Salt & Spine

Fashion designer Peter Som joins us to talk about his new cookbook Family Style, the Cantonese grandmother who taught him that food is love, and why entertaining should feel effortless. Plus: char siu bacon cheeseburgers, quick scallion pancakes, and an apple cake that will become your new holiday staple. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Hi there, happy Thursday!What I’m Reading…* Food photographer extraordinaire Eva Kolenko (who’s shot more than 50 cookbooks) has a new Substack and she’s pulling back the curtain on her work. (Eva joined us in our Behind the Spine series back in 2022.)* Cookbook author Marian Burros died at 92 this week. NYT obit. While she authored a dozen-plus cookbooks in her career, the strongest remembrances are around her iconic plum torte, which she published in the Times in 1983 and has remained one of the paper’s most-popular recipes. You can read Pete Wells paying tribute here—or, better yet, bake one yourself. * We’re right in the heart of fall cookbook season, and this year’s lineup is especially rich—stunning, memorable works that I’ve been lucky to dive into (nearly 100 new books have already crossed my desk!). For a taste of the top titles, check out new roundups from Eater, Epicurious, and Saveur. I’ll be chatting with some of the authors on Salt + Spine and can’t wait to share those conversations with you.Episode 173: Deuki Hong & Matt RodbardThis week, chef Deuki Hong and journalist Matt Rodbard join us to #TalkCookbooks! Deuki’s latest restaurant SŌHN is an “all-day cafe and multi-use gathering space” in San Francisco. Matt is a writer who also hosts the prolific TASTE podcast (required listening for food lovers).When their first collaborative book, Koreatown, came out in 2016, it captivated food publishing. For many readers, it was the first time Korean American food culture was presented with such energy, personality, and depth. Eight years later, Deuki and Matt returned with a new, wider-lens look.The authors are quick to note that the new book, Koreaworld, isn’t a sequel. It’s a dispatch from a moment when Korean food and culture are everywhere: K-pop topping the charts, Parasite winning the Oscars, Seoul cafes setting global coffee trends, and a Korean tasting menu taking the top U.S. spot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list this year. As Deuki and Matt write in the opening to Korea World: “You are about to read the story of a culinary revolution.”In our conversation, Deuki and Matt take us behind the scenes of the ambitious project—from their travels through locations like Jeju and Seoul during the pandemic, to profiling the chefs and artisans who make up what they call “Korea World.”🎙️ | We’ve got a great chat with Deuki and Matt—and of course, we put them both to the test in our signature culinary game! Find this episode here on Substack and anywhere you get your podcasts.Koreaworld: A Cookbook by Deuki Hong & Matt RodbardA vibrant exploration of Korean cuisine, both in Korea and in Koreatowns around the globe, with more than 75 bold, flavor-packed recipes and stunning photography from the New York Times bestselling authors of Koreatown.“The wide range of modern Korean food is on display in this fascinating book that is as electric, sumptuous, and diverse as the cuisine it portrays.”—Edward Lee, chef and author of Bourbon LandJoin chef Deuki Hong and journalist Matt Rodbard as they take an insider’s look at the exciting evolution of Korean food through stories of chefs and home cooks, as well as recipes that are shaping modern Korean cuisine, including sweet-spicy barbecue, creative rice and seafood dishes, flavor-bombed stews, and KPOP-fueled street food.In Koreatown, Deuki and Matt explored the foods of Korean American communities across the United States. Now with Koreaworld, they show how Korean cuisine today is nothing less than an international culinary revolution, from the ancient plant-based cooking of famed Buddhist monk-chefs to modern charred-greens rice rolls and pork-stuffed fried peppers.Koreaworld takes readers into the bustling metropolis of Seoul, where the modern-day barbecue scene is pushing into new territory with recipes like Smoked Giant Short Ribs cooked over hay and where the city’s third-wave coffee culture is exploding. Deuki and Matt also visit Jeju Island, where seafood dishes like Jeju Whole Fried Smashed Rock Fish rule supreme, and they explore the plant-based temple cuisine found in the rural province of Jeolla-do, with dishes such as Cold Broccoli Salad with Ssamjang Mayo. The tour continues with late-night food adventures in Los Angeles and stops in the kitchens of innovative chefs from New York City to Portland who are putting modern spins on Korean classics with dishes like Rice and Ginseng–Stuffed Roast Chicken, Grilled Kimchi Wedge Salad, Kkaennip Pesto, and Pineapple Kimchi Fried Rice. Filled with recipes, stories, and conversations of Korean food’s global evolution, Koreaworld is essential reading for anyone curious about the future of food.We 💚 local bookstores. Pick up your copy of Koreaworld here:This week, Substack subscribers can access two featured recipes from Koreaworld:Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you! For this week’s recipes—plus exclusive content and access to hundreds of other featured recipes from your favorite cookbook authors—become a paid subscriber today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

It’s been over a year since I traded my life in California for one in Italy. And while I’ve easily fallen into daily life here, I still crave the way California marked the seasons—not always with weather (hello, San Francisco), but with food. For the eight years I lived in the Bay Area, food was always the signal of change: Early Girl tomatoes in the summer; Dungeness crab and citrus brightening the winter. This week’s guest brings us a taste of that California seasonality. Elizabeth Poett is a seventh-generation rancher, living and working on her family’s 14,000-acre property outside of Santa Barbara. In her first cookbook, The Ranch Table, she invites us along for a year on the ranch: from Branding Day feast in the spring to summer beach cookouts, fall garden harvest, and winter holiday gatherings.Episode 172: Elizabeth PoettElizabeth joined me last year in San Francisco, at our studio in The Civic Kitchen cooking school, and shared her approach to cooking. Much of her inspiration comes from her family heritage, as with the handwritten recipe cards passed down from her grandfather.In our conversation, Elizabeth shares:* How her cookbook The Ranch Table tells the story of a year on her family’s California ranch through seasonal recipes and gatherings.* Why community and abundance are at the heart of her cooking.* How recipes serve as heirlooms, connecting generations across time.Plus, we put Elizabeth to the test in our signature culinary game.The Ranch Table: Recipes from a Year of Harvests, Celebrations, and Family Dinners on a Historic California Ranch by Elizabeth PoettFrom the star of Magnolia Network’s popular show Ranch to Table—a stunningly beautiful cookbook celebrating a year on a ranch on the California coast, featuring simple yet festive recipes, inspiring menus, and fascinating culture and history.Elizabeth Poett was raised on Rancho San Julian, a 14,000-acre ranch on Santa Barbara’s Central Coast that her family has been working since 1837. Her years are structured around the land’s natural rhythms and annual events: celebrations big and small, harvests, and work days that bring her family and community together—and always end with large meals for everyone to share. Elizabeth feeds her friends and family with seasonal ingredients—including vegetables and meat grown and raised on the ranch and fish from California’s Central Coast—barbecuing tri-tips, turning local cod into tacos, and using heirloom tomatoes and summery eggplant into delicious, family friendly pastas.Much like Elizabeth’s life, The Ranch Table is also organized around the work and celebrations that take place on the San Julian throughout the year, giving readers and cooks a chance to dive into the ranch’s most important workdays, family traditions big and small, and annual celebrations. Each chapter begins with a description of an event or a special day—the work of a branding, the joys of the annual family reunion, the fun of a fall cider press, the quiet beauty of a winter evening spent at the kitchen table—and invites you to join in on the day with both beautiful photos of the ranch today and archival images of its past. In each chapter, Elizabeth also shares the recipes for the dishes she makes for these occasions.We 💚 local bookstores. Pick up your copy of The Ranch Table here:For paid Substack subscribers, we’re sharing two of Elizabeth’s recipes from The Ranch Table: her Butternut Squash Soup with Sage and Cast-Iron Corn Bread. Together, they’re a cozy, seasonal meal that’s ready as we transition into autumn:Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. For this week’s recipes—plus exclusive content and access to hundreds of other featured recipes from your favorite cookbook authors—become a paid subscriber today! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Mostly French with Makenna HeldHost Brian Hogan Stewart is joined by his guest, Makenna Held, on the latest episode of Salt + Spine' now part of the Heritage Radio Network. McKenna shares her journey from a background in consulting to becoming a culinary educator after buying Julia Child's former summer home in France. She discusses her bold pivot into the world of food and explains her cooking philosophy, which focuses on improvisational and seasonal cooking rather than strict reliance on recipes. She also touches on her global culinary influences and the challenges of writing her first cookbook. 00:00 Makenna Held Introduction03:52 Early Life and Career Beginnings 06:07 The Pull Towards Food and Hospitality 07:58 The Julia Child House Adventure 12:14 Starting a New Life in France 15:45 Balancing History and Innovation 20:16 Courageous Cooking Philosophy 26:49 Global Influences and Cookbook Development 31:41 Salt Collection Obsession 32:27 First Cookbook Journey 33:14 Recipe Development Process 35:44 Balancing Perfection and Practicality 36:42 Personal Stories Behind Recipes 38:41 Cooking for Kids 41:01 Influences and Inspirations 46:37 Culinary Game 52:09 Conclusion This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Enjoy this excerpt as Viola Buitoni reads from Italy by Ingredient. As Viola recounts, one vivid memory stands out from her childhood. It was a late September day when her mother took her to a fishmonger in Orbitel, nestled by the southern Tuscan coast. The experience, accentuated by the salty breeze of the lagoon and the familial presence, introduced her to bottarga—a cured fish roe delicacy—that has lingered in her kitchen and heart for fifty years.Viola fondly recalls stepping into the courtyard, her mother’s gentle guidance leading her to bottarga, an ingredient as much about tradition as it is about taste. She vividly describes their ritual of shaving it over buttered toast with lemon upon returning home, which later graced their spaghetti—a testament to Bottarga’s sea-like essence that mirrors the salt, wind, and shells. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Lara Gilmore joins me to discuss Slow Food, Fast Cars, the latest book from her and her husband, chef Mossimo Bottura.The book tells the story—through photography, essays, and of course recipes—of Casa Maria Luigia, the boutique inn (albergo) opened by Lara and Mossimo in 2019. Once here, a restored 18th-century villa offers a dozen guest rooms, uniquely decorated with art from Lara & Massimo’s personal collection. From there, the property unfolds: meticulously landscaped orchards and vegetable gardens supply the casual kitchen, led by Osteria Francescana alum Jessica Rosaval, and the on-site restaurant, Francescana at Maria Luigia, where Rosaval and team offer a nightly tasting menu showcasing nine of Massimo’s most iconic dishes. Nearby is the “playground,” where you’ll find a pool table, a gym, and most visibly Massimo’s collection of cars and motorcycles. And Casa Maria Luicia breathes the region, down to every detail: guests staying on the property will find hunks of Parmigiano Reggiano and bottles of Lambrusco greeting them in their rooms.This dichotomy of fast/slow appears often in Massimo’s work. Perhaps most known is his dish, Five Ages of Parmigiano Reggiano, which has been an evolving presence at Osteria Francescana for decades. “It’s about celebrating the slow passing of time,” he tells Forbes, “with a fast and contemporary mind.”In Slow Food, Fast Cars, you’ll find recipes like:Gnocco Fritto, the classic Emilian fried dough, in this case topped with mortadella, whipped ricotta, and extra-aged balsamic vinegar. (“Once you join the fraternity of gnocco fritto,” the authors write, “it is very hard to turn back.”)Smoked Beef Short Rib, a less traditional way of addressing the short rib cute in Modena, but one that at Casa Maria Luigia is paired with a sauce built from smoked fresh apricots and marigold vinegar.Tiramisu, an “untouchable classic” that the team serves in small, individual-sized glass jars to guests.An ML Pantry section that offers infused waters (Fennel Water!), preserved fruits (Amarena Jam!), and other conserves, oils, vinegar, liqueurs, and salts. 🎙️ | We had a great chat with Lara—and of course, we put her to the test in our signature culinary game! Find this episode here on Substack and anywhere you get your podcasts. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Well, hello there! It’s been a minute. The Salt + Spine team has been busy taking some much-needed rest—and, of course, planning for an inspiring year ahead. What’s in store? Amazing podcast episodes, naturally, and all the typical goods: exclusive recipes, cookbook giveaways, and behind-the-spine content you won’t find anywhere else. But there’s more brewing. Big stuff! I can’t spill all the beans yet—but stay tuned for a cookbook lover’s dream, coming this summer. Woo!I hope your 2024 is off to an excellent start. Can you believe we’re already six weeks in? I blinked and it’s Valentine’s Day. And now, I’m so thrilled to be back with all of you to launch our 14th season (!!!) of Salt + Spine.By the way… It’s a new season of Salt + Spine, and if you love what we do, we would be so grateful if you shared the word! Click below to share this episode with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too.Before we get to this episode…🎧 What I’m Listening To* Absolutely loving this new mini-series from Sohla El-Waylly and Ham El-Waylly in collaboration with The Sporkful team. Episode 1 starts with murder and ends with tamale-inspired soup. Start at the beginning. (Psst, stay tuned for my chat with Sohla soon, too!)📖 What I’m Reading* Lots of (very, very deserved) love for The Zuni Cafe Cookbook lately in Eater and TASTE. If you write about TZCC, I will read it. * I just finished Less and, whew, adored it. I’m late to the party, and it sat on my shelf for several years. But I picked it up recently and couldn’t put it down. I also just finished the behemoth Wellness by Nathan Hill (who’s both an alum of my university and of my college newspaper!) Loved his first novel, The Nix, and Wellness was just as captivating and satisfying. Episode 165: The State of California Cuisine with Reem Assil, Tanya Holland & Sara Calvosa OlsonAlright, we’ve got some fun conversations in store this season, and we’re starting by letting you into one of our recent, incredible live events. A hearty crowd joined us in the fall at the stunning Mill Valley Public Library, nestled in a great forest of California redwoods, for a chat we called “The State of California Cuisine.” A lofty title, I know! But we knew just who could bring the modern, representative views of what’s happening in Cali cuisine today: our friends Sara Calvosa Olson, Tanya Holland, and Reem Assil. * Sara is a Karuk home cook whose first cookbook, Chími Nu’am: Native California Foodways for the Contemporary Kitchen, “reimagines some of the oldest foods in California for home cooks today.” Think: acorn crepes, blackberry braised smoked salmon, wild boar pozole, peppernut mole chicken. Sara bills the book as an “accessible entry for people beginning their journey toward a decolonized diet.”* Tanya is the award-winning chef and restauranteur behind Oakland’s beloved Brown Sugar Kitchen (no current brick & mortar location), and a well-known culinary personality. Today, the “Top Chef” alumna chairs the James Beard Foundation’s Awards Committee (and sits on the foundation’s Board of Trustees). Her third cookbook, Tanya Holland's California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West, showcases 80 seasonal recipes rooted in the “key ingredients, techniques, and traditions that African Americans brought with them as they left the South for California, creating a beloved version of soul food.” Alongside recipes, Tanya shares stories of Black Californian food-makers, from farmers to coffee roasters. * Reem is a Palestinian-Syrian chef-activist based in Oakland, CA, who spent a decade as a labor and community organizer before turning to restaurants and opening Reem’s California. Reem brings her social justice lens to the restaurant industry, pushing for more just economic and labor practices. The La Cocina alumna’s debut cookbook, Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora, “shares stories of the power of Arab communities to turn hardship into brilliant, nourishing meals and any occasion into a celebratory feast.”We’ve got a great chat with a lively, engaged live audience. And of course, with these three incredible cooks in one room, we had to put them all to the test in our signature culinary game! Enjoy.We 💚 local bookstores. Pick up your copy of these books via Bookshop:Coming up this week: Paid subscribers to Salt + Spine will receive three recipes from this week’s featured books:Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. For this week’s recipe—plus exclusive content and hundreds of other featured recipes—become a paid subscriber today.This Week’s New Cookbook ReleasesCatching up with 2024 books here, so these include January releases, too!* Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson* The Farm Table by Julius Roberts* Cool Food: Erasing Your Carbon Footprint One Bite at a Time by Robert Downey Jr. and Thomas Kostigen* 5 Ingredients Mediterranean: Simple Incredible Food by Jamie Oliver* Eat More Plants: A Chef’s Journal by Daniel Humm* 15 Minute Meals: Truly Quick Recipes that Don’t Taste Like Shortcuts by Ali Rosen* Come Hungry: Salads, Meals, and Sweets for People Who Live to Eat by Melissa Ben-Ishay* Big Bites: Wholesome, Comforting Recipes That Are Big on Flavor, Nourishment, and Fun by Kate Ashmore* The Complete Beans and Grains Cookbook: A Comprehensive Guide with 400+ Recipes by America's Test Kitchen* Après Ski: 100 Cozy Drinks to Warm Up Your Winter by Cider Mill Press This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Hi there. First today: We’re remembering beloved photographer Aubrie Pick, who tragically passed away last week after a battle with cancer. Aubrie’s work was stunning and personal, and she was a visionary creative force in the Bay Area. Elana Kadvany writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: Pick’s images — vibrant and charismatic, like the photographer herself, collaborators said — have left an indelible mark on the national food scene, and particularly in the Bay Area. Pick photographed numerous high-profile cookbooks, from celebrity chef Chrissy Teigen’s “Cravings” and Bay Area chef Tanya Holland’s “California Soul” to Andrea Nguyen’s “Vietnamese Food Any Day.” Her photos were featured on the covers of Bon Appetit and Food & Wine magazines. She captured Chez Panisse owner Alice Waters in her Berkeley backyard, and caught the light falling just so across a set restaurant table. There is an ongoing GoFundMe to support Aubrie’s husband Erik and 2-year-old daughter Romy here. 📖 What I’m Reading* Julia Moskin spent over a year working to lock in an interview with Half Baked Harvest’s Tieghan Gerard, who has become a polarizing figure in the cookbook industry—so much so that Moskin notes most of the sources she contacted wouldn’t go on the record. Gerard’s early viral success built her a massive online following, and her books sell quite well—but, as Moskin writes, she has “also become an unwilling lightning rod for controversy, entangled in issues that have galvanized the food world in the last decade: cultural appropriation, intellectual property, body shaming, privilege and racism.” A fascinating piece that prompts many discussion questions. Read more in the New York Times here.🎧 What I’m Listening To* 🎙 This week, I adored this conversation with Andrea Nguyen and her mother, Clara, who makes her podcast debut on The Bittman Project. Have a listen: 🍳 What I’m Cooking* 🦃 It’s almost T-Day! This year, I’m hosting a small pre-Thanksgiving dinner party that’s “Thanksgiving-inspired” and built around cookbooks. A new twist and I’m excited to share the menu with y’all soon!Episode 163: John Finger + John AshThis week’s episode was recorded *live* at Hog Island Oyster Co. on the shores of Tomales Bay in Northern California. I’m joined by Hog Island co-founder John Finger and revered chef John Ash for this conversation, which took place while our audience enjoyed a spread of dishes from the new Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood. In the show, we discuss:* The history of Hog Island Oyster Co. and oyster farming in America, and the introduction of Hog Island’s Sweetwater oysters; * How sustainable aquaculture practices have evolved over time—and what’s on the horizon; * And the wide-ranging new Hog Island cookbook, in which John Ash pulls in recipes and techniques from around the globe.Plus, as always, we put our guests to the test in our signature culinary game!The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood: Culinary Treasures from Our Waters by Chef John Ash, with a Foreword by Stuart BriozaFeaturing favorites from the kitchens of Hog Island Oyster Bars and other talented chefs who have embraced the company's sustainability ethos, this authoritative compendium showcases over 250 dishes from cuisines around the world, including regional favorites like San Francisco cioppino, Southern crayfish étouffée, and New England clam chowder. Presenting a wide variety of cooking methods--such as steaming, roasting, grilling, pan-frying, and curing--along with illustrations for techniques like shucking oysters, opening clams, and filleting fish, this comprehensive cookbook will guide you through the basics of seafood preparation. And the extensive list of sauces, butters, and seasonings will help you turn your choice of seafood into a stellar dish.The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood is a master class from a chef who shows home and professional cooks how to bring culinary gifts from the water to the table at their peak of perfection.We 💚 local bookstores! Pick up your copy of The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood here:This week, paid subscribers will receive two recipes from The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood: a perfect-for-Thanksgiving Cornbread Oyster Stuffing with Thyme and Fennel … and a classic Grilled Oysters with Four Sauces (we’re talking Chipotle-Bourbon Butter! Harissa Butter! Mendocino Miso Butter!)Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. For this week’s recipe—plus exclusive content and hundreds of other featured recipes—become a paid subscriber today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Hi, long time! Phew, October is always the wildest cookbook month—it’s even officially dubbed National Cookbook Month—and we’ve been a bit quiet around here. With two little ones running around the house, germs have been rampant, and my voice just hasn’t been cooperating. So we’re catching back after falling a bit behind on our fall release schedule and thrilled to share today’s chat with Hetty Lui McKinnon with all of you.And now, somehow, it’s Oct. 31 - Halloween! I’m a sucker for anything fall. We’re in a judgment-free zone, of course, so I’ll readily admit that I’m happily ordering pumpkin-spiced lattes. I made chili as soon as the temps dipped a bit after our recent heat wave. I broke out my extra warm sweaters, put them away (see: heat wave), and broke them out again.Tonight, I’m making a big batch of Eric Kim’s Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese, which keeps it simple with cheddar and Velveeta. It feels equal parts crowd-pleasing (we’re talking actual toddlers here) and nostalgic. (Usually, for holidays, Martha Stewart’s baked mac is my trusted go-to.)Ah, and costumes. How fitting that we’re talking with Australia-born Hetty today as my family prepares to transform into the animated, hilarious Australian sheepdog family of Bluey, Bingo, Chili, and yours truly, Bandit. Wish us luck on the trick-or-treat streets!📖 What I’m Reading* Kristin Jensen writes about the publication of Butter Boy, the new cookbook from Paul Flynn, “the beloved chef at the Tannery in Waterford and the Irish Times food writer,” wondering: Is a cookbook without photos so retro it's radical?🎧 What I’m Listening To* Self-promo: I was so honored to share the origin story of Salt + Spine on the Everything Cookbooks podcast with friends of the show Kate Leahy, Molly Stevens, and Kristin Donnelly. This trio (plus fourth co-host Andrea Nguyen) really ask great questions and it made for a fun and engaging chat. Listen here or wherever you podcast!🍳 What I’m Cooking* You already know the Halloween menu: Creamy Baked Macaroni and Cheese by Eric Kim [New York Times]Episode 162: Hetty Lui McKinnonIn this week’s episode, Hetty Lui McKinnon and I discuss:* The loss of her father when she was a teenager, and the impact his passing had on her relationship with her family and with food. “As a child,” Hetty writes in Tenderheart, “I didn’t see living among cartons of fresh produce as anything but normal. … My memories of my father are suspended in time, a disrupted dream without an ending. Every memory I have of him is through the lens of a child. He was tenderhearted—generous, caring, affectionate, kind, and playful.”* Her path to writing Tenderheart, her fourth and most personal book to date. Hetty first wrote about her father’s passing in an essay for Peddler, her self-published journal on food and culture. * How Hetty approaches recipe development and her “deep obsession” with vegetables, which leads to recipes in Tenderheart like Cabbage Carbonara-ish, Chocolate-Eggplant Brownies, Tingly ‘Cacio e Pepe’ Snow Peas with Rice Noodles, Lazy Butternut Squash Tiramisu, and—on of my new favorite lunches—an egg salad in which Hetty swaps out the egg for roasted Brussel sprouts. Genius! (By the way, in addition to Hetty’s cookbooks, she publishes recipes regularly with The New York Times and on her Substack, To Vegetables, With Love .)* Plus, as always, we put Hetty to the test in our signature culinary game!For more great listening, our 2021 episode with Hetty is here:Tenderheart: A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds by Hetty Lui McKinnonHeritage and food have always been linked for Hetty Lui McKinnon. Tenderheart is a loving homage to her father, a Chinese immigrant in Australia, told in flavorful, vegetarian recipes. Growing up as part of a Chinese family in Australia, McKinnon formed a deep appreciation for her bicultural identity, and for her father, who moved to Sydney as a teenager and learned English while selling bananas at a local market. As he brought home crates full of produce after work, McKinnon learned about the beauty and versatility of fruits and vegetables.We 💚 local bookstores. Pick up your copy of Hetty’s Tenderheart here:Hetty’s previous cookbooks include Neighborhood, Community, Family, and To Asia, With Love.This week, paid subscribers will receive two featured recipes from Hetty’s Tenderheart—a stunning eggplant dish that gets a classic char siu treatment, and a “carrot-laden ramen” that draws on the smell-memory of satay. These are dropping on Thursday, along with an excerpt of Hetty reading from Tenderheart.Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. For this week’s recipes—plus exclusive content and hundreds of other featured recipes—become a paid subscriber today.This Week’s New Cookbook Releases* Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook by Sohla El-Waylly* Big Heart, Little Stove by Erin French* Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third-Culture Kitchen by Jon Kung * Hungry As Hell by Michelle Davis + Matt Holloway* Preserved: Condiments Darra Goldstein, Richard Martin, Cortney Burns* Preserved: Fruit Darra Goldstein, Richard Martin, Cortney BurnsPsst, we were quiet the past couple of weeks, so catching up on a bunch of other new releases I hope you didn’t miss!* Just Eat by Jessie James Decker* More is More: Get Loose in the Kitchen by Molly Baz * Rintaro: Food and Stories from a Japanese Izakaya in California by Sylvan Mishima Brackett* The Global Pantry Cookbook by Ann Taylor Pittman + Scott Mowbray* Chocolate All Day by Steve Hodge* Fish Butchery: Mastering the Catch, Cut, and Craft by Josh Niland* Joshua Weissman: Texture Over Taste by Joshua Weissman* Let's Bake Bread! by Bonnie Ohara* Let's Eat Paris! by François-Régis Gaudry* The Encyclopedia of Cocktails by Robert Simonson * ScheckEats―Cooking Smarter: Friendly Recipes with a Side of Science by Jeremy Scheck* Basics with Babish: Recipes for Screwing Up, Trying Again, and Hitting It Out of the Park by Andrew Rea* Bread and Roses: 100+ Grain Forward Recipes featuring Global Ingredients and Botanicals by Rose Wilde* Make It Japanese: Simple Recipes for Everyone by Rie McClenny* Maman & Me: Recipes from Our Iranian American Family by Roya Shariat* My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora by Yewande Komolafe* Polish’d: Modern Vegetarian Cooking from Global Poland by Michal Korkosz* The Chutney Life: 100 Easy-to-Make Indian-Inspired Recipes by Palak Patel* Veg-Table: Recipes, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored, Vegetable-Focused Meals by Nik Sharma This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Happy Friday folks! This week’s episode is a wee bit late because it’s a live show (!!!) which means the audio gave us a slight technical run-around. But it’s a fun one, for sure, in which we chat with Katie Parla in front of a live audience at our beloved Omnivore Books in San Francisco. First — last week, I shared the New York Times profile of B. Dylan Hollis, and this week the NYT is back (via Salt + Spine friend Priya Krishna) with a full feature on TikTok stars and how they’re changing the name of the cookbook game. “[Hollis] is one of several TikTok creators, many of them with little or no professional cooking experience, who have gone from tinkering in their home kitchens to topping best-seller lists in a remarkably short time. In the process, they’ve shot a jolt of energy into a sagging cookbook market.”Now, let’s head to Italy…* Hey there, do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too:Episode 160: Katie ParlaIn this week’s episode, Katie joined me in front of an audience at Omnivore Books in San Francisco to discuss:* The cuisines of Italy’s islands—which involve less fish and seafood than you might think;* Her decision to self-publish her latest cookbook, Food of the Italian Islands—and why she’ll keep self-publishing in the future; * What she wishes she knew when she first moved to Italy 20 years ago.Plus, as always, we put Katie to the test in our signature culinary game.Food of the Italian Islands by Katie ParlaA transportive cookbook inviting readers through Sicily, Sardinia, and Italy’s lesser-known island destinations so you can sink your teeth into the secrets of their rustic, romantic dishes. Katie Parla will take you through the streets of Palermo where her great-grandfather was born, across the caper fields of volcanic Pantelleria, into the kitchens of Sardinia for lessons in ornate pasta making, and to the pristine waters of Ponza to dive for sea urchins. And no island adventure with Katie would be complete without a jaunt through the Venetian lagoon on her fishing boat Laura!But Food of the Italian Islands isn’t just an island journey with your favorite Jersey girl. There are also over 85 recipes, both original and reimagined, that showcase the allure of the islands, including pane frattau featuring Sardinia’s beloved flatbread; bigoli in salsa, a party pasta popular in Venice; coniglio all’ischitana, braised rabbIt in the style of Ischia; torta caprese, Capri’s flourless chocolate-almond cake; and an array of pesto sauces from Pantelleria, Trapani, Linsoa, and Carloforte that will have you asking, “pesto genovese who?”We 💚 local bookstores. Pick up your copy of Katie’s latest book here:This week, paid subscribers will receive a recipe for Pesto Pantesco, the regional recipe from the island of Pantelleria, a speck south of Sicily, which employs tomatoes and the “wonderful, savory flavor of Pantelleria’s most famous export, salted capers.” Yum!Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. For this week’s recipe—plus exclusive content and hundreds of other featured recipes—become a paid subscriber today.This Week’s New Cookbook Releases* Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation by Clarissa Wei* Simply West African: Easy, Joyful Recipes for Every Kitchen by Pierre Thiam with Lisa Katayama* Eater: 100 Essential Restaurant Recipes from the Authority on Where to Eat and Why It Matters by Hillary Dixler Canavan* A New Way to Bake: Re-imagined Recipes for Plant-based Cakes, Bakes and Desserts by Philip Khoury * Crave: Bold Recipes That Make You Want Seconds by Karen Akunowicz* Les Dames d'Escoffier New York Cookbook: Stirring the Pot by Silvia Baldini and Sharon Franke* Gatherings: Casual-Fancy Meals to Share by America’s Test Kitchen* Every Season Is Soup Season: 85+ Souper-Adaptable Recipes to Batch, Share, Reinvent, and Enjoy by Shelly Westerhausen Worcel* Skinnytaste Simple: Easy, Healthy Recipes with 7 Ingredients or Fewer by Gina Homolka and Heather K. Jones R.D.* Fraiche Food, Fuller Hearts: Wholesome Everyday Recipes Made With Love by Jillian Harris and Tori WesszerSee you next week! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe

Episode 158: Vicky BennisonIn this week’s episode, Vicky and I discuss:* Growing up for several years on a farm in Kenya, where her father was working in agricultural development, and how she formed a relationship with food at an early age;* Her nearly-decade-long project, Pasta Grannies, to document the time-honored techniques and recipes passed down through generations of nonnas, the Italian grandmothers;* The diversity of regional pasta and cooking styles around Italy, and the stories behind these recipes;* Her cookbooks, including her debut award-winning Pasta Grannies: The Official Cookbook that has now been translated into six languages, and her latest, Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking.Plus, as always, we put Vicky to the test in our signature culinary game.Pasta Grannies: Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison"Heartwarming and deliciously comforting." - Stanley TucciWho better to take inspiration from than Pasta Grannies who have spent their lifetimes plating up comfort and connection. Vicky Bennison, the author of the bestselling Pasta Grannies cookbook, brings you more heart-warming recipes and stories from our favourite Italian grandmothers in this easy-to-follow, crowd-pleasing recipe book that shows you how to make authentic Italian food that everyone will enjoy.We 💚 to support local bookstores! This week, paid subscribers will receive two recipes from Vicky’s latest cookbook: Anna Maria's Ziti alla Genovese (Pasta with Stewed Beef from Naples) and Nini's Arancini (Sicilian Deep-Fried Rice Balls)Salt + Spine is supported by listeners like you. For this week’s recipes—plus exclusive content and hundreds of other featured recipes—become a paid subscriber today. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe