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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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Now displaying: 2017
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

Jul 5, 2017

“Slow it down and enjoy the journey” is author Nicole Gulotta’s motto. She wrote an entire cookbook in the spare time in between her day job and raising her young son. This episode slows it down and explores Nicole’s story, including her journey into the kitchen first for survival and later as a meditative practice. Learn how she made time for things that made her feel alive, like cooking and poetry, and how this evolved into the website and cookbook, Eat This Poem. Plus, a simple and satisfying simple weeknight meal inspired by a poem.

 

Recipes:

Mushroom and brie quesadillas

 

Nicole Gulotta, writer and author of Eat This Poem

Website | Instagram

Cookbook: Eat this Poem

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Jun 21, 2017

This episode’s guest had an office job for 15 years before landing on her dream cooking competition show, Master Chef! It’s Tanorria Askew, quarterfinalist of Season 7 of the show. She shares about how she went from office job to personal chef, what it’s like to be “famous”, and how staring into Gordon Ramsey’s baby blues makes her weak in the knees. She also shares about her passion for diversity and inclusion, and how eating around the table together brings unity even during difficult discussions. Plus, Alex surprises Sonja with her own mystery box challenge right in the A Couple Cooks studio.

 

Recipes:

Coconut bacon

Baked shrimp with tomatoes and feta

 

Garnish like a Salt Bae

 

Tanorria Askew, Personal Chef and Master Chef Quarterfinalist

Website | Instagram

Contact Tanorria about a Unity table

Join Tanorria on a Master Chef Cruise!

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Jun 7, 2017

You’ve heard of four seasons, but six? This episode stars Joshua McFadden, chef/owner of the acclaimed Ava Gene’s in Portland. Joshua shares about his massive cookbook project, Six Seasons, intended to teach everyone from first time cooks to foodies how to make seasonal vegetables taste incredible. He also chats about his journey from film school to chef of one of the premier restaurants in the country. Plus, we share how to make raw falafel, and tips for shopping affordably at your local farmer’s market.

 

Recipes:

Raw falafel buddha bowls

 

Joshua McFadden, Ava Gene’s Chef/Owner (Portland)

Website | Instagram

 

>>Order the cookbook: Six Seasons

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

May 24, 2017

Think the Midwest is all cornfields and cow tipping? Shelly Westerhausen, author of the cookbook Vegetarian Heartland, joins us for this episode about adventurous eating in the Midwest. Shelly shares about her story growing up in the Midwest as a vegetarian, and how this overlooked region is full of culture, vibrant food, waterfalls, caves, and forests. We chat recipe ideas galore, and her favorite delicious restaurants in the heartland of America. (Giveaway included!)

 

Recipes:

Vegetarian reuben sandwich

Coconut curry shakshuka

 

Restaurants:

Bloomington, Indiana:

King Dough | Instagram

Siam House

Taste of India

The Owlery | Instagram

 

Chicago:

The Chicago Diner | Instagram

 

Shelly Westerhausen, Vegetarian Ventures

Website | Instagram | Facebook

 

>>Order the cookbook: Vegetarian Heartland

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

May 9, 2017

Do you find yourself turning to food in times of stress or anxiety? If you’ve ever stress-eaten a pint of ice cream, this episode is for you. We go deep with Kathryne Taylor of Cookie and Kate about emotionally healthy eating and her new cookbook, Love Real Food. We also share a new tacos recipe that’s simple and filling, and a life hack: how to manage your email inbox.

 

Life Hack: Inbox app for Gmail

 

Recipes:

BBQ bean tacos with pineapple salsa | A Couple Cooks

Extra vegetable fried rice | Cookie and Kate

 

Kathryne Taylor, Cookie and Kate

Website | Instagram | Facebook

Her cookbook: Love Real Food

 

Emotionally healthy eating: Survival Tips


A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Apr 26, 2017

This episode is all about our favorite sugary syrup: maple! Our quest to learn more takes us to a maple farm in upstate New York, where we learn everything from how it’s made to the confusing grading system (Grade A, Grade B?). Plus a few of our favorite recipes on how to use it, including our most popular one: bliss bites.  

 

How to grow herbs

 

Recipes:

Bliss bites | A Couple Cooks

Tart cherry greek yogurt bowl | A Couple Cooks

Get your greens pizza | A Couple Cooks

 

Ben Hoelscher, Roxbury Mountain Maple

Website | Order maple


A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Apr 12, 2017

This episode we talk with Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez of Hot Bread Kitchen, a social enterprise bakery that employs and empowers immigrant women, providing them with the skills to succeed in the culinary industry. Then, we pitch our own social enterprises, chat about bread salad and hot bread recipes, and Alex rants about coffee.

 

Recipes:

Red lentil curry (mesir wat) | A Couple Cooks

Panzanella with cherry tomatoes and bell peppers | A Couple Cooks

Garlic herb focaccia bread | A Couple Cooks

 

Jessamyn Waldman Rodriguez, Hot Bread Kitchen

Website | Instagram | Order bread

 

Books:

Hot Bread Kitchen, Artisanal Baking from Around the World

 

Jessamyn speaks at The Patachou Foundation Speaker’s Forum in Indianapolis on April 27 -- order tickets here!


A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

 

Mar 29, 2017

Israeli-born chef Einat Admony is one of the few female chefs who is a wife, mother, cookbook author, and owner of not just one but three successful Israeli restaurants in New York City. She joins us in this episode to chat about what a balaboosta is (and how to be one), tasty falafel and tahini, and her relentless passion for cooking for people she loves. Plus, we chat about fearless cooking and a few Mediterranean-inspired recipes of our own.

 

Recipes:

Baked falafel salad bowl | A Couple Cooks

Falafel patties with harissa yogurt | A Couple Cooks

 

Books:

Balaboosta by Einat Admony

 

Chef Einat on Instagram

 

Restaurants

Taim (NYC)

Balaboosta (NYC)

Bar Bolonat (NYC)

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Mar 15, 2017

In this episode, we share another big announcement, one that starts with c and ends with ookbook! We give you an update on how parenthood is treating us, then catch up with Laura Wright to chat about her book The First Mess, a book full of delicious plant-based recipes. She shares her journey of learning to eat vegetables, volunteering in community cooking classes, and then starting a blog to share them with the world.

 

Recipes:

Fudgy Vegan Brownies

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

 

Books:

The First Mess by Laura Wright

 

Laura Wright | The First Mess

Website | Instagram

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Feb 28, 2017

In this episode, we share a BIG announcement. Then, Sonja sits down for a heart-to-heart with Jessica Murnane to chat about her new cookbook, One Part Plant. A few years ago after some extreme symptoms, Jessica transitioned to a plant-based diet, which significantly improved her endometriosis. Now, she challenges us all to eat one plant-based meal per day. Plus, some behind the scenes on writing a cookbook, and what foods can make you nicer.

 

Recipes:

Mexican fried rice nachos

 

Books:

One Part Plant by Jessica Murnane

 

Jessica Murnane

Website | Instagram

One Part Podcast

The Cookbook Deal Podcast

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Feb 14, 2017

In honor of that love holiday, this episode is all about cooking with those you love. To kick things off, we play the Newlywed Game to see how well we know each other after 10 years! We share our tips for how to have a successful cooking date—and our experience with a cooking date gone wrong. Plus, our favorite heart-shaped foods and our newest recipe for a simple, stunning dessert. (Extra points if you count how many times we say love in this episode.)

 

The newlywed game

But really: Is it desert or deserted island?

 

Recipes:

Salmon en papillote

Heart-shaped pizzas

All natural pink swirled chocolate bark

Cacio e pepe pasta

10 romantic Valentine’s Day recipes

 

Our FANCY PIZZA PEEL (works like a charm)

 

Books:

Date Night In by Ashley Rodriguez

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Feb 1, 2017

“If you’re alive, you’re a creative person,” says Elizabeth Gilbert in Big Magic. That said, this episode is all about creativity in the kitchen, whether you think you’re creative or not! Our guest is Tess Masters of The Blender Girl, who’s full of interesting ideas on how to keep the kitchen fresh. Hear about Tess’s new cookbook, her favorite global flavor inspirations, and some crazy smoothie flavors (dill pickle?), along with our recipe ideas for creative riffing on a theme.

 

Recipes:

Vegan Banana French Toast (The Blender Girl)

Thai Curry Naan Pizza

Mexican Pizza

Hot Wings Hummus

Shocking Pink Beet Hummus

Dark Chocolate Hummus

 

Books:

Get it! The Perfect Blend | Tess Masters

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear |  Elizabeth Gilbert

 

Tess Masters, The Blender Girl

Website | Instagram | Facebook


A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Jan 18, 2017

It all started with our neighbor’s question: if I’m supposed to eat “real food”, what do I bring to the office for lunch? In this episode we unpack the term real food and what it means in real life. Author and blogger Lisa Leake of 100 Days of Real Food shares the story of taking her family on a 100-day challenge, including tips for how to help picky eaters learn a love for whole foods. And of course, lots of recipes and laughter.

 

Recipes:

Chickpea Salad

Hot Wings Hummus

Curried Red Lentils or Quick Coconut Curry Lentils with Greens

 

Books:

Get it! 100 Days of Real Food: Fast and Fabulous | Lisa Leake

In Defense of Food | Michael Pollan

Food Rules | Michael Pollan

French Kids Eat Anything | Karen Le Billon

 

Lisa Leake, 100 Days of Real Food:

Blog | Instagram | Facebook

 

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Jan 3, 2017

It’s a new year, and for many of us that means gray skies and cold weather. In this episode, we chat about survival techniques: theme words for 2017, how to stay cozy (hygge), and embracing warm, nourishing foods. Sonja has a fireside chat with recurring guest Melissa Coleman of The Fauxmartha, and we share soup recipes, book picks, and workout recommendations to keep you going through the winter months.

 

Melissa Coleman is The Fauxmartha: Website | Instagram | Facebook

 

Our podcast about “hygge” was Episode 3

 

Recipes:

Tomato artichoke lentil stew | A Couple Cooks

Creamy coconut curry pantry soup | A Couple Cooks

Sweet potato soup with harissa and greens | A Couple Cooks

Pomegranate spice “hygge” cocktail | A Couple Cooks

 

Books:

11/22/63 | Stephen King

The Book Thief | Markus Zusak

 

Workout videos:

Best Abs Ever | Rebecca Louise

45-Minute Cardio + Toning Workout | Jeanette Jenkins


A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

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