Latest / Dishing with Stephanie's Dish / Cookbook Author Sarah Peterson, "Vintage Dish and Tell" and I talk sandwich loaf and the keepers of family recipes

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Cookbook Author Sarah Peterson, "Vintage Dish and Tell" and I talk sandwich loaf and the keepers of family recipes · Dishing with Stephanie's Dish

0:02
SPEAKER_01: Hello,
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SPEAKER_01: everybody,
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SPEAKER_01: and welcome to the Dishing with Stephanie's Dish podcast,
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where we talk to people in the food space who are as obsessed
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about food as we are.
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SPEAKER_01: And today we're talking to the cookbook author Sarah Peterson.
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SPEAKER_01: She is the author of Dish and Tell, Recipes from the Heart.
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SPEAKER_01: I'm going to hold up her book so that you guys can see it.
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SPEAKER_01: It looks so cute.
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SPEAKER_01: It's pink.
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uh sarah i am really excited to talk to you because i don't
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normally get to know
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people sort of along the whole journey of them writing a book
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and then seeing it
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released into the world but that did happen with you and i yes
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it did we've known
0:39
each other a little while or at least i've known you i've
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followed your career and
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so it's been really great to have you to to consult with a
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little bit and you've
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SPEAKER_00: really been a mentor to me throughout this process well and i think for
0:53
SPEAKER_01: You coming from the PR world,
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SPEAKER_01: which was where your background was,
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SPEAKER_01: and then taking it into a cookbook,
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SPEAKER_01: I'm seeing so many similarities of how you're approaching things.
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SPEAKER_01: And I think it's just super smart.
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SPEAKER_01: And I can't wait to talk to you.
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SPEAKER_01: So can you just give the viewer,
1:11
SPEAKER_01: the listener,
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a little bit of backstory about the book and why you wrote it
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and why it's special
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SPEAKER_01: to you?
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
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SPEAKER_00: So about five years ago, maybe more, I started thinking about
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SPEAKER_00: what I wanted to do with my career.
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SPEAKER_00: I'd been in PR a long time,
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SPEAKER_00: telling other people's stories,
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SPEAKER_00: writing in the voice of other people.
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SPEAKER_00: I wanted to do something of my own.
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SPEAKER_00: I had this love of everything vintage.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm very nostalgic.
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I love any opportunity to like go back to my grandma's kitchens
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in my mind and like
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SPEAKER_00: imagine them and their homes.
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SPEAKER_00: And so this idea started brewing about
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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what if I blogged about family recipes and shared some of these
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handwritten recipe
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SPEAKER_00: cards,
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SPEAKER_00: recipe boxes,
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SPEAKER_00: my love of vintage.
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So I started with Instagram first and I was posting a little
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bit and then I,
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SPEAKER_00: that kind of evolved into a blog and that just really grew and grew.
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And it was just not my own family's recipes,
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but other people's families too.
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SPEAKER_00: Like I started to just talk to my friends and my neighbors and
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SPEAKER_00: Ask them,
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what are the recipes in their families that have been handed
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down through the
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SPEAKER_00: generations that are really close to their hearts?
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SPEAKER_00: And started to share those stories on the blog.
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SPEAKER_00: And then thought, well, this could be a book.
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SPEAKER_00: A book is daunting, as you know, to write.
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But I had some encouragement from my dad and some other people
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and just pitched it
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SPEAKER_00: to the Historical Society.
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SPEAKER_00: And I'm just so grateful that they decided to publish it.
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SPEAKER_01: And what we're seeing in terms of trends for cookbooks is
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SPEAKER_01: is cookbooks that are AI proof.
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In other words,
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cookbooks that have a real narrative point of view on a story.
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SPEAKER_01: And this book seems like it is exactly that and more.
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SPEAKER_01: Did you feel uncomfortable or were you nervous about being the keeper,
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SPEAKER_01: the seed keeper,
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SPEAKER_01: as it were,
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or the story keeper of these stories and how you would
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translate them into an
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SPEAKER_01: actual book?
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SPEAKER_00: Yes.
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SPEAKER_00: You mean for other families?
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
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And I think what gave me maybe a little bit of confidence is
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that something that I
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SPEAKER_00: had done in my career as a PR person.
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SPEAKER_00: And in one particular project for a client,
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I was tasked with shining the spotlight on small independent
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restaurants and the
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SPEAKER_00: special role that they play in their communities.
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And so I had this chance to really interview them and tell
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their stories and talk about
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SPEAKER_00: how they were making a difference in their communities.
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And so I was thinking about what I wanted to do with recipes
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and family stories,
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SPEAKER_00: kind of drawing on that past experience of the storytelling,
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SPEAKER_00: the type of storytelling I had done for restaurants and,
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SPEAKER_00: and like small restaurant owners.
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SPEAKER_00: And I think that helped give me some confidence.
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SPEAKER_00: I think just seeing the difference it makes in someone's life too,
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SPEAKER_00: when they see a story printed about them.
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SPEAKER_00: And I also love to shine the spotlight on like the underdogs.
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SPEAKER_00: And I feel like
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home cooks don't get a lot of time in the sun,
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you know,
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so I wanted to do that.
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SPEAKER_00: But yeah,
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I do think there's a lot of responsibility you carry when
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you're telling somebody
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SPEAKER_00: else's story.
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SPEAKER_00: And it's not something I take lightly.
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So when I approach a story,
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I really,
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you know,
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lean on my journalistic background.
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SPEAKER_00: I have a degree in journalism,
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SPEAKER_00: try to get all the facts straight,
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SPEAKER_00: run things by people,
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SPEAKER_00: do fact checking,
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SPEAKER_00: that kind of thing too.
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So you assembled all these stories and put them into a book
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along with your own family stories.
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SPEAKER_01: And how has the book been received?
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SPEAKER_01: Because it's really beautiful.
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SPEAKER_01: It's super charming.
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SPEAKER_01: There's lots of photos, recipe cards.
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SPEAKER_01: It's very stylized in a sweet way.
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SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
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SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
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SPEAKER_00: I think it's been received really well.
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SPEAKER_00: It's fun to see,
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like I've done a couple of events where people come up and
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they're just like,
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SPEAKER_00: oh,
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SPEAKER_00: this book is just so sweet.
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It reminds me of my grandma and I can't wait to go look through
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her recipe box.
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SPEAKER_00: That's like the biggest compliment I can get.
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SPEAKER_00: The Star Tribune editor, Nicole, she said, she's the editor of Taste.
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SPEAKER_00: She said it was like opening the book is like getting a big hug.
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SPEAKER_00: And I think that's just so sweet too.
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Like I really wanted people to,
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of course,
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love the recipes and the stories.
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But I think like the imagery of vintage dishes,
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of recipe boxes,
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of grandmas in aprons.
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SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's just like so me and I love all that.
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SPEAKER_00: And I'm happy that other people seem to really love that as well.
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I know it's hard to answer this question so soon after having
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the book come out,
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but this really does feel like it could continue on and be a
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series and continue to
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SPEAKER_01: live on in your Instagram.
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SPEAKER_01: Could even be like,
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uh audio you know version or you could do uh television things
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with it because
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there's so much historical narrative in there has that occurred
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to you at all not
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so much yet i mean i'm trying to figure that all out now like
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what do i want to do
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next and um i think like i would love to do more storytelling
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more sharing of
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SPEAKER_00: recipes maybe more on mySubstack and my instagram
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SPEAKER_00: But yeah,
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SPEAKER_00: I mean,
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SPEAKER_00: it could,
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SPEAKER_00: there could be future editions of the book,
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SPEAKER_00: but that's just so ambitious for me right now,
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SPEAKER_00: just kind of in the thick of it.
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SPEAKER_00: Maybe I'll have to tap you for some more knowledge later on.
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SPEAKER_00: But I mean,
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I do have like in talking to these families that I interviewed
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for the book,
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SPEAKER_00: other stories would come up that there,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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other recipes and certainly people that I've been meeting and
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doing events are
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SPEAKER_00: telling me about their recipes.
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SPEAKER_00: I had this woman come to see me at
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SPEAKER_00: a book event at Kowalski's last weekend,
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SPEAKER_00: and she brought her family cookbook that she had made,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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SPEAKER_00: just something that she had pieced together,
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SPEAKER_00: but was sharing with her family.
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SPEAKER_00: And so it was really sweet.
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SPEAKER_00: And I love seeing that too.
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SPEAKER_00: And I think,
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SPEAKER_00: you know,
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SPEAKER_00: sharing some of the recipes that other people share with me at events,
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SPEAKER_00: but also talking about how they're recording their family recipes.
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SPEAKER_00: Like I think if anything,
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I'd love to be an inspiration for other people or give people
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an inspiration to
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SPEAKER_00: collect those recipes and,
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show some of the formats that other families are using to share
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those with,
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SPEAKER_00: with their extended family.
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SPEAKER_01: As we talk about the nuts and bolts of making a cookbook,
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SPEAKER_01: what was the hardest part for you in putting this book together?
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I think it was,
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it seemed so massive in the beginning,
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like the organization of a cookbook.
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SPEAKER_00: I've learned a lot in the process and like,
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have a rocking spreadsheet now,
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but,
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um,
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that was very daunting in the beginning.
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SPEAKER_00: Then I got into the thick of it.
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And I think toward the end,
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like the editing,
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oh my gosh,
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I,
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that was really something.
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SPEAKER_00: Cause you don't know exactly when it's going to hit.
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SPEAKER_00: Like, when are you going to have to look through this whole thing?
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SPEAKER_00: Like after,
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SPEAKER_00: even before it was in layout,
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like just getting the manuscript and after the editor had done
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a first pass and
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SPEAKER_00: then you have to reread it all again.
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And you just have to like carve out a bunch of time and just
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get into it.
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SPEAKER_00: And I thought that was really hard.
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SPEAKER_00: It reminded me of being back in college when you're cramming for a final.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: So I didn't like love that.
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SPEAKER_00: But I mean, it's just part of the process.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because the manuscript comes back and you don't know when.
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SPEAKER_01: And then all of a sudden,
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like your entire life is put on hold for however long it takes
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you to get through
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SPEAKER_01: it.
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SPEAKER_00: And for me, it was like a summer weekend.
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SPEAKER_00: So like, oh, okay.
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SPEAKER_00: I guess I'm going to just be doing this for the next two days.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_01: How did you feel about the photographing of the book?
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SPEAKER_01: Because that can be a challenging part that stops people.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you asked about that because as you know,
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SPEAKER_00: we have the same publisher and it's really like,
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SPEAKER_00: they were so great.
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SPEAKER_00: They're like, Sarah, just take photos.
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SPEAKER_00: Like you're doing on your Instagram.
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SPEAKER_00: These will be great.
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SPEAKER_00: We'll make it work.
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SPEAKER_00: Well,
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SPEAKER_00: Yes, but I just was like feeling, I'm not a food stylist.
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SPEAKER_00: You know,
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SPEAKER_00: I do my thing and I take pictures in the moment when I'm making food,
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SPEAKER_00: but I'm like,
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SPEAKER_00: I don't know if these are cookbook worthy.
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SPEAKER_00: And I do everything on my iPhone.
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SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to get a fancy camera.
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SPEAKER_00: So as I got further along in the process,
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SPEAKER_00: pretty late in the process,
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SPEAKER_00: I'm like,
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I just need some help because I want somebody to help me get a
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really pretty shot
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SPEAKER_00: for the cover,
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SPEAKER_00: help me shoot some of the things like
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meat is so hard to take a pretty picture yeah for sure like a
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meatball or you know
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like just oh I was just really struggling and I listened to
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your podcast and I know
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that you interviewed Rachel White of Set the Table Photography
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who happens to be a
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food stylist as well and I'd been following her on Instagram
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and really liked her
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style so I reached out to her after hearing her on your podcast
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and we met and I
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just told her what I was doing I said I don't have a lot of
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money but here's
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SPEAKER_00: you know, a few shots that I'd like to get.
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SPEAKER_00: And she also took some headshots of me,
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but she came to my house for a few days and we just banged out
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as much as we could.
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SPEAKER_00: Not even like three full days, like two and a half days.
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SPEAKER_00: I just was like cooking up a storm.
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We did headshots and lifestyle shots one morning and then just
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a bunch of recipes
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SPEAKER_00: and then like a bunch,
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SPEAKER_00: a brunch spread one day too.
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So what that translated to me when looking at the book,
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we'll call them like some hero shots.
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SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
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SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
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um that were they were it was funny because I couldn't
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necessarily tell when I was
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looking at the book but I could see like just from the
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perspective of the stylized
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um nature of the background and the more complete um shot like
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let's see if I can
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SPEAKER_01: just find one that I can hold up
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_00: A lot of the shots in, you know, the chapter intros.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_01: It's like that one maybe.
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SPEAKER_00: Yes.
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SPEAKER_00: Yes.
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SPEAKER_01: And I thought maybe that one.
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SPEAKER_00: I took that one actually.
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SPEAKER_00: But I think just having Rachel,
11:02
SPEAKER_00: like in,
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SPEAKER_00: in the end too,
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SPEAKER_00: I was like,
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SPEAKER_00: well,
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SPEAKER_00: people are going to,
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is this going to be weird to have a mix of really good
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professional pictures and,
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SPEAKER_00: Then my pictures.
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And then it was really important for me to have pictures that
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the families submitted.
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SPEAKER_00: So Candids and Snapshots.
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SPEAKER_00: And I know you feature a lot of those in your cookbook too.
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SPEAKER_00: And I think those are so important.
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SPEAKER_00: I think they all came together.
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SPEAKER_00: I hope so.
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SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I did that one too.
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SPEAKER_00: Oh, see?
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SPEAKER_00: Look at it.
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SPEAKER_00: I can't even tell.
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If you look in the back,
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we credit which pages are definitely her pictures.
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SPEAKER_00: But, you know, she did the cover shot.
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SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's this one.
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mm-hmm yeah no i i knew you had worked with her but when i
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looked through the book
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i thought i could tell but i couldn't so good for you helped me
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do that the dutch
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SPEAKER_01: pancake yep those are so hard to get because they deflate
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SPEAKER_00: I know.
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And the day that we did it,
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I just made the most gigantic one ever in my largest lodge
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skillet.
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SPEAKER_00: And it worked.
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SPEAKER_00: And I was like screaming in excitement that it came out so beautiful.
12:10
And then it did deflate,
12:10
but we made it look pretty with berries and powdered sugar.
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SPEAKER_00: I did that one too.
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SPEAKER_00: That one, ham balls.
12:16
But like she did these really pretty pictures of my recipe card
12:20
and recipe boxes.
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SPEAKER_00: And she took pictures of me with my grandma's dishes.
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So she got a lot of shots too that obviously I couldn't take
12:27
because I was in them.
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SPEAKER_00: It was really nice.
12:30
And I've been using her photos like crazy in all of my
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Instagram and marketing efforts.
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SPEAKER_00: So I'm just so grateful that I had her.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: I wish I could have hired her for the whole thing.
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SPEAKER_00: But I think too,
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SPEAKER_00: when you're making a cookbook,
12:42
SPEAKER_00: I don't know about you,
12:43
but I like to eat what I make and I'm like photographing it in
12:49
the moment.
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SPEAKER_00: And I do like those kinds of pictures too.
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SPEAKER_00: So I'm really glad I have a mix.
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SPEAKER_01: I feel like for me,
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SPEAKER_01: If I'm not living that life or I'm not like that is the life I live.
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SPEAKER_01: So the intention is that it's happening in real time.
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SPEAKER_01: I'm I felt like this making this thing today when I made it.
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SPEAKER_01: This is what it looked like.
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SPEAKER_01: This is how I ate it.
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SPEAKER_01: This is how the dishes I served it in.
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SPEAKER_01: To me, that's what makes this food life fun.
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SPEAKER_01: So when it becomes like a complete chore or a list or a job,
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SPEAKER_01: that's when I find I don't like it as much.
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SPEAKER_00: Right.
13:27
SPEAKER_00: And I do think that people resonate to real life pictures.
13:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:32
SPEAKER_01: We're lucky in that way.
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Cause if we would have been doing this during the fussy
13:36
Instagram first coming
13:37
SPEAKER_01: alive and everything being blown out,
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SPEAKER_01: white,
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SPEAKER_01: beautiful shots.
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SPEAKER_00: I don't know that we have to do that.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: And especially with AI now you want things to look a little imperfect.
13:47
Tell me about,
13:48
um,
13:49
how you scheduled your book tour and how you worked with your,
13:53
uh,
13:55
publishing company because I feel like you're approaching it
13:59
very methodically from
14:01
SPEAKER_01: a publicist standpoint.
14:03
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's helpful for cookbook writers.
14:06
SPEAKER_00: Well, I'm glad it appears so.
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SPEAKER_00: Cause that is, that's been like a big surprise, like book tour.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: I,
14:14
SPEAKER_00: you know,
14:15
I didn't really know what to expect and I've seen everything
14:17
you've done and you've
14:17
SPEAKER_00: done a phenomenal job.
14:19
And I'm like,
14:20
if I can do a fraction of what Stephanie does,
14:22
that would be great.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: So really right now,
14:25
SPEAKER_00: I'm in the thick of it.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: The book came out in February,
14:28
but it was a little bit slow in getting events because I had a
14:31
vacation and some
14:32
SPEAKER_00: other things planned.
14:34
SPEAKER_00: But then now coming into April, I've got a lot more going on.
14:37
And I've just been fielding requests from that have come
14:41
through the publisher or
14:42
SPEAKER_00: through my website.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: And I haven't said no to a lot.
14:47
Although,
14:49
you know,
14:49
like there's things that come up like speaking opportunities.
14:52
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know that I'm there yet to do that kind of thing.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: So I'm just doing a mix of like traditional book signings.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: The independent bookstores, I absolutely love.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: I had a really sweet event in Nuwam at a bookstore called Luca.
15:07
SPEAKER_00: It was like seriously the set of the Gilmore Girls.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: It was so cute.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: That bookstore is amazing.
15:13
SPEAKER_00: And they had a dish and tell event where
15:15
SPEAKER_00: we talked about this,
15:16
like how fun would it be to have people bring a recipe from
15:19
their recipe box and we
15:20
SPEAKER_00: do a little recipe card swap.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: So we did that.
15:23
And then they also made some of the dishes from the cookbook
15:26
and we had like a
15:26
SPEAKER_00: potluck style event.
15:28
SPEAKER_00: So that was really sweet.
15:30
So I think,
15:30
you know,
15:31
some of these events that come up are people that request them.
15:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
15:33
SPEAKER_00: I do put on my PR hat and I'm like,
15:35
SPEAKER_00: well,
15:35
SPEAKER_00: how can we make this extra special and make it more of an experience?
15:40
SPEAKER_00: And so I've been bringing, I've been hauling my grandma's
15:44
china teacups to all these events filled with flowers i gave
15:47
you one like so yeah
15:48
like places i use doilies made by my aunt genie um i bring
15:53
pictures of the women in
15:55
my family that i call the keepers that have been the keepers of
15:57
our food traditions
15:59
so i sort of have this traveling road show a kid yeah but in
16:04
terms of the events
16:05
that i'm doing i've just whatever comes my way i'm kind of
16:10
doing i am not like
16:11
SPEAKER_00: seeking out things i will say though i do love
16:14
SPEAKER_00: The independent bookstores are really fun.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: And then this week I have an event at Ficker's up in Duluth,
16:19
SPEAKER_00: which is my home,
16:22
SPEAKER_00: Duluth and Cloquet.
16:23
So that will be really exciting to do something like that where
16:26
they're making the
16:27
SPEAKER_00: food and I just come in and speak and mingle with people.
16:31
SPEAKER_00: That will be nice.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: We have a Taste Buds with Stephanie episode coming up with you.
16:39
SPEAKER_01: I know Michelle...
16:42
SPEAKER_01: is editing it right now.
16:43
SPEAKER_01: And it is where we made sandwich loaf.
16:47
And you have the recipe and the techniques for sandwich loaf in
16:52
your book.
16:53
Can you just talk a little bit about why sandwich loaf is
16:55
important to you?
16:58
SPEAKER_00: I would love to talk about sandwich loaf.
17:00
SPEAKER_01: It is the funnest thing I've done.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: Sandwich loaf is something that I just love it so much.
17:08
And for people who don't know what it is,
17:09
it's basically a layered sandwich that
17:12
that comes in a loaf it looks really pretty like almost like a
17:15
wedding cake and
17:16
then you slice it so it's like layers it's it's bread with
17:20
layers of tuna salad egg
17:22
salad chicken salad pimento cheese whatever you want to put on
17:25
the inside and then
17:25
it's all encased in cream cheese and decorated with you can
17:29
decorate it with like
17:30
piped cream cheese that's tinted so it truly does look like a
17:34
pretty cake or my
17:36
SPEAKER_00: friend Tony and I like to do it with vegetables and
17:39
SPEAKER_00: and herbs and just make little flowers and whimsical butterflies.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: So my passion for sandwich loaf started when I was probably growing up.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: It just showed up at like wedding showers, baby showers, graduations.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: And I always loved it.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I loved how it tasted.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: I was just kind of enamored by how charming it is.
17:58
SPEAKER_00: And then
17:59
My friend Tony had it at her wedding and we just,
18:02
we share a bond over sandwich loaf.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: And part of it,
18:04
she has an aunt that works at the Super One Deli up in Colquay
18:08
and made these
18:08
SPEAKER_00: things.
18:09
SPEAKER_00: And that's how we'd get them growing up.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: They're always ordered from the deli.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: We didn't make them.
18:14
SPEAKER_00: But Tony and I were like, we should make one of these.
18:17
SPEAKER_00: You know, we can buy the, it's called Pullman bread.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: It's that long rectangular bread.
18:22
She's like,
18:23
we can just order that from the deli and make our own sandwich
18:25
loaf.
18:25
SPEAKER_00: And wouldn't this be fun?
18:26
SPEAKER_00: And I think we were probably influenced by
18:29
SPEAKER_00: Instagram, seeing other kinds of decorated cakes.
18:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:34
SPEAKER_00: Asher breads where people are doing like fun, fun scenes.
18:37
SPEAKER_00: So we just started doing it a few years ago around Mother's Day.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: We've done it at her house.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: We've done it at my house, my parents' house.
18:44
And we'd share it with ladies in our life that we know would
18:47
appreciate it.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: And we got such a great response.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: People that know Sandwich Loaf love it.
18:53
SPEAKER_00: And they're just so excited to get it.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: So
18:56
SPEAKER_00: We make like the big ones,
18:57
SPEAKER_00: then we'd cut them up and do little smaller ones,
18:59
SPEAKER_00: decorate them really cute and hand them out around town.
19:04
SPEAKER_01: It was so fun to make that with you.
19:08
SPEAKER_01: I had seen sandwich loaf,
19:10
SPEAKER_01: but when Michelle,
19:12
SPEAKER_01: my producer,
19:12
SPEAKER_01: was like,
19:13
SPEAKER_01: hey,
19:13
SPEAKER_01: she wants to make a sandwich loaf.
19:15
SPEAKER_01: I was like, yeah, we can make whatever she wants to make.
19:17
And then when I got there,
19:19
I was like,
19:20
oh,
19:20
yeah,
19:21
like this is how we do it.
19:23
SPEAKER_01: And just making the pimento cheese.
19:26
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, do you put tuna in?
19:28
SPEAKER_01: Because some people feel weird about fish.
19:30
SPEAKER_01: And then we had this, do you have a salmon loaf?
19:32
SPEAKER_01: Like, do you have egg salad?
19:34
SPEAKER_01: Just such a blast making that.
19:36
And I can't wait for us to show people what that's like on
19:39
television this weekend.
19:40
SPEAKER_01: It'll air Saturday at 8.30 a.m.
19:43
It will launch on Instagram,
19:45
or excuse me,
19:45
it will launch on YouTube on Thursdays.
19:48
SPEAKER_01: And then it lives into perpetuity and I'm sure they'll air it again.
19:51
SPEAKER_01: So it's nicely timed for your book.
19:53
SPEAKER_01: Thank goodness.
19:55
SPEAKER_00: And it's sandwich loaf season.
19:56
SPEAKER_00: I mean, in my world.
19:57
So I'll be up in Duluth around Mother's Day and my friend Tony
20:00
and I are planning
20:01
SPEAKER_00: to get together and make some.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: And it's just such a pretty spring thing.
20:05
And I think it would be great if people started serving them
20:07
again at showers.
20:08
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
20:09
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
20:11
SPEAKER_00: Beautiful food item and it's, it's tasty.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: You can customize it how you want, you know, you can,
20:17
Make more than one if somebody doesn't like tuna or if you want
20:20
to add some other salad.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's going to be great.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: And it would be a fun group activity, wouldn't it, with your girlfriends?
20:27
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
20:28
SPEAKER_00: I love it because we just have fun decorating them together.
20:32
SPEAKER_01: I also think it's a good multi-generational thing,
20:34
SPEAKER_01: like for Mother's Day,
20:36
SPEAKER_01: where,
20:36
SPEAKER_01: you know,
20:37
SPEAKER_01: you can have the kids,
20:38
SPEAKER_01: the grandkids.
20:39
SPEAKER_01: Really,
20:40
SPEAKER_01: everyone can sort of get involved if they're,
20:43
SPEAKER_01: you know,
20:43
SPEAKER_01: I guess they have to be 10 or older probably unless they're
20:46
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you see these little kids on Instagram making gourmet meals now.
20:49
SPEAKER_01: I don't know how that works.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: But you could make a peanut butter and jelly one.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, you could really modify the ingredients.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
20:55
SPEAKER_00: that's not the way that I grew up with it,
20:57
SPEAKER_00: but it'd be fun to see what people do with it.
21:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you could think you could frost it with peanut butter.
21:02
SPEAKER_01: Like, that'd be pretty easy to do, actually.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
21:05
SPEAKER_01: Or just frosting in and of itself and then have,
21:08
SPEAKER_01: like,
21:08
SPEAKER_01: a sweet with jam and kind of that would be really good,
21:13
SPEAKER_01: too.
21:13
SPEAKER_01: Or, like, a cream cheese buttercream.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
21:17
SPEAKER_00: And I just think it's so pretty when you cut into it too.
21:20
SPEAKER_00: Like it's pretty on its own when it's decorated in its loaf form.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: But when you slice into it,
21:26
SPEAKER_00: the picture of,
21:27
SPEAKER_00: you know,
21:27
SPEAKER_00: just how it looks when it's on the plate,
21:30
SPEAKER_00: I think is really pretty.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: I'm just going to see if I can find it here so I can show it.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, here's the, it looks kind of funny on the camera there.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: Can you see it?
21:41
SPEAKER_01: Pull back a little bit.
21:43
SPEAKER_01: Yes, now I can.
21:44
SPEAKER_01: Yep, it looks great.
21:45
SPEAKER_00: That's like,
21:47
SPEAKER_00: In its full complete form.
21:49
SPEAKER_00: And then here it is sliced.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: So cute.
21:52
SPEAKER_00: And I like to put it on little vintage luncheon plates that,
21:56
SPEAKER_00: you know,
21:56
SPEAKER_00: the kind our grandmas and our moms used years ago.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: And they have the little invitation for the coffee mug.
22:02
SPEAKER_01: We just had Easter yesterday.
22:03
SPEAKER_01: And my mother-in-law is 94, I think, and came for Easter dinner.
22:09
SPEAKER_01: And over the years,
22:10
SPEAKER_01: she keeps giving me,
22:11
SPEAKER_01: you know,
22:12
SPEAKER_01: dishes and things that she's offloading,
22:15
SPEAKER_01: as it were.
22:16
SPEAKER_01: But I kept I've kept stuff.
22:18
And we used to have Easter all the time in Nebraska with her at
22:21
her house there.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: So I made the Easter spread.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: I used her tablecloth.
22:26
SPEAKER_01: I used her silverware forks.
22:30
I used these little paper mache bunnies that she used to put on
22:33
the table that I still kept.
22:35
And it was so sweet to see her come to the house yesterday and
22:39
sit down and like
22:41
recognize all this stuff that we had when Ellie was little and
22:44
we would have Easter
22:45
SPEAKER_01: with her.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: It was, I was so glad I kept it all.
22:48
SPEAKER_01: You know, it's kind of a pain, but I'm so glad I did.
22:51
SPEAKER_00: Oh, and you'll have that to enjoy for years.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: And what a great memory.
22:54
SPEAKER_00: I mean, and I bet Dolores was just tickled.
22:56
SPEAKER_01: She was, she really, she, she really was.
22:59
SPEAKER_01: And the funny thing I said, well, you know, that's your tablecloth.
23:02
SPEAKER_01: And she said, well, where are the napkins?
23:04
And I didn't really remember that there were napkins because
23:07
they were in a closet
23:08
SPEAKER_01: and probably in a box and I didn't unearth them.
23:11
SPEAKER_01: So I was like, oh, I have the napkins.
23:13
SPEAKER_01: I just didn't get them out.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: Like,
23:16
SPEAKER_01: You know, where are the napkins?
23:17
SPEAKER_01: All right.
23:18
SPEAKER_01: So we are going to feature you on the Taste Buds episode.
23:22
It's a decades episode where we had to think of recipes that
23:27
were important to us
23:28
SPEAKER_01: like through the decades.
23:30
SPEAKER_01: So sandwich loaf was one.
23:32
Then I did a chicken Marbella,
23:35
which I don't know if you did any dinner parties in the 80s.
23:38
But if you did,
23:39
that was what everybody made into like probably the early 90s,
23:43
too.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: I can't wait to try that.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: I have not had that dish.
23:47
SPEAKER_01: It is the simplest thing to make.
23:50
SPEAKER_01: And it has a power punch of flavor.
23:52
SPEAKER_01: I always double the sauce just because I like it really saucy.
23:59
SPEAKER_01: But it sounds gross.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: And my producer was like, oh, wait, we're putting prunes in this.
24:04
SPEAKER_01: I was like, yeah, you just got to trust me.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: It's going to be really great.
24:07
SPEAKER_01: And then by the time it's all done,
24:09
SPEAKER_01: you have this really delicious sauce and the cooked chicken and
24:12
And you can just throw it in one big pan or one big pot and
24:15
then serve it right from the pot.
24:17
SPEAKER_01: So it's an easy dinner party.
24:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that sounds really good.
24:22
SPEAKER_01: Do you have any like 80s or 90s dishes that you not actual dishes,
24:27
SPEAKER_01: but things to make that you're like,
24:28
SPEAKER_01: oh,
24:29
SPEAKER_01: if I had to do a decade's theme,
24:30
SPEAKER_01: what would you make?
24:32
SPEAKER_00: You know.
24:33
SPEAKER_00: Let's see.
24:34
So the eighties,
24:34
I wasn't cooking too much,
24:36
but you're so much younger than me.
24:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm not so much younger,
24:40
SPEAKER_00: but I was in that time of life where it was like high school,
24:44
SPEAKER_00: not doing a lot of entertaining or anything.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: Um,
24:48
SPEAKER_00: I can't think of,
24:49
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if this is,
24:51
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
24:51
SPEAKER_00: we love Dorito,
24:52
SPEAKER_00: the taco salad with Doritos.
24:53
I don't know if that's eighties or nineties,
24:55
but like,
24:56
no,
24:56
it's,
24:57
I think it's nineties.
24:58
SPEAKER_01: And we actually talked about taco salads.
25:00
SPEAKER_01: Um,
25:01
SPEAKER_01: Um,
25:01
SPEAKER_01: when we were trying to think about like,
25:03
SPEAKER_01: what would be,
25:05
SPEAKER_01: we,
25:05
SPEAKER_01: I couldn't think of anything of the nineties.
25:07
SPEAKER_01: And then my producer,
25:08
SPEAKER_01: Michelle,
25:09
like came up with a bunch of stuff and taco salad was actually
25:12
also mud pie.
25:13
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
25:15
So we ended up making a mud pie bar that was actually a recipe
25:20
that my step-mom
25:21
SPEAKER_01: had,
25:22
but like people were eating a lot of mud pie apparently in the
25:25
nineties and
25:25
SPEAKER_01: chocolate lava cakes.
25:27
SPEAKER_00: Oh, my gosh.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: And chocolate lava cakes.
25:29
SPEAKER_00: They're back.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I see they are back.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: And my daughter, Lucy, is a big fan.
25:34
SPEAKER_00: So anytime we're out to eat, she's got to get a chocolate lava cake.
25:36
SPEAKER_01: Have you ever made one?
25:38
SPEAKER_00: No.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: Have you?
25:40
SPEAKER_01: I have attempted it like three different times and it never works.
25:43
SPEAKER_01: I always get a delicious brownie,
25:46
but like getting that molten lava piece in the middle have not
25:50
succeeded yet.
25:51
So I didn't want to do that on camera because I was like,
25:53
oh,
25:53
I just don't know.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: So yeah,
25:57
SPEAKER_00: in 90s dishes,
25:57
I was just thinking of one thing that my mom has made
26:02
throughout my life and is in
26:04
SPEAKER_00: the cookbook are Italian shells.
26:06
SPEAKER_00: So the big pasta shells.
26:07
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
26:07
SPEAKER_00: We ate them a lot in the 90s.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: We probably ate them before that and definitely after.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: But just the big pasta shells loaded with Italian sausage,
26:15
SPEAKER_00: some torn up bread,
26:17
an egg base in there and some pasta sauce and cheese and then
26:22
smothered with more
26:23
SPEAKER_00: sauce and cheese.
26:24
SPEAKER_00: That was like
26:26
SPEAKER_00: at every big occasion in my life.
26:28
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
26:30
SPEAKER_00: So delicious.
26:31
SPEAKER_01: Well, Sarah, congratulations on the book.
26:34
SPEAKER_01: I'm happy to be on this journey with you.
26:37
SPEAKER_01: And I'm real proud of you.
26:39
SPEAKER_01: I think the book is beautiful and I'm glad you're having so much success.
26:42
And I can't wait till people see us make sandwich loaf on taste
26:45
buds this weekend.
26:47
SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you.
26:47
SPEAKER_00: And I just have to thank you for everything, Stephanie.
26:49
SPEAKER_00: It's been so fun to watch your career and how you've evolved and
26:53
and done all these amazing things with your radio show with
26:56
your books all your
26:57
books and the tv show too it's been really fun to follow along
27:02
I uh I had people
27:03
that helped me along the way so I feel like it's my obligation
27:07
but also my joy to
27:08
help other people because you know I there are things about
27:13
being a freelance
27:14
creator and freelance writer and cookbook writer that no one
27:18
can answer for you
27:19
SPEAKER_01: unless they've done it and
27:21
SPEAKER_01: you know,
27:22
that first person that told you like how much they made and how
27:25
long it took and
27:27
SPEAKER_01: what to expect for food costs.
27:30
SPEAKER_01: And like,
27:30
those were really valuable lessons that I was so glad that I
27:34
learned and that
27:35
SPEAKER_01: people gave me the real deal,
27:37
SPEAKER_01: because I think that is part of,
27:39
SPEAKER_01: you know,
27:40
SPEAKER_01: some people write books for fame and fortune.
27:42
SPEAKER_01: Some people write them to document a historical time in their life or,
27:47
SPEAKER_01: something that's important to them.
27:49
SPEAKER_01: And then some people just do it because they think it's fun,
27:51
SPEAKER_01: but all of it and getting,
27:53
SPEAKER_01: you know,
27:53
the historical background about what it's going to cost and how
27:56
long it's going to
27:57
SPEAKER_01: take.
27:57
It's important information,
27:59
I think,
27:59
to learn before you set out on the journey.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: Right.
28:02
And you're doing such a great service to find that information
28:05
and share it with the world.
28:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
28:07
SPEAKER_01: And I think your story about the food stylist too,
28:10
SPEAKER_01: like people,
28:11
SPEAKER_01: you don't have to have a food stylist do the whole book.
28:13
Like you could have 10 shots or hero shots or the beginning of
28:17
chapter shots.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: That's a great way to do that.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: And just like spending that time with Rachel too,
28:22
SPEAKER_00: for those two or three days,
28:24
SPEAKER_00: like I just learned so much.
28:25
So I've taken some of that experience and been able to
28:29
piggyback on that and some
28:30
SPEAKER_00: of the photography and things that I'm doing now.
28:33
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, she's really good at it.
28:34
SPEAKER_01: So I'm glad that Rachel was a resource for you.
28:37
SPEAKER_01: Her podcast,
28:38
SPEAKER_01: you can find it in the archives too,
28:40
SPEAKER_01: of Dishing with Stephanie's Dish,
28:42
SPEAKER_01: because it's in there and it's a good one to listen to.
28:44
SPEAKER_00: So
28:45
SPEAKER_01: Sarah, thanks for being with me today.
28:47
SPEAKER_01: Congratulations on the book.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: It is Dish and Tell.
28:51
SPEAKER_01: And where can people get the book and how do you want them to follow you?
28:55
So they can find the book at,
28:56
you know,
28:57
online through the major retailers.
28:59
SPEAKER_00: And then if you're in the Twin Cities,
29:01
SPEAKER_00: it's at like Kowalski's and a lot of independent bookstores.
29:03
SPEAKER_00: It's even at Barnes and Noble.
29:05
I went by and visited it this weekend at the Barnes and Noble
29:08
in Roseville.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: I've been going around and seeing my book at different places.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: So exciting.
29:12
SPEAKER_00: And people can follow me.
29:13
SPEAKER_00: My website is vintage dish and tell.com.
29:17
SPEAKER_00: My social media handles are the same vintage dish and tell.
29:20
SPEAKER_00: And then I have a Substack too,
29:22
SPEAKER_00: which if you can't find,
29:23
SPEAKER_00: just go to my website and you'll be able to link to it.
29:26
Has anyone told you that when you see your book in the wild,
29:28
you're supposed to sign them?
29:32
SPEAKER_00: No.
29:33
SPEAKER_00: I've thought about that.
29:34
SPEAKER_00: Do you like, do you talk to the bookstore manager or the
29:38
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I wouldn't at a Barnes and Noble.
29:40
SPEAKER_01: I'd probably just do it,
29:42
but there's a real rationale behind it because booksellers can
29:46
return books that
29:47
SPEAKER_01: don't sell.
29:48
SPEAKER_01: They can't return books that are signed.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to go sign every one I can find.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
29:53
I,
29:53
whenever I'm out and about,
29:54
and if it's a small store,
29:55
I will tell them.
29:57
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
29:57
But if I see it,
29:59
I'm,
29:59
I'll just,
30:00
I go to the bookseller and I'm like,
30:01
Hey,
30:01
I'm here.
30:02
SPEAKER_01: And my book is here.
30:02
SPEAKER_01: Do you mind if I sign a couple?
30:04
SPEAKER_01: A lot of them have stickers and they'll put, you know, signed edition.
30:07
But if I'm at like Barnes and Noble,
30:09
I just sit there with my pen and sign them all.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: Oh, that's great.
30:11
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
30:12
SPEAKER_01: So make sure you sign them.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for that hot tip.
30:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
30:14
SPEAKER_01: Hot tip.
30:15
SPEAKER_01: Hot tip.
30:16
SPEAKER_01: All right, Sarah, thanks for joining me today.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
30:19
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
30:19
SPEAKER_01: Bye-bye.