Food & Wine Culinary Director Justin Chapple joins us for this episode and shares some mad genius cooking tips for spicing up your kitchen! Inspired by his grandmother’s way of making something out of nothing, Justin has gone on to have an illustrious career helping home cooks cook better, quicker, and more delicious food. For our small bite, we eat a smoky marinara soup that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours.   Connect: Find Justin on Instagram as @justinchapple and on Food...

Are carbs bad? Are detox diets worth it? In this episode we sit down with two Registered Dieticians with an evidence based approach to eating: Jess and Wendy of Food Heaven Made Easy and the Food Heaven Podcast. They break down food myths and help us with a few practical meal planning tips. For our small bite, some crispy, salty stovetop potatoes that count as part of a balanced diet!   Connect: Find Wendy and Jess on the Food Heaven Made Easy website, on Instagram as @foodheavenshow, or as...

Hosting tips straight out of Hollywood from an actress and mom of two! It’s Tiffani Thiessen, who you might know as Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell. Tiffani shares her passion for bringing people together over food, and breaks down some fun ways to help people connect at the dinner table. With her interview, we pair a lemon feta dip from her new book, Pull Up a Chair.   Book: Pull Up a Chair: Recipes from My Family to Yours by Tiffani Thiessen   Small Bite Recipe: Lemon Feta from...

Why eat organic? It’s a complicated question, so we’ve brought in an expert: the famed Gary Hirshberg who founded America’s largest organic yogurt company. Gary breaks down the benefits of organic for us as a Win, Win, Win: and helps us understand how to start with some organic baby steps. For our small bite with Gary’s interview, our fan favorite apple manchego salad. Another must listen! Connect: Gary’s “origin story” interview on How I Built This Book: Stirring It Up: How to Make Money...

“I don’t expect perfection: I long for relationship.” Cookbook author and video series host Ashley Rodriguez joins us to talk about life around the table. In an Instagram-saturated world, how do we overcome our desire for a perfect meal and simply gather around the table? We also chat about teaching kids of all kinds learn to embrace the beauty of food. With Ashley’s interview, we pair a charred scallion dip from her new book, Let’s Stay In.   Connect: Find Ashley Rodriguez at the Not...

Culinary legend Mark Bittman joins us for an intimate conversation about trendy diets and how to make our world a better place through food. His book Food Matters was a part of a growing food movement 10 years ago, but are we eating better today? After writing a 20-year New York Times food column, authoring countless books and being in 4 television series’, there’s still conversation to be had. With Mark's interview, we pair a simple bruschetta you can make in 5 minutes with simple...

This episode stars one woman who’s combating Islamophobia in America one bite at a time! Amanda Saab is founder of Dinner with Your Muslim Neighbor, an organization that brings Muslims and non-Muslims together over home-cooked meals. She’s also the chef behind the Butter Bear Shop bakery in Detroit and star of a new television show called Chef in Hijab. With Amanda’s interview, we pair it with a small bite: a cookie from her Butter Bear Shop. Connect: Find Amanda Saab at amandasplate.com and...

Can what we eat affect climate change? In this episode we take a bite into the big topic of how what we eat affects the planet. We’re joined by Eliza Barclay, Science and Health Editor at Vox.com, to break it down and share practical takeaways to help our world by eating more plant based meals. With Eliza’s interview, we pair a small bite: irresistible tomato almond dip from our vegetarian cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking.   Read: Eliza Barclay and Umair Irfan’s article, 10 ways to...

In this episode, we’re transported to Spain by the writer behind the popular blog Gimme Some Oven. Ali Martin reports in from Barcelona about lingering over the table and Spanish tapas. Where American culture is all about speed when it comes to food, Spain is about nourishing relationships around the table. With Ali’s interview, we pair a small bite: homemade roasted patatas bravas. Connect: Find Ali Martin at www.gimmesomeoven.com, and on Instagram at @gimmesomeoven and @gimmesomeali Small...

In this episode, cookbook author Julia Turshen shares with us how to reinvent leftovers into new dishes, à la her new cookbook Now & Again. Plus, she provides inventive ideas on what to bring if you’re a dinner guest, and how to connect to your community through food. With Julia’s interview, we pair a small bite: charred broccoli crostini with creamy goat cheese.

“Mindset matters. Everyone talks so much about what the perfect diet is—we debate what foods you should take out of your diet, and whether you should exercise or meditate in the morning or the night. And those are all important, but they are totally missing the point if you have a mindset that has you suffering and feeling like you’re a failure.” That’s Robyn Downs, and along with her husband Dr. Andrew, they’re fascinated with the mindsets that lead to healthy eating. This podcaster teamed...

Want to be transported to the Eternal City without leaving your couch? We got Rome on the phone in this episode and chatted with Kristina Gill, author and photographer behind the cookbook Tasting Rome. Hear about her love affair with the city that’s kept her there for nearly 20 years, and what she’s learned about authentic Italian cuisine from cabbies to restaurateurs.   Kristina Gill Instagram | Kristina on Design Sponge Order her book: Tasting Rome   Rome Travel Guide | A Couple...

Ever wondered what it’s like to write a book—and adopt a baby at the same time? This episode is an exclusive with Alex and Sonja about the process of writing their new cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking. They share about starting A Couple Cooks, deciding to write a book, adopting their son Larson, and all the trials and triumphs in between. Along the way, you’ll learn the entire process of book writing from agent to proposal to launch.   Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple...

"You have to see things not as they are, but as they could be. That's what an artist does. And that's what I am at heart." That’s Majora Carter, real estate developer and urban revitalization strategist who’s won a long list of accolades for her work, including the coveted MacArthur Genius fellowship. Her 2016 TED talk was one of the first 6 on that groundbreaking website. Majora joins us to talk about beautifying our neighborhoods, the value of coffee shops and groceries, and how to create...

“Treat sugar like salt.” That’s Bill Yosses, former White House pastry chef for Barack and Michelle Obama. When the First Lady asked him to create healthier treats for her family, he discovered that dialing back the sugar actually made his desserts taste better. In this episode, we learn Bill’s secrets to creating stellar, decadent tasting desserts that are “healthified” but still incredibly delicious.

“I love the imperfections in a dinner party. When we micromanage, we lose all ability to see what the dinner party is about. In all truth, no matter what Pinterest tells us or what we see in a magazine, the only things that really matter are the food and the people.” That’s Megan Gilger, Creative Director of the Fresh Exchange blog and brand. She’s passionate about getting people around the table, for events simple and elaborate. This episode is all about the dinner party: practical tips for...

It’s not every day that you get to hear from an entire family of cooks, especially one that’s had such an impact on American food culture. Enter the Pollan Family: Corky, Lori, Dana, and Tracy. Only missing brother Michael Pollan, bestselling author about food and agriculture, the Pollan family shares the story of growing up around the table. Mom Corky passed down a culture of cooking and eating together, which has now been passed down to a new generation of cooks. Along they way, they wrote...

“The day to day romantic vision you have of farming: that is completely gone. It’s full panic mode from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep. We have that in our chest from March until August.” That’s Taylor and Andrea Bemis on what it takes to run a farm as a husband-wife team. Theirs is Tumbleweed Farm, a picture perfect mountain-view farm outside of Portland, Oregon. What’s more, Andrea is a farmer with a first-class food blog and a popular cookbook. For Dishing Up the Dirt,...

“Everyone is so busy. We're constantly getting fast food or ordering out because our schedules are so, so busy. Sitting around the table and enjoying a meal, or being in the kitchen and preparing a meal with other family members, the joy and the love of that experience has gotten drowned out. And I really want to make sure that doesn't happen." That’s Jocelyn Delk Adams, the personality behind Grandbaby Cakes. She’s appeared on The Today Show, Everyday with Rachael Ray, and the Cooking...

“‘If the front door is closed, climb in through the window.’ That's my life motto. You don't stop when someone says no. You don't stop when there's a bump in the road. You just have to keep going through it. It's tenacity, grit, and perseverance that gets you to the other side of tough times and to your goal.” Ellen Bennett of Hedley & Bennett lives that inside and out. In just five years, she’s built a multi-million dollar apron company from the ground up. She now sells to 6,000...

“It’s one thing to be influenced and inspired by a food tradition, but it’s another thing to believe that’s the only way to do it. When I was in Italy I loved so many things about it, but I knew the most Italian thing I could do was to use things in my backyard.” That’s Chris Bianco, award-winning chef and grandfather of artisan pizza in America. He joins us to chat about his new book, Bianco, and how he went from making pizza in the back of a Phoenix grocery store in the 1980’s to one of the...

Feeding yourself is one thing, but feeding other people with various diets and food preferences? It can feel terribly overwhelming. Author and blogger Catherine McCord of Weelicious joins us for this episode to talk about her journey from modeling to culinary school to starting a blog focused on feeding families. We chat about the moment she redefined her career around food, how her son’s health issues disappeared after eating a smoothie per day, and how to adjust to picky eating “seasons”....

Food is the great connector—nothing transcends our differences like sharing food around the table. And no one knows that more than Daniel Klein, producer of The Perennial Plate, a James Beard award-winning online documentary series. Daniel has traveled the globe with his filmmaker wife Mirra making short films about sustainable food and the people who make it. He shares his journey from chef to shooting the first season in Minnesota to traveling the word. Along the way, we touch on some big...