Kitchen Radio Home Cooking New York

Jennifer comes out of podcast hibernation to talk about Thanksgiving with Meredith Heuer on her back porch in Beacon, NY, which is the closest they can come to cooking together in a kitchen during this very different holiday season.

"How do I make my food taste better?"

Salt, fat, and acid are the seasoning trifecta. Most people know that salt makes food taste better, as well as a dollop of butter, but "acid" is perhaps the least understand of the seasoning tools in the home cook's kitchen. But it is the most magical. Find out how to add just the right amount to make your food sing out for joy. Listen in.

"Which are the best cooking fats, and which should I avoid?" and "How bad is Pam cooking spray, really?"

Ah, fat! The wondrous ingredient that brings flavor and lusciousness to food. But the topic of "fat" also fill home cooks with questions, mainly about how to choose between the good ones and the bad. Jennifer breaks it all down to size for you. Listen in.

Chef John Scoff hails from Charleston, South Carolina, where he was the executive chef of a low-country bistro before coming to his senses and joining Home Cooking New York's teaching team in 2005 (he was following his then-girlfriend, now-wife who was moving north for a teaching job). His most sought after class is Southern Brunch, so I asked him to share some of his signature takes on this Southern classic.

Jennifer delves into the differences between Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (aka "the king of cheeses") and regular Parmesan cheese, and what you should know when making the choice. Find out why it's worth the centuries-old hype and the price tag.

Have a question you want answered on a future SIDEBAR episode? Follow us on Instagram @homecookingny.com and DM us your questions!
----
"Sidebar" is the bonus content of the Kitchen Radio podcast, where host Jennifer Clair takes time to answer listeners' culinary questions in between the bi-weekly cooking episodes. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast, so you can keep finding the answers to your burning culinary questions.

Brooklyn, New York

Erica Wides is one of our school’s beloved chef-instructors and the host of “Funny People Making Food,” a YouTube series that follows her attempts to teach comedians how to cook. Since Erica teaches our Handmade Bagel Workshop, and I’ve never attempted to make one from scratch, I thought it was time to remedy that hole in my repertoire and have her show me the ropes. I’ll happily gloat that the bagels we made were at the very least, on par with some of the best bagels I’ve ever eaten. I also created a signature bagel using some add-ins from Erica’s well-stocked kitchen, which I am surprised that not in rotation at every bagel shop. You’ll want to hear all about that. Listen in.