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129: Yosef Silver: Kosher Cooking and Barbecue

June 29, 2016 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

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Yosef Silver of This American Bite on The Dinner Special podcast talking about Kosher Cooking and Barbecue

This American Bite

Since starting This American Bite, Yosef has evolved into a Kansas City based kosher food blogger. On his blog is where he welcomes us into his kitchen, where he highlights flavor when cooking from scratch, seasoning a plate, and breaking bread. Yosef believes that though it is not always easy to express gratitude in person, a home cooked meal says it all.

I am so happy to have Yosef Silver of This American Bite joining me on the show today.

(*All photos below are Yosef’s.)

On Being Kosher:

Yosef Silver of This American Bite on The Dinner Special podcast talking about being Kosher.

My wife and I are Jewish, and we keep a kosher home. I didn’t really start off to be a kosher blogger in that niche, but inherently my recipes are kosher, and that means that we don’t mix dairy products with meat products. It means our meat is all certified kosher and I’m personally gluten-free and dairy-free completely. So there’s just a lot of synergy with kosher cooking when you’re already doing a dairy-free diet.

I’ve been eating kosher most of my life. I think about since four or five years old, we’ve been keeping kosher in my family.

One of the big no-no’s is mixing the dairy and the meat product. So there’s no biscuits and gravy if there’s butter involved. So I’ll cook with a lot of dairy alternatives. Kosher slaughter has a lot of rules around how the animals are treated while they’re alive and while they’re being slaughtered, as well as there being restrictions on which meat products we eat, and which fish we eat. There’s also humane treatment of the animals as well. So pork is out of the question, and a lot of shellfish is out of the question, lobster, things like that we don’t eat at all. But, I think there’s a lot of traditional brisket and roast chicken on Friday night for the Sabbath. So we don’t go hungry, I’ll tell you that.

I tend not to get overwhelmed with kosher. Produce, fruit, vegetables, beans, legumes, rice, that’s generally kosher. Fish and meat, primarily meat and chicken, there’s a certification. But in the United States it’s very easy. Most Trader Joe’s you’ll go into will carry kosher chicken, maybe kosher meat, depending on what region you’re in. And if you’ve ever been in a store and seen a little symbol, which is a “U” with a circle around it, that’s the kosher symbol.

On the Food Culture in Kansas City:

Yosef Silver of This American Bite on The Dinner Special podcast talking about the food culture in Kansas City.

Kansas City has an awesome food culture. There’s a lady called Jill Silva who writes for the Kansas City Star. And their food blog actually just won a national award for their coverage of the local food scene.

Our kosher barbecue festival brings people in every year from as far as New York, LA. We have the entire country covered. I have a very good friend from Northern California who isn’t Jewish, doesn’t keep kosher, and he flew in to be on my team. Friends of mine from Israel flew in and are on a team with us, and it’s such a culinary adventure. We’re very lucky that Simon Majumdar from the Food Network comes out every year to our barbecue festival, and he either emcees it or judges it. And if you read his book — I think it’s called Fed, White and Blue — he actually talked about a Friday night dinner that he had in our home, and then the weekend of the barbecue festival.

On Competing in the Barbecue Festival:

Yosef Silver of This American Bite on The Dinner Special podcast talking about competing in the Kansas City barbecue festival.

My goal at the barbecue festival really isn’t to win. We’re there to have a great time, and my teammates and I have really embodied that. You’re competing in an official Barbecue Society sanctioned competition, and they’re looking for something specific. They’re looking for the smoke rings. They’re looking for the flavor, the texture. And then you kind of got this rogue team brining turkeys. So our competition has a brisket round, a ribs round. I think it’s brisket, ribs, chicken, turkey; obviously no pork because it’s a kosher barbecue festival. To follow the laws of kosher, everyone’s meat is provided for them, which is very atypical.

Everyone has the same supplies. Everyone has the same ingredients list that you can request from. Everyone has the same smokers, same gloves. We have non-Jewish teams, non-kosher teams that participate, and it really does level up that playing field a lot. And the first year I competed, my buddy Chris and I made a terrible brisket. We fell asleep as the water pan ran out. It was disastrous. It wasn’t even good for jerky. And you know, we got better year on year.

Some of what I’ve learned from barbecue, I now apply in the home kitchen; the low and slow technique, using a dry rub, covering your meat. You can do that in an oven winter or summer.

The Pressure Cooker:

Which food shows or cooking shows do you watch?

I love Chopped. I love the movie Chef and Burnt, and I really miss Iron Chef America.

What are some food blogs or food websites we have to know about?

I’m a big fan of Food52, Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat, I think she’s been on your show; Liz Rueven of Kosher Like Me. And two others that I really admire are Chanie Apfelbaum of Busy in Brooklyn, and Melinda Strauss of Kitchen Tested. And all those people I consider are friends of mine. They’re awesome people. Whitney Fisch of Jewhungry. Jewhungry the blog is an awesome blog, and her writing style is so cool, so much fun, and Jonathan Margolin of Toque & Scalpel. His photography is outstanding. I’m jealous of his photography skills.

Who do you follow on Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook or Snapchat that make you happy?

I know I have specific people on Instagram that I love, but I love exploring the hashtags on Instagram, and discovering other people cooking like me, who, you know…after I hashtag my own photo, I’ll go look at who else is using that hashtag.

What is the most unusual or treasured item in your kitchen?

My wife bought me this beautiful wine rack made out of an old wine barrel. And it’s just this beautiful arch cut out of a wine barrel. It’s the centrepiece of our table all the time. I love it.

Name one ingredient you used to dislike but now you love.

Cilantro.

What are a few cookbooks that make your life better?

I mentioned Culinary Artistry before.

(Ottolenghi) I love his work. I also love that he’s an Israeli author, but he’s not exclusively kosher. I have hundreds of cookbooks.

What song or album just makes you want to cook?

The soundtrack to Chef, and not to sound cliche but that movie and that soundtrack it’s on my Spotify, and it’s on Netflix all the time. It’s a great vibe, great upbeat, awesome music.

On Keeping Posted with Yosef:

Yosef Silver of This American Bite on The Dinner Special podcast talking about keeping posted with Yosef.

I’m pretty active on Instagram. My Instagram name is Yosef Silver, and Facebook on ThisAmericanBite and Twitter as ysilver, I have not  dived into Snapchat yet. I’m a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my postings.

I would love to connect with everybody on Instagram, and I would love to answer questions and just connect. If you have recipes, ideas you’re not sure about, Instagram me, Facebook me, Tweet me, email me. And if you visit my website you can get emails for my new recipes as well.

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Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Amy Kritzer, Busy in Brooklyn, Chanie Apfelbaum, Chef, Chopped, Culinary Artistry, Fed White and Blue, Food Blog, Food Blogger, Food52, Iron Chef America, Jewhungry, Jill Silva, Kansas City, Kansas City Star, Kitchen Tested, kosher, Kosher Barbecue Festival, Kosher Like Me, Liz Rueven, Melinda Strauss, Ottolenghi, Simon Majumdar, This American Bite, Trader Joe's, What Jew Wanna Eat, Whitney Fisch, Yosef Silver

Lazy Day with Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat

April 25, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

Lazy Day with Amy Krtizer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about some of her favorite food blogs and websites, some cookbooks that make her life better and a few Instagram feeds to follow.

One of the really neat things I’ve found about doing the podcast is that I get to learn about not only food, but the stories behind the food.

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat:

Lazy Day with Amy Krtizer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about some of her favorite food blogs and websites, some cookbooks that make her life better and a few Instagram feeds to follow.

Amy’s excitement and enthusiasm for Jewish cuisine is infectious, and her recipes and blog posts are always super funny and creative. It was tons of fun chatting with her.

Because I’m not at all familiar with Jewish cuisine, it was awesome for her to explain some of the culture behind the food and give resources and tips for learning more and giving it a try. (You can catch her episode highlights HERE.)

A Handful of Amy’s Favorite Things:

A Couple of Food Shows She Watches:Chopped
Top Chef
Some Food Blogs and Websites We Have to Know About: My Name is Yeh
Little Ferraro Kitchen
Tori Avey
Food52
Instagrams to Follow:Andy Cohen
The Garden of Eatin
The Infatuation
Cookbooks that Make Her Life Better:Ottolenghi's Cookbooks
The Joy of Cooking
Schmaltz
Music that Makes Her Wanna Cook: Taylor Swift
Whitney Houston

ICYMI: Amy’s World Ending, Last Meal:

The awesome thing about food is that it brings people from different backgrounds together. Amy is sharing not only her food, but the stories behind it, in a creative and fun way. I think that’s pretty darn awesome!

Thanks Amy!

To listen to or download Amy’s episode on iTunes, click HERE.

She’s episode 019.

Don’t forget, if you enjoy listening to the podcast, please do me a favor and rate and review it on iTunes HERE.

It’s been another amazing week thanks to you!

Gabriel

Filed Under: Lazy Day Tagged With: Amy Kritzer, Food Blog, Food Blogger, What Jew Wanna Eat

019: Amy Kritzer: Learning About Jewish Cooking and Culture

March 30, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about keeping posted with her.
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Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast on Learning About Jewish Cooking and Culture

What Jew Wanna Eat

Amy is a cooking teacher, recipe developer, personal chef, and food writer. And her recipes have been featured in Cosmopolitan and Bon Appetite just to name a few. Today, we’re talking about Jewish food.

I am so excited to have Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on the show.

On The Idea Behind Her Blog:

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about the idea behind her blog.

I was living in New York City and wanted a change, so I moved from where I lived to Austin, Texas.

I was working at a corporate job as a consultant and I just felt the need to do something a little more creative. I’d been reading a few food blogs and decided I might as well start my own.

My brother and I, growing up, we were always really into our heritage, our Jewish food, and we had this kind of running joke that we’d open the door for each other and say “after Jew”, instead of after you. So it’s just a Jew thing. It was always a joke we had, and he said, “Why don’t you do Jewish food? Like no one’s blogging about that kind of thing. It’d be different and fun.” So I said, “Yeah, why not?”

I just started it for kicks, and it ended up being my true passion. I looked forward to doing recipes every weekend and I would sneakily go on Facebook at work to update everything, and email my new readers.

It was so fun so I ended up quitting my job to go to culinary school, and that was three years ago. Now, I’ve been doing this ever since.

I’ve always been creative and definitely into writing. One of my prior jobs I had was as a conference producer, so I would write different copy and agendas and interesting things like that. So I’ve always loved writing. And I always loved cooking and baking.

Growing up I cooked a lot with my Grandma, who I call my Bubbe, which is Yiddish for grandma. I’d always cook with her. But I never thought of it as a career until more recently.

It’s definitely something I’ve always had a passion for.

On Where The Name of Her Blog Came From:

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about the name of her food blog.

It was so my brother, as I mentioned, kind of did the “Jew for you” thing.

We were just kind of chatting about funny things, and I think it came up and we were like, “I don’t really know if that’s going to fly. Should I actually use it?”

In hindsight it’s definitely a name that stands out. People see it, they definitely have a reaction. And 99% of the time it’s a positive one like, “That’s funny. I get it, I get it.” And people are like, “Are you Jewish? Is that offensive?” “No, I am Jewish, that’s fine.” But it’s definitely helped me stand out I think, and it definitely says what my blog’s about right off the bat.

On Jewish Food and Jewish Culture:

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about Jewish food and culture.

In terms of Jewish food, versus maybe Italian food or Chinese food, it’s not just from a particular region. Jews have lived all over the world, and Jewish food’s actually evolved, so in different places the Jews have lived, they’ve taken the Kosher rules that they live by, and also some of the familiar recipes for holidays, like let’s say, matzah ball soup is a favorite of mine. It’s very traditional for Passover.

But if you go to Mexico where some Jews live, maybe they’ve added a little bit of spice or a little cilantro to their version. It’s evolved through the years.

Jews, unfortunately, have gotten exiled from a lot of different places. We lived in Eastern Europe and got kicked out of there. We live in America, and grabbed different things there. So living in Texas, I love to take some spices and local flavors and ingredients and adapt them to my food and my traditional recipes.

I think it’s okay to take something traditional and tweak it and add some modern foods and conveniences that we have.

A lot of the food I make is the Ashkenazi Jewish food. My heritage is from Eastern Europe. So I think if you were going to talk to Jews from the Middle East or Africa or anywhere else, they might have different staples.

Part of what I love with my blog is exploring these different types of Jewish food. And people always email me asking me if I can make a recipe that they grew up with, and it’s not something that I grew up with. So I’ve definitely learned a lot.

I would say you’re going to start with Jewish food with the Ashkenazi heritage, there are definitely some ingredients, such as matzah meal if you’re at Passover. Matzah is an unleavened cracker, and you can use it. It’s very popular around that time of year to make everything from matzah ball soup or you can use it to make matzah pizza. It’s a favorite of mine, or desserts using it.

Other Eastern European ingredients would be different kinds of cabbage and beets are really popular, so I like to incorporate those in different recipes.

The Jews had a lot of the tougher cuts of meats, such as brisket, or tongue even. So I’ll experiment with those as well. Things that people aren’t necessarily cooking. If you just give it a little love, you can make it really delicious.

On Some Good Resources to Learn About Jewish Cooking:

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about some good resources for Jewish cooking.

The good thing is Jewish food is kind of in right now, so there are definitely more books and restaurants about it.

A classic book, which is not Jewish per se, but Ottolenghi the Israeli chef. He makes gorgeous Middle Eastern-inspired food that definitely has some Jewish heritage to it. Joy of Kosher is a great blog, and she does some more kosher food, not necessarily always Jewish, but around the holidays especially it’s more Jewish food. The same with the Shiksa in the Kitchen, Tori Avey. She is a great resource. Jewish Food The Nosher, is a website as well.

On Cooking:

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about cooking.

It’s funny, growing up I wasn’t that big into cooking. I was more of a baker.

I was more artsy, so I loved to make cupcakes and decorate them. I would definitely lean more towards baking brownies and cookies.

When I initially started my blog I wanted to start a baking blog. And then I starting thinking like, “Do I want to make cookies every day?” I’m like, “I don’t know if I want to do that.” So I started experimenting with more cooking, and I found that I loved it because you can be a little more freehanded with it.

When I’m cooking for my website, I measure everything to make sure I can let people know exactly how much I used. When I’m cooking for a fun, I’ll just throw a little bit of this and this in there, and clean out my pantry, and add different spices. You can really experiment, and I find it just very relaxing.

On Cooking Non-Jewish Food:

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about cooking non Jewish foods.

These days I definitely cook mostly Jewish food, I’m really busy with my blog and all my freelance work as well. But I like to experiment, especially with different kinds of Mexican cuisine. I like to try different Middle Eastern recipes that aren’t quite Jewish.

I don’t think I had any total disasters. I have had some times where, especially during Passover, when you’re trying to use weird ingredients, because you’re not allowed to have any leavened products. So you’re not having any flour during that time, so I’ll try to make a cake with some weird ingredients and it’s just totally flat and not the best thing. But I don’t think I’ve had any horrible, horrible failures, knock on wood, so far.

On Introductory Jewish Food for Beginners:

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about cooking Jewish food for beginners.

I think it may seem a little complicated, but I love making brisket, because you really can’t go wrong with it if you cook it. The only thing that can go wrong is if you try to boil it instead of cooking it at a low and slow temperature. It’ll take all day, but it’s really mostly hands off. You can even do it in your crockpot.

If you just let it go long enough, seven or eight hours, it’ll come out delicious every time. And you can really add whatever spices you want. I’ve cooked brisket in beer, in whiskey, in wine. I did a little spicy version, added some tahini, so you can really get creative with it, too. I think it’s impressive. People are always impressed.

I think that it’s a little more complicated, than maybe beginner, but it’s really not. I think people just think it’s tricky. That’s definitely a staple.

For more Middle Eastern I always make my own hummus now, and it’s not hard. I think people are a little afraid of using dried beans, but it makes a world of difference. And again, it’ll take a little time, but it’s way better than the stuff you can buy in the store.

One of my favorite hummus recipes is a hatch chile hummus. It’s a little spicy. And recently I did a pomegranate hummus, which is a little sweet.

And one of the most popular recipes on my site is for a whiskey and cranberry braised brisket that I did two years ago. Hanukkah fell on Thanksgiving, so they dubbed it Thanksgivukah, which was really fun. So I did a lot of combo recipes. This is kind of my Thanksgiving meets Hanukkah brisket, but I still make it all the time.

The Pressure Cooker:

Which food shows or cooking shows do you watch?

I am obsessed with Chopped, I could watch that all day. I just love to see what they do with these super weird ingredients, and I think what I would do.

I really love Top Chef, too. The chefs are just on another level, the stuff they come up with, and how fast they can cook things. It’s super impressive.

What are some food blogs or websites that we have to know about?

My Name Is Yeh is a really awesome blog. She’s actually half Jewish, so she makes some Jewish tweaks on her website as well.

One of my good friends, Little Ferraro Kitchen, she does a lot of ethnic foods. I love to see what she comes up with during Hanukkah. She did eight days of different Hanukkah food from around the world, so a lot of them were even new to me, so that was super cool.

Tori Avey, I mentioned. She does a lot of food history, too, so if you’re interested in history, that’s a great one.

And then you mentioned the Food 52. I love that. I don’t even know if I’d consider that a blog anymore, because they’re on another level. But they are great for discovering new foodies and their recipes are always on point.

Who do you follow on Pinterest, Instagram or Twitter that make you happy?

Make me happy, let’s see. I’m really into Instagram especially. I just love the visual aspect of it. I just feel like that’s the new social network, beside Snapchat, but it’s like the cool one, I guess. I like to follow food people and non-food people, so for laughs I’ll follow Andy Cohen. He always has good stuff going on. I like to follow The Garden of Eatin, she’s in Toronto, and it’s E-A-T-I-N, The Garden of Eatin. She does just gorgeous food displays. It must take her an hour to set up these gorgeous shots. But I love following her.

And Infatuation on Instagram. They’ll repost different, other people’s stuff, and they’ll post a different restaurant. Their food always makes me drool, and I won’t even be hungry, I’m like, “I need to eat something.”

I love Instagram. There are so many interesting people.

What is something all home cooks should have in their pantry?

I think besides the immediate staples, something I like to add is unique spices.

Something I’ll have for dinner all the time is just roast of some seasonal veggies with a different spice on it. Maybe make like with a spicy yoghurt sauce on top, or poach an egg and put it on top and that’s it. Especially if I’m eating something heavy during the day, or I’m going out to dinner, I’ll have a nice light lunch.

I think what makes the difference is adding a unique spice. I love using za’atar. It’s a Middle Eastern spice. It’s a blend of actually different spices. The main ingredient is sumac, which is a very citrusy lemony flavor, kind of subtle. There’s oregano in there, sesame seeds, thyme, and sea salt. So you can make it yourself, but it’s just got a really nice balanced flavor.

Then using smoked paprika I like a lot, especially if you’re keeping Kosher, so you’re not having bacon. It adds a nice smoked flavor to the foods, too, in different chilis or stews. It gives kind of a smoky aspect. So I would say a few unique spices can take your dishes, your staples you always make, and bring them to the next level.

Name one ingredient you cannot live without?

Oh, let’s see. I might say tahini. I’ve been really into tahini lately.

Something that I always have in my fridge is Greek yogurt. I’m obsessed with Greek yogurt. I have it a lot as a savory thing, too, so I’ll make like a savory breakfast with some Greek yogurt, and I’ll put in some pumpkin seeds and some hot sauce, which it sounds really weird. But if you think of Greek yogurt as just a very neutral flavor, and you can do so much with it. I’ll even mix that with some tahini some thyme and make a sauce.

Tahini is a sesame paste used in hummus, or I’ll mix it with some hot sauce and put it over some veggies. It’s just extremely versatile. It has a lot protein, so it’s really filling, too.

What are a few cookbooks that make your life better?

I mentioned earlier the Ottolenghi, all his cookbooks are just gorgeous, even just looking at them for the food photos, I love. I always go back to the Joy of Cooking. It’s a classic.

There’s a cookbook called Schmaltz, and Schmaltz is a rendered chicken fat, and it’s a whole cookbook dedicated to what to do with this chicken fat and how to make it. So it’s your traditional Jewish ingredient, but to see it in different ways is really fun. I’d love to try to experiment with that cookbook a little more.

What song or album just makes you want to cook?

I don’t know if I should, but I’ve been listening to a lot of Taylor Swift.

People who don’t like Taylor Swift are lying, I think. It’ll pump me up, and I’m really into 90s music.

I’m a 90s child, so I’ll put on like the 90s Pandora Station, or I don’t know, Whitney Houston, Pandora, and see what comes up. Just something kind of fun and pop-y, and it’ll get you in the mood for cooking for sure.

Keep Posted on Amy:

Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about keeping posted with her.

All my social media links are What Jew Wanna Eat, and you can sign up for my emails on my website. That’s the most consistent way. There’s a few boxes you can sign up there, or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, whatever your favorite way is. Instagram and Facebook are my favorites.

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    Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Amy Kritzer, Andy Cohen, Ashkenazi Jewish, Chopped, Food Blog, Food Blogger, Food52, Infatuation, Jewish Cooking, Jewish Cuisine, Jewish Culture, Jewish Food The Nosher, Joy of Cooking, Joy of Kosher, kosher, Little Ferraro Kitchen, Matzah, My Name is Yeh, Passover, Schmaltz, Shiksa in the Kitchen, Taylor Swift, The Garden of Eatin, Top Chef, Tori Avey, What Jew Wanna Eat, Whitney Houston, Yotam Ottolenghi

    Has Cooking Become a Chore? 28 Food Heroes Share Ideas on How to Make Cooking Fun Again

    February 24, 2015 by Gabriel Leave a Comment

    The Dinner Special podcast 28 Food Heroes Share Ideas on How To Make Cooking Fun Again

    The Dinner Special podcast 28 Food Heroes Share Ideas on How To Make Cooking Fun Again

    I know exactly what I’m making for dinner, each and every night.

    Why is this a bad thing?

    Well, it’s not necessarily, but I’ve found that, for me, cooking has become more of a chore than something that’s fun and enjoyable.

    Especially after a long day, the last thing I want to do is have to think about what to make for dinner.

    Sure, I could:

    • search online for new recipes to try
    • or find inspiration in new food blogs to follow

    but most of the time, I just stick with the tried and true.

    The funny thing is, I love food and I love to cook.

    And yet, every Sunday, when I go to the grocery store, I pick up the same ingredients because on Mondays, it’s pasta, Tuesdays, pork and potatoes, Wednesdays, stir-fry with rice… and the weeks just pass by.

    I totally get that the routine is boring, but it’s so easy. I know exactly how long it will take to make and how it will taste.

    But, I want to break out of this cooking rut.

    I want to have fun in the kitchen again. I want to get excited about making dinner. Maybe not every night, maybe not even once a week, but every now and then, I want to try new herbs, spices and ingredients, and be an inspired home cook!

    This is one of the reasons I started The Dinner Special podcast.

    Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I chat with my food hero guests about their fondest food memories, favorite things inside and out of the kitchen, and a dish that is special to them.

    I also ask them questions like, “For those of us where cooking has become a chore, how can we make it more fun.” Things that I truly want to get some answers and ideas on.

    From time to time, I’ll put together all their answers into a post like this. I hope this makes it easy for you to turn to.

    If you have any burning questions you’d like answered, please send them to me at: thedinnerspecial [at] gmail [dot] com.

    You’re a huge part of The Dinner Special and I’m sure lots of people have the same questions they want answered.

    (Sorry for getting sidetracked.)

    When I asked my food hero guests, “For those of us where cooking has become a chore, how can we make it more fun,”

    Here’s What 28 of Them Had to Say:

    Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars:

    Marisa McClellan of Food in Jars on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    For people who think it’s a chore, I simply say try something easy.

    Learn to scramble eggs really well.

    I don’t think everybody has to love cooking, but we all have to eat.

    I think the best advice I can say to someone is just to keep it simple. Your first meal doesn’t have to be a five-course extravaganza. Like I said, learn to make really good scrambled eggs, or pancakes, or French toast, and that will take you far.

    Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat:

    Amy Kritzer of What Jew Wanna Eat on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think you have to start with some good music, pour yourself a glass of wine, make it like a whole experience.

    Then, start with something easy that is impossible to mess up and I think that will build your confidence and it’ll make it more fun for you.

    I’m not opposed to people who take things that are pre-made and tweaking them a little bit.

    If you bought some pre-made chicken to add to your matzo ball soup, instead of cooking your chicken, that’s fine.

    Whatever makes you happy and makes it work.

    Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam:

    Jordan Reid of Ramshackle Glam on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think just finding your basic technique.

    Like, with a slow cooker, it’s just meat and some liquid and vegetables. And so it’s like, once you get that basic thing down, you can have fun and you can say like, “Oh, I have some sriracha in my fridge. Let me throw that in. Let me try it with soy sauce on the side, let me try it with red wine instead of…”

    I tried Dr. Pepper in a pot roast and it was really good.

    And so I think that’s how you can have fun. Stick to the basics that you know in terms of technique and then you can improvise from there.

    Chef Tony Singh of The Incredible Spice Men:

    Get somebody to help you, because lots of people are time pressured and it is a chore if you’ve got a million and one things to do.

    If you can get your children involved, it’s a great family experience and you’re teaching them life skills. Get somebody to peel the onions or peel the carrots or stand there and start to wash up for you.

    Get people involved and that makes it much, much better.

    The Incredible Spice Men on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Chef Cyrus Todiwala of The Incredible Spice Men:

    What I always tell people in my classes is, when they look at a recipe, let’s say they look at a recipe in our book and they find something which looks very daunting, I always tell them to read the recipe first as if they’re reading a novel.

    Then, shut the book and put it away and come back to it in a couple of hours. The recipe will automatically fall into place and will not look as dangerous.

    The most important thing is unclutter your mind. Just de-clutter it and become creative.

    Just become creative because all you will end up doing is creating something new.

    Elena Rosemond-Hoerr of Biscuits & Such:

    Elena Rosemond-Hoerr of Biscuits and Such on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think, especially during the weekdays, we totally get into a rut.

    One of the things that I like to do is try and dabble with new ingredients or new cuisines.

    So dabbling in things outside of your comfort zone is a good way to sort of bring the fun back into the kitchen.

    And starting really small.

    Trying to make something that you love to eat out, but that you hadn’t even thought that you could make at home, like a burrito bowl and then go from there.

    Jodi Moreno of What’s Cooking Good Looking:

    I think involving people always makes it more fun.

    If I don’t want to sit at home by myself, I’ll just invite a bunch of friends over, casually set the table, give them a job to do and this way we’re not going out to eat ’cause in New York that’s very easy to do.

    So, I think involving people, and if you have a spouse or children, that makes it even easier. My husband likes to cook too so the two of us will do it together and I think we kind of motivate each other to cook at home more often.

    Eva Kosmas Flores of Adventures in Cooking:

    Eva Kosmas Flores of Adventures in Cooking on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Try to think of ways to make it more attuned to your personal taste. So, if you’re trying to just make something from a cookbook, know that you don’t always have to follow it to a T.

    You can always change it up and add something else that you really like.

    If you’re okay about onions but you love leeks, you can totally swap those two out. The same goes with most vegetables. If you hate cooked carrots, but you love brussel sprouts, switch those up, because roasted brussel sprouts get all caramelized and delicious.

    My main thing would be, don’t be afraid to change it up and make it more in tune with what you actually like to eat.

    It’ll be a lot more interesting to you if it’s something that you enjoy, rather than if you’re just almost following guidelines. That’s a lot more boring.

    Courtney Chun of Fork to Belly:

    Courtney Chun of Fork to Belly on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    It’s just about doing recipes that really inspire you, and that you really enjoy.

    Before I started the blog, I would try to make healthy dishes. It would get repetitive. I’m making the same chicken breast, the same salmon with broccoli, and brown rice in it. It’s not like I didn’t enjoy what I was making but the process gets repetitive. It’s just not really fun.

    I started doing cakes or making Japanese dishes because I really enjoy Japanese food. That just really helped to push me along and make me really enjoy what I was doing.

    I think just with anything, you need to find what you love to do.

    Megan Voigt of Hint of Vanilla:

    Megan Voigt of Hint of Vanilla on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    One of the things that I do whenever I bake or cook, or just when I’m in the kitchen ever, is I put on some music, and I kinda dance a little bit. I’m a terrible dancer, and I’m a terrible singer, but I will actually dance and sing as I’m cooking.

    It’s something that you see in movies and you’re like, “Oh, that’s so cheesy.” But you know what? I do it, and I really enjoy it.

    It’s just injecting a little bit of fun.

    Have a recipe that you’re comfortable with, that you know is pretty good for a weekday dinner, so you’re not stressed. Then, on the weekends, you can kind of do a bit more research and try something that you’ve never tried before and maybe do something that has a little bit more time and effort put into it.

    Jonathan Melendez of The Candid Appetite:

    Jonathan Melendez of The Candid Appetite on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I would say turn on music while you’re cooking. That’s like the one thing I always do as I cook, always.

    Right before I start cooking, I will turn on music, I’ll have it on shuffle, and I’ll just listen to music the whole way. And then it feels like you don’t even think about it anymore, because you’re listening to these songs that you really enjoy, and you are in the kitchen.

    And it doesn’t become a chore anymore, because there is something there to distract you.

    Cristina Sciarra of The Roaming Kitchen:

    Cristina Sciarra of The Roaming Kitchen on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think the best thing is just to make it to the market, pick something that looks good to you and go home and search (for example) broccoli recipes. The websites I really rely on, if you type things into Food52, you will have great results with a recipe that will work for you.

    Karen Chan of HonestlyYUM:

    Karen Chan of HonestlyYUM on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I would always say start by making sure you have just the basic correct tools, and I think at the very minimum you just need a really good knife. A really good or really sharp knife, because if you’ve got to sit and cut an onion with a crappy knife, I wouldn’t even want to do that.

    You just need the basics and you need really good basics.

    For example, a really good pot. Like a very good cast iron pot, for example, or for me I use a mortar and pestle all the time. Especially if you’re going to be doing a lot of ethnic cooking, those are just so handy to have.

    But aside from that, music. I almost always listen to music when I cook. It lets you settle into it more and kind of focus on the chopping. It’s a little meditative because you just kind of zone out there listening to music.

    A glass of wine doesn’t hurt. I always have a glass of wine and some music playing and just have fun with it.

    Start with manageable things, have equipment and tools that are good and that will help you. I always say, seriously, a good knife goes a really long way and alcohol…

    Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table:

    Skye McAlpine of From My Dining Table on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    In my mind, what makes cooking a chore is the mess.

    I love cooking. If there are times when I don’t feel like cooking, it’s pretty much always because I cannot face cleaning up the kitchen.

    So, I would say, maybe try and choose dishes where you use fewer saucepans, just to get you started.

    Maybe dishes that don’t require a whole load of equipment. And clean up as you go along, because it’s really easy to wash up as you go along. But if you leave it all until the end, that sort of sets the trap.

    The other thing about cooking is it’s all kind of confidence and practice. The more you do it, the more you are going to enjoy doing it. Go out and buy a really inspiring cookbook full of easy dishes that don’t require lots of washing up and just jump in the deep-end.

    And also, I genuinely believe that cooking for people rather than just cooking for yourself or yourself plus one is so much more fun.

    Nicole Dula of Dula Notes:

    Nicole Dula of Dula Notes on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    My best advice for that is like what we were talking about before, to kind of put a piece of yourself in it because it becomes more personal and it’s more rewarding in the end.

    So if you like, say quinoa, just try to experiment with different things you can put on like a quick sauté of vegetables or vegetables and meat, put it over your favorite grain and just experiment with flavors until you find a dish that’s super easy to make, super adaptable, no matter what’s in your fridge.

    Just have a stand out dish that you can make at the drop of a hat whenever you’re hungry, and then it will just make you feel better about yourself.

    Cindy Ensley of Hungry Girl Por Vida:

    Cindy Ensley of Hungry Girl Por Vida on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Some days you just have to get dinner on the table, so it’s more about what recipes you have in your arsenal. But if you can throw something new in there every week, maybe, or even every couple of weeks, I think that makes it fun.

    Or use a new ingredient. A couple of years ago, my husband and I weren’t really big fans of fennel, so we started implementing it into our meals and now we love it.

    So I think that trying a new ingredient or trying a new recipe, but not going overboard and trying to do it every night of the week. I think that gets daunting.

    There are lots of different ways you can use ingredients and just trying them out a couple of different ways, I think, is also key.

    Phi Tran of Princess Tofu:

    I think you should do it with someone who loves to cook.

    I like cooking with other people. I think if you cook with somebody who likes to share their food and also their skills, it’ll make it more fun.

    It’s nice to do it with someone else every once in a while. And if it gets charred then you have someone else to share pizza with.

    Alanna Taylor-Tobin of The Bojon Gourmet:

    Alanna Taylor-Tobin of The Bojon Gourmet on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Wine or maybe a cocktail or something. Put on some fun music, pour yourself a drink, and just try to relax and make it a treat for yourself.

    Also having someone to cook for, I think, is really important. So invite someone over who super loves food and is really fun and encouraging.

    Ileana Morales of A Little Saffron:

    Ileana Morales of A Little Saffron on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Try not to overthink it. It doesn’t have to be fancy.

    Our weeknight meals tend to be pretty simple. I use canned chick peas all the time and I just do that with some sautéed kale and some bacon. That’s it, that’s dinner. So I would say, don’t overthink it and don’t be so hard on yourself.

    I like to think of a recipe like a guideline, because if you’re out of something, it’s fine, it’s usually not essential. Just work with what you have.

    Katy Atlas of Sugarlaws:

    To make it more fun, two things.

    Don’t do it by yourself if you can avoid it.

    Lots of people think they always have to go out for dinner with friends but actually staying in and cooking is a fun activity to do with friends too. My husband will always keep me company. He’s not a great cook but he’ll help out and hand me cans and do little things to keep me company while I go.

    Put on some music.

    Cooking is sort of a wonderful activity because it’s a great way to just kind of be really active and engaged with it. Your mind isn’t wandering as much as our thoughts tend to wander. You can just focus on it and sort of enjoy the experience of it even if it’s not your favorite thing and can be a tough thing to find time to do everyday.

    We just focus on being present and try to have company for it.

    Renee Byrd of Will Frolic for Food:

    Renee Byrd of Will Frolic for Food on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Trying new things is always fun.

    For me personally, I like trying new spices, new herbs or trying something that’s a little bit weird or that’s a little bit strange.

    I like to play with herbs in sweet things, like muffins, “I don’t really like muffins, muffins are boring,” put something in it that’s different, that has a new texture, that has a new flavor. Like cocoa nibs have the crunchy bitter thing going on and then you have sweet orange zest that is really aromatic.

    These things are very fun for me. I don’t know if it’s fun for everybody. That’s sort of how I have fun in the kitchen.

    Half of my time, I feel, is spent in the process of the mediation of chopping and looking out of my window and experiencing what I’m doing.

    I really am very tactile so I love to touch things and have it in my hands. That’s really pleasurable for me and being able to create something that in my mind is artful out of that is so much fun.

    Meike Peters of Eat in My Kitchen:

    Meike Peters of Eat in My Kitchen on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    It’s like with everything else, you have to go through this time where you fail, where it’s not always fun, and where the results can be quite frustrating.

    You just have to stick to it and cook and cook and cook.

    What I like to do is because we always cook in the evenings, just open a bottle of red wine, have some cheese, some nibbles, and put on some nice music.

    Because for me, what I love about food is, it doesn’t start when it’s on the table and when I eat, it starts already in the kitchen. I create a nice atmosphere in the kitchen and that definitely helps.

    One shouldn’t take everything so seriously. If it doesn’t work out it doesn’t work out, and you try it again.

    Phoebe Lapine of Feed Me Phoebe:

    Phoebe Lapine of Feed Me Phoebe on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I really think that this strategy, cook on Sunday or Saturday, whichever afternoon you have free, and eat all week long, is a nice way to do it.

    You’re not rushed, and once you have those building blocks in your fridge, then ten to 15 minutes of cooking becomes less burdensome on a weeknight.

    I feel like dedicating your afternoon that way is a nice time to grab a buddy or your loved one to tag team and divide and conquer.

    Emily Hilliard of Nothing in the House:

    One of the things that has been nice for me is getting a CSA or farm share.

    That’s really nice because I’m not necessarily someone who can go to the store and have an idea. But, when I have a set framework of like onions, broccoli and potatoes, I think that adds a limiting factor, so you don’t have to start from scratch.

    Another thing I like, I really like cooking with other people. That’s always been present in my life with family and just having friends over and cooking together.

    I also like having music or the radio on while I cook.

    Kristan Raines of The Broken Bread:

    Kristan Raines of The Broken Bread on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I would say just to not worry about a thing and to enjoy the process. I think whether you’re baking or you’re cooking, the process can be the most reviving thing in the world.

    My favorite thing is to just make it communal, grabbing whatever’s in the fridge and not worry if it’s going to come out great.

    For me it’s turning on the music, and if it’s dinner time having a little glass of wine, and taking it slow and making it more of an adventure than a chore.

    That shift in your perspective can aid you in like – “Okay, work day’s over, we can make food and enjoy the food because it’s nourishing and fun to do together”.

    Becky Rosenthal of Vintage Mixer:

    Becky Rosenthal of Vintage Mixer on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    Turn on some music, keep it relaxed. Don’t try anything too difficult at first, and cook things you know you’ll enjoy.

    If you’re trying something new, maybe just have a back up in the fridge just in case it doesn’t turn out.

    But, don’t be too hard on yourself and just stick to the things you know you’ll enjoy.

    Chef Adrian Richardson:

    Chef Adrian Richardson on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I suppose if you can teach people some simple dishes they can do, and how to make the dishes they’re already cooking even more enjoyable with things like seasoning and herbs and switching things around, I think this can be monumental.

    Luisa Weiss of The Wednesday Chef:

    Luisa Weiss of The Wednesday Chef on The Dinner Special podcast talking about how to make cooking more fun if home cooking feels like a chore.

    I think a lot of people think cooking is no fun because they secretly don’t think they’re good at it.

    I’m as lazy as the next person, I will take a short cut if it’s offered to me, I never make my own pasta.

    There are many many really simple recipes out there that if you make them three times, you’ve memorized them by heart, but if you make them, you’re eating really good food.

    That’s what I try to instil in my blog and that’s what I would tell someone who says “I hate to cook”, I’d say, “you know what, I bet you don’t, you just think you’re not good at it, and that’s why you don’t like it.” But actually, if you had some successes in the kitchen, you’d start to like it.

    Awesome tips and advice.

    Thanks food heroes!

    I hope you enjoyed this post. I was actually thinking of only including ten or so responses to keep it short and sweet, but I honestly feel like we can get something from each food heroes’ thoughts.

    Whether it’s a tip, some advice, or simply knowing that they get stuck in cooking ruts too, I find it encouraging and inspiring to hear their thoughts. I hope you do too!

    Let’s get excited about cooking again!

    Check out The Dinner Special podcast here and subscribe to get food and cooking inspiration every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

    How do you keep it fun in the kitchen with a busy schedule?

    I’d love to hear your thoughts!

    Let me know in the comments below.

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    Let’s do this together!

    Gabriel

    Filed Under: Cooking Tagged With: A Little Saffron, Adventures in Cooking, Alanna Taylor-Tobin, Amy Kritzer, Becky Rosenthal, Biscuits and Such, Chef Adrian Richardson, Chef Cyrus Todiwala, Chef Tony Singh, chore, Cindy Ensley, cooking, cooking rut, Courtney Chun, Cristina Sciarra, Dula Notes, Eat in My Kitchen, Elena Rosemond-Hoerr, Emily Hilliard, Eva Kosmas Flores, Feed Me Phoebe, Food in Jars, Food52, Fork to Belly, From My Dining Table, fun, Hint of Vanilla, HonestlyYUM, Hungry Girl Por Vida, ideas, Ileana Morales, inspiration, Jodi Moreno, Jonathan Melendez, Jordan Reid, Karen Chan, Katy Atlas, Kristan Raines, Luisa Weiss, Marisa McClellan, Megan Voigt, Meike Peters, Nicole Dula, Nothing in the Houe, Phi Tran, Phoebe Lapine, Princess Tofu, Ramshackle Glam, Renee Byrd, routine, Skye McAlpine, Sugarlaws, The Bojon Gourmet, The Broken Bread, The Candid Appetite, The Incredible Spice Men, The Roaming Kitchen, The Wednesday Chef, Vintage Mixer, What Jew Wanna Eat, What's Cooking Good Looking, Will Frolic for Food

    Hello! I'm Gabriel Soh, home cook, food enthusiast and your host of The Dinner Special podcast.
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