**Today's episode is brought to you by Chronicle Books. Salt + Spine listeners can use the code SALT25 to get 25% off orders—with free ground shipping on orders over $25—through the end of 2021.**This week, we're excited to welcome Chef Matthew Raiford to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Matthew is a self-titled "CheFarmer"—that is Chef and Farmer—and the author of Bress ‘n’ Nyam: Gullah Geechee Recipes from a Sixth-Generation Farmer. Matthew was raised in Brunswick, Georgia, where his formerly enslaved great-great-grandfather, Jupiter Gilliard, had amassed more than 450 acres of land by 1874. Today, about 40 acres remain—where Matthew grew up farming alongside his grandmother, his father, and his sister, who now helps run Gilliard Farms with Matthew. Growing up, Matthew spent a lot of time in the kitchen, too, where he learned from his family how to prepare many of the dishes he still loves today.But before Matthew became a chef, he left the South to join the military and at the time claimed he would never go back. During his three tours, he spent time in Germany, Korea, and the Middle East.And then at age 28, Matthew returned to the States to pursue an education in physiology at Howard University. He quickly realized that becoming a physical therapist would take eight years and gave it up when a close friend told him he ought to go to culinary school instead.After completing a year of culinary school in Virginia, he decided to continue his culinary education at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and later attended the University of California–Santa Cruz where he received a degree in ecological horticulture.Since 2010, when Matthew’s grandmother handed over the deed to the family’s land, Matthew has worked with his sister as the sixth generation to farm their family’s land. For several years, he also ran a restaurant called the Farmer and the Larder in downtown Brunswick, which led to a nomination for a James Beard Best Chef Award.Matthew's debut cookbook, titled Bress ‘n’ Nyam—a Gullah phrase that means “Bless and Eat”—is filled with both recipes and stories passed down through generations. The recipes honor the land and the food that it provides and are cataloged into sections based on the elements: Eart (Earth), De Wata (Water), Fiah (Fire), Win’ (Wind), Sweet’n (Nectar), and De Spirits (Spirits). It opens with an ancestral tree and the story of Matthew’s great-great-grandfather.And the recipes within range from a whole hog, roasted over a pit, to plenty of accessible, humble recipes like Reezy Peezy, a rice and bean dish often called Hoppin John whose roots are with the Gullah Geechee. As Salt + Spine friend chef Todd Richards writes, Bress 'n' Nyam “more than gives people a great appreciation of Black Culture, it further shows the diversity of Black Culture through different shades and hues, with Gullah Geechee cuisine as the Matriarch of the Black Food Family.”‍CheFarmer Matthew Raiford joined us remotely from Gillard Farm for this week’s show to #TalkCookbooks. We've got a great chat, including our signature culinary game. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Salt & Spine

Matthew Raiford // Bress 'n' Nyam

NOTE: This is a two-part conversation. We suggest starting with the episode featuring our conversation with Jesse (one earlier in your podcast feed) and continuing with this chat with Julie.This week, we're excited to welcome actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and chef/food writer Julie Tanous to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Jesse and Julie are the co-authors of Food Between Friends, their debut cookbook that features recipes inspired by both of their upbringings and favorite dishes they like to cook together.After a serendipitous meeting at a dinner party, Jesse and Julie formed a quick friendship. Before long, they were cooking together regularly and friends began asking for recipes. A food blog was born. And then, Clarkson Potter took notice and the duo had a cookbook deal.The book is heavy on dishes inspired by the authors' childhoods: Julie's Alabama roots (think a fried green tomato salad or an ode to buttermilk biscuits with three recipes) as well as Jesse's New Mexico upbringing (green chiles pop up in a chicken enchilada pie and a chutney served with pork loin, plus the actor's takes on both sweet and savory sopaipillas).Jesse and Julie also feature a number of jointly developed recipes—a grilled skirt steak paired with pineapple salsa or the ground beef & pickle tacos inspired by LA's now-shuttered Malo.In this week's two episodes, we talk with Julie about her culinary background (graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education, worked in Saveur's test kitchen) and hear from Jesse on lifelong love for cooking and cookbooks. We learn how their friendship formed, how they approached the unique format of their double-billed cookbook, and put them both to the test in our culinary game.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Part 2: Julie Tanous // Food Between Friends

NOTE: This is a two-part conversation. We suggest starting with this episode featuring our conversation with Jesse and continuing with our conversation with Julie (next in your feed).This week, we're excited to welcome actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson and chef/food writer Julie Tanous to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Jesse and Julie are the co-authors of Food Between Friends, their debut cookbook that features recipes inspired by both of their upbringings and favorite dishes they like to cook together.After a serendipitous meeting at a dinner party, Jesse and Julie formed a quick friendship. Before long, they were cooking together regularly and friends began asking for recipes. A food blog was born. And then, Clarkson Potter took notice and the duo had a cookbook deal.The book is heavy on dishes inspired by the authors' childhoods: Julie's Alabama roots (think a fried green tomato salad or an ode to buttermilk biscuits with three recipes) as well as Jesse's New Mexico upbringing (green chiles pop up in a chicken enchilada pie and a chutney served with pork loin, plus the actor's takes on both sweet and savory sopaipillas).Jesse and Julie also feature a number of jointly developed recipes—a grilled skirt steak paired with pineapple salsa or the ground beef & pickle tacos inspired by LA's now-shuttered Malo.In this week's two episodes, we talk with Julie about her culinary background (graduated from the Institute of Culinary Education, worked in Saveur's test kitchen) and hear from Jesse on lifelong love for cooking and cookbooks. We learn how their friendship formed, how they approached the unique format of their double-billed cookbook, and put them both to the test in our culinary game.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Part 1: Jesse Tyler Ferguson // Food Between Friends

This week, we're excited to welcome Reem Kassis to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Born in Jerusalem, Reem moved to the United States at 17 to attend university—and she was determined not to end up in the kitchen. After receiving an MBA from Wharton Business School and an Master's in cultural psychology from the London School of Economics, Reem spent time working at major corporations from McKinsey to The World Economic Forum.But when Reem had her first daughter, Yasneem, she took the opportunity to slow down and reflect on the legacy that she would leave her children. And that’s when Reem pivoted. In 2017, Reem published her first, incredibly successful cookbook, The Palestinian Table,‍Despite her first book’s success, Reem didn’t expect to write a second cookbook—but her passion for sharing the complicated history of Arab cuisine pushed her to begin researching her latest book, The Arabesque Table. The Arabesque Table is a rich history of Arab food. Reem brings her cultural knowledge and the tireless research she’s done to bear on the recipes within the book, bridging the past and present with classic recipes and contemporary interpretations of favorites.Reem joined us remotely for this week’s episode to #TalkCookbooks. Stick around to hear some of Reem’s thoughts on how to thoughtfully credit and research a recipe, her path to cookbook authorship, and how she thinks food media could improve.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Reem Kassis // The Arabesque Table

This week, we're excited to welcome Chef Brandon Jew and food writer Tienlon Ho to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Brandon Jew and co-author, Tienlon Ho, joined us to talk about their recent cookbook: Mister Jiu's in Chinatown: Recipes and Stories from the Birthplace of Chinese American Food.Mister Jiu's—the restaurant on which the book is based—sits in San Francisco's Chinatown on Waverley Place. In 2013, when the famed restaurant Four Seas closed down, Brandon decided to open his own place. But before Mister Jiu's, Brandon was cooking in some of the best kitchens in the Bay; a student of Judy Rogers at Zuni Cafe and Michael Tusk at Quince, Brandon started his cooking career with California cuisine, riffing on French and Italian classics and always, always honoring the ingredients.But when Brandon's paternal grandmother passed away from cancer, he realized that her culinary knowledge and skill could be lost, too. In the book, he describes his grandmother (his Ying-Ying) as the family cook, reminiscing on the incredible food she cooked for the family. After she passed, Brandon says he hit a turning point. He began to look away from Mediterranean cuisine, leaving Quince and flying to Shanghai where he learned more about the complex and diverse culinary history of China.His debut cookbook, written with Ho, tells both the story of Mister Jiu's the restaurant as well as the story of San Francisco's Chinatown—one full of hardships and struggle, but also joy and celebration. Brandon and Tienlon put this tradition and history at the forefront of their work, just as Brandon does in the kitchen at Mister Jiu's.The cookbook features countless recipes, with an entire section devoted to the Chinese American pantry and fermentation. But the recipes are honest and as complex as the food you'll find in Mister Jiu's. For instance, some of the recipes take multiple days to prepare, and one asks for over two dozen ingredients and specialty tools you might not have at the ready in your home kitchens. But many remain very accessible for home cooks.Stick around to hear why it is that Brandon and Tienlon were uncompromising when it came to the recipes, about growing up Chinese American, and about the Mister Jiu's kitchen that—like Zuni Cafe and Chez Panisse before it—is teaching a new generation of cooks how to carry a rich culinary tradition into the future. Plus, as always, we're closing today's episode with a culinary game, and you'll find meticulous and beautiful recipes from Mister Jiu's in Chinatown here on our website.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brandon Jew + Tienlon Ho // Mister Jiu's in Chinatown

This week, we're excited to welcome Lindsay Gardner and Katianna Hong to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Lindsay's debut book, Why We Cook: Women on Food, Identity, and Connection, features interviews, recipes, and essays from more than 100 women in food.An artist whose illustrations and watercolor works have appeared in numerous media, Lindsay is an avid home cook herself and began to take a greater interest in cooking after having kids—a milestone that shaped how she began to think about the connections between food and her identity as a woman. Those connections often came back to this question: “We do we cook?” As Lindsay talked with more and more women in food media, restaurants, and the broader industry, she found both similar and totally unique responses to that question.Which led to the concept for her first book. The volume is beautifully illustrated throughout with Lindsay’s work—watercolors of the interviewees and contributors, paintings of memorable meals or stories brought to life. It’s a diverse volume both in format and in contributors, ranging from cookbook authors to professional chefs to fellow home cooks. It’s both a who’s who of women in food—and shines a light on new voices.We’re joined in this episode by Lindsay and one of the book’s contributors, Katianna Hong. Katiana graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and quickly rose in the ranks at Michelin-starred spots like The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, where she became the first female chef de cuisine at a three-star Michelin restaurant in the U.S. She then led the kitchen at Charter Oak, where she earned numerous accolades.But she stepped away in 2019, for both maternity leave and to reset and come back to the industry in a new way. This year, she’s slated to open Yangbang Society—a Korean American-owned deli and market—with her husband John in Los Angeles’s Arts District.Lindsay and Kat joined us remotely to talk about the Why We Cook book, about gender equity in the food industry, and their relationship to cooking.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lindsay Gardner + Katianna Hong // Why We Cook

This week, we're excited to welcome  Farmer Lee Jones to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Lee grew up in Ohio, where his family has farmed for about six generations. Fresh into college at just 19 years old, Lee saw everything his family owned gone in a day—their farm, their house, their car—after a hail storm devastated their crops, and interest rates were sky-high. In that moment, the family pivoted to smaller scale farming, catering to farmers markets.And it was at a farmers market in Cleveland, Ohio, that a chef approached them. asking where she could buy the type of vegetables she was used to cooking with in Europe, meaning organic, heirloom, chemical-free produce. Lee was in his early 20s, and the family took a vote—and decided to transition to growing only quality ingredients for chefs to use in their restaurants. And that paved the path forward.Today, Lee’s family farm has become The Chef’s Garden, which focuses on regenerative farming and supplies some of the world’s greatest chefs with the quality ingredients they rely on. There is also a major focus on research and innovation, with the Culinary Vegetable Institute, a research and training center on the farm that brings chefs and farmers around the globe together to learn about and innovate on vegetables. And now that wealth of generational knowledge is coming together in Lee’s first cookbook, also titled The Chef’s Garden. It’s both a guide (to more than 500 types of produce and herbs, both common and less-known) and a cookbook, with a collection of more than 100 recipes, including many developed by Jamie Simpson, head chef at the Culinary Vegetable Institute.If you thought you knew vegetables, wait until you see recipes for things like a Seared Rack of Brussels Sprouts, or Cornbread-Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms—or even sweets like Onion Caramel and Beet Marshmallows.Lee joined us remotely for this week’s episode to #TalkCookbooks, calling in from the farm and wearing, of course, his signature overalls-and-red-bow-tie getup. Stick around—it’s a great conversation and we’re closing today’s episode with a vegetable game in addition to some great recipes from The Chef’s Garden for you to make at home.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Farmer Lee Jones // The Chef's Garden

Molly Baz wants you to have fun in the kitchen—and she's determined to teach you how"I just want people to know that cooking can be fun and there's a little bit of work you have to do on the front end to get yourself nice and equipped. And that's what this book is going to help you with. But then it's going to be really fucking fun and it's not going to be a chore anymore."This week, we're excited to welcome  Molly Baz to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Molly became well-known as an editor in the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, where she hosted videos on the magazine’s Youtube page. You may know herfrom the time she butchered an entire pig or when she learned to cook ostrich eggs.Molly grew up in upstate New York, near the Culinary Institute of America, but it wasn’t until later as a college student that Molly learned to love food on a study abroad program in Italy. When Molly graduated from Skidmore College, she took a job at Beacon Hill Bistro, where she says she really got her chops.Now, Molly has published her first cookbook, Cook This Book: Techniques that Teach and Recipes to Repeat. In Cook This Book, Molly tests the bounds of cookbook writing, including QR codes that link to videos teaching you simple skills like dicing onions and seasoning cuts of meat. She believes that we should all be eating delicious food at home and that we ought to be using A LOT more salt.Molly joined us remotely for this week’s episode. Stick around—we’re closing today’s show with our secret ingredient game. So let's head now to our virtual studio where Molly Baz joined us to #TalkCookbooks.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Molly Baz // Cook This Book

This week, we're excited to welcome Claire Saffitz to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Claire became a near-household name during her time at the Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, where she starred in many of the channels’ videos, including her own series: Gourmet Makes. In that show, she reversed engineered popular processed treats, ranging from Sour Patch Kids to Doritos. After growing up in the Midwest, Claire landed at Harvard where she studied History and Literature before moving to Paris where she studied French cuisine and pastry. And that's not the end of her academic career—but before long, she found her way into food media. Today, Claire has her own YouTube channel in addition to contributing to the New York Times food section. Claire joined us this week to discuss her debut cookbook, Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence, which became an instant New York Times bestseller when it was published last fall. Claire believes everyone can be a dessert person, something we'll discuss in today's show. Claire joined us remotely for this week's show—stick around, it's a really great chat. Of course, we're playing a culinary game to close the episode.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Claire Saffitz // Dessert Person

This week, we're excited to welcome Hetty McKinnon to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Hetty’s entry to cookbooks began back in 2011, when she started a salad business, delivering lunch via bicycle around her neighborhood in Sydney, Australia. Before long, she found herself writing her first cookbook to catalog her creations and satisfy her customers, who had begun asking for her recipes. That early salad business built a community — the ritual of delivering a salad would lead to, as Hetty writes, “lively conversation, exuberant laughter and a constantly evolving hunting and gathering of stories and histories.”That first cookbook — titled Community: Salad Recipes from Arthur Street Kitchen — quickly became quite popular, leading to a second cookbook aptly titled Neighborhood: Hearty Salads and Plant-Based Recipes from Home and Abroad. (And then her third: Family: New Vegetarian Comfort Food to Nourish Every Day.) And Hetty's publishing path continued, bringing Hetty and her family to Brooklyn, where she now lives and where she wrote (and photographed) her fourth cookbook, To Asia, With Love: Everyday Asian Recipes And Stories From The Heart. It’s a warm, inviting book — and her most personal book yet, which Hetty describes as a “homecoming … a joyous return to all the humble yet deeply nourishing flavors and meals of my childhood.”Like all of Hetty’s books, the recipes are vegetarian and plant-based — a fact that’s easily glossed over, as we’ll discuss — and you’ll find everything from homemade kimchi to Cacio e Pepe Udon Noodles to Asian-inspired salads like a Smashed Cucumber Salad with Tahini and Spicy Oil.And Hetty’s bringing food stories to life beyond cookbooks: She launched a bi-annual food magazine, Peddler Journal, in 2017, and hosts the publication’s sister podcast, The House Specials.Hetty joined us remotely from her home in Brooklyn for this week’s show. Stick around — it’s a great chat, and we’re playing, of course, a salad-themed game to close the episode. So let’s head now to our virtual studio where Hetty McKinnon joined us to #TalkCookbooks.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hetty McKinnon // To Asia, With Love

This week, we're excited to welcome Ayesha Curry to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Ayesha is the modern food & lifestyle mogul. Growing up obsessed with cooking, Ayesha always had her eyes set on acting — but her foray into food blogging has launched a massive career.Her first cookbook, The Seasoned Life, cemented her status on the culinary landscape. Soon followed restaurants, television shows, a new lifestyle magazine, a new in-person store, and more! And of course, philanthropy: Ayesha and her husband, Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry, launched Eat. Learn. Play., their charity dedicated to ending childhood hunger, encouraging healthy lifestyles, and improving access to quality education. In fact, since the start of the COVID pandemic, they’ve served more than 16 million meals, partnering with locally-owned restaurants to keep workers employed. Ayesha’s built an empire, and it was fueled by that first cookbook. And now, Ayesha’s published her second cookbook: The Full Plate: Flavor Filled Recipes for Families with No Time and A Lot to Do. It's loaded with the recipes Ayesha makes today as a busy mom of three—fast and delicious recipes from Ayesha’s version of an In-N-Out burger (subbing in turkey) to sheet pan meals ranging from salmon to pork. And a well-tested cocktail section, too, for the parents. Ayesha joined us remotely from her home in the Bay Area to #TalkCookbooks for this week’s show—and at the end of the show, we’re putting Ayesha to the test in our culinary game.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Ayesha Curry // The Full Plate

This week, we're excited to welcome Jeff Mauro to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.A Chicago native, Jeff has been beaming into your home TVs via Food Network since 2011, when he was crowned the winner of season seven of "Food Network Star" (and then, later that year, under another crown as the host of "Sandwich King.") And then more shows followed: Food Network’s "The Kitchen," which he’s co-hosted since 2014, and most recently his new show, "Kitchen Crash".A born performer who grew up in a big family, Jeff’s always had a knack for entertaining — both the putting-on-a-show definition and the having-people-over-to-eat definition. That’s translated well into his career and, now, into his first cookbook. It’s titled Come On Over: 111 Fantastic Recipes for the Family That Cooks, Eats, and Laughs Together. And it’s loaded with recipes from Jeff’s childhood — from Chicago classics to smoking & grilling favorites to, of course, sandwiches, to two “boil” recipes.Jeff joined us remotely in the Salt + Spine Virtual Studio for today’s show—and of course, we’re closing with a culinary game (hint: comedy-themed!)  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeff Mauro // Come On Over

HAVE A LISTEN: Loading Dock Talks is the new podcast hosted by Salt + Spine friend chef Preeti Mistry, where each week they talk with chefs, cookbook authors, and activists. Subscribe here.ABOUT THIS EPISODE:Preeti talks with Zoe Adjonyoh - chef, activist, and author - about connecting to her ancestral Ghanaian roots and building community through food, being a queer black woman in the industry, and about some of her favorite West African spices and ingredients.For more from Zoe:Her websiteHer spices (and other fun things)Her cookbookTwitter: @ZoeAdjonyohInstagram: @zoeadjonyoh @ghanakitchenBlack Book: Website  |  Instagram You can find Preeti:Twitter |   Instagram  | Website Produced by Copper & Heat  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

[BONUS] Loading Dock Talks: Zoe Adjonyoh on Ancestral Roots and Queer Intelligence

This week, we're excited to welcome Marcus Samuelsson and Osayi Endolyn to Salt + Spine, the podcast on stories behind cookbooks.Chef Marcus Samuelsson has become a household culinary name, building his restaurant empire from Red Rooster in Harlem to now more than a dozen eateries around the globe. He's won multiple James Beard Awards and is a regular on food TV, from winning both "Top Chef Mastersæ and "Chopped All-Stars" to hosting No Passport Required," his show with Vox Media's Eater. And he's written several cookbooks and a New York Times-bestselling memoir, Yes, Chef.For his latest book, The Rise, Marcus teamed up with James Beard-winning food writer Osayi Endolyn whose wide reaching-work includes writings in The Washington Post, TIME, and Food & Wine. She's also working on a forthcoming book, focused on systemic racism in American restaurants and dining culture. In The Rise, Marcus and Osayi bring together dozens of Black people from across the food industry—chefs, historians, activists—to help tell the story of Black cooks and the story of American cuisine. In these pages, we hear from folks like authors Michael Twitty, Jessica B. Harris, and Toni Tipton-Martin, chefs like JJ Johnson, Mashama Bailey, and the late Leah Chase—to activists, home cooks, farmers, publishers, and more. It's a celebration of Black cooking, a rising class of new Black chefs and voices, and an effort to reclaim and recognize the contributions and talents of generations of Black cooks. NOTE: Marcus and Osayi joined us separately to talk about The Rise and we've edited the interviews together for a better flow, but note that we're not all in conversation together on today's show.Also in this episode: Salt + Spine Kitchen Correspondent Sarah Varney takes The Rise for a ride by making a big pot of crab curry with yams and mustard greens, plus we've got two featured recipes from The Rise for you to make at home.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Marcus Samuelsson + Osayi Endolyn // The Rise

Episode notes coming soon.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Kelly Fields // The Good Book of Southern Baking

We tell the compelling stories behind cookbooks you won't get anywhere else. Featuring interviews with leading authors, we explore the art and craft of cookbooks, looking at both new and vintage cookbooks and the inspirations behind them … the compelling people who create them … and their impact on home cooks and the culinary world.

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