Latest / Dishing with Stephanie's Dish / John Kanell

Transcript

John Kanell · Dishing with Stephanie's Dish

• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, everybody, and welcome to the Dishing with Stephanie's Dish podcast.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_01: I am here with John Connell, and he is the author of the Preppy Kitchen cookbook.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: Now,
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like Preppy Kitchen is such a complete statement because it makes me think
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_01: of all the things about you right off the bat.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: Congratulations on a great moniker and on a well-titled cookbook.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: Preppy Kitchen is super easy.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: And like, do you identify with that just in terms of, I mean, I'm looking at you, you're pretty cute.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: You seem like a preppy person.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: I suppose I do, but you know, I used to be a math and science teacher and-
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I dealt with all these kids,
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: it's kind of a long story,
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: but I dealt with kids who had all this math anxiety and science anxiety too.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: They thought like, I am an English person or I'm, I love history, but I cannot do it.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: My brain doesn't work this way.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I was teaching middle schoolers and they already had this sense of failure
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: ingrained in them and it was heartbreaking.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Later on in life,
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: when I switched careers and I pivoted over,
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: I saw the same thing for people in the kitchen.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, I'm a baker.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot cook.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Or I'm fine on the grill.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: I can't bake anything.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Or I just use my credit card and call it a day.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: No, same thing with my kids.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: You can do it.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let's just be prepared.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Let's have all the steps laid out and everything else.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: So it's kind of a play on words.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's about being prepared in the kitchen and having...
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like a fun,
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: easy time,
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: not anxiety-inducing train wreck where you're like halfway through a recipe and
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: you're like,
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have this ingredient.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Why do I dare?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Okay,
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just going to back up for a second because your aesthetic is really appealing
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: to me in lots of ways.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: Number one, just talking to you and the way you have your background set.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_01: Number two,
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: the photographs in the book and the photographs on your Instagram and on your site
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: are also incredibly beautiful.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: Are you doing all this by yourself?
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_01: Do you just have this lifestyle persona hidden inside you as a math and science teacher?
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Come on.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I used to do it all by myself back in the day, but...
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: answer part of your question in pieces i was an art major so i was a math and
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: science teacher but ucla and had like a fine arts degree um so i was about color
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: theory and putting things together and conceptual art so my career path has gone
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: all over the place and now you know i find that as business gets busier and my kids
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: get older i have two seven-year-old boys they're twins
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: that whatever someone else can do that can free me up to like spend more time with
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: my family or do things that only I can do,
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'll outsource.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: So the book,
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: book number one and book number two were both shot by David Malosh,
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: who's like a wonderful photographer for styling here.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like I do like to collect antique copper and stuff like that.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: But there's a community that comes together.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: I love antique copper and I also actually kind of like cooking with it,
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: but cleaning of it and the maintaining of it is like a full-time job.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: like you have to just understand like most antique copper is tinned on the inside.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: So you might just have to get it retinned every once in a while.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Or if you found a piece for like $5 at a flea market and it's falling apart,
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: you're going to say,
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: okay,
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: this is $5 plus the retaining cost.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: And then it'll be good as new because copper, you know, old copper is so heavy.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: It's going to conduct the heat really beautifully.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And part of being prepared is,
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And having the right tools,
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: like,
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: having a nice pot or pan,
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: a nice heavy one that conducts heat evenly because you could be following a recipe
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: perfectly to the T.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: Everything is right.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: But you had one of those, like, a sad pot that has paper-thin walls that scorches everything.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: your food's kind of,
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: it's not ruined,
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: but it's not as good as it could be just because of the tool you had.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: You're speaking to the choir.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm at my summer place and I'm working on a cookbook and we got a new stove like
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: last year and we have to buy a,
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: our place is super little.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: So we had to buy this specific size stove and it is just the worst.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like everything I cook for the cookbook burns.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many hot spots in it.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's 75 degrees off.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm just like,
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: okay,
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if I can cook a cookbook and test all these recipes with this horrible stove.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's been challenging.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: When you,
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: besides your fancy French copper cookware,
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_01: do you have like anything that you recommend for just the basics cooking?
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like I always recommend all clad, but that's a kind of easy one because it kind of just lasts.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's like indestructible, lasts forever.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it's expensive, but I will have it all clad until I don't know what happens to me.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, same.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you just clean it with some steel wool.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: If it gets really singed and it's fine.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: And then also you can find some like nice cast iron enamels, like Dutch ovens or something.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can get them secondhand.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: And if they're in good shape, they'll last forever.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So those are like investment pieces that really make your time in the kitchen a lot easier.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: Agreed.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: Now you're on your second book here.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: How did you, can you give me the transition from math and science teacher to cookbook author?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_01: Did you just love cooking?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I grew up in the kitchen with my mom.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: So I always had my mom taught chef and my mom came from a very small town in Mexico
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: where like everything was made fresh every single day.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: And she came to this country with a love of fresh flavors and ingredients and learning.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: She never wanted to stop learning.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: So she explored the world through her kitchen and cookbooks and recipes she clipped out.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I got to be there on that journey with her and learn a lot from her.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: So, and she was a teacher and retired as one, so I followed her as I became a teacher.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: And when my husband and I were planning a family,
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: because it takes a lot of planning,
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: we were thinking,
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: who's going to be home?
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, my job had specific breaks, but you can't show up to school late.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if your kid is sick or something happens, he really encouraged me to do a pivot and
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, you know, you love teaching, but you really are passionate about food.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's what you kind of light up when you talk about.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: So he's like, you know, you could, I see people like having food blogs and they can make that a career.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: So why don't we like try that out and you can work from home and be there more often.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I really credit him for helping me do that because it was really taking a chance.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: It ended up working out pretty well.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I, I mean, congratulations on the books and your story of your mom is pretty inspiring.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: She sounds like a really neat lady,
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_01: but that is,
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: I think how a lot of us get started and,
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: and the being a cookbook writer is,
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: is probably more possible now than it was before because of digital creation and
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_01: social media,
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_01: to be honest.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_01: Did you always have a knack for that too?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because many people are great with like the food or the recipes,
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: but they're not so great at the digital side.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: And then there's people that are great at the digital side, but maybe their recipes aren't the best.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Part of me thinks I was horrible at everything when I started, except like I could make a
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: like my photography classes were conceptual art photography classes.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: And there was no skill.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you want to have any skill learned, you'd speak to a technician.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: And the teacher was just there for the discourse of arts and like different references.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, it's a lovely conversation.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: I enjoyed it,
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: but it gave me zero preparation for shooting food and making it look attractive
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: because it's very difficult to look tasty.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Even as the, I mean, it's hard.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And if you went, scrolled all the way back on my Instagram and,
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: you would see some very tragic looking things.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I was so proud of them at the time.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: and I do think like the authenticity of the not so perfect photos too,
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: certainly not for a book,
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: but we kind of had these whole curated Instagram feeds and lives.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I do feel like we're getting away from that a little bit in a way that appeals
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: to me just because it feels more democratic for everyone else.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, I am a bit of a klutz.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to acknowledge this.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: So for me,
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: that part comes out on my YouTube channel where I'm making things and like
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: something falls or like I made eclairs 10 million times.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's my favorite thing,
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: but I'm filming it and they fall down because I added like a little bit too much
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: egg that day or the eggs were a little bit on the larger side that I was used to.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I will show that I don't edit it out.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll say same.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: And but now let's just come back and say, could you use these?
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, they're still going to be delicious.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: They're not going to make someone French happy, but you will eat them or we can remake them.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: And let me show you the correct amount of egg right now, you know, or I love that the fridge.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: No, I absolutely love that.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: I have done two horrible videos.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: One, I cut my head off, but I really liked what I made, so I kept it in.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's the headless shrub making.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: And then the second, I had an absolute whipped cream failure where it like
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Just went like this all over my whole kitchen.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I just left it because I was like,
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: I've done that once with soup where I vitamixed it and it was too hot and it blew
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: out all over and now with whipped cream.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I think people actually appreciate that because it makes them feel like they can do it too.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: And also like whipped cream is actually quite difficult because in the U.S.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: there's all these additives and every brand is a little bit different.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: if you go abroad and you make a whipped cream with like a double cream or something else,
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: it takes longer to whip.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: But when it does, it's a beautiful consistency.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_00: And depending on what's been added or how it's been ultra pasteurized,
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: it can become kind of chunky very easily.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: So yes.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Also cooking with,
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: well,
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_01: and your mom being from Mexico and probably you traveling all over too,
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: cooking all over in different places is weird.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: We travel a lot by boat.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: So cooking in a small space boat kitchen with,
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: you know, butter from all over the different goat butters and just like, oh my gosh, this is unique.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about specific recipes in your book and give me like your top five that
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: you feel really attached to.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, okay, so on the back cover, I'm going to start sweet.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: In the book, I have the perfect birthday cake, which is like a beautiful vanilla melt-in-your-mouth cake.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: But on the back cover is what I actually make for my birthday for myself.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it's a lemony Italian olive oil cake.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: Two layers with a crunchy sugar topping and...
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: in between and on top, a mountain of mascarpone stabilized whipped cream with lots of fresh berries.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's like just perfectly sweet, has that wonderful consistency, and it's a very simple cake to make.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: So,
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: it's a good example of something delicious,
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: something visually stunning,
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: doesn't have to be difficult,
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: doesn't have to be time consuming,
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: and you can really make it your own.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: One of the side dishes that I am very attached to is
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: part of my sunday dinners growing up and it's a greek style uh spicy tomato orzo it
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: goes with everything like we would have it with a roast chicken or a big garlic
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: studded leg of lamb and a salad um but you can have it a million different ways
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: it's silky it's perfectly spicy it has a lovely play of flavors it does take a
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: little bit of time and whenever you make
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: something saucy and pasta-y on the stove top,
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: it's gonna burn on the bottom and you're constantly like stirring and scraping.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: So my time-saving hacks for this were to start off by using Bloody Mary mix for the
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: base because that gives you a perfect spiced tomato.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: And saves a lot of time.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: And then we do a little work on the stovetop and then pop it into the oven and just
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: bakes perfectly on its own.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's so silky, perfectly saucy, and goes with everything.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: There's... On the cover, I have a lemony chicken pasta bake, and it's a one-pan meal.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's a whole chapter of one-pan meals because,
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: we don't necessarily want to feel like Cinderella every single day at the sink.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: And it is...
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: Just a nice combination of pasta that's been cooked in a flavorful white wine chicken stock sauce.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yum.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's made creamy with a little stir of ricotta.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then you have these beautiful, big, juicy pieces of chicken.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of sweet cherry tomatoes, lemons, squash.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And it's finished off with giant dollops of ricotta.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it looks so good.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's delicious.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's decadent.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: And it's something you can just make really easily.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: then for breakfast there are these pear fritters where i make recipes for a living
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: and i enjoy all the recipes that i make because these pear fritters were so good it
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: was like they're so easy to make it's basically like if you haven't made fritters
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: which i'm sure you have but they're like pancake batter holding a lot of fruit and
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: you deep fry it so unlike a regular donut where you're
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the yeast and the rising and it's time consuming.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: You can just throw this together in a few minutes.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the combination of these lovely pears with just enough golden batter holding together,
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: drizzled with a lemony glaze.
• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, it's, you will eat and inhale the entire batch of them.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like you need to have a radio or a TV show,
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: too,
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_01: because one thing you're doing that's really working for me is you are making all
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: of the food sound so absolutely delicious with your adjectives and your adverbs.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_01: And just I mean, I want to cook everything.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, you're too sweet.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: The book starts out, by the way.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: And like on the subject of being prepared with the pantry of convenience,
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: because a lot of us,
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: like I'm a little scattered.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: I will admit this.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I will go to the store.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: Do I have cinnamon?
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll buy cinnamon.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: I go to my pantry and there's eight cinnamons there.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_00: i am set but i wanted to show people how you can set things up let's talk about the
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: different kinds of flowers the different kinds of sugars like all the stuff that
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: you know we might take for granted but when you're making a recipe or setting
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: yourself up you like need to know have them at hand know what they do and you know
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_00: if we're talking about a chocolate chip cookie
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: there's a dry mix for chocolate chip cookies.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: So you guys have that in your pantry hanging out.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_00: The recipe is halfway done and you can make as many cookies as you want.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like a time saver.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Same thing for like a chocolate cake mix.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: There's a pancake and waffle mix too.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: So you can have those in your pantry.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: And they also talk about like different ways to like
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: treat butter like you know european versus american butter you know i love browned
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: butter it's one of my flavor hacks it goes in anything anything that has butter you
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: can sub in browned butter which is just butter that's been cooked and caramelized a
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: bit and has lovely nutty flavor
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: And it gives you so much extra depth and makes everything just a little bit more special.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: So of course,
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to talk about butter,
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: browning it,
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: how the different types of butter have different amounts of butterfat in them,
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: just so you know,
• 15:51
  SPEAKER_00: and what that means for your recipes.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: And the list goes on.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: and i started you off kind of to set you up for success and then from there we have
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: all these easy recipes with tons of variations where you can swap out different
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: proteins try different sauces you could use different like flavor combinations with
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: spices or if it's like a baked good i'll show you how to make cupcakes verse like
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: the recipe will make either a batch of cupcakes the eight inch the nine inch layer
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: cake or a sheet cake and it'll give you instructions for any of those so you
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that alone is impressive because my number one failing as a cook is pan conversion.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, it takes some math.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: This is why I'm bad at it.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: So many times I wish I could go back in time to my middle school math class and say, listen to this.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is how we're going to use some math in everyday life.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: the only other time that happened out of the kitchen was when I was calculating how
• 16:52
  SPEAKER_00: much flooring material to buy.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I do some geometry.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, oh, I used geometry in real life.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's a miracle.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Spatial relationships, they're...
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: They're here.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: My daughter,
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_01: we were working on a project that we had to map out where we were going to put some
• 17:09
  SPEAKER_01: boosts at an event.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: And she looked at me and she said, how did you do on the SAT and your spatial reasoning?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, not good, not good.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: Sassy.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_01: pretty funny that have inspired you like you kind of give me a little bit of aina
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: garten vibe and i say that in a very nice way because i feel like she's the the
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: leader of high all high priestess of recipe testing i mean her recipes always work
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: they're always beautiful they're fairly easy yeah
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's very kind.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: I grew up in Los Angeles, so I'm not, you know, starstruck when I see people.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: However,
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: one time in New York,
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: I was with my husband,
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: and I saw Ina and Jeffrey walking hand in hand in the park.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's real.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: They're together.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: He came down.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: uh i love her for recipe testing what some people don't realize it's so important
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: to test your recipes multiple times by multiple hands in multiple places
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_00: Because you can be in one,
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: like my famous example for this is I was testing,
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: I made a Victoria sponge cake recipe,
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: right?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Typically it uses self-rising flour and I made it.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's great.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: I sent it to a recipe tester in the South and it was falling flat or it was like,
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: it had a little bit of a concave and it wasn't the,
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: if something was off on the texture,
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: it
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, oh, so I kept adjusting the recipe over and over again.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, it's working for me.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know what's going on.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: And eventually after some research,
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: we found out that in the,
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: like in the four regions of the U S there's like four big flour companies.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Each one of them uses a different amount of baking powder in their self-rising flour.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if you just try to make a self-rising flour recipe for something as finicky as a cake,
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_00: where you're really trying to reduce the flour to give a melt in your mouth consistency.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's literally impossible, unless you have in your notes, everything for the different flour companies.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: And there's like, you know, sub-brands and private labels.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: So we ended up just using regular flour to make it work.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: And you would never have known that unless you recipe test things in different places,
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: especially with different ovens.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to give proper ranges.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: One of the goals is always to have things just passed multiple hands,
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: multiple places,
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: multiple times before they make it into the blog or the cookbook.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Because if someone's trusting you with a recipe,
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: what they're really trusting you with is their time,
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: their money and their moments.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's you're making something for your family to come together.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: It could be as simple as just dinner for yourself after a long day.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: Or it's a big celebration and it's supposed to be like a show-stopping meal.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that is very daunting.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I always want to make sure it's just right and it'll be foolproof.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_01: It is kind of heartbreaking when someone texts you or sends you a message and
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: they're like,
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: I made your blah,
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: blah,
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: blah,
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: but I'm a terrible cook and it didn't work out.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I always think, Oh no, like I don't, I'm sorry it didn't work out.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: Number one,
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_01: but I'm more sorry that you think you're a terrible cook because of something you
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_01: cooked of mine that didn't work out.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like there are so many variables and you know,
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: you're trying to control all those variables,
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_01: but also like,
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes everything's just not controllable, right?
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's not.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: The two things I will say on this podcast for the variables you can control.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: One, just get a kitchen scale.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: It'll save your life for anything baking related.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: Or even if you're just making anything...
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: where you have to weigh things out,
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: you will use less measuring cups,
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: less little bowls,
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_00: less everything else,
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: and save all that washing up time if you're using a scale and just dumping it in,
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: and you will get accurate results.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you scooped up flour from a measuring cup,
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: you are going to add maybe like 60% more flour just by packing it in.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Most people don't know that if you're using a measuring cup,
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: you're supposed to fluff the flour in your canister,
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: use a spoon,
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_00: sprinkle it in like a gentle rain,
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: and then level it off with a knife without compressing to get accurate results,
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: which will give you that melt-in-your-mouth delicious texture.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_01: The scoop and sweep.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and...
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's a little bit more work, a little bit more finicky.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: So if you just dump it in using a scale, you're saving time.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then the other thing is just do not overmix any batter unless you're doing a bread.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I always use the mixer until I see just a couple of streaks of flour and then
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: finish it off by hand with a spatula so I can scrape it down and fold it together.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_00: So you have ultimate control and everything will be a nice texture because the
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: texture even changes how you taste things.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_00: if it has a gummy,
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: dense texture,
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: your tongue just can't accept it and you miss a lot of the flavors.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think your advice is really solid, but I'm going to just confess.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: And I know, like my friend Zoe Bakes, she'll say the same thing about the kitchen scale.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: She's like, and then you don't have to mess up another bowl and all the little dishes.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: But there's something about a kitchen scale that feels so mathy.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: Just press the zero button when you're done and it starts at zero.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: There's no adding involved.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: So just tear it out.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: Zero, zero, zero.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: No math.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_01: I use it for my sourdough baking and I just always feel like,
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: oh,
• 22:38
  SPEAKER_01: again,
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: with the math,
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_01: like I got to figure out how much the bowl weighs,
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_01: how much the this weighs and everything.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: Zero it out.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: Put the bowl on and zero it out.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I will tell you that you might just be an intuitive cook
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: And like my mother just doesn't use any measuring, just throws things in like a handful of this.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh my gosh, how would I show this?
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like I remember trying to get one of her recipes onto the blog or like use that as a starting point.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's so frustrating for her because I have to stop her at each point and then take it,
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: weigh it out on a bowl.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Because she just doesn't weigh things out, but it comes out anyway.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe you're that person.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: You're too talented.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_01: Now you've competed on some food competition shows, haven't you?
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_00: So I was a judge on Disney's Magic Bake Off.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: And part of the fun there was getting to do like a judges compete.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_00: And it was really the first time I had done that in a high stakes environment.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it was quite fun.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: I was working with another Disney actor who is absolutely not a cook or a baker at all.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: He's quite young.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: So I had a couple sessions giving him some coaching moments.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: And he really did his best.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_00: And we pulled it together.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: I was so proud of our creation.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't win, but that was fun.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Just like the way that you say that, which is so nice.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: Like, always lifting someone up.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much.
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was fun.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: I mean,
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't realize how invested I would get into it when I accepted the challenge,
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: but I was,
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: really going all out.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: It was a very elaborate cake we ended up making with, like, marzipan decorations all over it.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was all had to be very timed out because normally I have the luxury of time.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: I can like finicky work on something until I'm happy with it.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: And this was, you know, the clock was ticking.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Would you do other TV competition shows in the past?
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe I could do it.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like if it was fun, I'm going to do a foodie con in New York in the summer.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: And, um,
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: one of the challenges which I have agreed to do is like handcuffed and hangry or
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be handcuffed to somebody else doing something,
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_00: which is as fun and kind of like,
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: you know.
• 25:02
  SPEAKER_00: That is fun.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I would do that.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: You're handcuffed too.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be handcuffed to another food person, TBD, and I get one free hand.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm hoping my left hand is free.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: If you had to pick someone to be handcuffed with,
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: and it can be anybody that you have to cook something with,
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_01: who would it be?
• 25:22
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that's a solid bet, right?
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: Because you know, whatever you did would be great.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_01: We are talking with John Connell.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: It is the Preppy Kitchen, super easy, 100 simple and versatile recipes.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: When you think about like the legacy that you're going to leave your kids,
• 25:42
  SPEAKER_01: two seven-year-old boys,
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: are you going to teach them to cook?
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: They already know.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, honestly, they are very curious about what happens in the kitchen.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: And
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: I love using my time in the kitchen as like bonding time, like my mom and I did.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, we're all connected to devices as adults.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: My kids are like connected to their Legos.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_00: And being in the kitchen is one moment where you're really, really present.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's tactile.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: You're engaged.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: And you're making something that's memorable.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_00: So like on Sundays, we like to make pizzas.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_00: Started off very simple with like them adding the toppings on.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: And now once they were six,
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_00: they were at the point where they could start off with just all I do is warm,
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: measure the water out and warm it.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: And then they like, you know, bloom the yeast.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: They add the flour and they're using a scale.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_00: So we get to talk about numbers a little bit like, okay, let's get close to that.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not be perfect, but like, let's get close.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: And then they need it and they work on it and they shape it.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: And,
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: you know,
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: it's like a nice afternoon where they can come and do a little bit of work and then
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: exit and they love it.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: I love it.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's a great story.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope more people get in the kitchen with their kids.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: Cause that is how you learn.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: And it's how people connect with food too.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like it's easy to be a picky eater.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: I understand some people are just naturally like super tasters or else.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: And like,
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: I won't take that away from them,
• 27:09
  SPEAKER_00: but like my kids,
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: and then I developed an appreciation for it.
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: And it's just your palate changes over time and you change, but the exposure is different.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: And when you're making something and,
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_00: you have a hand in it and that really gives you more of an investment and trying it
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: out and wanting to like it.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I think people do go back and try foods that you maybe didn't like as a kid and
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: you have a totally different experience with it later.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: Brussels sprouts.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: Oh gosh.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: We, I made Brussels sprouts for a dinner party once.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_01: And one of my friends was aghast,
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: like literally could not understand why I would be serving Brussels sprouts.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, well, have you had them in a while?
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_01: Go ahead and taste them.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_01: They're pretty great.
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_01: And he loved them.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_01: But he was just like, remember that time when you had a dinner party and you made Brussels sprouts?
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: He just thought it was so risky.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, not too risky.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_01: A little faith.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, that's right.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm going to put links to the book in the show notes and people will follow you.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'll put all that in the show notes.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_01: It was great to talk with you, John, and good luck on the book.
• 28:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for having me over.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't wait to see everybody on my book tour.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: It starts August 20th.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_01: And will you be coming to Minneapolis by chance?
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: I will not.
• 28:21
  SPEAKER_00: I think the closest I'll get is Chicago.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're in the neighborhood, come see me.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: We go to Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta, and New York, and not in that order.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: How fun though.
• 28:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I just, I hope I get to do a book tour sometime.
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_01: Right now, my books are pretty regional, but someday I'm going to go on a book tour, I swear.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: It's really fun.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: I see that visualized in your future.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I'm manifesting right now.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for being on the program.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_01: I really appreciate you.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for having me.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Have a nice day.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Bye-bye.