monterey Market. As a young person, he took note of the powerful culinary culture all around him.

He tells us that his interest in food started when he was very young: He grew up watching Martin Yan and Julia Child and experimenting with flavors from the moment he had the motor skills to do so. When he was in high school, at just 15, someone suggested that he learn a little about Chez Panisse, the infamous restaurant near him in Berkeley, CA. So he went in and asked for work. Soon, Andy spent all his extra time there, learning from chefs like Cal Peternell and Beth Wells. 

Andy talks with us today about how he struggled to find pride in his Iranian heritage, the process of finding his voice as a recipe writer and chef, and how it feels to find excitement, nourishment, and pride in his cooking.

The Cook You Want To Be is Andy’s debut cookbook and is a beautiful compilation of recipes that aims to teach the home cook his gentle, effortless style of California cooking, influenced by the flavors of the herb-heavy Iranian cuisine.

Bonus Content This Week

PAID SUBSCRIBERS (you can become one!) this week will hear Andy read an excerpt from his book about learning to make and perfecting his own recipe for Kuku Sabzi—and get two featured recipes excerpted from the book for Chickpea Cacio e Pepe with Caramelized Lemon and Pork Chops with Toasted Garlic and Spicy Capers.

Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. To get full access to our exclusive content and featured recipes, and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

We’ve got a great show for you today. Check out my conversation with Andy and thanks for joining us to #TalkCookbooks.

–Brian, Clea, and the Salt + Spine team