I Am All In Again, Luke's Diner with Scott Patterson, an iHeartRadio podcast.
Hey Everybody, Scott Patterson, I Am All In Podcast one on one episode Luke's Diner with Wells Adam one eleven productions, iHeartRadio Media and podcasts. He was a contestant on the twelfth season of The Bachelorette and later appeared in the third season of Bachelor in Paradise. Since season four, he has served as the beloved bartender of Bachelor in Paradise. He recently completed the reality show Traders, hosted by Alan Cumming, where he was the first player eliminated. Oh gosh, you
didn't need to say that. No, it's I have to It's I'm under contracts written in the copy. It gets written in the stars beyond. But that you know, it's not necessarily a bad thing, right, so we can we can spin it. Beyond the Bachelor franchise, Wells has co hosted the culinary podcast Two Dudes in a Kitchen with celebrity chef Tyler Florence, and hosted Hulu's pizza making competition show Best in Dough in twenty twenty two So Food in season one, episode nine, Rory's dance, Lorelei pulls a
muscle in her back. Emily steps in to care for her and makes her mashed bananas on toast. She used to make this comforting snack for Lourle when she was sick as a child. First of all, first off, wells welcome. Have you ever made mash bananas on toast? No.
I was watching it, and I thought, I thought what Laura I thought, which is this is gross. Like at the end, she's like, this is terrible or whatnot. But she also doesn't remember it. But the thing that was interesting to me, Scott was they have dinner, right, and Laura's being picky about her salad and like, doesn't like tomatoes in a salad. But she also says she doesn't like avocado, which blows my mind. I like, everyone likes avocado, and if you don't like avocado and avocado toast, then
you're definitely not gonna like bananas crushed up on toast. Right.
No, I'll go with you.
I'm going with you. That was just I was like, I'm not sure because I've always loved the character of Flora I. And then I heard that she doesn't like avocado, and I was like, I don't know if I can get on board with that. You know, h this is tough the harbor for me to stomach.
It's a quandary for sure. You hosted a culinary podcast just a bit ago, so you must have a passion for food. What what does food and cooking mean to you specifically?
H Yeah, I heard I heard this quote the other day. I'm going to butcher it, but it was something to the effect of the things that are necessary in life are are are food and clothing and shelter. And if you can make the necessities of life an art form, then like life is going to be good. And that's the way that I think about you know, like obviously it's like amazing architecture, arch you know you're into architecture, or if you're like this amazing like fashion fashionista or something.
But then also with food, like if you're a cook, you're making something that's a necessity into an art form, which I like, I really like the idea of that. And so for me, like food could be so like kind of mundane or even kind of like an assessed city just for life, but then it also can make your life so much better, and so like I grew up in a house that, like both my parents were
amazing cooks. My father was a doctor, but he ended up going to France to go learn how to cook French food, and so it was just something that was kind of like ingrained in my family growing up. And luckily, my wife can't cook. She can't boil water really, so like I get the opportunity to kind of like make all these things for her. And it's one of my favorite things in the world to do, is to cook.
So getting to do the show with Tyler Florence, who's just like this, you know, obviously a culinary guru, I learned so much.
You know.
I was on his show called Worst Cooks in America on Food Network. I learned so much from him and his co host on NAT show. And then getting to host a cooking show about all about Pizza with Danielle Yu Diddy, who owns a Peace Tsana, I've gotten to learn so much from like some of the best. And yeah, I just absolutely love, love, love getting in the kitchen and trying stuff out.
Yeah, I'm kind of there too, Uh. I love to cook. It's a great stress release for me. I love to take over the kitchen and do my thing and time out my courses, and you know, and I love serving it. I love seeing everybody enjoying it. I want to know what they think. You know, maybe I'll use a little little spice here, a little spice. Yeah, you know, I just you know, I used to. I changed up my my egg my omelet menu for my son. He's ten, and he kind of crinkled up his nose.
A little bit.
He goes, Dad, what is this cheese?
Yeah?
I changed up the cheese a little bit. I put an English chatterar in instead of like the normal eric right, he goes. He looks at me, he goes, nah, don't don't do that again.
It's so funny that you say that. It always reminds me of that scene in Uncle Buck when mccullay Colkin comes down and and Uncle Buck's like making them eggs, and he, like mccullay Colkin, like looks over to his sister and he goes, are there mushrooms in here? Which is so funny because like, obviously kids don't want mushrooms with onions like in their onmelts, but like as an adult, like I love that, you know, m.
Yeah, I just and I just added onion to the to our our marin era sau Yeah. Yeah, because he loves my meat sauce.
He loves it. Now, so let's talk about meat sauce. This is a good one. Yeah. You are you from scratch guy? Or do you go get like a bottle of rowse or something and then spice that up with like more garlic, more basil and stuff like that, or are you starting from scratch?
I now, okay, So I did that with REOs, yeah okay, And I added a little bit.
I added some onion.
I did, okay, because so I so I put the you know, I put some olive oil and the skillet. I chopped up the onion real fine, you know, liquefied it almost and then threw it these and he noticed it. It had a nice little kick, right, he gives it. You know, that's the flavor, right you That scene from The Godfather when they're making it, when they're trying to teach Michael Corleone how to make a sauce. Right, yeah, So that's our net. My son is demanding because I
showed him that scene. He says, all right, that's.
How we're going. Let's do it.
Because I cooked with him, you know, he helps me out, and uh, he goes, I want to put the onion in, and I want to put the veal in, and I want to put the sausage in, and the whole thing. I said, but we're going to need a big vat. He goes, Yeah, we got to get a big vat because we're going to be cooking for a lot of people. But yeah, I think I think we're going to start.
The next thing you got to show him is I'm not sure if he's old enough to see this movie, but you know Goodfellas when they're in jail and he's plice the blade, then yeah, melts in the oil.
Good every time. I every time I watch that fool movie, I get I get so hungry.
Where's the bread?
We can't eat without the bread?
Who's good?
Now we can eat? Yeah?
Or even even in Yeah, you should just do like cooking in movies and like go through them because like even in Godfather when he's teaching her how to make YOCHI right, like it's it's very kind of sensual, right, like I said, like a sexy scene. Yeah, it's like it's like teaching a woman how to play golf. And like getting him behind her and like like showing her the swing, you know. But I remember thinking like, oh, that looks so good. I want to eat that.
Oh man. Yeah, So what kind of a paste do you use as your basis? Is there a particular brand that you like, uh, like tomato paste? Yeah, I mean that's how you do it from scratch. I mean, what what do you mean by from scratch? Even going more organic than using tomato paste. I mean, there's there there's another way to do it. No.
I also like, I'm not like a you know, Michelin Award winning chef or anything, but like a lot of times, so yeah, I will go get like a big old canna like tomatoes, right, oh gosh, yeah wow. And so yeah, you can start with you can start with tomato pastes. I'm not sure if I have like a specific brand.
I usually I have the one that's like in a tube that you can just like squirt out, because I always find that if you use that tomato paste is in a can, you only use like half of it, and then you but you put soran wrap over it. Then it's all of a sudden, it's been four weeks in the refrigerator and you're like, I never, I'm never gonna use this again. Uh huh. So usually what I'll do, yeah, I'll uh, I'll throw some oil down, throw some tomato
paste in there. I think it's important to do tomato paste first, and I think that you should toast your tomato pastes, something that a lot of people don't do. They usually do it later. I think toasting the tomato pastes is a good little trick. And then getting and I'll even throw in I think anchovies make everything better. It just gives like a little bit of an oom mommy, mom. Now your child might not like this, But I'll usually throw in like a couple little anchoby flays into that
kind of like tomato paste oil garlic mixture. Let the those anchovies basically dissolve into that oil and it's becomes kind of a little bit of a salt bamb which makes it so you don't have to season it so much later. And then put in those tomatoes and then make sure you kind of break all that up, and then you know, obviously the basil and you know the
Italian seasoning and all that kind of stuff. But if I'm being honest, I very very rarely you know I was I hosted a pizza cooking show, and I wouldn't make my own tomato sauce. I would. I would do the thing of like going to get a good jar of tomato sauce, and then I would add to it to make it either more spicy or more sweet or whatever I wanted for that particular pizza. I think that's the much easier way.
Okay, Okay, I just you know, I want to make a tomato I want to make a marinero sauce or tomato sauce that I have to slow cook all day and like drop a drop a couple of onions in and just let them dissolve over time, and put the pork in and the lamb and the you know, it's just my fantasy.
Are you Italian? No?
But I grew up in a in a heavily ethnic area of South Jersey where it's lots of Italians, so like, it's always been one of my favorite foods.
Yeah.
We eat Italian, eat Italian like twice a week in my house. Yeah, my son loves it, he was. Sunday nights are big here. You know, we have people over and I cook a huge, like a massive amount of pasta and sauce and meatballs.
Let's talk about pasta. That's like hijack your show. But this is just interesting. So I mean, obviously we've been talking about red sauce and stuff, but do you have a favorite type of pasta? And and like, like, are you a carbonara guy or you like what you what.
Is your what is your angel hair?
Angel hair? Okay?
Yeah, and then my boy loves the angel hair because he just he eats you know, he's ten, but he eats enough food for five people in one sitting. It's and he's you know, he's starting to growl a little bit, right, so he's getting long in the limbs and lean. But man, he can put back it away.
He can just put it Carba load him up.
Oh, it's unbelievable. Yeah, he loves that angel hair. Yeah.
The thing that I learned that one of the biggest lessons I learned in cooking, especially with Italian cooking, is the importance of reserving pasta water that I think a lot of people don't think about and never do. But so if you're unfamiliar with it, the idea is is that you make your pasta. You know, obviously, in like heavily salted water. It's supposed to take like the sea,
is what every chef says. And then what happens is is it tooks that pasta, and the starches of the pasta leech out of it, and then then it's in
the water. And you want to reserve some of that pasta water, especially if you're making a sauce, because it will help thicken up any sauce, especially if you're making like some sort of cheese sauce that needs to be kind of thick, and it will help whatever the sauce is that you're making, it'll help it stick to the pasta, because it's the one thing you don't want is to have everyone's seen it. You make like this red sauce and you put it all on the pasta and it doesn't stick to it.
Right, it's runny.
Yeah, yeah, So the the thing that you know every chef will tell you is get a coffee mug. Make sure you get like at least a couple cups of that, and then if your sauce is yeah, like almost like broken or really really runny, throw some of that pasta sauce in there. Start cooking it down and it'll kind of emulsify it and it'll help, you know, stick to that pasta. The other thing is that, like, do you are you like an aldente guy?
No? No, no, no, no, you don't you know, maybe for a lunch, yes, but not dinner. Now. I cooked a crap out of it. I like the noodle soft. Okay, Now that that that helps us be able to shovel in mass quantities.
Yeah, but you ever so if you're making like your sauce on the side right, like in a different pant, you take it out al dente and then do the last like four or five minutes in the sauce to them bring it to your soft.
But you like, no, no, no, I keep everything separate. I strain the pasta, I put it on the plates, and then I pour the sauce on and I serve it that way, and I let you know who I'm serving mix it in the way they want to.
Got it.
But wait a minute, So you're saying take the pasta water during this process, I mean, but oh so, not having strained it yet, but just steal some from when it's cooking, from the heavily salt or water when the pasta is still in there, looking Okay, yeah, all right, that's a good tip. I like that.
Yeah, especially like you know, if you're making you need it for some recipes, like a carbon I need it to ulcipyle that cheese and butter together. But then so like the thing that I'll do a lot is I I just like kind of like a butter oil capers an chovy sauce, I really really simple with whatever greens. I've got to figut some flat par parsley or some
basil or something. I make that on the side, and then I'll get a bunch of like parmesan rigihano, put a bunch of that kind of in this like really really uh delicious kind of oil mixture butter thing that I've made, and then make sure I start pouring a little bit of that pasta water in there and it kind of makes this uh it makes this real like
silky smooth right sauce. And then what I'll I'll take my pasta out that's a little bit of dente because there's pasta water in there, it's still cooking and it'll really help marry the sauce that I've made into the pasta. And then I'll play and you know garnish with whatever on top.
And you'll and you'll put this you're cooking the sauce in a pan, right, yeah, okay, all right now I'll try that.
That's good. That's good.
Yeah, because that's the quality that I'm looking for. Is that thickened sauce that binds to the pasta. That's what you want. Yeah, that's that's what I'm Okay.
Good.
You have an extremely talented wife, I do from what I am told. Is there a particular meal that she requests from you?
Yeah? So my wife. But by the way, sidebars, her name is Sarah Hyland. She was on a show called Modern Family, and she is obsessed with Gilmore Girls, and she wanted to make sure that I tell you that she is a gigantic fan. And then she also told me that she had a crush on you when she watched a show, which I was like, I don't know if I should say that, but just so you know, she was like, it's not it's not Jess, it's not Tristan, it's not Dean. I thought that Luke was the hot
one on the show. Just that you know, it's very nice.
That's very very nice. Tell her, I said, thank you and that that I love her show too.
So yeah, the way that I was able to con someone who's so much more attractive and talented than I am into marrying me was definitely through cooking. It's funny too, because when we first started dating, it was kind of a seat like we didn't tell anybody. It was a kind of a little bit of a secret. But she would post things on Instagram of like what I had cooked for her, and I remember my siblings being like, I know that, or I know someone's in Los Angeles
trying to get laid. So yeah, the the dish that I made for her originally that she loves, that she loved was was was spicy, well not really. It was like basically black and shrimp tacos that I could do really really well. And then I showed her my mom's skirt steak recipe and that on its own is really delicious. But then she was like, what if you use this skirt steak in steak tacos? She likes tacos obviously, and then I started doing that and she requests that at
least once a week. She also likes she likes sausage in red sauce. She's from the Lower East Side, so there's a lot of Italian I get she requests from me, But yeah, it was basically the skirt steak thing is something I had to make for her basically every single week. And I can tell you that recipe and it's fantastic and it's also idiot proof really, so this is what you do. You can do flank or skirt or you
even do a soda. But I have found, even though it's a little more expensive, that skirts steak is the best is the best for this and I would I would say that it's my second favorite cut of meat in terms of beef. I think that like a ribbi is number one, and then I think skirts steaks number two. And I think a lot of chefs would actually agree with me because just because there's so much, there's so much marbling and fat in there innately, so it's always really,
really tender. The only problem is it's very thin, so you can you can tend to overcook it, so you really really got to kind of watch that. It's the most simple marinade that I use for a lot of things that my mother taught me. And go try this yesterday and everyone in your family will love it. You basically get soy sauce, then mince some garlic or if you've got a kind of a microplane, you know, as thin as you can make the garlic, the more powerful
it would be. And I like it really garlicy, so soy sauce, garlic, and then ginger, not like raw ginger, but like you know, powdered ginger in there. And then maybe a little bit of a Worcester sauce. And if you have any type of sugar or work like my mom just you use like granulated sugar. But then I like elevated to be like no, you could use you could use a maple syrup, you could use a gave, you could use molasses, any anything that you want, any
favor flavor profile that you're into. So then you have the saltiness of of the soy sauce, You got the spiciness of the garlic. Oh, and then some red flakes as well, red pepper flakes. You got the spiciness of the garlic and the red pepper flakes, and then you've got the uh, you've got the umami of the Worcester sauce, and you've got the sweet of whatever the honey or whatever it is. You put all that together, you throw that into a bag with your with your skirt steak.
You let that marinate for the longer the better. But if you can get if you can give me an hour inside the refrigerator, we are money.
M hm.
And then you throw this on, you know, a kind of a rippin' hot skillet, and it's I mean it's so you know, skirtchstake is really really thin, so it's like three minutes aside. But the most valuable thing that you can have in your kitchen is a meat thermometer. So depending on what you want. But like it's so thin, let's get it to like for me, like tops one fifteen, one twenty, and then sit it out, let it rest. It'll get to you know, probably one thirty. It'll be
well done on the ends. It'll be a medium rare in the middle, so that's perfect for everyone. You know, people want it more well done, you give them the ends. If people want it you know, uh, less cooked, you give them the middle portions and it will be one of the best steaks you've ever had. Then if you throw that and do a taco boy, oh boy, you might get to Marry uh An actress.
I love it all Right, let's shift gears a little bit. I'm gonna ask you a question about gill More Girls characters and who do you think would be the most fun to have a meal with.
And why that's a good cla time? Yeah, can I say, is it Amy Palladino? Is that the writer.
Amy Sherman Palladino. He's not a character though, I know, but I'm so sorry your answer is not acceptable. Okay, okay, because I do because that's the that's the obvious answer.
Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, okay. So can I have a beer with Jess?
Like?
Can like? What do we do?
Sorry, we cannot promote the consumption of alcoholic drinks on this podcast.
God, I played a bartender on a bad reality What do you do?
So?
Yeah, if I'm if I'm going to like eat chicken wings and have beers, I go with Jess. If I'm having breakfast, it's you, my guy. I mean, obviously your diner is is iconic, but yeah, I still you know, my my wife had a crush on you. I think, like all the guys my age probably had a crush on Rory. But I think Laurel I was always you know, she was. Yes, I'm gonna go with Laurel. I is that okay? Ship?
Yeah, sure, you can eat with who you want, you know, that's okay.
But here's the thing. Yeah, the grandparents. Yeah, they're rich. It might be a really nice meal. Like if I'm going.
To the club, I would that would be my pick because that would be a nice meal and at least they have a good conversation, right, you know you're gonna get a good conversation guaranteed.
Yeah, and they're definitely gonna pick up the tab. So yeah, okay, that's my answer. Sorry, there you go.
So we're we're dining at the Gilmours and in my style, so I.
Want to go to there. I forget the name of like the country club, like whether where they do the he does, like the Cotillion or what she does, like a that party looks like a really nice country club. And I imagine I can play some golf there with that. That'd be fun.
Yeah, that'd be good. I'm with you on that one. Let me know when you're going. I'll try to I'll try to be right, Okay, All right, so listen, we're all all about coffee at Gilmore girls. Are you coffee or tea person?
I am a coffee guy over tea for sure, But I'm not like it's not what it's like a part of my identity. Like a lot of people like I don't. I don't think I've been to Starbucks in ten years? Right? Ten years? Good? Sorry, No, it's good.
Yeah, So you're bartender Bacher Paradise. If if you had to bartend for a stars hollow Town meeting, okay, yeah, what signature cocktail would you create or the attendees?
Dang, that's a good question. I'd have to it's not a bad question. Yeah, you'd have to uh like batch it out right. I have to be a like a big large thing. So like what's could at like large batch.
Like a punch bowl type of deal where they ladle it out.
Well, you can do like I used to do this thing, not used to I still do it. It's actually like a great little tip. There's a bunch. There's a couple of drinks that you can they're called freezer door drinks where you can you can create the cocktail and then you can just put it in your freezer door and it's like always ready. So I probably do something like that, Like martinis are great for that because it's really only
a couple it's only a couple ingredients. Same with old fashions, Exactually, what you do is you take out like a quarter of the booze in the bourbon bottle, and then you add the other stuff in there, so the simple syrup and the bitterers and stuff, and then you just throw that in the freezer and then anytime you want an old fashion you just kind of shake it up a little bit and then you just pour it over big
cubes of ice. So I probably would do something like that because if you're if you're boozing up like an entire town, I'd want it to be like super easy, And I think I would go for For me, the stars always felt like this like chunky knit sweater cozy, little like Northeast town. And to me, that screams either Manhattan or old fashion. Uh, And so yeah, I think I think I would go with either. Men, I'd probably do both. I would I would batch out a bunch of old fashions and Manhattans for everybody.
I think that's a great concept. But okay, there, let's say that Taylor is not allowed to imbibe. He's the only straight guy there. Yeah, everybody else is smashed. That would be fun right or Taylor or the other way. He'd be the only one that would be smashing. Everybody else would be the himself. If you were to come into Luke's diner, what would you order and where would you sit?
I think I don't know, all right, see, I guess what wherever was available? Uh okay, So I know that, like the pancakes and the waffles are like really really popular, right, But that's not my style. That's my wife. My wife like that. I okay, have you ever been to waffle House? Sure? Okay, many times. I think that Honestly, I think that like waffle House and huddle houses are like the greatest culinary
experiences of anyone's life. When you get to go, it's like four in the morning, like a bunch of people are drunk, people are yelling and screaming and whatever, and then you have like this one line cook who's able to make seven zillion things all at the same time. So I imagine kind of would be like what Luke Steiner would be. And so my order would be like what I get there, which is I like two sunny
side up eggs. I like two pieces of buttered toast, preferably wheat, but if you don't have that white and then a couple of sausages and a couple of pieces of bacon, and then I make my own little like an egg on toast situation. And to me, that's the greatest breakfast in the world. What is the right answer for that?
Though, there's no right answer. Okay, no, none of these have a right answer.
It's your answer. Yeah, But I feel like people that come up, I imagine you asked that question to every guest, like, like, what is the what is the normal answer? What is the answer everyone gives you?
Well, they either want to sit at the bar, yeah, or they want to sit where Rory and Laurala I always sit. Yeah, but they but they don't really have I mean, they kind of do have a stock table that they sit at. Yeah, that's that's usually it.
Yeah, Okay, all right, here's one.
Here's one. You're ready for this. Yeah, if you were stranded, imagine being stranded and you Gilmore Girl's universe, which restaurant, diner, or food cart would you pick as your survival spot?
That like exists in the real world. Yes, so I'm stranded there, huh in a Gilmour Girls universe. Yeah, but you can pick from the ordinary world all these other food. Yeah. I got a lot of dialogue. I feel like the amount of pages you guys must have to memorize is just that's what I want to talk to you, guys, to you about. But I'm just sitting there being like, I don't know how they learned this forty five minute
monologue that's at this speed. Okay, I will go with I feel like Mexican food isn't huge in and start all. I don't know why that way, but I feel like that's something that I would need to have there. And where we film Paradise is in this little, this cute, little bohemian town in Mexico called Salulita. It's is right outside of Portavarta. Beautiful little town. If you have a chance, you should go. And they have a they have a like a Mexican taco cart there that is the most
amazing tacos I've ever had in my entire life. It's one of those that has like a huge thing of meat that's spinning around with like a pineapple on top of yep, like a machete and he's like slicing off perfect little slices into these like homemade tortillas. And then it's very very simple, you know. It's it's white onion and cilantro. And then they have this is my favorite thing.
They have a thing there called Gringo Killer, which is like this hot sauce that's black, like black as the night, and they put that on there and yeah, it'll it'll mess up your stomach, but it is the best taco in the world. So I would like that. That's what I would like to have if I was stranded there. Yeah.
We have a nice taco plays around the corner here, and it's just we try to not go too much, you know, because it's just a little too good, too addictive. Yeah, but the tacos are right. I'm young man. It's been a pleasure.
Thank you for having me, man, I'm a big fan. This was so much fun. Anytime you want to talk about food, I'm I'm here man.
Oh yeah, you got to come back on. Yeah, we're the journey is just beginning. Wells Adams, ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for your time. Best to your wife, Love the guitars. You're a player, are you? Are you a serious player? Are you in your studio? Do you record music?
H No, I'm a I'm it was originally a radio host, so uh, this is like my radio studio. But yeah, I became a radio host because I was not good enough to make money playing music, so I just talked to people who did what I wish I could do. I can play, but I'm not you know, No, you know, Bob, we are there.
You go, all right, all the best, we'll talk soon. Best of your wife, and thanks.
For the time. Yeah, thanks so much, Scott. See what all right?
And that's gonna do it for us and we will see you next time. Remember where you lead, we will follow. Take care everybody, and don't forget. Follow us on Instagram at I Am all In podcast and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.