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If Your Food Could Talk

If Your Food Could Talk

Released Thursday, 14th December 2023
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If Your Food Could Talk

If Your Food Could Talk

If Your Food Could Talk

If Your Food Could Talk

Thursday, 14th December 2023
Good episode? Give it some love!
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Episode Transcript

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0:00

Bon Appetit is known for giving their readers

0:03

the recipes that they want to make and

0:05

cooking advice that works. And

0:07

their podcast, Dinner SOS, is

0:09

no different. Put

0:11

on your apron and join host Chris

0:13

Morocco and a guest from the Bon

0:15

Appetit Test Kitchen as they solve your

0:18

toughest cooking questions. From

0:20

prepping for a picnic of 25 to

0:22

perfecting your mac and cheese recipe, Chris

0:25

and another expert give suggestions to callers

0:27

that you will also be able to

0:30

add to your recipe rotation. Some

0:32

people consider cooking to be torture,

0:34

but with Dinner SOS, cooking becomes

0:37

the ultimate labor of love, making

0:39

it the perfect podcast for chefs

0:41

of all skill levels looking for

0:43

inspiration. Get your weekly

0:46

dose of Bon Appetit's Dinner SOS, available

0:48

now wherever you get your podcasts.

0:56

Hi, it's Claudia. Are you a

0:58

parent listening to this podcast? Are you looking for

1:00

new ways to improve your relationship with your kids?

1:03

Then I think you'll love the Project Parenthood

1:05

podcast. Project

1:08

Parenthood is hosted by Dr.

1:10

Naneeka Kaur, a licensed child

1:12

psychologist who specializes in gentle

1:14

parenting techniques. Each

1:16

short episode digs into complex

1:19

family issues like fostering conflict

1:21

management skills, encouraging healthy

1:23

body image, and getting

1:25

past parental perfectionism. Oh, I get

1:27

that. Bonus, she also

1:30

has interviews with other parenting experts

1:32

and psychologists, so you get a

1:34

variety of perspectives. If you're

1:36

ready for more peace, cooperation, and

1:38

connection in your family, it's time

1:40

to listen to Project Parenthood, available

1:42

wherever you get your podcasts. Good

1:49

morning, Claudia. I

1:51

share calling from Italy, Piazza

1:54

Santa, where I live. Um,

1:57

food memories. My

2:00

foodie's story began back when I was a kid in

2:02

the 1960s. The story I wanted

2:05

to share was one where I

2:07

went to visit my grandmother for her birthday.

2:09

Hello, this is Tanner from Los Angeles.

2:11

My name is Ellie. I'm a big

2:13

fan of the podcast and happy to

2:15

share one of my favorite memories as

2:18

it pertains to food. Here

2:21

on If This Food Could Talk, we

2:23

work to bring you food history that

2:25

comes alive. From the U.S.

2:28

Navy's obsession with ice cream to

2:30

fermentation practices that date back thousands

2:32

of years. But we also

2:34

know that food history isn't always in

2:36

the distant past. It's ever-present

2:38

in the small and intimate moments of

2:40

our lives. In other

2:43

words, food history is personal

2:45

history. That's why we

2:47

asked for your food stories. And

2:49

boy, did you deliver from your

2:51

best meals to your worst. Your

2:54

memories range from hilarious

2:56

to nostalgic to delicious.

2:59

Breakfast, tomato sauce, whipped

3:02

thyme, and a little bit of

3:04

sugar. My mom was the worst cook on earth.

3:07

The first thing we would always do is make

3:09

a lot of popcorn and put a ton of

3:11

M&Ms in it. I could feel the enchiladas

3:13

like burning like down my

3:15

throat. They still

3:19

come to me and ask me about

3:21

roasted duck curry. Everything

3:25

We Eat has a story to tell.

3:28

Welcome to If This Food Could

3:30

Talk, a history show for everyone

3:32

who eats. I'm Claudia Hanna. Today,

3:35

we turn the mic on you. We'll

3:38

hear from grandmothers, celebrity chefs,

3:40

world travelers, and to start

3:43

a special surprise, my own

3:45

mom, coming right up after the

3:47

break. Hey,

3:50

everybody, it's Claudia. I love cooking,

3:53

entertaining, and teaching people how to cook.

3:55

The one thing I've learned over the past two years is

3:57

that the food is a very important part of the food.

4:00

the years is that cooking can be

4:02

so much fun. But do

4:04

you know what's not fun? Going to

4:06

the grocery store, chopping vegetables,

4:09

preparing the proteins. It

4:11

all takes time. And that is not the fun

4:13

part of food. The fun part is

4:16

eating, sharing, and connecting.

4:19

So it is holiday season and I

4:21

would love to share with you my

4:23

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4:26

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4:28

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4:30

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4:32

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4:35

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4:37

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4:42

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4:44

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4:46

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4:48

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4:50

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4:52

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4:55

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4:58

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5:00

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5:03

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5:10

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5:13

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5:24

T F F

5:27

R E E. I just

5:29

placed my order. Happy holidays,

5:31

everybody. I hope it is delicious

5:33

and stress free. Hi,

5:41

it's Claudia. I want to tell you

5:43

about the Queens podcast, where childhood friends

5:45

Katie and Nathan explore uncharted history with

5:47

a side of spirits. Queens

5:50

podcast takes their listeners on a journey

5:52

through the incredible lives of women from

5:54

different eras, from lesser known

5:56

figures like Saida Alhara and

5:59

Jean de Clisson. to iconic

6:01

personalities like Marie Antoinette or

6:03

Cleopatra. Each queen is paired

6:05

with a drink recipe that will get you in the

6:07

mood to hear the fun, dramatic,

6:10

juicy, and underrepresented stories

6:12

from some seriously fascinating

6:14

ladies. Because history isn't

6:16

just about dudes on battlefields. It's

6:19

also about the empowering tales of women who left

6:21

their mark. Tune in to

6:23

Queen's podcast, available wherever you get

6:25

your podcasts. You

6:33

better not be crying already. No, I'm not. Oh

6:35

my God. My

6:37

mom, Camilia, is very proud of me

6:39

and the show. And as I thought

6:42

about all of my food memories and

6:44

where my deep love of cooking and

6:46

sharing meals comes from, it

6:48

all points to one place. It's my

6:50

mom. Okay, what's your name? Camilia

6:53

Hanna. Mom, where are you born? I born in Cairo, Egypt. I

6:56

born in Cairo, Egypt. The

6:58

food in Egypt deeply influenced my

7:00

mom and ultimately influenced me. But

7:02

it wasn't all just traditional Egyptian foods

7:04

like falafel or kebabs. Can

7:07

you describe to us what Cairo was

7:09

like growing up in the 50s and

7:11

60s? Very nice,

7:13

to be honest with you. Very

7:16

beautiful. Because we

7:18

used to have all the different cultures

7:20

in our country. You have

7:22

the French, you have the English, you have

7:24

the Greek, you have the Italian. You

7:28

have everybody in our country.

7:30

It sounds very cosmopolitan. It

7:32

was. Do you remember if

7:34

the food was any different? Oh yeah, of

7:36

course. We're

7:39

going to hear two food stories from my mom.

7:41

One right now about her childhood and

7:44

one a little later that was a staple

7:46

of mine. So

7:48

my mom came from a big family. She

7:51

was one of 11 children. I was number

7:53

seven. Lucky seven. To feed

7:55

and care for 11 children, my

7:57

grandmother, or tayta as we called her.

8:00

led the family with military precision. She

8:03

literally had set breakfast hours where the kids

8:05

could come to the kitchen and serve themselves.

8:08

And what dish do you make to feed 11 kids? A

8:11

simple, shareable meal that defined my mom's

8:13

childhood and now has a special place

8:16

in my home as well. Always,

8:18

always in the morning, every day

8:20

this gran belilla, what you call

8:22

it, belilla is wheat berry. Wheat

8:24

berry, yes. Mom should have it

8:27

for us. Big, big, big

8:29

pot. With

8:31

the milk and sugar in it. Okay,

8:34

and cinnamon. Okay, so Tater made the

8:36

breakfast. She cooked this meal only.

8:39

Only this one. Only this

8:41

one. All right, how did she make it?

8:44

Okay, she soaks it overnight. She put in

8:46

a stove with a little bit

8:49

of water for half an hour. Then

8:51

milk. Oh. Full

8:54

milk. Full fat. Full fat. She

8:57

used to have the milk man. He come to

8:59

us every early morning.

9:01

Early, early morning. By

9:03

six or even before. And

9:06

he come to us from the

9:08

cow, fresh and give it to you. You

9:11

know? And it's still warm.

9:13

And the flavor so different. Okay?

9:16

Then she sweet it with sugar

9:18

and honey and cinnamon. And

9:21

leave it on a stove for all of us.

9:23

And each one of us can go and

9:25

help himself. That's our breakfast.

9:29

Mom and her siblings grew up in an apartment in

9:31

Cairo. Their kitchen wasn't very big.

9:33

And I can just picture all of my

9:35

10 aunts and uncles, kids at the time,

9:38

of course, clamoring over a pot

9:40

of hot cereal for breakfast. Think

9:43

of belilla as oatmeal or cream

9:45

of wheat, but way chewier. The

9:47

berries don't break down in the milk. So you

9:49

kind of slurp, kind of chew, and it fills

9:52

your belly right up on a cold winter morning.

9:55

Mom mentioned all of the culinary influences in Cairo

9:57

in the 1950s. Great.

10:00

cuisine is one of the biggest. That's

10:02

why I loved getting this voice memo

10:04

from one of our former guests, Diane

10:06

Kouchelis. She tells us

10:09

a story about learning to make a

10:11

dish that embodies everything she loves about

10:13

Greek cooking. I'm Diane Kouchelis. I'm the

10:15

host of My Greek Table on public

10:17

television. A

10:20

dish that's important to me, one dish,

10:22

that's really hard. I love so

10:24

much about Greek cooking. But

10:26

I'd say I have a dish I return

10:28

to again and again for all sorts of

10:31

occasions. It's hortopita, or

10:33

greens pie. When

10:36

I was in my very early 20s, I moved

10:38

to Greece and I made this for

10:40

the first time. I made my own

10:42

phyllo pastry without ever having seen it

10:44

done or learned it from anyone. And

10:47

I know this might sound a little presumptuous,

10:49

but it's like I just knew how to

10:51

do it. It was in my bones. It

10:53

was in my DNA. And

10:55

I filled it with so many of the

10:58

greens I had discovered and then learned to

11:00

pick them wild myself on Ikaria, where I'm

11:02

from. And that showed me how

11:04

rich is the land and how little one

11:07

really needs if you trust nature and you

11:09

take the time to learn about it. And

11:12

then that hortopita became a kind of

11:14

family symbol. It became a way to

11:17

nourish my family and teach them to

11:19

eat something difficult for kids to embrace,

11:21

greens. I can

11:23

talk about everything that's the

11:26

essence of Greek cooking, seasonality,

11:28

comfort, complex herbal flavors, food

11:30

that is nutritious and delicious

11:33

and plant-based, but most of

11:35

all, love and patience

11:37

as the two most important ingredients

11:39

in any dish. You

11:45

can find Diane's greens pie recipe that

11:47

includes love and patience, along with any

11:49

other recipe that was shared with us

11:51

in the show notes for this episode

11:54

and at our website,

11:56

ifthisfoodcouldtalk.com. That includes this

11:58

next recipe. decadent sticky

12:01

toffee pudding. I try not to

12:03

tell people what's in this, well I don't think they'd eat it. This

12:06

is Kate from the UK. This

12:08

particular recipe has been passed down

12:10

in her family and has a

12:12

surprising royal history to it. Allegedly

12:14

it's the or was the Queen Mother

12:16

in the United Kingdom's favorite cake

12:18

recipe. Instead of hoarding this cake

12:21

for herself, the Queen Mother

12:23

used her position to turn this

12:25

dessert into a gesture of goodwill

12:27

and generosity oppressed Great Britain. One

12:33

stipulation on giving it out

12:35

was that six pence at

12:37

the time, which apparently is now about 2p,

12:39

so not very much, was given to charity

12:41

every time the recipe was passed on to

12:43

a new person. So there

12:45

was no problem handing it out but 2p

12:47

had to be given to any charity which

12:50

is rather a lovely way. So

12:53

the cake is what we

12:55

now call sticky toffee pudding and

12:57

has dates and walnuts in it and a

12:59

rather decadent top which

13:02

consists of brown sugar, cream

13:04

and butter. Even my kids

13:06

who don't like dates love our

13:08

sticky toffee pudding and with the

13:10

royal roots it's a firm favorite

13:13

in our family. Perhaps

13:16

this year you could give this recipe to

13:18

someone and donate a few dollars to a

13:20

charity in their honor. Now

13:24

we're going to continue to travel

13:26

with three short stories about dishes

13:28

discovered in countries far from home.

13:32

First, my friend Christina. On

13:35

a visit to Turkey, a friend told her

13:37

she had to try the kebabs at this

13:39

one spot in the city of Bertha.

13:42

It's a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant with

13:44

a neon green entry and it's

13:46

so popular that it rents seating

13:48

space in surrounding shops and the

13:50

sidewalks in front of those surrounding

13:52

shops. The dish we

13:54

ordered and ate was called

13:57

iskender kebab, many large pieces

13:59

of land. are very thinly

14:01

sliced and then they're placed

14:04

on top of freshly made warm

14:06

pita bread and served

14:08

with a very generous helping of thick

14:10

plain yogurt along with thick slices of

14:13

tomato and for some reason a long

14:15

green not hot pepper. My husband

14:18

and I carried our plates to a

14:20

table and chairs inside a chocolate shop

14:23

across the street from the restaurant because

14:25

the restaurant was full and

14:28

I gotta tell you in my memory

14:31

it's the best melt-in-my-mouth meal

14:33

of my life. Chair

14:38

calling from Italy. The best

14:41

I can remember is

14:43

at 17 going

14:46

to Rome and having

14:52

a pasta and

14:55

thinking this is the best thing I've ever had

14:57

in my life. I didn't know

15:00

the name of it. My friend ordered it

15:03

and later I found it was spaghetti

15:06

carbonara. What

15:09

a treat made in heaven. If

15:12

you've never had spaghetti carbonara

15:14

with fresh handmade pasta, local

15:16

bacon, eggs and aged parmesan,

15:18

it truly is a dish

15:21

straight from the Angels. Unlike

15:23

this next meal. Hi Claudia,

15:25

this is Alex. I'm sure you

15:27

have plenty of stories about the best meals

15:30

people have had but I'm gonna share the

15:32

worst meal I think I've ever had just

15:35

to vary it up a little bit. Just

15:38

gonna warn everybody I agree with

15:40

Alex. This one caught me off guard. I was

15:43

in Iceland about 15 years ago

15:45

and being given

15:48

a little bit of a culinary tour

15:51

of the food in Reykjavik

15:54

and we went to a place where they

15:56

had this cured shark meat

15:58

which I think is a national

16:00

delicacy there. And

16:03

it was served in chunks with little toothpicks

16:05

that you pick it up with and I

16:07

tasted it and it smelled a little bit

16:10

like urine. And

16:13

I asked, well how do you prepare this? And

16:16

they said, well the traditional way of doing it is

16:18

we catch the shark, we dig a

16:20

hole in the ground, we all stand around and

16:23

urinate on it, then we cover

16:25

it up and leave it there for a while

16:27

to cure. Then later

16:29

we come back and dig it up and hang it

16:31

in the air to dry. So it's kind of too

16:36

we like turkey. It

16:38

is one of the most god-awful things I've ever had and I

16:40

have to say that it's

16:42

one of the few things I would not

16:44

eat again. The good news is

16:47

that they have a national

16:49

schnapps in Iceland that translates

16:51

to something like black death.

16:54

So I was able to wash down the

16:56

shark with a glass of black death and

17:00

that sort of seemed fitting at the time. Our

17:08

next story, which is more appetizing,

17:10

is from Nathan. It's one

17:12

I can relate to as a parent and it's

17:15

also about someone who vowed

17:17

to never eat a particular

17:19

food again. What happened was my daughter

17:22

Violet was four years old and

17:25

we were sitting at dinner one time and

17:27

having chicken nuggets and this

17:29

was the time in every parent's life that

17:31

the conversation is always awkward for every parent.

17:34

She looked at her chicken nuggets

17:36

and realized that the chicken comes

17:39

from actual chickens. Like

17:41

oh my god this thing was alive and Violet

17:43

was very upset. She kind of looked at us

17:45

and started crying and said that chicken had a

17:47

mom and a dad which kind of took away

17:49

my appetite for it too quite frankly. Nathan

17:52

said Violet became a vegetarian right

17:54

there at age four years old and

17:57

has been one ever since, about a decade.

18:00

So when it came to Thanksgiving and Christmas, instead

18:02

of turkey or ham, the family

18:04

started something new. So

18:06

I went looking for a good vegetarian entree,

18:09

and I found a recipe online for something

18:11

that I thought would fit the bill. It

18:14

also has a really kind of terrible

18:16

name, but it's a nut loaf. So

18:18

it's kind of like meatloaf, but with

18:20

nuts. You saute

18:22

an onion and you add a bunch

18:24

of finely chopped mushrooms, a couple cups

18:26

of cashews and walnuts that are all

18:29

finely chopped, two cups of cooked brown

18:31

rice, a whole bunch of cheese.

18:34

I mean like a whole bunch of shredded cheese and some cottage

18:36

cheese and a bunch of eggs, and

18:38

then just teaspoon of whatever herbs and

18:40

spices you want. And

18:42

you end up with this really

18:44

dense, flavorful, really delicious nutty loaf.

18:50

So every year I pull out the nut loaf and

18:52

I say, behold, my nut loaf. We're

18:56

going to take a quick break, but when we

18:58

come back, we'll hear more of your food stories

19:01

and we'll hear the food story from

19:03

my childhood that I swear should be

19:05

made into a movie. Stay tuned.

19:13

This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Do

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betterhelp.com/food talk today to get

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10% off your first month. That's betterhelp.com/food talk. If

20:18

you're into cooking and eating during the holidays, then you

20:20

probably have a handful of recipes that you break out

20:22

this time of year. Lots of us

20:24

have that one recipe that we send to friends because

20:26

we know it's going to work every

20:28

single time. The one recipe is about

20:31

building that library. This holiday season,

20:33

join me, Jesse Sparks, and the rest

20:35

of the One Recipe team as we

20:37

talk to chefs and gifted cooks from

20:39

all over the world about their one

20:41

and the story behind it. The

20:43

one recipe will be your go-to for holiday

20:46

cooking ideas. Follow the one recipe

20:48

wherever you get podcasts. Many

20:53

of you had memories of cooking

20:55

with your grandparents, the matriarchs and

20:57

patriarchs of families, passing down their

20:59

family secrets, scrawled on

21:01

note cards covered in buttery fingerprints, holiday

21:04

cookies, pies, Texas chili. But

21:06

where do these family recipes

21:08

really come from? Hello,

21:11

this is Tanner from Los Angeles.

21:14

So last year for the first time, I

21:16

was going to make Christmas

21:18

cookies with my grandmother. It's a tradition

21:20

that my grandmother has been doing for

21:23

as long as I've been around. She's

21:25

been doing this for at least 30

21:27

years. She always makes enough cookies for

21:29

me, my brother, my

21:31

parents, and my uncle. And she

21:34

distributes them. It's a lot of cookies and

21:36

it takes her days to make them all.

21:38

And one of these cookies has always been

21:42

my favorite. It's this little chocolate

21:45

ball, sort of moist, covered

21:48

in powdered sugar. And I

21:50

always thought of it with

21:52

this incredible family recipe. And

21:54

so last year, I

21:56

wanted to help my

21:59

grandmother. grandma make these cookies. She's

22:01

81 now. And

22:03

so I go over there thinking that

22:05

I'm gonna be getting some insight

22:07

into my grandma's old recipes. They

22:11

were gonna make this chocolate ball covered

22:13

in powdered sugar that she referred to

22:15

as Mexican wedding cakes. But

22:18

instead of a recipe known only to grandma, she

22:21

pulls out a little

22:23

piece of cardboard with

22:25

a recipe on the back of a

22:27

Lando Lake's butter box from like 1973.

22:32

So my grandma lied to me by

22:35

making cookies off of a Lando Lake's box.

22:40

It is pretty cool to

22:42

think that every recipe originated

22:44

somewhere, perhaps embellished along the

22:46

way or fused with other

22:48

traditions and ingredients. But

22:51

sometimes it is the simplest dishes that

22:53

stick with us. Like this

22:55

next dish for chef Martin Yan,

22:57

host of the public television show,

23:00

Yan Can Cook. There's

23:02

so many exquisite dishes that I

23:04

have the privilege to taste. They

23:07

are created by some of the absolutely

23:09

best chef in the world. But

23:12

if you ask me for my

23:15

all time absolute, absolute favorite the

23:18

one that stays in my mind, throughout

23:20

not just my career, but my

23:22

life, I will have to say the

23:25

simple home cooked Chinese sausage with

23:27

dry mushroom, steamed and a bed

23:29

of white rice in a clay

23:32

pot. It is humble, nothing

23:35

fancy, but embodies everything the

23:37

good food is supposed to make

23:39

us all feel. It

23:42

clay pot rice with a steamed

23:44

Chinese sausage in some mushroom. It

23:46

was that I look forward to when

23:48

I came home from school when I

23:51

was a little kid in

23:53

China. I was there waiting

23:55

in my mom's little kitchen, but

23:57

I could smell that irresistible.

24:00

a system of aroma before I set

24:02

food in our house. It

24:05

was home, it was comforting. It

24:07

was my mom, the one

24:09

person who first inspired me to step

24:12

into a kitchen. And

24:14

the rest, as they say, is

24:17

history. There's something

24:19

about the image of simple steamed rice in

24:21

a clay pot that is soothing, kind

24:24

of like mom's chicken noodle soup. Something

24:26

so comforting, it may just have

24:28

healing properties. For me, a healing

24:31

dish is a lemon and rice soup.

24:33

I learned from my mother-in-law in Cyprus.

24:36

But for this next listener, a homemade

24:38

stew was her ticket out of

24:40

the hospital. My

24:42

name is L.A. and this is my soup

24:44

story. When I was

24:46

19, I had major surgery. It

24:49

took a while to recover and ask

24:51

per hospital rules, they won't

24:53

release you until you can eat or

24:55

digest properly. And

24:58

in my case, that wasn't happening with the hospital food. So

25:01

a family friend brought me Dorotsebi, or

25:04

Dorowood, a traditional food that is

25:06

eaten in Eritrean Ethiopia, which

25:09

is essentially spicy chicken stew with

25:11

hard-boiled egg. The

25:13

nurses were adamant that I do not eat that. We

25:16

chose to not listen to them, and voila,

25:18

that did the trick. I was released

25:21

the next day. To this

25:23

day, our family friend brags that her

25:25

food is healing. We've

25:31

heard stories about family and friends, but

25:34

what about romantic love? For

25:36

Dave from Ruckersville, Virginia, cooking was a way

25:38

to try and get a girl to marry

25:40

him. But first, he had to

25:42

learn his way around the kitchen. My

25:45

mom was the worst cook on earth. I

25:48

knew I could do better. Dave

25:51

taught himself to cook by watching TV chefs.

25:54

And one day, he decided he wanted

25:56

to impress a special date with a

25:58

special dish. Keith Wellington.

26:01

I got out a bottle of

26:04

a Virginia Bordeaux blend. Wellington

26:08

comes out of the oven in

26:10

its puff pastry glory, perfect

26:13

in the center. The

26:15

puff pastry tightened perfectly

26:17

around the tenderloin and the

26:19

duck cells layer. I

26:22

sliced it up, plated

26:25

it perfectly. Asparagus

26:27

on the side. Hollandaise

26:31

in a little saucepan.

26:36

And the wine. The

26:38

Wellington was memorable. Did

26:41

she marry him? Well, not yet.

26:44

After eight or nine or ten or eleven

26:46

or twelve other meals, she

26:48

finally agreed to marry me. And

26:51

that's why I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Because

26:53

I get to make really great things for

26:56

her. Okay,

26:59

one more story before we get back to my mom. We

27:02

got several stories that honor those who are no longer

27:04

with us. You shared that every

27:06

time you make your grandmother's gnocchi, it's like she's

27:08

there in the room with you. And

27:11

we got this story from Roberta about

27:13

Squash Ogratan and her sister.

27:17

The recipe I'm sharing today is very

27:19

special to me and I will try not to cry too

27:21

much. My older sister passed

27:25

away with no warning in

27:28

January of 2022. Roberta's

27:31

sister, Ellie, worked at a Spanish

27:33

tapas restaurant. Roberta said that

27:35

she remembers the food there being delicious. Crispy

27:39

and fiery pepatas bravas. Rich

27:41

and creamy tortilla, spamula, always

27:43

enough pitchers of sangria to go around. But

27:47

the best thing we ever ate there was

27:49

the Squash Ogratan. It was

27:51

so good that my sister swiped the recipe off of

27:54

the chef's counter one day so that she could recreate

27:56

it at home. After

27:58

we made it together that year. we made it together

28:01

every Thanksgiving and Christmas that we lived in the

28:03

same city. It was

28:05

an instant classic in our family beloved

28:07

by all who tried it, marvelously

28:10

gooey and embodying everything cozy about

28:12

fall and winter food. So,

28:17

grab a Kleenex if you need to, I know

28:19

I do, and enjoy this wonderful

28:22

squash au gratu. You

28:24

can make substitutions on the squash or the

28:26

cheese variety if you absolutely must, but

28:29

Ellie and I always agreed that it was worth

28:31

the scavenger hunt to get the right squash and

28:33

the right cheese. We'd

28:39

like to thank our listeners, family, and

28:41

friends who sent in their memories. Now,

28:46

my family has lots of food stories,

28:48

but there was always one that my

28:50

family told over and over again that

28:53

makes me chuckle. The duck

28:55

story. Do you want to tell

28:57

the story about when Teta came

28:59

to visit in America? Why, but I said

29:02

we're gonna leave out names here so as not

29:04

to embarrass anyone or get anyone in trouble with

29:06

the law. But essentially, my Teta

29:08

came to visit my uncle in Queens,

29:10

New York decades ago. They

29:13

were walking in a park when my

29:15

uncle saw something. Yeah, he saw a

29:17

duck. I think it

29:19

was on the grass and

29:22

the water. Was there like a

29:24

lake or a pond? Teta, it

29:27

was a pond, of course. He

29:29

was admiring this duck, thinking, what

29:31

a beautiful animal. He loved

29:33

this duck so much that

29:36

he took it. He bent

29:38

down and he took it. He

29:41

just picked it up. Yes. And didn't like try to bite

29:43

him? I

29:45

think so, maybe. He loved it. He

29:48

took it. He

29:50

was in the country too. He

29:52

had no idea. No, he thought

29:54

it's something in the ground, walking.

29:57

Allegedly, he thought a duck would be

29:59

a great gift. gift for his young daughter. To

30:02

have it for his daughter to play with. You're

30:04

lying mom. No. You

30:06

took it as a pet? He took it just for fun. To her.

30:08

But the truth is he didn't just want a pet. He

30:11

actually wanted to do it to cook it, to

30:13

eat it. It's a duck. My

30:19

mom was there. Of course. You

30:21

know. So this

30:23

daughter is poor duck in the

30:25

bathroom or something. Yeah. In

30:27

his bathroom. At the time of home. And

30:31

my mom cleaned it for them. And

30:35

they cooked it. And

30:37

they said it is so good. I

30:41

found a duck. I got a duck from sleep. It's

30:43

free from... For

30:53

better or for worse, these are the

30:55

stories that have shaped us. They've given us

30:57

last through the years recipes to pass

30:59

down and have bonded us with our loved

31:01

ones. Like for me. My

31:04

mom loves cooking for others so much.

31:06

Do you have any idea how many

31:08

fridges she has? Three. Three

31:11

fridges. Yeah. Why do

31:13

you have three fridges? You

31:17

know what, Chloe? I know you ask me

31:19

this. For some reason,

31:21

food for me is love to

31:23

give. For

31:26

me. I know maybe other people

31:28

cannot see that. And

31:30

even if when I cook for my children

31:33

or my grandchildren or for my neighbor or

31:35

friends or whatever it is, I

31:37

want to tell them I love you. That's

31:40

in my heart. We

31:43

love you too. Thank you. I

31:45

love you so much. I love you too. I

31:51

want to share with you how to make

31:54

my grandmother's hot cereal called Belilla. It

31:56

is a great holiday breakfast that reminds

31:58

me of where I come from. I add cinnamon,

32:00

a sprinkle of nutmeg, some agave to sweeten

32:03

it, and a handful of fresh pomegranate to

32:05

give it a bright pop of color, some

32:07

vitamin C, and a little bit of a

32:10

crunch. I'll share the recipe with

32:12

you on our website. As

32:14

always, you can reach me

32:16

at ifthisfoodcouldtalk.com and on social

32:18

media at If This Food Could Talk,

32:20

all one word. I'd love for

32:22

you to share your food memories on social media with

32:24

us. Then pick some of your great

32:26

recipes and tag us. Tisla Mideig

32:29

friends, bless your hands this holiday

32:31

season. Take care.

32:45

Thank you for listening to If This Food Could Talk

32:47

with me, Claudia Hanna. If

32:50

you want to support us, you can follow If This

32:52

Food Could Talk on your favorite podcast listening app. And

32:54

while you're there, please leave us a review. That

32:56

really helps. You

32:58

could also get updates on bonus content

33:00

by following me and American Public Television

33:03

on Instagram, formerly

33:05

known as Twitter and Facebook. You

33:07

can find more information on all of our guests

33:09

this season on each episode show notes. Production

33:13

by Cariad Harmon, Tanner Robbins, Reva

33:15

Goldberg, Jacob Lewis, Claudia Hanna, Nate

33:17

Tobey, John Barth, and the team

33:20

at Great Feeling Studio. Editing

33:23

by Yasmin Khan, sound design by

33:25

Jacob Lewis and Jason Sheafly. Associate

33:28

producer, Kate Hayes. If

33:30

This Food Could Talk is based on an original concept

33:33

by Claudia Hanna. Executive producers

33:35

for APT Podcast Studios are Jim

33:37

Dunford, Cynthia Fenneman, and Sean Halford.

33:40

Art for this podcast was created by

33:42

Jay Nungesser. Special thanks

33:44

to Legal by Cody Brown. APT,

33:47

American Public Television, is the

33:49

leading syndicator of high quality,

33:51

top rated programming to American

33:53

public television stations. You

33:56

can learn more at aptonline.org. you

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