This week, we’re looking at the pioneers of food television. Emeril Lagasse reflects on his unlikely start at the Food Network, how he’s different from his on-screen persona and why he just opened his first Portuguese restaurant. Plus, Michelle T. King tells the story of Fu Pei-mei, Taiwan’s first cooking TV star, our very own co-host and food TV star Sara Moulton answers caller cooking questions, and Adam Gopnik weighs in on the spectacle of Iron Chef. Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podc...
Feb 07, 2025•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tamar Haspel of the Washington Post is here to share 10 truths about food that nobody wants to believe. From diet soda to organic vegetables to one overlooked fish, nothing is sacred. Plus, Amanda Herbert brings us inside history’s wildest dinner parties; Adam Gopnik reveals what your drink of choice says about you; we make Thai Coconut and Chicken Soup; and Cheryl Day returns to take your baking calls. (Originally aired February 29, 2024.) Get the recipe for Thai Coconut and Chicken Soup here ....
Jan 31, 2025•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Richard Hart is here with the hottest takes in bread baking and sourdough—why he doesn’t care about your old sourdough starter, what everyone gets wrong about supermarket bread, and why the bread in Paris is, well, lacking. Plus, antique bookseller Don Lindgren reveals the history of community cookbooks, J. Kenji López-Alt discovers the perfect way to cut an onion, and we make Turkish Crescent Cookies with Spiced Walnut Filling. Get the recipe for Turkish Crescent Cookies with Spiced Walnut Fill...
Jan 24, 2025•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we taste the sweeter side of Mexican cuisine with chef Fany Gerson. Traveling from Mexico City to Veracruz to Oaxaca, we explore regional confections like chili-flavored paletas and guava and cheese doughnuts. Plus, we take a seat at the Noir Bar with writer and television host Eddie Muller, who infuses classic cocktails with a cinematic twist; Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett of “A Way With Words” unpack the history hidden in your spice cabinet; and we prepare a very crispy Korean F...
Jan 17, 2025•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Kim Severson of the New York Times predicts the biggest food trends of 2025—from dirty sodas and whiskey ketchup to the new supermarket and the ingredient of the year. Also up this week, we get a lesson in southern Thai cooking from Nok Suntaranon, we make Bread Dumplings in Broth, Adam Gopnik examines what happens when we quit the foods we love, and Christopher Kimball and Sara Moulton answer our first caller questions of 2025. Get this week’s recipe Canederli in Brodo (Bread Dumplings in Broth...
Jan 10, 2025•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re joined by New York Times book critic and author Dwight Garner. He presents food quips from his favorite writers, as well as John Updike’s lunch routine and Hunter S. Thompson’s party tricks. Plus, anthropologist Manvir Singh helps us digest the world of “meat-fluencers” and their all-meat diets; A Way with Words give credit to the Old Norse words lingering in our kitchens; and we prepare a Pakistani-Style Chicken Biryani. (Originally aired January 4th, 2024.) Get this week’s recipe for Pak...
Jan 03, 2025•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re looking back at some of our favorite moments from 2024. We’ll share the surprises—from the secret lives of vegetables, to the underworld of restaurant reservations—and the best culinary advice we received from guests like José Andres and Stella Parks. Plus, Christopher Kimball and Sara Moulton revisit the most memorable listener questions of the year. You can find our Best Recipes of 2024 collection here . Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Hosted on Acast. See acast....
Dec 27, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s an all-out holiday hour of Milk Street Radio! We check in with French baker Dominique Ansel about how the invention of the cronut changed his life, his secret trick to a perfect fruit soufflé and why you shouldn’t buy cookies in France. Plus, author Julia Georgallis offers three tips for how to eat (and drink!) your Christmas tree; Adam Gopnik and Chris Kimball reflect on their top food books of the year; J.M. Hirsch provides a festive batched cocktail recipe; Cheryl Day answers your bigges...
Dec 20, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this special episode, we’re sharing an extended interview with Al Roker. Al makes his return to Milk Street to discuss his latest cookbook — a collaboration with his daughter, Courtney Roker Laga — as well as the jobs he worked prior to landing at NBC and the food he uses as a test to determine whether or not someone can be his friend. You can find our Best Recipes of 2024 collection here . Listen to Milk Street Radio on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mor...
Dec 14, 2024•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Al Roker is back on Milk Street with family recipes and television stories to share. He recalls celebrity-filled lunches at the NBC commissary and the holiday meal he dreamt of while recovering from surgery. Plus, Ben Mims reveals the secret history of cookies; Grant Barrett and Martha Barnette of “A Way With Words” express holiday gratitude with food-themed compliments; and we prepare Cantonese Sweet-and-Sour Pork. Get this week’s recipe for Cantonese Sweet and Sour Pork here . You can find our...
Dec 13, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this special episode, we share a few of our favorite moments about baking. Cheryl Day—cookbook author, co-owner of Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, and now Milk Street Radio guest co-host—reveals her tips for perfect biscuits, cakes and cookies. Plus, a computer designs the ultimate chocolate chip cookie; Chris Kimball and Dan Pashman consider the muffin; and is it magic, or is it Maple-Whiskey Pudding Cakes? Get the recipe for Maple-Whiskey Pudding Cakes here . Listen to Milk Str...
Dec 10, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re kicking off the holiday season with Rose Levy Beranbaum and Woody Wolston in celebration of the 35th anniversary of “The Cake Bible.” Beranbaum and Wolston reveal their tricks for génoise, their secret ingredient for perfect chocolate cake and their full-throated defense of fondant—yes, fondant! Plus, we explore the delightfully strange world of food miniatures with Emily Kenway, Chris and Sara answer your holiday cooking questions, and we make Almond and Citrus Biscotti. Get this week’s r...
Dec 06, 2024•52 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we go behind the scenes of French restaurants with writer and former waiter Edward Chisholm to experience the chaotic rush of Sunday brunch, discover where waiters go on their time off and find out what happens to your food before it reaches the plate. Plus, we investigate a street food mystery in India with journalist Barkha Kumari, Adam Gopnik gets in a pickle about fermented foods, and we make the Moroccan beef and chickpea stew harira. (Originally aired December 9, 2022.) Get this...
Nov 29, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s our annual Thanksgiving special, and we’re dedicating the hour to solving your toughest problems. Jet Tila has ideas for reimagining vegetable side dishes, Cheryl Day solves the issue of overflowing pies, Christopher Kimball defends mini marshmallows on sweet potato casserole, and much more. Plus, we’ll get a Thanksgiving poetry reading from Adam Gopnik, find out how to make a turkey in just two hours and hear about our listeners’ most unique holiday traditions. We want to hear your culinar...
Nov 22, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Madhur Jaffrey joins us and shares memories from mountain picnics in the Himalayas, her favorite way to enjoy a mango and stories from her career as a film and food star. Plus, we make Turkish-Style Flaky Flatbreads and journalist David Johns tries to find out—could ice cream actually be good for you? (Originally aired November 9, 2023.) Get this week’s recipe for Turkish-Style Flaky Flatbreads here . We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected ...
Nov 15, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Matt Goulding shares stories from his new documentary series, “Omnivore.” We find out why he followed a tuna on a journey around the world, what Big Ag can learn from Mexican corn farmers and what happened when René Redzepi served one of the world’s hottest chili peppers at Noma. Plus, Sonoko Sakai reveals how to “wafu” your cooking, J. Kenji López-Alt solves the problems of cooking fish at home, and we uncover the history of Ukrainian borsch. Get this week’s recipe for Ukrainian Borsch here . W...
Nov 08, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast According to journalist Zoë Schlanger, your garden isn’t just full of plants that are alive, but plants that can think —like the rice plant, which recognizes its own family members. Schlanger takes us inside a hotbed of scientific controversy: the study of plant intelligence. Plus, the Washington Post’s Joe Yonan masters the art of plant-based cooking; Grant Barrett and Martha Barnette help us wrap our heads around food words; and we make a Greek White Bean Soup. Get this week’s recipe for Greek...
Nov 01, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we’re celebrating the holiday of tricks and treats with Halloween scholar Lesley Bannatyne. She teaches us how to emulate the romping Halloween parties of the Victorian era, complete with matchmaking games and dinners for the dead. Plus, we discuss Cotton Candy Grapes and other new candy-inspired flavors in fruit breeding; Dan Pashman has a suggestion for your trick-or-treat offering this year; and we make a German-Style winter squash bread. (Originally aired October 28, 2022.) Get th...
Oct 25, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Some of the most memorable moments in politics haven’t happened at speeches or debates—they’ve been all about food. Today, we talk about food on the campaign trail with New York Times food correspondent Kim Severson. Plus, Gary He studies the menu at McDonald's locations around the world; Alex Aïnouz reveals his quest for potato chip perfection; and we make Colombian Potato Soup with Chicken, Corn and Capers. Get this week’s recipe for Colombian Potato Soup with Chicken, Corn and Capers here . W...
Oct 18, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Before there was “Top Chef,” Tom Colicchio worked for and launched some of the greatest restaurants in New York. This week, he shares his best stories and takes us inside the kitchens of some of the hottest restaurants of the last 30 years. Plus, Emily Monaco reveals the best places to eat in Paris right now, Tamar Haspel decodes supermarket labels, and we solve the mysteries of Cacio e Pepe. Get this week’s recipe for Cacio e Pepe here . We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking ha...
Oct 11, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Writer and historian Michael Twitty share the stories and foods of the African and Jewish diasporas. Plus, we explore the wide world of breakfast cereals with Gabe Fonseca, make spaghetti with parsley pesto and consider the apple with Dan Pashman. (Originally aired September 8, 2022.) Get this week’s recipe for Spaghetti with Parsley Pesto here . We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk...
Oct 04, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week: Suitcases full of contraband. A smuggler who writes poetry in jail. And the chance to make thousands of dollars in one night. Reporter Otis Gray brings us the story of America’s eel fishing boom—and what happened when it got out of hand. Plus, Kenji López-Alt discusses the surprising science of salting scrambled eggs, and we make kefta in a creamy tahini sauce. Get this week’s recipe for Baked Kefta with Tahini here . Listen to Otis Gray’s “Sleepy” podcast here . Music in Otis Gray’s ...
Sep 27, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, we get a seafood masterclass from one of the world’s greatest chefs, Eric Ripert. He also explains why sauce is the hardest technique to master and reflects on the moment he decided to change the way he ran Le Bernardin. Plus, Milk Street’s science editor, Guy Crosby, joins us to answer our most pressing food science questions, and we uncover the true origins of Chicken Kyiv. (Originally aired October 19, 2023.) Get this week’s recipe for Chicken Kyiv here . We want to hear your culin...
Sep 20, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast BraveTart is back! Stella Parks is here to set the record straight on baking. From buttermilk to pie dough, Parks reveals what can go so wrong and how to get it right. And we’re not done with the sweets yet: We also get a taste for real Vermont maple syrup with veteran sugarer Peter Gregg, we take the anxiety out of baking with blender cakes, “A Way With Words” explores the sticky history of honey, and Cheryl Day returns to answer your baking questions. Get this week’s recipe for Blender Cake he...
Sep 13, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast We interview Jason Wise about his film “Somm: Cup of Salvation,” which tells the story of winemaker Vahe Keushguerian, who smuggled ancient grapes from Iran to make the first Persian wine in over 40 years. Plus, food scientist Anwesha Sarkar explains how she built a 3D-printed human tongue to study food texture; we cook up the original Spaghetti and Meatballs; and Adam Gopnik shares what’s new with wedding food—from the delightful to the downright absurd. Get this week’s recipe for Spaghetti and...
Sep 06, 2024•50 min•Transcript available on Metacast Chef Carla Hall is here to change the way we think about soul food. Plus, we explore cooking with cannabis; Adam Gopnik tells us how to cope when our favorite restaurants close; and we serve up Sweet Fresh Corn Pudding. (Originally aired May 17, 2019). Get this week’s recipe for Sweet Fresh Corn Pudding here . We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://ww...
Aug 30, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, it's all about food inventions and innovations. Nicola Twilley reveals the secret history of refrigeration, from ingenious fridge designs to Rwanda’s pioneering “coldscape.” Plus, meat scientist Chris Calkins invents new cuts of steaks, and Dan Pashman wonders if the food tech takeover is actually a bust. Finally, we share a recipe for the pope’s spaghetti. Get this week’s recipe for Spaghetti with Prosciutto, Parmesan and Peas here . We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your coo...
Aug 23, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Falcons are smart, fast and lethal––but they can also be a farm’s greatest defense against losing an entire harvest. Master falconer Alina Blankenship tells us about protecting fields of grapes and blueberries with her flock of highly-skilled birds, from the falcon that operates like a jet-fighter to the hawk that patrols crops like a bouncer. Plus, Kim Severson reports on Gen Z’s “milk shame” and what the dairy industry is trying to do about it; Alex Aïnouz pursues perfect creme brûlée; and we ...
Aug 16, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Journalist Adam Iscoe takes us inside the underworld of restaurant reservations. Plus, Viola Buitoni teaches us about weeknight Italian cooking, Adam Gopnik shares Mark Twain’s favorite American foods, and Cheryl Day returns to answer baking questions. We want to hear your culinary tips! Share your cooking hacks, secret ingredients or unexpected techniques with us for a chance to hear yourself on Milk Street Radio! Here's how: https://www.177milkstreet.com/radiotips Listen to Milk Street Radio o...
Aug 09, 2024•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today, we're sharing an episode from our friends at “Dinner SOS.” “Dinner SOS” is the podcast where Bon Appétit answers desperate home cooks' cries for help. This week we’re sharing the episode “I Need to Feed My Friend Group.” Caller Maggie invited a group of old friends to her small upstate New York house, expecting some to drop out last minute. But nobody did, and now she has to feed 21 adults, 7 toddlers and 3 dogs ... for a week! “Dinner SOS” host Chris Morocco taps in Sarah Copeland and An...
Aug 06, 2024•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast