Skillet

Khiry Palmer from the podcast Cooking in Khiry’s Kitchen transports himself to his mother’s kitchen as he shares one of his favorite childhood meals. Then we hear him cook his own spin on her legendary penne pasta bake.

Chef Meherwan Irani pays homage to his homeland at his Indian restaurants in Atlanta and Asheville, NC. His innovative take on chaat, the crunchy, spicy street snacks he eats in India, has earned him four James Beard Award-nominations.

Yet he is not bound by any notions of authenticity. In fact, some might balk at how he makes biryani in this episode. He cooks this traditional layered rice dish in a most untraditional way, and talks about why he believes it’s not fusion, it’s evolution.

We sizzle and fry with Reina Gascon-Lopez, the chef and writer behind The Sofrito Project. We visit her in Charleston, South Carolina as she cooks a Puerto Rican feast that brings back memories of her of her homeland. She also talks about her journey from the tech world to fine dining, and why she’d rather fix supper than iPhones.

Check out our first live show! Recorded at Chow Chow, a new culinary festival in Asheville, North Carolina, on Sept. 14, 2019. Featuring Chef Clarence Robinson from Cooking with Comedy Catering.

From lighting candles to bringing out big platters of food, the rituals of family meals bring us closer together. For school counselor, mom, and food blogger Whitney Fisch, those rituals also revolve around Judaism. We spend a Friday afternoon with @jewhungry and her extended family as she prepares Shabbat dinner. While the pesto chicken, smashed potatoes, and five other dishes finish cooking, she delves into some of the negative food rituals that bolster diet culture, as well as the warm memories she wants to instill in her kids.

Have you ever been in the kitchen with your bestie? The magic of two friends baking together makes everything sweeter, especially for Olga Perez, the owner of Short Street Cakes in Asheville, North Carolina. In this episode, Olga makes tres leches cake with Jodi Rhoden, her close friend and former owner of the cake shop. As they bake, Olga and Jodi remember the joys and struggles of running the bakery and raising their kids in a sugar-fueled dream world.

Bestselling cookbook author Julia Turshen isn’t afraid to break the rules. She burns sugar until it smokes (on purpose!) as she pays tribute to Jennie, the woman who inspired this chicken pelau recipe. While she cooks, Julia talks about ways that food can fuel social justice, and shares personal stories of feeling empowered and finding solace in the kitchen.

What is Appalachian Soul Food and how do you convey its complexities on a restaurant menu? Ashleigh Shanti is chef de cuisine at Benne on Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina. She shares her vision of soul food while she makes one of her favorite childhood meals: braised oxtails with buttered rice and pink-eyed peas.

Sometimes the best way to learn how to cook is to have a grandma by your side. Skillet listener Emily Wimberly wanted to learn how to make pasta, so she asked her distant cousin Luigina Fiorio to show her. Through these lessons, Luigina became like a grandmother to Emily while she was away at college, providing a respite from the struggles of young adulthood. Emily recorded these lessons, including the afternoon when she learned how to make pasta by hand. Skillet Podcast edited these recordings down to the best moments and played them for Emily in this bonus episode.