The Food For ThoughtCast: Call Me Chef

What is the one convenience item you always have in the house? For me, it's cream of chicken soup. At any time, I always have at least two cans in the pantry. No shame in my game! It's time for episode 86 of The Food For ThoughtCast- today Melissa and Stephen are talking about conveneince items. Chefs use them too! From jarred pesto, to rotisserie chicken, there are all sorts of things we like to use at home to either get food on the table faster or make something really tasty with a little less work. What is in your home cook arsenal? Are you ashamed of a cake mix, or does your freak flag have some cans and boxes on it? Join us on this episode, and be proud of feeding yourself and your friends and family. That's the important part! Thanks so much for listening. 

Are you content with your content? See that? It works two ways- just like our conversations! Lol! Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast, it's time for Episode 85! Today, Steve and Melissa are pondering what it takes to make amazing food content- whether audio or video , or both. We discuss how we decide what we will cook or post and we also chat about how we get ahead of the algorithm, as it were. Thank you so much for listening! 

Find some of our favorite food content creators below: 

Binging with Babish

Arnie Tex

Lilyloutay

Beardo Weirdo 

So Vegan

Your Barefoot Neighbor

Liam Layton (The Plant Slant)

Mississippi Kween

Cooking w/ Cajun

Ian Fujimoto

IthinkIcancook (FB)

Chef Hawkes (YouTube)

What's the difference between a shallot and a scallion? Are red or yellow onions better for burgers? These questions and lots more answered on today's episode-Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast! It's Episode 84, where we talk about onions and their uses (and their flavors, and their names). Melissa and Steve are excited to peel back all the layers of this topic, leaving no allium unturned. Whether you are just onion-curious, crazy about caramelized, or cautious about chives- you'll enjoy this episode. Thanks for listening. Find us where all finer podcasts are served. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe!

This week's episode of The Food For ThoughtCast is a thought-provoking look into the world of bartending and its connections to food and the service industry. We are joined by Chef Stephen's pal Phil, for Episode 83. Coming to us from St Louis, he clues us in to the musician- to-service industry pipeline. We talk about why he hates the word "mixologist", a little bit of the science behind choosing food and drink together, the non-alcoholic beverage movement, Japanese whiskey, and most important of all- our feelings. Truly though, it is a fascinating cross-section of humanity that you will find in our business- and Phil leaves us with a lot of food for thought. Thanks for listening and don't forget to watch us on YouTube!

Donuts and hoagies and kibbeh, oh my! It's time for a recap of Chef Stephen's recent trip back to Philly. Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast- it's Episode 82- A Return to Reading Terminal! We are talking all things saganaki, Thanksgiving sandwiches, and Steve celebrates crabfries! Today's episode is a personal victory for Melissa as Steve finds crinkle fries he actually likes, and truffle flavor that he doesn't. We travel just to eat and we can't wait to tell you all about it. Don't eat terrible airport food if you can help it. Find us in all the usual podcast places and thanks for watching on YouTube.

Melissa and Steve are reminiscing about birthday meals past, present, and future today! Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast. It's Episode 81! We kick things off by hearing about the amazing meal that Steve recently made for his lovely better half's birthday. We ponder the many ways to cook chuck ribs, how to make friends without salad, and how to make people feel special on their birthday. What is your ultimate birthday meal? Thanks for listening and don't forget to watch us on YouTube!

Hey there food fans!! Arguably this is just as important as the ingredients-- sometimes it all comes down to the gagdets and tools we use to make all of the tasty things. Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast- episode 80. This week finds Steve and Melissa chatting about gadgets, gizmos, tools, and appliances today. We find that we are often asked what our favorite brands or recommendations are for the home kitchen. While we aren't sponsored by any particular company, we definitely have some we prefer over others. This episode is a broad look at the topic. Which appliances are the workhorses? What things did we buy and never use? What can we live without? Join us today as we talk about all of the hardware in our home kitchens. Find us in all of the usual podcast places and don't forget to watch us on YouTube. Thanks so much for listening. 

Welcome back food fans! We missed you all week but today's the day. It's a big first for The Food For ThoughtCast, join us on episode 79 as we welcome one of our fans, Angela Standafer, to the show! We're calling this a Fan Feature! Melissa, Steve, and Angela discover the allure of lutefisk, the stress of The Bear, the best ways to prepare octopus, what makes a food Norwegian, and so much more! Thanks Angela for coming on, and for supporting the show! Thanks for listening and watching- you know where to find us- don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share #allthethings!

Welcome back to the Food For ThoughtCast, today we are talking all about food trucks. When did they start? What are our favorites? On episode 78, Steve is sticking to his sandwich shop, but this time fantasizing about it being on wheels- while Melissa wonders if anybody is doing frozen donuts yet. We are discussing the most popular for us, what's nearby, and the ones that (maybe) don't exist yet. We give a little shout-out to friends and past guests of the show, Team Fat Kid Food Truck -they are working on a new project called The Shmitt Sandwich, once it opens be sure to give it a visit if you find yourself in the 757- basically Norfolk and Virginia Beach, that is. Thanks for listening! Tell us what your favorite food truck is and where we can find it!

Hey there food fans! Welcome back to The Food For ThoughtCast, episode 77! Sometimes we just need to tell you what we ate. It's not just one amazing thing in a week, sometimes it's an entire trip or even a food crawl - both near and far. Steve is back from his trip to Pensacola and Melissa is busy being a tourist in her new town. We're talking about amazing sandwiches, seafood, Italian, desserts,  and all things tasty. Join us as we recap our week (and weekend) of all the good eats and where to find them.