There are lots of baking books out there. And even though I have considered myself baking averse, I am trying to bake my way out of this affliction. Reading and cooking out of Pan y Dulce by Bryan Ford has been excellent therapy. Listen as Bryan and I talk about New Orleans and its food culture - which I am happy to say we both love - as well as Bryan’s journey to baking and his current journey. And, of course, we talk about his new book, Pan y Dulce: The Latin American Baking Book. Listen....

Women in the South have been both frugal and extravagant in their baking, but it is usually delicious. Morgan Bolling has edited a terrific new book - When Southern Women Cook - with an introduction by the James Beard Foundation award-winning Toni Tipton Martin, published by America’s Test Kitchen. You will be intrigued, excited, and itching to get into the kitchen. Besides 300 recipes, the book is stuffed with little essays about people and foods from the south, written be people who know....

The Poor Boy Festival in New Orleans celebrates all of the cultural quirks of New Orleans, including the culinary ones. I was asked to moderate a panel with Winston Ho and Miss Linda Greene, aka, The Yaka Mein Lady. Unfortunately Miss Linda was unable to attend, so Winston and I waltzed our way around yaka mein and a few other very New Orleans topics. It seems that Winston has found yaka mein in African-American communities around the country. Yaka mein was available in Chinese restaurants,...

Bella McDow grew up in America and in El Salvador. She is living in New Orleans these days and exploring her roots through baking. She is resolving the various tugs from different cultures by baking. She is learning the business through a special program and popup. Her company is SemitaMamita. I have eaten her semitas, and they are delicious. She is just starting on her adult path in life, and she is off to a very culinary and very tasty start. The pastries are El Salvador, but fillings are...

Recreating her mother’s table inspired Melissa M. Martin to create the Mosquito Supper Club in New Orleans. Her first book, Mosquito Supper Club, reflected the recipes from her mother’s table. But Bayou: Feasting Through the Seasons of a Cajun Life, goes beyond those recipes. And the Mosquito Supper Club is expanding as other plans are unfolding. Listen. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at tipofthetongue.substack.com/subscribe

Olia Hercules has made a profound journey to the comforts of food. This episode from 2022 seems so apt today, that I am offering it again. Even if you have heard it before, you will hear new things in a second listening. Hercules is a Ukrainian journalist who has also lived in Cyprus and Italy and now England. She describes the comfort of food as a reminder of home and as a way to establish home. Listen. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at...

Marilee Bramhall and I discuss women vintners in France and Italy and her company, Iola Wines. We talk about the nuances of natural wines and simply the joy of wine at the table. Have you tasted natural wine? Do you only like big, bold wines or do you enjoy wine with food that is very specific to place? Listen. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Be sure to look at her events and her wine club. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at tipofthetongue.substack.com/subscribe

How to stay grounded in the world. How to remain connected to others. How to remain in the now when performing everyday tasks. We talk about this with Misty Bell Stiers and her new book, Light, Fire, and Abundance: Harness the Power of Food & Mindful Cooking to Nourish the Body & Soul. Learn more about Misty, including other writing, by visiting her website. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at tipofthetongue.substack.com/subscribe

Food has been used as a metaphor for sex and sexual attraction in many a song and play and movie. But in poetry it can mean even more. Andy Young uses food, and fruit in particular, in her poems. Her newest collection is Museum of the Soon to Depart, published by Carnegie Mellon University Press. She is also a translator and teacher. We talk about and listen to her poems. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at tipofthetongue.substack.com/subscribe

I thought that you would enjoy this encore release from Julia Skinner. Julia is doing so much - combining art, nature, and food - that it is good to be reminded how grounded she is. Listen to hear about all that she is doing making a life for herself in food and in other areas that interest her. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at tipofthetongue.substack.com/subscribe

Anne Byrn is the master of cakes of all kind. In her new book, Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and Their Untold Stories, she really makes southern baking of all sorts come alive. We talk about the book, baking, and other kitchen talk. The book is a treasure trove of information and talking about what motivated her and what it all means motivated lots of talk. You can listen, it’s on Tip of the Tongue. You can also come to the cake extravaganza we are planning for September 18 at...

The law of hospitality, especially as it is related to tipping is hopelessly convoluted. Add the tipping rules to the reduced minimum wage that tipped employers pay, and trying to keep within the law in a nightmare. Having a lawyer who actually understand the law is imperative. Listen to this conversation with John Reyna, managing attorney for the Texas Hospitality and Non-profit Law Center in Houston, Texas. It is illuminating. Learn more. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at...

New Orleans residents pride themselves on living to eat, as opposed to eating to live. Beth D’Addono taps into that spirit in her new book: City Eats New Orleans. Her new book almost tenderly caresses the selected restaurants, the food, and the people. It is an outstanding and very personal review book that you will not want to miss. It is an insider look at the restaurants of New Orleans and what makes them tick. Listen. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. You can listen to this podcast wherever you...

There isn’t a more beautiful and interesting book about cooking with spices than A Whisper of Cardamom by Eleanor Ford. Listen to our conversation about the issue of desserts being so sweet that you cannot taste them. The book is full of deep and complex uses of spices lightyears beyond cinnamon and vanilla. Listen. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. You can read more about Eleanor on her website. . . If you want to get a feel for her expertise balancing spices, both savory and sweet, be sure to...

What does it take to style and photograph food? Is it about the food proper or the story that the food represents? We can learn a lot about food and photography and cooking from this discussion. Listen. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. You can find Eugenia’s photograph’s everywhere in magazines. And as a person who writes recipes, I can attest to the fact that her food photographs make the recipes come alive. Anyone in food who is lucky enough to work with this talented artist is fortunate...

Editors often toil in the background while assisting authors in making books better. Their work is crucial and usually unsung. Judith Jones was an extraordinary editor whose praises should be sung for the world is a better place for her efforts. We talk about it with author Sara B. Franklin. Her book is The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Still hungry for more? You can read more about Sara B. Franklin. Get full access to Tip...

This is an encore chance to listen to a podcast with Celia Cerasoli. Celia writes a newsletter called The Perfect Artichoke. It’s full of great information and recipes. She leads cooking and travel opportunities to Italy. And is full of wisdom about Italian cooking and adapting it to the American table. I thought that you would enjoy hearing it again. She is not only all about food, but also about art. And her work with artist, Ugo Tesoriere, is well documented here. Get full access to...

There is so much to talk about with Saffron NOLA’s Arvinder and Ashwin Vilkhu! They were nominated for a James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef South. This is their second nomination. We talk about what makes a restaurant a success - family, talent, hard work, and the joy of happy diners. Listen! It’s on Tip of the Tongue. You can look at SaffronNOLA’s website. Ashwin and Arvinder Vilkhu ...

Keeping kosher. Respecting the Sabbath with plastic utensils. Honoring our bodies. Many humorous stories. They are all in Judy Gruen’s book, Bylines and Blessings: Overcoming Obstacles, Striving for Excellence, and Redefining Success. We talk about these things. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Read more about Judy Gruen. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at tipofthetongue.substack.com/subscribe

We all think about the meaning of food - the culture, the people, and the food itself. In this podcast we discuss these questions as they apply to the food culture of Appalachia. We discuss the complexity of the food culture as well as the resiliency of the people. Listen to the discussion with Ashli Quesinberry Stokes and Wendy Atkins-Sayre about their new book, Hungry Roots: How Food Communicates Appalachia’s Search for Resilience. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Listen to a previous podcast...

Why Not: Lessons on Comedy, Courage, and Chutzpah is a funny book about growing up, about becoming a comedian, and about living a good life. It talks about the bumps and the trips, as well as the fun parts of life. Listen to Mark Schiff discussing why he wrote this book, being funny, writing, and many more things. You can read more about Mark on his website. Want even more about Mark? Listen to his podcast, You Don’t Know Schiff, with cohost, Lowell Benjamin. Get full access to Tip of...

Establishing a food museum is a bold move. 20 years ago when we started the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans, we were in the wilderness with a bold idea and big ambitions. Rachel Waugh tells us about her dream for a food museum in Denver, Colorado. She and I are definitely kindred spirits. Listen. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Rachel Waugh Read all about Rachel’s bold vision on the website. Take the culinary quiz. ...

Beth M. Howard and I talk about her experiences in pie. Her sharing attitude and the inclusiveness of the experiences that she creates for people make pie a carrier for supporting each other, regardless of our differences. It seemed the right time to revisit from October, 2022, World Piece and the role of pie in bringing out the best in us. It’s on Tip of the Tongue. Get full access to Tip of the Tongue at tipofthetongue.substack.com/subscribe

I can never resist the opportunity to talk with a food scholar about the food of New Orleans. I talked to Theresa McCulla, about her new book, Insatiable City: Food and Race in New Orleans. We still care so much about our food in the city that it is easy to understand its importance in the past. But the city’s past is not all rosy. Learning about it makes for a real discomfort, especially knowing how the city’s wealth and prosperity were built. Listen as we speak with Theresa McCulla. It’s...