Deb has fifteen recipes for meatballs on Smitten Kitchen, and exactly one for a meat burger. That does not mean Deb lacks for opinions about burgers, oh no no — she goes head to head with Mr. Burger Lab himself, who has published dozens of burger recipes and guides. Kenji and Deb are in agreement about the one burger type that anyone can make at home just as well as a restaurant. Plus, a special announcement. Recipes Mentioned: Fake Shake Burger ( Smitten Kitchen ) The Burger Lab: The World's Be...
Jun 09, 2025•40 min•Ep. 28
When is it OK to yuck someone’s yum? Garlic and ginger hacks. How to turn your kid into a lifelong cook. Kenji and Deb answer your questions in another mailbag. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
May 26, 2025•15 min•Ep. 27
Eggs Benedict should really be called Eggs Benedict Arnold, because it will betray any shortcomings you have as a home cook. You should give it a go anyway. (Kenji: “You CAN and SHOULD make Eggs Benedict at home.”) Why? It’s a dish that all but the best restaurants get right, and you have all but three and a half minutes to shovel it in your mouth before the window closes for the perfect bite. So you may as well perfect it at home. What does perfect look like? Each element is prepared to its ide...
May 12, 2025•34 min•Ep. 26
Crisp on the outside, custardy on the inside – this week we’re talking French Toast with special guest Christopher Kimball (Milk Street). Chris joins Kenji and Deb to banter about bread for longer than any podcast ever has (not fact checked) – and how each of them perfects this classic breakfast dish. Plus, Kenji dispels a myth about smoke points! Recipes Mentioned: Carmelized Cinnamon Sugar French Toast ( Smitten Kitchen Keepers ) Perfect quick and easy french toast ( Serious Eats ) French Toas...
Apr 28, 2025•39 min
Deb and Kenji are taking a break this week. Please enjoy this classic episode from our friends at Sidedoor, "America’s Unknown Celebrity Chef". For more information, visit Sidedoor's episode page , and subscribe to Sidedoor on your favorite podcast player . ****************************** When Lena Richard cooked her first chicken on television, she beat Julia Child to the screen by over a decade. At a time when most African American women cooks worked behind swinging kitchen doors, Richard claim...
Apr 14, 2025•33 min
If the only hummus you’ve ever had came from a cold tub procured at a supermarket, yeah...you haven’t really had hummus. Homemade hummus, served warm, is an experience unto itself, and 1000% a better snack than a dusty protein bar. Deb and Kenji also tell us how they really feel about flavored hummus. Recipes Mentioned: Ethereally Smooth Hummus ( Smitten Kitchen ) The Food Lab’s Science of Great Hummus ( Serious Eats ) Hummus Heaped with Tomatoes and Cucumbers ( Smitten Kitchen ) Learn about you...
Mar 31, 2025•36 min•Ep. 22
You’re really only technically eating a vegetable with broccoli cheddar soup — it is insistently not health food, but a giant middle finger to whoever invented the four food groups. It is a “you sure about that?” to the likes of President George HW Bush, who famously and controversially banned broccoli from Air Force One. Plus, we get to the bottom of broccoli vs broccoli rabe vs broccolini, and a broccoli dish to impress. Recipes Mentioned: Broccoli Cheddar Soup ( Serious Eats ) Broccoli Chedda...
Mar 17, 2025•36 min•Ep. 23
Crispy chicken cutlets are endlessly adaptable to taste, so it’s no wonder they are a universal crowd pleaser. From Austrian schnitzel to Japanese katsu to Deb’s mother-in-law’s recipe that leaves out a classic ingredient, there are endless permutations of chicken, flour, egg, breadcrumbs + ??? to satisfy the pickiest eater (and most discerning home cook). Recipes Mentioned: Tonkatsu or Chicken Katsu ( Serious Eats ) Crispiest Chicken Cutlets ( Smitten Kitchen ) 5-Ingredient Fried Chicken Sandwi...
Mar 03, 2025•42 min•Ep. 22
Brownies are a diabolical(ly) good cross between cake and cookie. They taste sinfully rich and decadent, but they’re an angel in the kitchen (one bowl recipe alertl!) and they make your house smell like heaven. Plus, we hear Deb and Kenji’s recommendations for the best snacks for gossiping or watching reality TV. Recipes: Glossy Fudge Brownies Recipe (Serious Eats) Olive Oil Brownies (Smitten Kitchen) My Favorite Brownies (Smitten Kitchen) Best Cocoa Brownies (Smitten Kitchen) Blackout Brownie W...
Feb 17, 2025•39 min•Ep. 21
Nachos were invented in a Mexican border town for a group of American ladies who lunch, and now they are considered food for the beer-drinking, football-cheering everyman. They can come piled high with twenty ingredients; a plate of nothing more than chips with melted Velveeta are also considered nachos. Whatever floats your tortilla, Kenji and Deb discuss ways to optimize every bite. Also, our Executive Producer Audrey Mardavich gets advice on how to slay the Super Bowl potluck. Recipes mention...
Feb 03, 2025•46 min•Ep. 20
If humanity’s gotten you down lately, just keep in mind that our species can’t be that bad… we did invent the meatball after all. This ingenious invention stretches an expensive ingredient by mixing it with pantry staples into a dish that can feed many more people than on its own, while being truly delicious in its own right. Think about it: when meatballs are what’s for dinner, or you see meatballs on the menu at a restaurant, don’t you automatically think, ooh meatballs ? It’s practically a re...
Jan 20, 2025•37 min•Ep. 19
Quiet luxury has been all the rage the past few years, but our girl Onion Soup has been out here epitomizing that s**t for literally hundreds of years. A bag of onions, some butter to sauté it in, beef broth are really all you need; throw in some stale bread and grated cheese, and you’ve got a million-dollar taste for ten dollars and change. (AND it doesn’t take as long as you think. Ask Kenji and Deb.) Recipes mentioned: Essential French Onion Soup ( Smitten Kitchen ) Short Rib Onion Soup ( Smi...
Jan 06, 2025•42 min•Ep. 18
We are taking a break this week. Please enjoy this classic interview from our friends at Milk Street Radio. For more information, visit Milk Street Radio's homepage , and follow Milk Street Radio on Apple Podcasts . Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Dec 30, 2024•23 min
There comes a point in every New Yorker’s life when they venture outside city limits and learn, to their horror, 24-hour access to breakfast sandwiches via bodegas spaced two blocks apart is not the norm in the rest of the world. When Deb and Kenji start breaking down each component, you will realize that it takes a lot of skill and discernment to a) choose the right ingredients b) prepare them all to perfection at the exact same time. You will never take the humble BEC for granted again. Recipe...
Dec 16, 2024•39 min
Chicken soup is the universal comfort food, but there are as many versions of chicken soup as there are planets in the universe. Depending on where and how you grew up, versions as varied as “Jewish penicillin”, phở gà, stracciatella, Campbell’s condensed all mean home to someone. Recipes mentioned: Chicken Noodle Soup ( Smitten Kitchen ) My Ultimate Chicken Noodle Soup ( Smitten Kitchen ) Chicken Soup: A Poem ( Serious Eats ) How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup ( Kenji’s Cooking Show ) Radiotopia’s...
Dec 02, 2024•37 min•Ep. 16
Congratulations are in order for Deb, who released the audiobook of Smitten Kitchen Keepers earlier this month. We are proud to share with you a little excerpt. Back in 2006, when she was just starting her food journey, she encountered a lot of dud recipes on the internet. (Haven’t we all?) This book is a collection of the ones you’ll want to return to over and over again, aka the keepers. You can purchase a hardcover version at our page on bookshop.org , and a portion of the sale will go toward...
Nov 25, 2024•8 min
Things we learn in this episode: Kenji has a not-so-secret secret ingredient for can’t-miss pie crust, Deb is not allowed at Thanksgiving without her pie, the birthplace of Kenji’s love of junk food, the ideal baking apple, why American apple pie reigns supreme. Recipes mentioned: Apple Pie ( Smitten Kitchen ) Even More Perfect Apple Pie ( Smitten Kitchen ) Gooey Apple Pie ( Serious Eats ) Perfect Apple Pie ( Serious Eats ) Radiotopia's fall fundraiser is happening now! Visit radiotopia.fm/donat...
Nov 18, 2024•46 min•Ep. 15
Deb and Kenji are taking a break this week. Please enjoy this classic episode from Home Cooking , our fellow Radiotopia show about food. ****************************** According to our callers, a big part of Thanksgiving seems to be making food for your loved ones that you only kind of like yourself. But can we make these dishes a little better for the people cooking them?! We’re gonna try. Plus, Demi Adejuyigbe ( @electrolemon ), tells about his quarantine baking adventures. For recipes, transc...
Nov 04, 2024•55 min
Kenji and Deb are major, MAJOR fans of popcorn — “God’s gift to snacking” (two guesses who said that). One might actually call them a miracle of science. How does a hard af, yellow pebble turn into a fluffy white edible cloud? How does movie popcorn butter smell so heavenly without any butter? This is Popcornology 101, class is now in session. Recipes mentioned: Spicy Caramel Popcorn ( Smitten Kitchen ) Miso Black Sesame Caramel Corn ( Smitten Kitchen ) Late Night Popcorn with Chorizo and Pecori...
Oct 21, 2024•37 min•Ep. 14
Kids say the darndest things, and so do Deb and Kenji. “Nobody likes penne.” “Chiffonade is pretentious.” “I have honestly no idea what my recipe contains.” And they’re not the only ones. There are people out there who call baked ziti — get this — lasagna. While baked ziti may be universally loved as a workhorse of catered buffets, potlucks, and meal trains, Deb and Kenji’s takes on the dish are worlds apart. Recipes mentioned: My Old-Scholl Baked Ziti ( Smitten Kitchen ) Easy Skillet Baked Ziti...
Oct 07, 2024•45 min•Ep. 13
In this episode, Deb and Kenji stop being polite and start getting real. Turns out, they weren’t born with encyclopedic knowledge of food; before each recording session, they consult…Wikipedia. (Stars, they’re just like us.) You may think of Caesar salad as the most ubiquitous of American salads. In fact, Caesar salad was invented in Mexico. However, it was invented by an American for Americans coming across the border to drink during Prohibition. Come to think of it, that may just be the most A...
Sep 23, 2024•44 min•Ep. 12
Deb: “This is the perfect sandwich.” Kenji: “This is my favorite sandwich of all time.” In fact, Kenji has gone way beyond just admiring and ingesting the Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato; as Isaac Newton captured the physical world with his laws of motion, Kenji has bestowed us with the 11 rules of the BLT . Deb has made her own significant contributions to the field of sandwich science, with the theory of seasonal variation of the summer BLT and "off-season" BLT. Recipes mentioned: Runny Egg BLT Sandwich ...
Sep 09, 2024•46 min
Kenji and Deb will be back September 9 with all new episodes. Watch this space! Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Aug 26, 2024•1 min
Kenji has many pans going on the fire at all times, one of which was directing this year’s Community Curated Series for Seattle Arts & Lectures. In January 2024, he invited his future podcast bestie Deb onstage with him to chop it up about recipe development (and theft!), family, and greasy bags of Dick’s. Thanks to Alison Stagner and Woogee Bae of Seattle Arts & Lectures for their help. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices...
Jul 29, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Thanks to our friends at Special Sauce for allowing us to share this episode. Deb, Kenji, and host Ed Levine talk about ye olde days of early food blogging and the backstory of The Recipe. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jul 15, 2024•36 min
We know you don’t want to burn your food in the kitchen (unless it’s a char/sear kinda situation), but you know what else you don’t want to burn? You, the cook. Deb and Kenji reveal their tips for avoiding cooking burnout, as well as how to mine your own sodium citrate at home. Did your eyes get whiplash reading this? Buckle up because your letters took us all over the map: biscuits for every purpose, what kind of pancakes Barbie would eat, how to cook like a boss for 1-2 people. Learn about you...
Jul 01, 2024•28 min•Season 1Ep. 10
After putting out our first batch of episodes, we put out a call to our listeners — any questions? You sure did. Thanks to listeners from around the world who heeded our call, we bring you our first mailbag episode. Kenji and Deb debunk the 30-minute recipe, contemplate tiers of butter, go down the soup dumpling rabbit hole, and much more. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
Jun 17, 2024•31 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this episode, Kenji and Deb talk all about asparagus. You can roast it, puree it, sautee it, grill it, and even eat it raw. It can serve as a snack or as part of a main dish. Did you know it grows in different colors? Hear how Deb prepares asparagus as a family snack and how it can make for a great pizza topping. And it wouldn't be an episode about asparagus without learning about the science behind its notorious side-effect. Recipes mentioned: Snacky Asparagus (from Smitten Kitchen ) Shaved ...
Jun 03, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Grilling season is here and so are Kenji and Deb to talk grilled chicken. From marinades to brines, to the one thing that can prevent dried-out grilled chicken: a meat thermometer. No easy access to a grill? We talk grill pans, using vinaigrette for grilled chicken, and a condiment base for your marinades that Deb now swears by. Recipes mentioned: Kenji's Mayo-Marinated Chicken With Chimichurri(from NYT Cooking ) Deb’s Piri Piri Chicken (from Smitten Kitchen ) Learn about your ad choices: doveta...
May 20, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Iceberg lettuce gets a bad rap, but can make a good wrap. In this episode, Kenji and Deb go all in on lettuce. From wedge salads with homemade ranch to chronicling the rise, fall, and resurgence of the hardest-working lettuce in the kitchen. Knife and fork wedge salads are just the tip of the iceberg. Iceberg lettuce soup? Pickled iceberg lettuce? We got you. Recipes mentioned: Deb’s Iceberg Wedge with Blue Cheese (from Smitten Kitchen ) Deb’s Baby Wedge Salad with Avocado and Pickled Onion (fro...
May 06, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 6
