Dishing with Stephanie's Dish

Stephanie Hansen - @StephaniesDish
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I talk with Cookbook authors and Makers obsessed with food stephaniehansen.substack.com

  1. The Happy Hostess - Kristie LaLonde

    12 SEPT.

    The Happy Hostess - Kristie LaLonde

    The "Happy Hostess Cookbook Party" is an online community focused on cookbooks and hosting, led by Kristie LaLonde. It's part of the larger "Happy Hostess" brand, which includes the “Happy Hostess Podcast” and other resources for aspiring and experienced hosts. The club focuses on exploring recipes from various cookbooks, often accompanied by themed events and discussions. Kristie has so graciously planned to feature the “True North Cabin Cookbook” for her October club. The club meets via Zoom for all members. It’s a monthly subscription for an orchestrated “cook along”thats fun and approachable for all levels of cooks interested in joining a community. Stephanie’s Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Episode Transcript Follows: Stephanie: Hello, everybody, and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish, the podcast where we talk to people in the food space. Many times cookbook authors, other times makers. And this particular episode, we are talking to Kristie LaLonde. She is the Happy Hostess Collective. And Kristie and I found each other through a listener of my radio show. My friend Jilly in Minnesota is. She's. We call them Dishers weekly. Stephanie: Dishers, that's the name of the radio show. And Jilly's been a Disher for over 18 years. We've had the show and I think she's listened as long as we've had it. And she reached out to me because in my sub stack, I have a Sunday newsletter and I did a whole thing about entertaining and how I love when people just entertain and people make entertaining so complicated and it doesn't need to be. And I offered to give around a cookbooks to people that have cookbook clubs because I think they're so fun. And Jilly replied and said, I have this great cookbook club. We would love it if we could win your books. And she is part of the Happy Hostess Cookbook Club. Stephanie: So they won. Jilly got the books. I sent books to all the people in the cookbook group that Jilly's in. And Kristie is the leader of the Happy Hostess Collective, Kristie, welcome to the program. I'm delighted to have you. Kristie LaLonde: Thank you. I am so excited to be here. Stephanie: So explain to the audience what the Happy Hostess Collective is and all the different avenues that you have for fostering your love of cookbooks and clubbing. Kristie LaLonde: Well, I am on Instagram as Happy Hostess Collective, but for our cookbook club, it's actually called Happy Cookbook Party because I couldn't really think of a good name. It's not a great name because it doesn't really let you know it's a cookbook club. But we. There's a lot of emphasis on party in it. So basically it's a cookbook club, but instead of meeting in person, most of the time, we are meeting twice a month on Zoom and we are cooking together from one cookbook, which we usually choose a cookbook and stick with that cookbook for like three to four months, depending upon how robust the cookbook is. Stephanie: And people come from all over the country and tell me, like, how do you logistically do it? Do you have like, you know, 30 people on a Zoom or how does it work? Kristie LaLonde: Actually, we do have. We are on Zoom and basically what happens when we pick a book? I will go through and kind of we have a Facebook Group. And so I ask everyone either which recipes really look good to you that you're wanting to try. And then I look through all of those and make sure that they can fit within the hour to hour and a half timeframe of our Zoom Cook along. And then I make a schedule for the next three months and it's printable. I send it to them so they can print it out. And then every. We meet twice a month, so every two weeks, basically we meet on Zoom and I send them grocery list ahead of time for those two recipes that we choose. Sometimes it's three when we throw in a cocktail in there. Yes, especially we usually meet at noon or 4, so the 4 o' clock ones a lot of times have the cocktail. But so we all just meet in one Zoom meeting and we all cook and I'm kind of leading it, but everyone else is talking just as much as I do because we've gotten to know each other so well and it's so fun because we really learn from each other because we have some like expert bakers and we have some people like me that not expert at all in baking. Kristie LaLonde: And so. And like we have some really strong florists and there's. We just learn a lot from each other. And every once in a while we also do like a tutorial on a different thing that would have to do with being a hostess. For example, we've done flower arrangements that mimic the ones we saw in one of our cookbooks. We've done hostess gifts, like kind of homemade, cute little hostess gifts at Christmas time. So it's a wide variety of things. It's been strange. Like a lot of things have come our way. We had, we were offered to have a Vector cocktails. It's like a cocktail mixer. They offered to do a, a cook. I mean, like a cocktail class for us. It was super fun. They sent us all their mixers and it was great. So we've got a chance to do a lot of stuff. Stephanie: So what is your background and how did you land here? Kristie LaLonde: Well, I have always loved cooking and entertaining, even when I was little. Like, I remember I had one of my cookbooks was like the MAD Magazine cookbooks. I don't know if you remember MAD magazine, but they had like a holiday thing and I just loved it. I remember pouring through that and it's crazy because I do that now, obviously with grownup cookbooks, but. And so that just kind of. Well, and then when I was very young, I was the maid of honor in Three Weddings in one year. So I had a crash course and had a host parties for grownups, and that was very fun. But. Kristie LaLonde: And I'd always really enjoyed the ideas of parties as well. Growing up, my parents were my mom. My father was in an industry where there were lots of fancy, fancy famous parties. Stephanie: Yeah. Kristie LaLonde: Because we live in Kentucky, so the derby parties. And. Stephanie: Yes. Kristie LaLonde: So I would, like, hear them, like, sometimes they would be on the farm that we lived on, like in the party barn. And so, like, I would hear the parties, and I just was kind of fascinated with all of that, and it just kind of snowballed from there. Stephanie: But you on the Happy Hostess Collective on your Instagram, you chronicle a lot of these parties and you have, like, beautiful flower arrangements. And I mean, honestly, the south is just like, I don't know why, but you guys are known for just these over the top, beautiful flower arrangements, beautiful parties, beautiful outfits. In the north, everything feels a little more, like, rustic and just a little more outdoorsy. But, like, the south just feels like China and silver and so beautiful. Kristie LaLonde: Yeah, you know, there's a little bit of everything for sure in the south, but we do tend to go over the top. That is. That is definitely the case. Which makes it fun, though. But. And I love a big theme. It can. It's a lot of fun. And whether it's rustic theme, but it's just like kind of go all in on it. It makes it a lot of fun. Stephanie: How did you figure out, like, I think it's pretty cool that you have this whole cookbook club happening via Zoom. So there's technology there. Right. And then you also have, like a Facebook group. You really use social media to drive a lot of this engagement. It is a paid subscription, which I also think is cool because sometimes if you have to pay for something, you value it a little bit more or you make time for it in your schedule. How did I learn all the technological pieces and have you just learned by trial and error? Kristie LaLonde: Well, fortunately, Zoom is fairly easy to use. And especially after Covid, everybody knows how to use Zoom, thankfully. But actually, I started an E commerce store, like, before people heard of the word E commerce. And I am not techno, very technologically advanced, but I am willing to figure out whatever it is if it makes it possible for me to do what I want. And I really wanted a. A China and dish store, which. Big surprise. So that I had it. No, I don't. I had it for almost 14 years. I think that's, like, my dream. Kristie LaLonde: Oh, it was so fun. And it stopped me from buying all the dishes. Because I had all these gorgeous dishes. Like in a warehouse. Yes. But it's a really heavy, breakable object and not so fun to ship after a while. So I transitioned out of that and wanted to do something that didn't require shipping. Stephanie: And this is brilliant because you've got new friends from all over the country. It could be all over the world. Kristie LaLonde: I suppose it definitely could be. There happens to be just the country right now. We are a small group, but it is a really fun group and it's been a great community. And I really wanted something to tie in my podcast to make it and make it smaller. Well, obviously with the podcast, it's only me or myself and a guest, so I really wanted to be able to, like, get to know my listeners better, and this was the perfect thing. Stephanie: How did you get into podcasting? Because you've have had over a hundred episodes all about this topic of hostessing. Kristie LaLonde: Basically it was the sick of being shipping things. So I thought, okay, well, we could start the podcast. I wasn't really sure what direction it was going to take, but I thought that it would be a good avenue for me to get started. And it kind of led to this. Stephanie: One of the topics that was on your recent podcast that I was kind of interested in, because I think the. It has changed so much since COVID is the whole idea of having a party and the RSVP list. People in my experience tend to be very late at responding to things. And even like, we're finding that restaurant reservations people will make four reservations and cance

    28 min
  2. Stephanie A. Meyer has the basic formula for how to eat and create satiety and life long healthy eating without deprivation

    5 SEPT.

    Stephanie A. Meyer has the basic formula for how to eat and create satiety and life long healthy eating without deprivation

    She provided a formula for all the nutrient-dense foods your body needs, at a calorie count that seemed doable while still creating Satiety. Here’s the basic, per-meal formula (adjust according to your weight and health goals and your calorie needs). Are you ready? Write this down: 30 grams protein + 40 grams carbs (5 or more grams of fiber) + 2 colors of non-starchy plants + 15 grams of healthy fat Do that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. A snack is half of that, but still the combo. You can (and should) read the whole post here and subscribe to her newsletter… It was like a lightbulb went off, and I knew I needed to talk with her for the podcast. Get Stephanie’s Recipes Original Episode Transcript Follows: Stephanie Hansen: Welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish, the podcast where we talk to people in the food space. Sometimes it's cookbook authors, sometimes it's people that make things, Sometimes it's chefs. And today I am talking to my friend Stephanie Meyer, who you all may know of as Fresh, Tart Steph and as now, Stephanie Meyer, a. I always get it wrong. Stephanie. Stephanie A. Meyer: Stephanie A. Dot Meyer. But yes, got it. Stephanie Hansen: And Stephanie has been in our friend group for a very long time and a friend with me for a long time. And Stephanie is always. I feel like a trendsetter. Do you know that you're a trendsetter? Stephanie A. Meyer: No. That's amazing. I don't think anyone's ever called me that before, but. Well, that's really. Stephanie Hansen: Here's what I think. Like, you're not in the trends, like people would think of trends, but you are thinking about things before other people are thinking about them. Because I think you're super well read. You're very bright. You spend a lot of time thinking about science things. So you were the first person that I came across in the food space that was really thinking about blogging in a robust way. Stephanie A. Meyer: Sure. Wow. That was a long time ago. Stephanie Hansen: It was. But that was what you were doing, and you were bringing bloggers together and creating community, which was amazing. Then you were writing a cookbook about Twin City chefs, which also seems probably like a long time ago, but I just picked it up the other day, and the stories and the heartfelt feelings about the Twin Cities chef community was still there. Stephanie A. Meyer: Love it. Thank you. Stephanie Hansen: Then you sort of started thinking about healthy eating and healthy food, and your green broth kind of blew up before anybody else was really talking about that. And you've really gone full circle here into this food journey, as many of my peers start to enter the midlife, menopausal middle, trying to think about not only foods in terms of health, but also some of us have been packing the pounds on over the years and just really like, you wrote something the other day, and I follow you on substack and I follow all your stuff, but you wrote something the other day that just, like, leapt off the page at me. And I sent it to a friend and I thought, I have to podcast with her, and I'm going to see if I can find it here, because I'm going to read it, because I think it will really resonate with food people, but also people that might be in the menopause space, which. So you are on trend, because when Oprah starts talking about Something that you've been talking about for a long time. Stephanie A. Meyer: Right? It's, I mean that. It's very true. And honestly, in this sense, a lot of it is just sort of following what people ask me for. So maybe my, maybe my clients are the trendsetters and I'm just answering their questions. Stephanie Hansen: Okay, so here is what you wrote as we'll say, a nutritional coach. You said, write down this solution and implement it today. Here's the basic per meal formula and adjust according to your weight and health goals and calorie needs. Are you ready? She said, write this down. 30 grams of protein plus 40 grams of carbs, 5 or more grams of fiber, plus 2 colors of non starchy plants and 15 grams of healthy fat. Do that for breakfast, lunch and dinner. A snack is half of that, but still the combo. And I was like blown away that nobody had ever just like spelled that out in a way that felt so clear to me. So can you talk a little bit about your journey and how you got there and how you got to this specific metric and why it's working for people? Stephanie A. Meyer: Oh, I love it. Well, I call that particular formula, I call it the satiety formula. That's how you pronounce that word, by the way. Like, often people will just write back and say, oh my God, huge relief because I was saying satiety. Satiety. I wasn't really sure how to say it. Whatever. So anyway, it's satiety. Right, satiety. And so it is satiety. So that could be your little word nerd, you know, for the day and the week. And it's a very powerful word. And, and I just am kind of hooked on it. And I keep repeating it and I keep hoping that people get on board with me, but I call that the satiety formula. Because when I work with clients, I have been able to see that the thing that gets in people's way is that they're hungry. And, you know, perimenopause, menopause makes you hungrier. Stephanie A. Meyer: And a lot of women notice it. They think it's. Oh, it's because of, you know, hormones. That's it. That, you know, estrogen and progesterone directly affect your appetite. That's not really exactly. It's not that direct. However, it is true because as, as you know, perimenopause sets in. We know what happens. Sleep disruption. Nothing, nothing affects your appetite more than sleep. And you have a bad night of sleep. We know that the average person eats like 3 to extra, 3 to 500 extra calories the next day without trying or knowing it. And so a lot of women come to me and say, I'm doing exactly what I did before. This is like this mysterious 10 pound weight packed on and, and, and I think it's because of estrogen. And then we dive in. I have them take a look at what they're eating, we talk about their appetite. And what I just saw over and over and over again is, oh, women are just hungrier. So we need to get more knowledgeable about what makes you full and a little bit more purposeful about it. And then along came Ozempic and made it all kind of make sense, because ozempic works, or GLP1 medications work because they decrease your appetite. And all of a sudden people realized, oh, I was eating much bigger portions than I realized. Oh, I have a naturally bigger appetite than my sister. I didn't realize this is how she felt. I didn't realize what it feels like to not think about food all day. I didn't realize what it feels like to not, like, be hungry after dinner. And I, and Oprah even said it, she's like, wait a minute, is this what normal people feel? And I have been beaten up my whole life for like, you know, being overweight and having a bigger appetite. And it's just my biology. And so knowing that biology is happening, appetite is bigger. What can you do about it? Maybe a GLP1 medication is an answer. Lots of people don't want to go that route right away. They would rather experiment with creating satiety, which is what GLP1 medicine medications do. Creating satiety with food. Because we naturally have GLP1, we naturally have other satiety hormones. We can eat very specific foods in combination to, like, elicit as much of that, that release of satiety hormone as possible. It's not as powerful as meds, but it's a good experiment. And a lot of people are like, okay, I have a lot of clients. I just met with one this morning who said, I'm too full. And so let's adjust. I love it when I get people there. It's like, oh, now I'm too full. How do we fix that? Stephanie Hansen: It's funny because my first thought after reading your formula was thinking about, I see the plates of food you eat a lot on Instagram. So I was thinking about, like, okay, thinking about what Stephanie's plates look like and then thinking about, like, if I actually ate that amount of food three times a day. Yeah, I haven't eaten that much food since like the fifth grade. Stephanie’s Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Stephanie A. Meyer: Right. Stephanie Hansen: It felt like, wow, would this be what that felt like? And I'm not sure. I'm always on the search and you know, people probably think I have an eating disorder and maybe I do and I don't even know it, but I feel like a lot of women, we are conditioned and we think about food a lot. When it's your business too. I'm always thinking about creating and food is like my art. So it's hard for me to separate the creation of food and wanting to express that way through. They're actually making recipes or thinking about recipes or gardening or creating a beautiful table. Like I'm always thinking about that and then the actual eating piece of it and it gets kind of all mixed up. But some ways in a beautiful way, some ways in a way that feels onerous. Stephanie A. Meyer: Yes, very well said. Stephanie Hansen: And I just think about it all the time and I eat way less than I think about because if I ate all the time, like, But I know, like I have a friend right now who she has an eating disorder and has her whole life. And for the first time as a 55 year old woman, she feels like she's really got a handle on it because she's back to, I hate to say it, but calorie counting. And she was afraid of calorie counting her whole life. Exactly. Like you said, she's like, I wasn't eating enough. I was eating one meal a day. I was eating all the wrong things. And now that I'm like more managing that, eating throughout the day and eating more fruits and vegetables and just like not being so hung up on it, she's like, I feel so much better. Stephanie A. Meyer: Yeah. Yeah. Wow, you said a lot of great things there. I don't think you have an eating disorder.

    35 min

  3. 18 JUIL.

    Live Dinner Party Prep with Stephanie Hansen

    I popped on today to plan, prep, and cook for my gal pal's dinner party. Of course, I wasn't prepared, and my mini chopper would not work, but… We prepped some great dishes for my ladies’ dinner party. The Menu * Bootleggers - the Minnesota Cocktail * Miso Glazed Salmon (exclusive Substack recipe here) * Roasted Potatoes with a garlic scape, basil pesto drizzle on a bed of yogurt cream (1/3 cup cottage cheese - 1/3 cup whole fat Greek yogurt- 1/4 cup chopped pickles - 1/4 cup feta cheese, 3 Tbsp Feta brine, one teaspoon kosher salt, blended until smooth) * Roasted Pepper and white bean salad with basil and balsamic (exclusive Substack recipe here) * Green salad with hard-boiled eggs and lemon vinaigrette * Zukes and Squash gratin (Recipe from True North Cabin Cookbook Vol. 1) * Plum Fruit Buckle Miso Glazed Salmon Ingredients: * 8 (4-6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets, about 1-inch thick * 2 teaspoons Kosher salt * Freshly ground black pepper * 3 Tbsp honey * 1/4 cup Hikari minute miso * 3 Tbsp rice wine vinegar * 3 teaspoons soy sauce * 1 garlic clove, grated on a microplane * 1 teaspoon ground ginger Instructions: Preheat oven to Broil In a small bowl, whisk together the salt, pepper, honey, miso, vinegar, soy, garlic, and ginger. Arrange the salmon skin side down on a sheet pan. Brush the mixture over the salmon. Let marinate for 20 minutes while the oven comes to temperature. Broil until the salmon is opaque and cooked through and the glaze is toasted, about 6 minutes. Internal temperature should be about 135-140 Roasted Pepper and White Bean Salad with Basil and Balsamic Ingredients: 4 peppers 2 cans of cannellini beans, drained 1/3 cup Basil leaves torn into pieces 1/3 cup olive oil 3 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar 2 Tbsp lemon juice 2 teaspoons lemon zest 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper Instructions: Roast 4 peppers -Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place 4 whole bell peppers (any color) on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating halfway through, until the peppers are blackened and collapsed. Remove the peppers from the oven and let them cool. Carefully peel away the skins and discard the core and seeds. Pull into 1/4 inch strips Drain beans and add to peppers in a large bowl Tear Basil and add to bowl Mix the vinaigrette and add to the beans Let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature, marinating before serving Variations to consider: * Adding feta or small mozzarella balls * Subbing oregano for Basil leaves Here is how the dishes came out These were the flowers I added from my Home Garden. Thank you to everyone who tuned in to my live video! I will plan for more live videos if you enjoyed it. Stephanie’s Dish Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe

    54 min
  4. Chef Suzanne Vizethann has two cookbooks, with the latest featuring brunch recipes, and two restaurants

    11 JUIL.

    Chef Suzanne Vizethann has two cookbooks, with the latest featuring brunch recipes, and two restaurants

    Besides having a new baby, two restaurants and two cookbooks @chefsuzannevizethann made time to chat with me on the podcast about her beautiful brunch cookbook. Stephanie Hansen: Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Dishing with Stephanie's Dish podcast. We are here today with Chef Suzanne Vizethann Chef Suzanne has written a book called Brunch Season, and the subtitle is A Year of Delicious Mornings from the Buttermilk Kitchen. And I love a book that takes, like, a single subject but really, like, elaborates on it, because I think when you think of brunch dishes, you have, like, you know, the top five in your mind, and you really have done a comprehensive guide here of how to explore brunch from not just like, egg dishes, but all the way through seasonality. So for me, I love books that either give you seasonal guidance because, like, I'm in summer right now, so how do I make a brunch for friends and what ingredients do I use? I love the way you organize this book. Did you. Is this your first book? Suzanne Vizethann : It's our second book. You know, the first book, “Welcome to Buttermilk Kitchen” Was more of a restaurant focused book, like 100 recipes from the restaurant. So this. This book is, you know, more of a standalone book. It's definitely recipes that you would find maybe as specials in the restaurant, but more as me as a chef, like, my voice as a chef. “Welcome to Buttermilk Kitchen” Stephanie Hansen: So let's talk about that for just a second, because I think a friend of mine, Gavin Kaysen from the Twin Cities, he has, like, a book called At Home that's more of his, like, personality and style. And then he has the restaurant books, which are highly stylized. Obviously, it's a beautiful restaurant. What, after writing the restaurant book, made you want to kind of bring that home into your point of view? Suzanne Vizethann : I think that I love. Well, first of all, I love cooking, and I love sharing recipes with people. And, you know, like you said kind of, you brought up a really good point that chef recipes and restaurant recipes are just that. They're restaurant recipes, and they're sometimes really difficult to pare down to something small and make them accessible in the home kitchen. And so while we attempted to do that in the first book, I think that this was more of an opportunity to say, okay, hey, this is something that I might cook at home, or, you know, this is something that I like to cook in the summer or in the fall, and kind of really bringing that, like, you in my home with me. Stephanie Hansen: So can you tell me a little bit more about your restaurant? Suzanne Vizethann : Sure, yeah. So we actually have two the original restaurants in Atlanta, Georgia. It's been open almost 13 years. You know, brunch focused restaurant, open in the morning, you know, breakfast and lunch primarily. And then I actually just opened a restaurant up in Maine. I live here full time up on the mid coast in a town called Camden. And we have, we took over an 81 year old diner and opened another Buttermilk Kitchen here. And that one's called Buttermilk Kitchen at Mariners to honor the old name. Suzanne Vizethann : So, yeah, same, same style, you know, still a breast brunch driven restaurant, but a little bit more of a coastal flair since we are right on the water. Stephanie Hansen: And did you have a, did you have a move that precipitated opening in another location? Because I'm fascinated by how people can run restaurants. A one and then two, like in two different states. I just don't. 📸 Angie Mosier Suzanne Vizethann and her restaurant Buttermilk Kitchen serve up some of the tastiest biscuits in the south. Yields 12-14 biscuits INGREDIENTS 4 Cups of all-purpose flour2 Tablespoons sugar2 Tablespoons baking powder2 ½ Teaspoons salt½ lb of cold unsalted butter, grated2 ½ Cups Banner Butter buttermilk INSTRUCTIONS * Mix together all dry ingredients (everything from flour through salt) into a mixing bowl. * Add grated butter and mix into dry ingredients until crumbly and fully incorporated. * Slowly add buttermilk until a sticky dough consistency is achieved (start with 2 cups and add a ½ cup more if needed). * Scoop biscuits onto a pre-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 in a convection oven for 10 min (you might need to add time if using conventional oven). * Rotate and continue to cook another 10-12 min until golden brown and ready to eat. Suzanne Vizethann : It's challenging, I'm not gonna lie to you. It is hard and. But I'm very, you know, blessed that I have great people working for me. And I think that because I waited so long to open the second one, I was able to really establish a great team under me that can handle a lot of the heavy lifting when I'm gone. And, you know, I come back, I try to travel back like six to eight times a year to check on them. But I am primarily in Maine and this restaurant's very new, so it requires more of my attention and time. But, you know, I really just am a firm believer that if you attract great people and you treat them well and you pay them well, that they'll be very loyal to you. And, you know, obviously everything's not perfect and. Suzanne Vizethann : But you've gotta relinquish some of that control and trust other great people around you. Stephanie Hansen: So it's changed a lot in the restaurant business. You've been at it for a while. Like, I just remember the days of like the chef, you know, yes, chef, and the really aggressive screaming and you have to be here 22 hours a day in order to be taken seriously. Like, that culture has changed. And I'm wondering for you if that feels like a refreshing change because you've been in it a long time. Suzanne Vizethann : Yeah, no, it definitely does. You know, started off in fine dining, kind of working late, late nights. And I always was really fond of breakfast and kind of breakfast service because not only did it allow you to have your nights free, which I always loved. I'm a morning person. I think too, what I learned very quickly is how important work, life, balance is. And it is, it is A really tough industry and a tough job. And as you know, the, the gen. The next generation coming up is just. Suzanne Vizethann : Is different and you talk to them differently and they have different needs and different wants. And I don't think it's a bad thing. I just think that you. I've learned that, you know, you just have to be accepting of those changes and learn something from that new generation. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah, it's a very feeling generation. They're very oriented towards having feelings, wanting to share those feelings, wanting those feelings to be heard. Which is probably not surprising when you look at the rise of social media in the last 15 years, where that's what we do. We share over share and share again and share some more and really feel like. And I'm guilty of it too. Like, I really feel like everyone needs to know my feelings at all times. It's very interesting when you put that into a setting of a restaurant, because a restaurant is such a living, breathing microcosm of society or whatever is happening at the time. Suzanne Vizethann : Yes. And it's, you know, my first kitchen job, I worked silently. I made $7 an hour. You know, you never challenged the chef. You never challenged anyone around you. You know, you kept your head down and just kept going. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah. Suzanne Vizethann : So it's different for me, for sure. But, you know, I really embrace this younger generation and their needs and wants because I do think it is important to speak up and, you know, value your life and, and have a balance. So we. And we find that when we're flexible with people that it just creates a much better work environment for everybody. And it's challenging. I'm not going to say it isn't because it is challenging to be flexible in restaurants. But, you know, overall, I think that's a reason why we've been so successful is, you know, when. When we do have the daytime and we just try to treat our people really well. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah. And I think it shows. When you talk about your book in particular, did you do all the photographs? Because they're stunning. Suzanne Vizethann : Oh, I wish. No, I'm not that talented. No. I have a photographer, Kelly Berry, who's. We've worked together a very long time and she shot the book. And then my good friend Tom Driver was the stylist and he's so great. Phenomenal. He's phenomenal. Stephanie Hansen: So great. Suzanne Vizethann : Great time doing it. Stephanie Hansen: What I want people to know about with this book, because honestly, if you have a person in your life that's into brunching, because there's sort of that brunch crew, this book should Be number one on your list. It's brunch season, and not only do I love the way it's organized in the pictures, but you have very approachable recipes, and also it feels very modern. So kale and mushroom frittata. Obviously, everybody's got a good cinnamon roll recipe, including you. Pumpkin glaze coffee cake. I have a cookbook that has literally, like 10 pumpkin recipes in it because I'm obsessed. Pecan and cranberry chicken salad. I was kind of surprised to find on a brunch menu, and I loved it. Stephanie Hansen: Also, you've got drinks in here. Summer squash omelette, corn pancakes, and the chia pudding that has been more popular in the last couple of years. What are some of favorite recipes in here or ones that you just think are not to be missed? Suzanne Vizethann : Oh, gosh. So in the summer, I love the. The squash blossoms. They're like a pancake battered stuff. Fried stuffed squash blossom. So hard. Yeah. And it's, you know, I know not everybody knows what a squash blossom is or has worked with one before, but I thought it was just a fun. Suzanne Vizethann : First of all, they're beautiful, and you can only get them in this, you know, small window. And they're, of course, you know, the flowers on the.

    27 min
  5. Maggie Hoffman is a Host of the Podcast and Substack, "The Dinner Plan"

    27 JUIN

    Maggie Hoffman is a Host of the Podcast and Substack, "The Dinner Plan"

    Stephanie Hansen: Hello everybody, and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish, the podcast where we talk to people that are obsessed with food and they come across their obsessions through cookbooks, podcasts, content writers, and today we're talking with Maggie Hoffman. And I was excited because I said I don't get to talk to fellow podcasters very often. Congratulations on your podcast. It is the Dinner Plan podcast. Maggie is the former digital director of Epicurious. She also has many newsletters. So I'm excited to talk to you about that. The Dinner Plan plus What to Drink , plus The Vintage Table Maggie Hoffman - You are my person. Maggie Hoffman: Maybe too many newsletters. We'll see. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah, I'm sure it's a lot. So where should we jump in first? Let's just, let's talk about your newsletters because you already commented on my background. I have a lot of vintage pieces in the background. How did you start the Vintage Table or what was your first newsletter? Maggie Hoffman: Well, it's a little bit complicated, but I actually started with what to drink. In sort of a previous life, I was mostly a cocktail writer. I used to review bars for the San Francisco Chronicle. And I've written two books about cocktails that were published by Ten Speed. The One-Bottle Cocktail: More than 80 Recipes with Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit Batch Cocktails: Make-Ahead Pitcher Drinks for Every Occasion And so that's like a whole side of my life. And I was running a drinks newsletter for Epicurious when I was there. And when I left, that was sort of the, the going independent. I was able to send one newsletter to that audience and say this is where I'll be. So, you know, I don't update that one as often, but I do have. I like to talk about what I'm drinking, you know, when I'm trying new non alcoholic beers, or sometimes I'll share cocktail recipes from new books I'm reading. So that one was actually first. My main gig is the Dinner plan, which is a podcast and substack. It's sort of a living, breathing system. So the podcast goes Every week I interview a cookbook author every week. We talk about inspiration and where they find dinner ideas and the books they love. And then at the end of every show, someone calls in and shares what's in their fridge and the cookbook author guest comes up with a dinner idea for them. And usually these folks are people with cookbooks, often new cookbooks. And so in the substack each week, we share all of the links to all the recipes that they have talked about so people don't have to like, take notes. Anything they've recommended, it's all there in the newsletter. And then we reprint a recipe from Their books. You can get a little preview of the book, and that's why you should sign up for the newsletter. Someone told me they were taking notes on the show, and I was like, oh, no, no, no, you don't have to do that. Stephanie Hansen: You have such good notes on the episodes. Maggie Hoffman: And, I mean, I listen to these things over and over. Stephanie Hansen: You have, like, attached and linked every single recipe idea anyone's ever discussed in the pod. I mean, it's extensive, you guys, you gotta follow. Maggie Hoffman: And then I have a big list, which I think is really fun, of every book that has gotten recommended. So each person comes with, like, two or three ideas. Well, that has become a very big list. We're getting close to 50 episodes, and each person. I mean, you do the math. So, yeah, that's the main project, and then the vintage table is a little side project, and maybe they'll get merged at some point, but I just cannot buy every piece of vintage tableware that I love. And so I thought I should probably start sharing the links so that I get. Maybe other people will take them off the market. Stephanie Hansen: That is smart, because once you start, like, in that Facebook marketplace or Etsy channel of looking for vintage things, ebay, they find you. Yeah, yeah. Maggie Hoffman: So there's usually, like, a theme, you know, sort of beachy things for summer or, you know, whatever is the thing that I'm sort of obsessing over. And that's just for fun, but it's a lot of fun. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah, I. I find it very fun. When you were so how long were you the digital director at Epicurious? Maggie Hoffman: I think I was there a total of four years. I started as the senior editor under David to Markin, who's at King Arthur Flour now, and I took over running it when he left. Stephanie Hansen: And we're probably better off now because we have so many different avenues for creators. Right. Substack has really, like, democratized the creating world. From podcasting, did you find, like, you know, when you work for a big company, there's resources and podcast studios, and then all of a sudden you're on your own and you have to figure it all out. Substack makes it so easy. Maggie Hoffman: Yeah, substack and all the other ways. You know, I think everyone's ability to sort of launch their own independent media is truly exciting, and people are doing it in all sorts of, you know, not just substack, but also their own websites and Patreon and, you know, people have huge success. Stephanie Hansen: Do you think that that is. I mean, I feel sad about that. I think it is cutting into traditional magazine resources, digital resources, digital archives, because people don't necessarily need that to be seen anymore. They can create their own engines. But I also, like, every time I get a magazine, it's a little bit thinner. I think, like, oh, don't wait. Because I still love some of those traditional printed forms and I love linear television, and I also like terrestrial radio still. Like, I want there to be all those things and not have it be just one thing. Maggie Hoffman: Yeah, I mean, I think it's a little more complicated. I wouldn't blame independent creators for the shrinking of food media. I think that has a lot more to do with, you know, everything moving to digital and then sort of being flooded with ads and then search changing so much. I mean, there's just so many things that have shaped that. And I think it's incredibly sad to see, you know, so much of, you know, both book publishing and magazine publishing struggle. It has to do with ad dollars. And, you know, those are places where there are the resources for everything to be tested and tested again. And, you know, I think there's going to have to be a question of how many independent creators people can support. And I don't think advertising is over. I think that is a way to fund some of this as well. You know, if an advertiser wants to support an independent creator, I think that's great. The budgets are going to be smaller than what they were paying for something else. And maybe it can all coexist, I'm. Stephanie Hansen: Hoping, because I think it ultimately, if it raises all boats right. But I mean, we are consolidating in a pretty rapid clip with the top seven media companies and social influencers. But when you think about your podcast and when you conceived it and knew who you wanted to talk to, what did that look like? Like, did you know right away what you were going to zero in on? Maggie Hoffman: Did I know? I was at the beach and was taking a long walk with my husband and sort of saying, were to do this thing, what would it be? I had gone through the process of pitching a show to Conde, which they decided they didn't want, and so I was pretty heartbroken and kind of had lost confidence. I've been in food media about 15 years now, a really long time. I actually worked in book publishing before that and blogging, and I was at Serious Eats in very early, exciting years. And. And I love being a part of that community. I love being able to see what's coming soon. Like, one of the biggest joys when I first started at epicurious, was I showed up and there was this stack of cookbooks on one of the, like, files sitting on one of the file cabinets. And people would sort of say, hey, does anybody have a copy of this? Does anybody have a copy of that? I was like, this is where I'm supposed to be like, you know, I mean, you can see the. Stephanie Hansen: Yep. Maggie Hoffman: Stacks of cookbooks continue. And so I sort of was like, what will be Feel like it sort of captures some of that excitement that I could do independently, and what would it take to do independently, and who would I want to talk to, what new books are, am I excited about? And, you know, just what would that conversation be? And I knew I didn't want it to be a podcast, really, about feeding kids. That's really not what it is. It's really for all cooks, and it focuses a lot on that moment of inspiration. And, you know, I was really burnt out, and it was affecting my cooking. And I think everyone who works really hard can feel that affecting their cooking. Stephanie Hansen: I'm just coming off a cookbook launch or getting ready to launch, and I'm like, sometimes the idea of what to eat, I'm just like, all I've done is cook this week. Like a million places for a million people, for a million things, documented it all. And I just want a piece of peanut butter toast. Maggie Hoffman: Yeah. And that's fine, I think. But, you know, even if you don't work in food, I think if your job is stressful, the world is stressful. Everything, you know, everything feels like it's on fire. Cooking can be really nourishing, sort of mentally and, you know, spiritually, or it can be a thing that causes stress. And how do you get to a place where it feels like it is soothing, where it feels like it's a meditation. Meditation. Whatever it is you need from cooking, how do you get to a place where your dinners make you happy, where you're delighted by what you eat? And so we talk a lot about that. And so I think that came out of. I had written a story about cooking burnout during the days of the early pandemic. And it was something I kept getting notes about where people would

    30 min
  6. Sally Ekus is the "Not So Secret Agent"

    13 JUIN

    Sally Ekus is the "Not So Secret Agent"

    Stephanie: Hello, everybody, and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish, the podcast where we talk to cool people in the food space. We talk to a lot of cookbook authors, and today I'm excited to talk to Sally Ekus. She is a literary agent, which, if you've written books or you're trying to get a book published, you know how important the agent process is. She leads a boutique culinary and lifestyle division via @JVNLA and is the lead agent at the Ekus Group. Did I get it right? Follow Sally’s Substack Newsletter Not So Secret Agent Sally Ekus: Oh, I was just gonna say, yeah, I lead the Ekus Group. So we're a culinary and lifestyle division within a broader agency. Stephanie: And the Ekus Group was started by your mom. Sally Ekus: Yeah. Stephanie: A legend. Your mom has, like, one of the largest cookbook collections that I'm aware of. Sally Ekus: In fact, the largest, according to Guinness. Yes. Stephanie: A couple of months ago, I think maybe it was on your Instagram page, someone posted a picture of her library of her home that is literally looks like a library that you would see in New York city or Washington, D.C. or somewhere fancy with just walls and walls of books. It was so gorgeous. Sally Ekus: Yeah, It's a two store, all cherry wood, gorgeous library. She built the edition. It was a dream edition. It took a lifetime to build. And it is filled with cookbooks, almost exclusively cookbooks. Her fiction and children's books and other personal books are scattered elsewhere around the house. But the library is almost entirely culinary with over 6000 titles. It's really cool. Stephanie: It's amazing. And your mom's name is? Lisa. Please, can I ask you a question? I'm going to go all over the place here, but sure, please. I have a daughter and only one daughter and no sons. So my only child. And there are things that we have in common about cooking and about food, and I always think, like, oh, maybe she'll follow in my footsteps. But then she is quick to point out, like, no, I'm never doing that. But then she's sort of leaning sort of my way. Stephanie: How did that work with you and being in the publishing space? Sally Ekus: Yeah. So how old is your daughter now? Stephanie: 26. Sally Ekus: Okay. Yeah. So growing up, my mom had this vibrant culinary business. At the time, it was a PR agency before we did agenting, and it was never supposed to be a family business. She never pressured me or said, you know, maybe one day. In fact, it was just like. If you had asked me before I started working with her, what does Lisa do for a living? I would have said something with books and something in food. So I was like, growing up in this. Sally Ekus: And I was immersed and sort of absorbing by osmosis. And, you know, in the, in my younger years, I would be like, collating press kits for PR campaigns and, you know, I was like earning a allowance, mailing catalogs and whatnot. But it wasn't, it wasn't something she was really like, whatever you want to do, follow your heart. I was on a different path. I went to school for counseling and I was about to go for a master's in social work. And I deferred. I broke up with a bad decision, moved home, started helping out at the agency and realized that I'd been informally training for this my whole life. I really fell in love with it. And I was very fortunate to step into the legacy of her reputation. And then also, once we decided this is something I wanted to do, talk about what the succession plan would look like and really carve out my own, you know, vibe and skill set and cultivate my own list, supporting her list. And so it was really a unintentional natural progression that then became quite intentional and, you know, quite effortful. So I think that's kind of why it worked out. And if, you know, but it's hard to say in hindsight. Stephanie: It's funny too. You talk about this like being in training of knowing this thing and you not even really realizing that until you've left and gone to do something else. And also, it does track that you were going to be a social worker. Sally Ekus: Absolutely. Stephanie: And now you're an agent. Sally Ekus: Yeah. I somewhat sarcastically but realistically acknowledge that I was trained in crisis counseling, active listening, and negotiation. So all of those things play a very big role in the work that I do as a literary agent working with books. But, you know, at the end of the day, it is a book. It is you know, not somebody's. Well, it is somebody's mental well being, but in a. In a different light. So I get to utilize those skills all the time. Sally Ekus: And it feels, it feels quite, quite lucky. And, you know, it's really the client management and author care and author advocacy that I love so much. And that has kept me, kept me in this, in this business for as long as it has. Stephanie: What is it about cookbooks in particular that makes you solely focus on that? Sally Ekus: Well, that I stepped into, you know, that was Lisa's area of expertise. She was one of the very first cookbook publicists. Publicist. She essentially created the category of culinary publicity before there were massive agencies handling, you know, influencers and brand campaigns. And so that was her area of expertise. So that's what I stepped into and was hyper mentored in. And I also equally just felt in love with it. I mean, there are many different things that bring people together, and at the end of the day, it feels like food is that one. Sally Ekus: Through line. Everyone has some relationship to food, recipes, cooking, memory, good, bad, complicated, probably somewhere in the middle. And so to have a little. To have a role in helping to bring that to fruition in published form is a tremendous honor. Stephanie: You are the publisher, or the agent, actually, of Entertaining 101 with Beth Lamana. Sally Ekus: Yeah. Yes. Stephanie: We just talked with. With her last. Sally Ekus: Yeah, I listened to that. It was such a fun conversation. Stephanie: Yeah, she was pretty great. And the weirdest thing happened to me the other day. I was at my radio partner's office, and we were talking about a project, and she had a stack of cookbooks, and I was like, oh, what are you working on? She's like, oh, I'm. I'm helping our friend from Muriel, Karen Tomlinson, put her proposal together. Sally Ekus: Oh, my gosh. Stephanie: Oh, that's interesting. And she goes, yeah, she's got a really great agent already. And I'm like, who's her agent? And it's you. Sally Ekus: Yes, it is. Yeah. I'm so excited to be working with her. Yep. Yeah. Stephanie: Her point of view on food and her storytelling of the purveyors that she works with and her just completely beautiful recipes. I'm so excited for you, and I'm so excited for that book. Sally Ekus: Thank you. Yeah, I mean, that's a great example of really early development. You know, I often say that I work with people, not proposals. You know, we can get to the proposal. I help guide people through that process as an agent. And, you know, this is a great example where it's like, you know, I'm so captivated by the food and the media attention and the accolades and the intentionality of what is happening from the farm to the plate. And so, you know, sometimes chefs work with writers or collaborators to help bring that to the. To the printed page. Sally Ekus: And that's where we're at with that project. So it's in very early stages, which is super exciting. Stephanie: Yeah. You're going to not be disappointed. She is just a great person. She's a great storyteller, and that you had a really good eye to pick her up, because I think she's. Sally Ekus: Thank you. Stephanie: What other projects do you have on the docket right now that you're excited about? I see Potluck Desserts behind you. Sally Ekus: Oh, yeah. Justin Burke, Potluck Desserts. Justin's book came out the same day as Beth's just a couple weeks ago. And I try to rotate in my background the books that are sort of newly rotating. So The Meathead Method over here, that is Meathead's second book. His first book called Meathead, came out almost 10 years ago. And it's all. Both books are all about the science and art and science of barbecue and grilling and outdoor cooking. Sally Ekus: I have books in a bunch of different levels of activity, so that's also fun because I have something that's like, you know, proposal and development and then things that are coming out. So it really, it really runs the gamut. I just saw Frankie Gaw, whose Instagram handle is @littlefatboyfrankie. He's up for a James Beard Media Award, and he just turned in the manuscript for his second book called Asian Americana. So I'm really excited about that. So it's really all levels of development over here. Stephanie: Once someone does their first book, is it easier to market them the second time around? Sally Ekus: Great question. I find that yes, because really, once that first book is to, you know, publishers need you to have or want you to have a big platform to warrant signing a book deal. And then the book helps sort of level up that platform, promotion, name recognition, certainly moving beyond like the core community of that author. It helps introduce new readers, new cooks, new fans to that person's work. And so I find that that second book, third book, fourth book, 10th book, really helps just keep that momentum going. Stephanie: You wrote something recently on your substack that people should follow you because you're a good follow that I really have spent a lot of time thinking about, and I'm probably going to get the name of the author wrong. So you may have to come. Sally Ekus: We can figure it out together. Yeah. Stephanie: The idea of it was is that a new cookbook writer launched a book tour in a way that was a little unconventional and in some ways maybe controversial because instead of the usual like going out to the booksellers and having a Q and A and talking, she hired her friend w

    27 min
  7. Beth Le Manach has the delightful new cookbook "Entertaining 101"

    30 MAI

    Beth Le Manach has the delightful new cookbook "Entertaining 101"

    I had a real fun time chatting with Beth La Manach, whose new cookbook, “Entertaining 101” just released. Beth’s YouTube channel is wildy entertaining and she is also on Substack so you can follow her Entertaining with Beth Now since Beth makes it so easy lets all get to Entertianing! EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Stephanie Hansen: Hello, everybody. Welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish. I'm Stephanie Hansen and I like to talk to people obsessed with food. In particular, I enjoy cookbook authors and today I'm with Beth Lamonic and she is the author of a cookbook that just the title alone, I feel like holy cats. That's so intimidating. It is called entertaining one zero one. Beth, that just makes you, like, right on the level of Martha Stewart in my brain. Were you nervous about calling it one zero one? Beth Le Manach: No. Because the way that I'm thinking about the title is it's really targeted towards beginners or veterans who just need it to be easier and quicker. And I think everybody loves a one zero one entry point because they know it's not gonna be intimidating. It's gonna be accessible. Stephanie Hansen: Well, you are not a one zero one in your chops. You have over 662,000 followers on YouTube. They were like, oh, she has a a YouTube channel. And I went to look. I was like, holy cats. Tell me the name of your YouTube channel because I forgot to write it down. Recipes for entertaining. Was that what it was called? Beth Le Manach: No. It's called Entertaining with Beth. Stephanie Hansen: Got it. Okay. So you also are very fascinating, but I'm gonna get to that part in just a second. Take me through, like, your journey of, like, the how you started the YouTube and how we are that you're just is this your first book? Beth Le Manach: Yes. It isn't my first book. I know. I've been in a long time. I know exactly. Yeah. So it's kind of a long story, but I'll give you the highlights. I started my YouTube channel because I was by trade a producer for television, lifestyle television, and I got my start with the Scripps network. Beth Le Manach: So Food Network, HGTV, Fine Living, I was producing a bunch of content for them. I saw everything going online, digital. So I was like, I wanna produce digital content for the web. I got a job at a company that had a huge order for YouTube. So this was right around 2011 when YouTube started getting grants to media companies to produce quality content so they could get the advertisers to actually advertise against it. Because up into that point, it was a lot of, you know, skate board tricks and cat videos and stuff like that. Yeah. And so since I had come up with all of this kind of lifestyle content, my boss was like, okay. Create a YouTube channel that women will love. And I was a new mom. I had two small kids, and I was into all this lifestyle content, but I knew nothing about YouTube. So I had to really learn what it was, and little by little, we started to just create content. That was food content, fashion, beauty, all the things that I thought, like, women would be interested in. And then one day, my boss came to me and said, you know what? We are, like, really behind on the hours here that we have to deliver. We gotta pep this up a bit. What do you got? And I was like, I think we should do, like, entertaining shows, like, thirty minute shows, like what we used to do for TV. Like, let's do the perfect dinner party. He's like he was like, well, who are we gonna get to do that? And I was like, me. I love to cook, and I have a lot of recipes. And at the time, I just bought a house, and I was like, you know, come to my house. You don't have to pay me. You're already paying me, and let's knock off a few of these episodes. So we did about 16 of them, and then my boss was like, you know, this is really resonating with people. Like and and it really hit me at that point that I thought, how is this new information for people? Because I had grown up with Martha Stewart and Ina Garten, and I just thought that everybody was watching this. But people at the time on YouTube were just getting into, like, all the beauty gurus, and those girls were now aging up and sort of, like, having their first apartment and getting married. And they weren't suddenly gonna go offline and go look at magazines and books. They were staying online. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah. Beth Le Manach: And I think that's where it really resonated. And so long story short, I did that until I started to do it full time, and now the channel is mine, and I just do it full time. Stephanie Hansen: It explains lots of things. One, how prescient of you to see this digital age coming. So very smart. Beth Le Manach: Yeah. Stephanie Hansen: Two, I always talk about first mover advantage. And whenever there's a new platform or something, I always make sure that I log on. I save my handle. Even if I don't know if I'm gonna use it or do anything with it, I I believe that being the first in a space or in in a being a handful of first in a space is part of what gets you that first mover advantage. So note to self people because there's gonna be a lot of social enterprises that are coming in our future. And then also, like, sometimes the keeping it simple is the best. Like, you just assume that everybody knows how to, you know, make a delicious apparel spritz, but necessarily they don't. So that what you can offer in your most authentic way is, valuable. And that's, I guess, why you did this as your first book because you seem like you really are taking and packaging a lot of this in a way that feels authentic to you, and that's what people want. Beth Le Manach: I think they do. I mean and I think that's what YouTube has really taught me is that there are thousands of chicken Parmesan recipes on YouTube, but people will still ask me, but we want your recipe. Not because my recipe is gonna be better than anybody else's recipe because there's only a couple of ways around making a chicken parm, but because they want my point of view. And I think that that's what makes YouTube so human, and that's why they called it YouTube because it is about you and how you how I prepare chicken parmesan recipe could be different than how you prepare it. And the things that we're gonna highlight could be different based on our own lived experience, and I think that's what makes it really human and really fun. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah. Your show is also very beautiful. I just started doing a TV show, with Fox here locally, and lighting is so important. And my own YouTube is horribly lit and embarrassing. Yours is incredible. Like, do you have my normal lights set up? Beth Le Manach: No. My gosh. You know what my light setup is now? No lights. The light setup is no lights because I went round and round, and I have, you know, a lot of different experience. Like, I started with the big crew of seven people people that would come, and then I would go back, like, after COVID, and there was no people. And then I had to learn it all myself, and then I moved to France, and I was like, I can't carry all this stuff with me. I have gone back and forth on the lighting, and I always go back to the fact that, like, natural lighting for food is just the best lighting, and then just adjust the camera settings. Like, you're much better off doing that and know which angles of the kitchen give you the best softest light because that you can always reproduce the camera, but you can't always reproduce the exact temperature and light. And, like, that just was making me crazy. So I just decided to finish the lights. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah. That is really the tip. Yes. I like it. You mentioned this move to France, and I I you have through the course of your channel and through the course career here. Also, you had a like, it sounded like a rental in France that you made into a full time home. Beth Le Manach: Yes. Exactly. So my husband is French, and we had been coming to France every year or so when we were married. And then we took a break when we had kids, and then we started to bring the kids when they were, like, five and two. Stephanie Hansen: So you and your husband moved to France, and he's French. Yes. So he's like your Jeffrey. Beth Le Manach: Yeah. You could say that. Yeah. He, he he definitely, has inspired me a lot, I think, with the French lifestyle and French cooking. And we would come to France every summer just to vacation, and then we thought, okay. Let's stop renting all these houses. Let's buy a house and then become the renter like, become the person renting. That was a better investment for us. Beth Le Manach: And then, I don't know, we just he got to a point in his life where he was like, I see all my friends retiring in France. That's where I wanna be. And I think that's the blessing and the curse of marrying a foreigner. At one point, they're gonna wanna go back, and you just have to be ready for that. So I was always ready for it because I've always loved France, and I just thought, like, that's a fun experience. Yeah. Let's go do that. Stephanie Hansen: Do you read David Leibovitz's blog? Beth Le Manach: Yes. I do. I love him. Yeah. He's great. Stephanie Hansen: I've learned so much. I have, relatives that are from Montreal, which is not France, but they've spent time in France. And Yeah. He just talks a lot about the difficulties of living in France and being an American transplant living in France. Are there things that you have found that you're just like, oh, I just wish I could get this or something that you're craving to miss? Beth Le Manach: Prepared broths and stocks. Like, you know, when you go in The States, you go to the grocery store and you see, like, a million organic chicken broth, beef broth, like, in every brand that takes up practically a whole file. Here, you cannot get that. You can get the cubes where you're making it, but it's like you're wasting a whole cube for two cups of broth, and you may not need the two cups of brot

    26 min
  8. Jenna Helwig's Cookbookery Collective is a community for cookbook lovers on Substack

    18 AVR.

    Jenna Helwig's Cookbookery Collective is a community for cookbook lovers on Substack

    Welcome to another episode of "Dishing with Stephanie’s Dish," the podcast for everyone obsessed with food, cookbooks, and the stories they tell. Today, host Stephanie Hansen sits down with Jenna Helwig —a true powerhouse in the cookbook world. You may know Jenna as the creator of the Cookbookery Collective newsletter but she's also the food director at Real Simple magazine and a prolific cookbook author herself. In this conversation, Stephanie and Jenna dive into their mutual love for cookbooks, discuss the enduring charm of print in a digital world, and explore the evolving landscape of cookbook publishing, from celebrity chefs to everyday cooks and influencers. Jenna shares insights from her career, talks about the resurgence and diversity of cookbooks, and lets us in on what it’s like to balance her editorial roles at Real Simple and her Substack. They chat about memorable cookbooks from childhood, the pressure (and freedom) of home cooking, and the unique joys of discovering new recipes and makers. Whether you're a cookbook collector, home cook, or just love a good food story, this episode is packed with inspiration, nostalgia, and plenty of practical wisdom. So grab your favorite cookbook, get comfy, and join us for a delicious discussion! FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS: Stephanie Hansen: Hello, everybody, and welcome to @DishingwithStephaniesDish, the podcast where we talk to people that are obsessed with food, cookbooks, and all things in the food space. And today, I'm speaking with Jenna Helwig, and I kinda came across her mostly on Substack, which I think maybe will make her be surprised. I found her as the creator of the cookbookery collective cookbook newsletter, and I was like, hey. You're into cookbooks. I'm into cookbooks. Let's talk about cookbooks. And we got the call set up, and then she said, oh, and by the way, I am the food director of Real Simple magazine. And I was like, oh, just that small detail that I literally did not even know about you. I'm so embarrassed. Welcome to the program. Jenna Helwig: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. And I'm thrilled that you found me through the substack because that's a newish thing for me, and I love that, you know, people are reading it. Stephanie Hansen: Yes. And I was so like, I'm just obsessed with cookbooks, and I am a cookbook writer. I'm on my second book that's coming up, and I read a lot about trying to get published and different points of view of cookbooks. And we have quite a few good cookbook authors that hail from the Midwest in the Twin Cities here. And you had, I think, done an interview with my friend Zoe from Zoey Bakes, which probably is how I found out about you. Jenna Helwig: That is probably right. Yes. Zoey. Also, I think of Amy Theilan. I know she's not right there, but she's, you know, in the vicinity. Right? So yeah. For sure. And Pinch of Yum, aren't they based in Minneapolis? So yeah. Jenna Helwig: They are. A good a good food thing going. Stephanie Hansen: Yes. And the Food Dolls just published their book. They have, like, 8,000,000 followers. Jenna Helwig: Amazing. I guess I've been through that interview. Yeah. And who is that? Stephanie Hansen: Sarah Kiefer, do you know her? Jenna Helwig: Oh, yes. Of course. Her cookies, baked goods. Yeah. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah. We are all from, the Twin Cities, and most of them have, like, specialty angles. Like, I am just a home cook, so that's sort of my point of view on the Midwest. But it has been a really great market to be in. And one of the things that I started a radio show about seventeen years ago, so we've talked a lot of these people along the way. And right when we started the radio show, you know, Facebook and Instagram were launching, and it's been such an interesting trajectory to see cookbook authors in particular. And, like, everyone's like, oh, print is dead. Like, magazines are dead.Publications are dead. And yet, you know, cookbooks are, in some respects, doing better than ever. Jenna Helwig: Yeah. I agree. I feel like they are thriving. I also feel like, you know, at least for me personally, and I do notice this though with a lot of other people that we are on our screens all the time, and we're kinda tired of it. So whether it's a cookbook or even a print magazine, like, there's just something so lovely about turning pages, just, like, shutting out everything else. No other notifications are popping up on your screen. So print is very special. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah. And it feels like you can have, like, personal one on one time with it because you can set your phone down and really immerse yourself in the story. Jenna Helwig: Yes. Exactly. We all need more of that. Stephanie Hansen: I think so. My food magazines too, you mentioned that you're the food director of Real Simple, and you guys are having your twenty fifth anniversary. Yes. And I literally before you sent me that text, I was, like, reading it. And I'm a subscriber, so I'm gonna hold up my copy here. Because I really I love food print too. I worked in the newspaper business, and I'm kind of a tactile print person also. And you had a really cool feature this month about what's the best takeaway you've ever gotten from Real Simple because you guys are in your 25th birthday. So I thought I'd ask you what your best takeaway is. Jenna Helwig: Oh my gosh. That's such a hard question. Alright. I I'm sure it's going to be food related, and I'm kinda gonna cheat and pick something from that month. I worked with Molly Ye on the beautiful birthday cake that's on the cover. And, you know, one of the things she did that I feel like I've used in other in other applications, but never for frosting, was she used instead of food coloring, freeze dried raspberry powder to make the beautiful pink frosting. And I just hadn't done that before, and it was so easy and such a kind of natural way to make something look so lovely. Stephanie Hansen: Yeah. That's funny because, yeah, and the cake, it's a it's a lemon poppy seed cake, and then it has like a a raspberry pink frosting on the outside and then raspberry jam on the inside. It really it also gives you a little bit of that raspberry flavor in the frosting, but it's not like super wet like it would be if you used real raspberries or also, like, super overly sweet if you used just jam. Jenna Helwig: You know what? That is exactly right because it lends that little bit of tartness to it too, and so it's just such a nicely balanced frosting. Stephanie Hansen: So you are a cookbook writer yourself. Jenna Helwig: Mhmm. Stephanie Hansen: I'm forgetting the name of your books. It's Minute Dinners or Dinner and Jenna Helwig: “Bare Minimum Dinners.” The most Bare minimum. Yes. “Bare Minimum Dinners”. Stephanie Hansen: I'm all for that. And you've had, a number of cookbooks, I think. Aren't you? Like, you've had a few more of that too. Jenna Helwig: Yes. So I've written five books. Three of them were more in the, like, family baby toddler space. I used to be the food editor at Parents Magazine. Sure. And so that was really how I kind of got into cookbook writing. I started with real baby food and then wrote one called baby led feeding. And I will say that is by far my best selling cookbook. Jenna Helwig: You know, it's still something we actually did a reissue a couple of years ago, so I did an updated version. It's still something that parents are finding, and that just makes me so happy. Stephanie Hansen: My neighbor who just had a baby, she's gonna be two, was obsessed with that book because I just she knows I write cookbooks, and I film a TV show in my house too. So I'm always bringing them food. And when she first had the baby, she showed it to me, and she was like, have you ever heard of this book? Jenna Helwig: And it was yours. Oh my gosh. That's amazing. Well, that's so great. I'm I that's a really hard time of life as I you know, just, like, trying to figure out no one really tells you how to feed your baby, which is strange. And so I think anything that I could do to make it just less stressful, that was always my goal with those books. Stephanie Hansen: And I think that there's so much to be said about just getting dinner on the table. Like, it's almost a political act these days just to, like, be working, be taking care of your mental health, be worrying about your social time with your kids, your family, your family, aging parents, and then all of a sudden every day someone is supposed to, like, be putting all these elaborate meals on the table, like, sometimes just even surviving a day without the food, and then you have this whole other stressor on top of it. Jenna Helwig: I could not agree more. I mean, which is why I thought of bare minimum dinners. Like, it's this idea, and we do this also in real simple. You know, it's very similar. They're like I call fussy the f word. I'm like, nothing fussy, you know, especially when we're talking about recipes in the magazine. Skip the garnish. Like, you know, there's you're not putting on a show for anyone. You know? Just do what you can. That's really you know? But is it better or good is better than perfect. Done is better than perfect. Just get it done. Stephanie Hansen: And some people, like, because they feel like they're trying to live up to something in a Instagram photo, it prevents them from having a dinner party or, making food for a neighbor because maybe it's, like, not good enough. You know, just the sheer act of eating and providing food for your family, whoever your family looks like, or even just for yourself, you are gonna eat better. You're gonna have more control over what you eat. I have eaten at a million restaurants in my life, and I just find that I always feel so much better when I'm cooking at home. Jenna Helwig: I agree. I love to go out to eat. However, then if if I do that too much, I'm like, okay. I just need to reset at home. And, you know, I've also noticed that

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À propos

I talk with Cookbook authors and Makers obsessed with food stephaniehansen.substack.com

Informations

  • Création
    Stephanie Hansen - @StephaniesDish
  • Années d’activité
    2019 - 2025
  • Épisodes
    478
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © Stephanie Hansen
  • Site web de l’émission
    Dishing with Stephanie's Dish

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