Burnt Toast Podcast

What an Editor Learned from Cooking 90 Meals in 30 Days

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January 28, 2016
1 Comment

We cook a lot. But did we cook every single meal in January?

David Tamarkin, editor of Epicurious, did, for his #Cook90 challenge—and I had a few questions, like how was it going? but also: Why did it have to be an all or nothing approach? What counts as "cooking"? Are you so very, very tired of soup? And: Why?

So I asked him for this week's podcast episode:

Listen to hear about the things he didn't expect to learn, and the questions he didn't expect it to raise—and then tell me what you think home cooking is: Record a short voice memo and send it to me at [email protected] for a chance to be featured on a future episode. Does boiling an egg count as cooking? Does burning toast?

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Play the episode above, find it on iTunes, or listen to it using your favorite podcatcher. (Don't have one yet? We're fans of Stitcher.) And tell us what you think in the comments below!

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A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).

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Kenzi Wilbur

Written by: Kenzi Wilbur

I have a thing for most foods topped with a fried egg, a strange disdain for overly soupy tomato sauce, and I can never make it home without ripping off the end of a newly-bought baguette. I like spoons very much.

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1 Comment

Transcendancing
Transcendancing March 15, 2016
I think the using my skills to feed myself is a great definition of cooking. Cooking looks different depending on the day I'm having, the time of year, the budget, my energy levels, whether I'm into or over cooking - so many things. But using skills to feed myself (and family) is a *great* definition. I also really really loved that David looked at his project as one that was about learning what cooking was like for other people - considering that even though he doesn't have the barriers that a bunch of the rest of us might have (and everyone's will be different), that understanding the motivations and needs behind people cooking is pretty valuable as a food website editor. I really hope he got lots out of the experience overall, including learning a bunch of new things to cook that are exciting to him! My favourite thing, is not just when I find a new favourite recipe I want to make regularly, but even more so when I find a new recipe/cooking *technique* that improves my cooking, or makes things easier, taste better, cheaper, more accessible as a cuisine - whatever it is. I love those things. The best example that comes to mind is from Julia Childs' classic book where she uses leeks cooked with butter and vermouth as a part of her quiche recipe - but that technique for preparing leeks (or alliums of any kind) is *awesome* and I've used it to great effect in SO MANY places! Those little things are the best wins. Great interview :)