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A Couple Cooks | Small Bites

Cookbook authors Sonja and Alex Overhiser pair small bites of food with short form interviews to inspire you in less than 20 minutes. The married duo behind the acclaimed website A Couple Cooks has teamed up to explore the stories, ideas, and people behind what we eat, featuring leading authors, entrepreneurs, and celebrity chefs. It’s a busy world, they cut the small talk and get right to the point, all in the time of your daily commute!
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Dec 20, 2018

Food & Wine Culinary Director Justin Chapple joins us for this episode and shares some mad genius cooking tips for spicing up your kitchen! Inspired by his grandmother’s way of making something out of nothing, Justin has gone on to have an illustrious career helping home cooks cook better, quicker, and more delicious food. For our small bite, we eat a smoky marinara soup that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours.

 

Connect: Find Justin on Instagram as @justinchapple and on Food & Wine’s video series Mad Genius Tips

 

Book: Just Cook It by Justin Chapple

 

Small Bite Recipe: Smoky marinara soup from Just Cook It

 

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Dec 13, 2018

Are carbs bad? Are detox diets worth it? In this episode we sit down with two Registered Dieticians with an evidence based approach to eating: Jess and Wendy of Food Heaven Made Easy and the Food Heaven Podcast. They break down food myths and help us with a few practical meal planning tips. For our small bite, some crispy, salty stovetop potatoes that count as part of a balanced diet!

 

Connect: Find Wendy and Jess on the Food Heaven Made Easy website, on Instagram as @foodheavenshow, or as hosts of the podcast Food Heaven Show

 

Small Bite Recipe: Crispy Stovetop Potato Rounds from Food Heaven Made Easy

 

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Dec 6, 2018

Hosting tips straight out of Hollywood from an actress and mom of two! It’s Tiffani Thiessen, who you might know as Kelly Kapowski from Saved by the Bell. Tiffani shares her passion for bringing people together over food, and breaks down some fun ways to help people connect at the dinner table. With her interview, we pair a lemon feta dip from her new book, Pull Up a Chair.

 

Book: Pull Up a Chair: Recipes from My Family to Yours by Tiffani Thiessen

 

Small Bite Recipe: Lemon Feta from Pull Up a Chair

 

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Nov 29, 2018

Why eat organic? It’s a complicated question, so we’ve brought in an expert: the famed Gary Hirshberg who founded America’s largest organic yogurt company. Gary breaks down the benefits of organic for us as a Win, Win, Win: and helps us understand how to start with some organic baby steps. For our small bite with Gary’s interview, our fan favorite apple manchego salad. Another must listen!

Connect: Gary’s “origin story” interview on How I Built This

Book: Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World

 

Resources:

Dirty Dozen List: the top 12 products you should splurge on for organic produce

Skin Deep Cosmetics Database

Gary’s StonyFIELDS project to remove pesticides from playing fields

 

Small Bite Recipe: Apple Manchego Salad from A Couple Cooks

 

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Nov 22, 2018

“I don’t expect perfection: I long for relationship.” Cookbook author and video series host Ashley Rodriguez joins us to talk about life around the table. In an Instagram-saturated world, how do we overcome our desire for a perfect meal and simply gather around the table? We also chat about teaching kids of all kinds learn to embrace the beauty of food. With Ashley’s interview, we pair a charred scallion dip from her new book, Let’s Stay In.

 

Connect: Find Ashley Rodriguez at the Not Without Salt website, on Instagram as @ashrod, or as the host and producer of the video series Kitchen Unnecessary

 

Book: Let’s Stay In by Ashley Rodriguez

 

Small Bite Recipe: Charred Scallion Dip from Let’s Stay In

 

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Nov 15, 2018

Culinary legend Mark Bittman joins us for an intimate conversation about trendy diets and how to make our world a better place through food. His book Food Matters was a part of a growing food movement 10 years ago, but are we eating better today? After writing a 20-year New York Times food column, authoring countless books and being in 4 television series’, there’s still conversation to be had. With Mark's interview, we pair a simple bruschetta you can make in 5 minutes with simple ingredients.

 

Connect: Find Mark Bittman at markbittman.com, subscribe to his newsletter here, and follow him on Instagram @markbittman

 

Small Bite Recipe: White Bean Bruschetta, Idea 19 from 101 Simple Appetizers in 20 Minutes or Less

 

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Nov 8, 2018

This episode stars one woman who’s combating Islamophobia in America one bite at a time! Amanda Saab is founder of Dinner with Your Muslim Neighbor, an organization that brings Muslims and non-Muslims together over home-cooked meals. She’s also the chef behind the Butter Bear Shop bakery in Detroit and star of a new television show called Chef in Hijab. With Amanda’s interview, we pair it with a small bite: a cookie from her Butter Bear Shop.

Connect: Find Amanda Saab at amandasplate.com and on Instagram @amandasplate

Small Bite Recipe: Chocolate Cardamom Halawa Cookies from Butter Bear Shop

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Nov 1, 2018

Can what we eat affect climate change? In this episode we take a bite into the big topic of how what we eat affects the planet. We’re joined by Eliza Barclay, Science and Health Editor at Vox.com, to break it down and share practical takeaways to help our world by eating more plant based meals. With Eliza’s interview, we pair a small bite: irresistible tomato almond dip from our vegetarian cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking.

 

Read: Eliza Barclay and Umair Irfan’s article, 10 ways to accelerate progress against climate change

 

Connect: Find Eliza Barclay at Vox.com and on Twitter @elizabarclay

 

Small Bite Recipe: Irresistible tomato almond dip

 

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Oct 25, 2018

In this episode, we’re transported to Spain by the writer behind the popular blog Gimme Some Oven. Ali Martin reports in from Barcelona about lingering over the table and Spanish tapas. Where American culture is all about speed when it comes to food, Spain is about nourishing relationships around the table. With Ali’s interview, we pair a small bite: homemade roasted patatas bravas.

Connect: Find Ali Martin at www.gimmesomeoven.com, and on Instagram at @gimmesomeoven and @gimmesomeali

Small Bite Recipe: Patatas bravas

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com

Oct 18, 2018

In this episode, cookbook author Julia Turshen shares with us how to reinvent leftovers into new dishes, à la her new cookbook Now & Again. Plus, she provides inventive ideas on what to bring if you’re a dinner guest, and how to connect to your community through food. With Julia’s interview, we pair a small bite: charred broccoli crostini with creamy goat cheese.

 

Connect: Find Julia Turshen on Instagram at @turshen

 

Book: Find her book Now & Again: Go-To Recipes, Inspired Menus + Endless Ideas for Reinventing Leftovers

 

Small Bite Recipe: Make crostini, spread with soft goat cheese (chevre), top with roasted broccoli squeezed with fresh lemon juice (we used the Charred Broccoli recipe from Now & Again)

 

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com

Feb 2, 2018

“Mindset matters. Everyone talks so much about what the perfect diet is—we debate what foods you should take out of your diet, and whether you should exercise or meditate in the morning or the night. And those are all important, but they are totally missing the point if you have a mindset that has you suffering and feeling like you’re a failure.” That’s Robyn Downs, and along with her husband Dr. Andrew, they’re fascinated with the mindsets that lead to healthy eating. This podcaster teamed up with her psychology professor husband to conduct a study on the way we think about food—and the results were surprising. They joined us to talk about their story and what mindsets can help us to be actually healthy.

 

Robyn & Dr. Andrew Downs

Real Food Whole Life

The Feel Good Effect Podcast

Instagram

Their online course! Actually Healthy

 

Vegan pot pie with sage crust | A Couple Cooks

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Jan 23, 2018

Want to be transported to the Eternal City without leaving your couch? We got Rome on the phone in this episode and chatted with Kristina Gill, author and photographer behind the cookbook Tasting Rome. Hear about her love affair with the city that’s kept her there for nearly 20 years, and what she’s learned about authentic Italian cuisine from cabbies to restaurateurs.

 

Kristina Gill

Instagram | Kristina on Design Sponge

Order her book: Tasting Rome

 

Rome Travel Guide | A Couple Cooks

Cacio e pepe | A Couple Cooks via Date Night In

Pizza dough | A Couple Cooks

Pizza with egg | A Couple Cooks

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Jan 10, 2018

Ever wondered what it’s like to write a book—and adopt a baby at the same time? This episode is an exclusive with Alex and Sonja about the process of writing their new cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking. They share about starting A Couple Cooks, deciding to write a book, adopting their son Larson, and all the trials and triumphs in between. Along the way, you’ll learn the entire process of book writing from agent to proposal to launch.

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Dec 19, 2017

"You have to see things not as they are, but as they could be. That's what an artist does. And that's what I am at heart." That’s Majora Carter, real estate developer and urban revitalization strategist who’s won a long list of accolades for her work, including the coveted MacArthur Genius fellowship. Her 2016 TED talk was one of the first 6 on that groundbreaking website. Majora joins us to talk about beautifying our neighborhoods, the value of coffee shops and groceries, and how to create “demand” for real good food. She shares about the Boogie Down Grind Cafe, a coffee shop she helped to start serving high quality coffee (and veggies) in the South Bronx, and the value of taking risks to try new things.

 

Majora Carter

Website | Instagram

 

Boogie Down Grind Cafe | Coffee lovers gift available on Instagram

 

Roasted Brussels sprouts with goat cheese & harissa | A Couple Cooks

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Nov 29, 2017

“Treat sugar like salt.” That’s Bill Yosses, former White House pastry chef for Barack and Michelle Obama. When the First Lady asked him to create healthier treats for her family, he discovered that dialing back the sugar actually made his desserts taste better. In this episode, we learn Bill’s secrets to creating stellar, decadent tasting desserts that are “healthified” but still incredibly delicious. Plus, he shares the behind-the-scenes to making everyday meals at the White House, and President Obama’s favorite dessert.

 

Bill Yosses

Website | Instagram

Order his book: The Sweet Spot

 

Chai-spiced snowball cookies | A Couple Cooks

Soft gingerbread cookies | A Couple Cooks

Maple macadamia vegan blondies | A Couple Cooks

Bliss bites | A Couple Cooks

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Nov 8, 2017

“I love the imperfections in a dinner party. When we micromanage, we lose all ability to see what the dinner party is about. In all truth, no matter what Pinterest tells us or what we see in a magazine, the only things that really matter are the food and the people.” That’s Megan Gilger, Creative Director of the Fresh Exchange blog and brand. She’s passionate about getting people around the table, for events simple and elaborate. This episode is all about the dinner party: practical tips for pulling one off, and how to focus on what matters most: building relationships, shunning perfection, and making it work for you.

 

The Fresh Exchange

Website | Instagram

Some Fresh Exchange gatherings:

Fall harvest

A late evening on the front porch

Ladies night

Barebones Living coolers

 

How and why to start a cookbook club | A Couple Cooks

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Oct 25, 2017

It’s not every day that you get to hear from an entire family of cooks, especially one that’s had such an impact on American food culture. Enter the Pollan Family: Corky, Lori, Dana, and Tracy. Only missing brother Michael Pollan, bestselling author about food and agriculture, the Pollan family shares the story of growing up around the table. Mom Corky passed down a culture of cooking and eating together, which has now been passed down to a new generation of cooks. Along they way, they wrote a cookbook: accessible, everyday recipes, heavy on the vegetables, to inspire families to come together around the table. 

 

The Pollan Family Table

Website | Instagram

Their cookbook: The Pollan Family Table

 

Recipes:

Pumpkin goat cheese baked gnocchi | A Couple Cooks

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Oct 11, 2017

“The day to day romantic vision you have of farming: that is completely gone. It’s full panic mode from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep. We have that in our chest from March until August.” That’s Taylor and Andrea Bemis on what it takes to run a farm as a husband-wife team. Theirs is Tumbleweed Farm, a picture perfect mountain-view farm outside of Portland, Oregon. What’s more, Andrea is a farmer with a first-class food blog and a popular cookbook. For Dishing Up the Dirt, Andrea develops recipes with the produce she grows and photographs them in her home studio. Hear about how she got a cookbook deal to tell their story and behind the scenes of a successful organic vegetable farm. While running a farm is not as romantic as it seems, in the end it’s the most fulfilling work they’ve known.

 

Andrea and Taylor Bemis, Dishing Up the Dirt & Tumbleweed Farm

Dishing Up the Dirt | Instagram

Tumbleweed Farm

Her cookbook: Dishing Up the Dirt

 

Recipes:

Chard quiche with almond crust

Grilled bok choy and turnip rice bowls with soy sesame sauce

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Sep 26, 2017

“Everyone is so busy. We're constantly getting fast food or ordering out because our schedules are so, so busy. Sitting around the table and enjoying a meal, or being in the kitchen and preparing a meal with other family members, the joy and the love of that experience has gotten drowned out. And I really want to make sure that doesn't happen." That’s Jocelyn Delk Adams, the personality behind Grandbaby Cakes. She’s appeared on The Today Show, Everyday with Rachael Ray, and the Cooking Channel with her modern takes on her grandmother’s traditional recipes. Jocelyn sat down with us to chat about her family history in the kitchen, her road to becoming a mother, and how food can have a place in expanding diversity and understanding.

 

Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby Cakes

Website | Instagram

Her cookbook: Grandbaby Cakes

Julia Turshen’s new cookbook: Feed the Resistance

 

Recipes:

Creamy vegan pasta marinara | A Couple Cooks

Spicy oven fried catfish | Grandbaby cakes

 

Links:

This Lebanese cookbook author’s career was inspired by her father’s encouraging words when she was a child

Why eating the same food increases people’s trust and cooperation

 

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Sep 13, 2017

“‘If the front door is closed, climb in through the window.’ That's my life motto. You don't stop when someone says no. You don't stop when there's a bump in the road. You just have to keep going through it. It's tenacity, grit, and perseverance that gets you to the other side of tough times and to your goal.” Ellen Bennett of Hedley & Bennett lives that inside and out. In just five years, she’s built a multi-million dollar apron company from the ground up. She now sells to 6,000 restaurants all over the world, and counts Martha Stewart and Mario Batali as customers. Hear about her Mexican roots that led her to Mexico City for culinary school, and how she’s propelled herself to the top of her game by age 30. This lady’s got major hustle, and her positive, no-nonsense approach will have takeaways for your kitchen and life.

 

Ellen Bennett of Hedley & Bennett

Hedley & Bennett website

Hedley & Bennett on Instagram

Ellen on Instagram

 

Recipes:

Homemade sopes with black beans | A Couple Cooks

Pizza dough video | A Couple Cooks

Preorder our cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Aug 30, 2017

“It’s one thing to be influenced and inspired by a food tradition, but it’s another thing to believe that’s the only way to do it. When I was in Italy I loved so many things about it, but I knew the most Italian thing I could do was to use things in my backyard.” That’s Chris Bianco, award-winning chef and grandfather of artisan pizza in America. He joins us to chat about his new book, Bianco, and how he went from making pizza in the back of a Phoenix grocery store in the 1980’s to one of the top pizza chefs in the country. Along the way, he shares how to be inspired as a home cook, cook for your eaters, and craft something truly simple. Hear us chat with one of the greats in American pizza-making.

 

Chris Bianco

Pizzeria Bianco website | Instagram

Chris Bianco makes pizza with Jimmy Kimmel & Billy Crystal

Buy his cookbook >> Bianco: Pizza, Pasta, and Other Food I Like

 

Recipes:

Homemade pizza dough (video) | A Couple Cooks

White pizza with pecorino, scallions and egg | A Couple Cooks

Kale & pistachio pizza | A Couple Cooks

Preorder our cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

 

Pizza tools: Tipo 00 flour | Pizza peel (standard) | Pizza peel (conveyor) | Pizza stone

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Aug 16, 2017

Feeding yourself is one thing, but feeding other people with various diets and food preferences? It can feel terribly overwhelming. Author and blogger Catherine McCord of Weelicious joins us for this episode to talk about her journey from modeling to culinary school to starting a blog focused on feeding families. We chat about the moment she redefined her career around food, how her son’s health issues disappeared after eating a smoothie per day, and how to adjust to picky eating “seasons”. And, we add few strategies of our own for cooking meals for eaters of all kinds.

 

Recipes:

Grilled shrimp and vegetable skewers | A Couple Cooks

Refried bean tacos with chipotle cashew cream | A Couple Cooks

Broiled salmon with fruit salad | Weelicious

The Smoothie Project | Weelicious

 

Catherine McCord

Website | Instagram | Twitter

Her cookbooks:

 

Her organic meal kit delivery service, One Potato

Use code “COUPLES25” to get $25 your order. One Potato delivers to the following US states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Aug 2, 2017

Food is the great connector—nothing transcends our differences like sharing food around the table. And no one knows that more than Daniel Klein, producer of The Perennial Plate, a James Beard award-winning online documentary series. Daniel has traveled the globe with his filmmaker wife Mirra making short films about sustainable food and the people who make it. He shares his journey from chef to shooting the first season in Minnesota to traveling the word. Along the way, we touch on some big questions: What’s sustainable food, anyway? Should we buy organic? In the current political climate, how do we embrace people different from us and transcend differences? Daniel shares about his latest project telling positive immigrant stories, and we add a story of our own about how sharing food unites us all. All that, and a few new recipes to inspire your kitchen journey.  

 

Recipes:

5 ingredient classic hummus

Herby tomato flatbread with rye cracker crust

 

Daniel Klein, of The Perennial Plate online documentary series

Website | Instagram | Twitter

 

Watch at: theperennialplate.com

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Jul 19, 2017

Twenty-one-year old British cooking phenom Izy Hossack started in food at the tender age of 15 with her food blog, Top with Cinnamon. Now an author of two cookbooks with a large Instagram following, she’s a college student who proclaims a message of sensible, balanced eating—which isn’t such a sexy message, she admits. Her latest book, The Savvy Cook, is all about everyday cooking with real, whole foods that even works on a college student’s time table and budget. A student of nutrition science, she’s also passionate about the spread of misinformation and health fads. As she cautions, “Don’t believe anything you read on the internet!” All that, plus her recipe for spaghetti and vegetarian meatballs, and a few cooling summer treats.

 

Recipes:

Vegetarian spinach meatballs with spaghetti

Chocolate drizzled peanut butter popsicles

Cookie dough glow pops

 

Izy Hossack, author of Top with Cinnamon

Website | Instagram

 

Get her cookbook: The Savvy Cook!

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

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