The Dinner Plan

By Maggie HoffmanArts Food

The Dinner Plan episodes

April 28, 2025Rick Martinez’s New Salsa Cookbook Will Transform Your Cooking
Get the recipes and cookbook links—and enter to win Rick's book—at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. On this week's episode, host Maggie Hoffman talks to Rick Martinez, author of Mi Cocina and Salsa Daddy, a new book of over 70 traditional and modern salsa recipes. Rick shares how making salsas can make simple weeknight meals so much more flavorful—and which salsa you can freeze for later. He tells you what to look for when you're buying chiles, how to pair specific salsas with whatever you're eating, and gives us a list of his all-time favorite cookbooks and the recipes he leans on most at home.

Thanks to this episode's sponsors:
John Bersani's 20 Amici – 40 Ricette
Kuhn Rikon: Visit kuhnrikon.com, and use coupon code DINNERPLAN for 25% off your purchase
SaladSprinkles: Visit Eatsaladsprinkles.com and use code SPRINKLES4DINNER to get 20% off
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 hr 7 min
April 24, 2025 Date Molasses, Black Lime, and Fluffy Rice With Noor Murad
Get the recipes and cookbooks mentioned here our free newsletter: TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. On this episode, Noor Murad, author of the new cookbook Lugma: Abundant Dishes And Stories From My Middle East, shares memories of her childhood in Bahrain and the meals she loves most, whether she's hosting friends or looking for an easy weeknight dinner. She talks about life at Ottolenghi in London and her pantry essentials at home, plus some cookbook authors she looks up to.

Thanks to Maille and Kuhn Rikon for supporting this episode. Visit kuhnrikon.com and use coupon code DINNERPLAN for 25% off.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
56 min
April 18, 2025 Gena Hamshaw's Meal Prep System for Busy Weeks
Get the recipes and enter this week's cookbook giveaway at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. (It's free!) If you just aren't feeling inspired to cook right now, you're going to want to listen to this interview. On this week's epsiode of The Dinner Plan, host Maggie Hoffman talks to Gena Hamshaw, the author of A Grain, a Green, a Bean: One Simple Formula, Countless Meatless Meals. Gena works long hours at a hospital, so she's figured out a meal prep and freezer system that allows for homemade meals in minutes on the weeknights, even when she just isn't feeling excited about cooking. She shares some favorite store-bought shortcuts, her hands-off method for baking whole grains in the oven, and go-to cookbooks for plant-based dinner inspiration.

Thanks to Maille Mustard, the California Prune Board, and Kuhn Rikon for sponsoring this episode. Use code DINNERPLAN at KuhnRikon.com for 25% off.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
49 min
April 11, 2025 Hailee Catalano on Fresh Spring Dinners and the Rules of Sandwich Construction
Find recipes and cookbook recommendations from Hailee on the free newsletter at The Dinner Plan.Substack.com. On today's episode, host Maggie Hoffman talks to Hailee Catalano, the author of By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear. Hailee offers tips for keeping cooking low-stress, thoughts on the essential rules of making a great sandwich for the beach or a picnic, and the spring recipes she's excited to cook this year.

Thanks to our sponsors: Maille Mustard; the California Prune Board; John Bersani, author of 20 Amici, 40 Ricette; and Kuhn Rikon. For 25% off at KuhnRikon.com, enter code DINNERPLAN—all one word!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
48 min
April 03, 2025 Meera Sodha on Breaking Through Burnout in the Kitchen
Subscribe to get recipes and cookbook links at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. On this long-awaited episodes, host Maggie Hoffman chats with Guardian columnist and cookbook author Meera Sodha about how she came back to cooking after a period of intense burnout. Meera, whose new book Dinner just came out in the U.S., shares some of the mental health tools that helped her through, as well as the cookbooks and pantry ingredients that inspire her now.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
52 min
March 28, 2025 What Zaynab Issa Always Has in Her Pantry
Get recipes from Zaynab and her cookbook recommendations free at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. In this week's episode of The Dinner Plan, host Maggie Hoffman talks to cookbook author and NY Times Cooking contributor Zaynab Issa about the recipes she's most excited about, her tips for stress-free dinner party hosting, and the flavorful staples she cannot live without. Hear her thoughts on how to do fusion food right, and hear why she doesn't like to get too far ahead with meal planning.
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42 min
March 21, 2025 Kiano Moju Thinks Kale Is Boring
Get Kiano's coriander chicken katsu recipe and links to her cookbook recommendations free on TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, host Maggie Hoffman talks to Los Angeles-based recipe developer Kiano Moju. Kiano’s cookbook, Africali, draws on her Kenyan and Nigerian heritage and her upbringing in California, as well as travels abroad. Today she shares her tips for a cookout—including what you should always do first—and the all-stars of her pantry and fridge, plus favorite vegetable recipes from the book.
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41 min
March 14, 2025 How Calvin Eng Plays 'Chopped' at Home Every Night
Get the recipes for free on TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Maggie Hoffman talks to chef Calvin Eng of Bonnie's in Williamsburg, Brooklyn about his new cookbook Salt Sugar MSG, and how he juggles feeding a young family with running a restaurant. He shares a unique meal-prep division of labor, his favorite way to use a rotisserie chicken, and thoughts on staying flexible in the kitchen in order to avoid food waste.
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48 min
March 06, 2025 Homemade Harissa and Black Garlic BBQ Sauce With Cortney Burns
Get Cortney's harissa recipe and cookbook recommendations on our free newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. Today's episode features chef Cortney Burns, formerly of San Francisco's Bar Tartine. Cortney talks about how preserving fruits and vegetables and making your own condiments can serve as stored-up effort to make weeknight dinners deeply flavorful—and quick. Cortney shares her dinner planning routine—and how she challenges herself to put off a trip to the grocery store for as long as possible.

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This episode was brought to you with support from Mama Lil's Peppers. Use code DINNERPLAN15 for 15% off at mamalils.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
57 min
February 28, 2025 Marisel Salazar Makes Her Own Grab-Bag of Frozen Burritos
Get Marisel's recipes for molletes and her chicken jibarito BLT for free on TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. In this episode, host Maggie Hoffman talks to Latin-ish cookbook author Marisel Salazar about her research process for this groundbreaking book on American Latino cuisines, plus everything she keeps around for easier weeknights. Marisel shares her go-to quick dinner recipes from around the internet and the cookbooks that inspire her most. You can enter to win a copy of Marisel's book by subscribing to The Dinner Plan's free newsletter on Substack.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min

About The Dinner Plan

From the publisher's feed

Figuring out what to make for dinner can be exhausting. The Dinner Plan helps you start every week with fresh cooking inspiration, thanks to Maggie Hoffman and a roster of top cookbook authors. You'll…