A Couple Cooks | Small Bites – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Food & Wine Culinary Director Justin Chapple joins us for this episode and shares some mad genius cooking tips for spicing up your kitchen! Inspired by his grandmother’s way of making something out of nothing, Justin has gone on to have an illustrious career helping home cooks cook better, quicker, and more delicious food. For our small bite, we eat a smoky marinara soup that tastes like it’s been simmering for hours.

Connect: Find Justin on Instagram as @justinchapple and on Food & Wine’s video series Mad Genius Tips

Book: Just Cook It by Justin Chapple

Small Bite Recipe: Smoky marinara soup from Just Cook It

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

Are carbs bad? Are detox diets worth it? In this episode we sit down with two Registered Dieticians with an evidence based approach to eating: Jess and Wendy of Food Heaven Made Easy and the Food Heaven Podcast. They break down food myths and help us with a few practical meal planning tips. For our small bite, some crispy, salty stovetop potatoes that count as part of a balanced diet!

Connect: Find Wendy and Jess on the Food Heaven Made Easy website, on Instagram as @foodheavenshow, or as hosts of the podcast Food Heaven Show

Small Bite Recipe: Crispy Stovetop Potato Rounds from Food Heaven Made Easy

Find A Couple Cooks: Find Sonja & Alex on Instagram at @acouplecooks or online at www.acouplecooks.com. Find Pretty Simple Cooking online and everywhere books are sold.

“Mindset matters. Everyone talks so much about what the perfect diet is—we debate what foods you should take out of your diet, and whether you should exercise or meditate in the morning or the night. And those are all important, but they are totally missing the point if you have a mindset that has you suffering and feeling like you’re a failure.” That’s Robyn Downs, and along with her husband Dr. Andrew, they’re fascinated with the mindsets that lead to healthy eating. This podcaster teamed up with her psychology professor husband to conduct a study on the way we think about food—and the results were surprising. They joined us to talk about their story and what mindsets can help us to be actually healthy.

Robyn & Dr. Andrew Downs

Real Food Whole Life

The Feel Good Effect Podcast

Instagram

Their online course! Actually Healthy

Vegan pot pie with sage crust | A Couple Cooks

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Want to be transported to the Eternal City without leaving your couch? We got Rome on the phone in this episode and chatted with Kristina Gill, author and photographer behind the cookbook Tasting Rome. Hear about her love affair with the city that’s kept her there for nearly 20 years, and what she’s learned about authentic Italian cuisine from cabbies to restaurateurs.

Kristina Gill

Instagram | Kristina on Design Sponge

Order her book: Tasting Rome

Rome Travel Guide | A Couple Cooks

Cacio e pepe | A Couple Cooks via Date Night In

Pizza dough | A Couple Cooks

Pizza with egg | A Couple Cooks

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

Ever wondered what it’s like to write a book—and adopt a baby at the same time? This episode is an exclusive with Alex and Sonja about the process of writing their new cookbook, Pretty Simple Cooking. They share about starting A Couple Cooks, deciding to write a book, adopting their son Larson, and all the trials and triumphs in between. Along the way, you’ll learn the entire process of book writing from agent to proposal to launch.

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

"You have to see things not as they are, but as they could be. That's what an artist does. And that's what I am at heart." That’s Majora Carter, real estate developer and urban revitalization strategist who’s won a long list of accolades for her work, including the coveted MacArthur Genius fellowship. Her 2016 TED talk was one of the first 6 on that groundbreaking website. Majora joins us to talk about beautifying our neighborhoods, the value of coffee shops and groceries, and how to create “demand” for real good food. She shares about the Boogie Down Grind Cafe, a coffee shop she helped to start serving high quality coffee (and veggies) in the South Bronx, and the value of taking risks to try new things.

Majora Carter

Website | Instagram

Boogie Down Grind Cafe | Coffee lovers gift available on Instagram

Roasted Brussels sprouts with goat cheese & harissa | A Couple Cooks

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

“Treat sugar like salt.” That’s Bill Yosses, former White House pastry chef for Barack and Michelle Obama. When the First Lady asked him to create healthier treats for her family, he discovered that dialing back the sugar actually made his desserts taste better. In this episode, we learn Bill’s secrets to creating stellar, decadent tasting desserts that are “healthified” but still incredibly delicious. Plus, he shares the behind-the-scenes to making everyday meals at the White House, and President Obama’s favorite dessert.

Bill Yosses

Website | Instagram

Order his book: The Sweet Spot

Chai-spiced snowball cookies | A Couple Cooks

Soft gingerbread cookies | A Couple Cooks

Maple macadamia vegan blondies | A Couple Cooks

Bliss bites | A Couple Cooks

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

“I love the imperfections in a dinner party. When we micromanage, we lose all ability to see what the dinner party is about. In all truth, no matter what Pinterest tells us or what we see in a magazine, the only things that really matter are the food and the people.” That’s Megan Gilger, Creative Director of the Fresh Exchange blog and brand. She’s passionate about getting people around the table, for events simple and elaborate. This episode is all about the dinner party: practical tips for pulling one off, and how to focus on what matters most: building relationships, shunning perfection, and making it work for you.

The Fresh Exchange

Website | Instagram

Some Fresh Exchange gatherings:

Fall harvest

A late evening on the front porch

Ladies night

Barebones Living coolers

How and why to start a cookbook club | A Couple Cooks

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter

It’s not every day that you get to hear from an entire family of cooks, especially one that’s had such an impact on American food culture. Enter the Pollan Family: Corky, Lori, Dana, and Tracy. Only missing brother Michael Pollan, bestselling author about food and agriculture, the Pollan family shares the story of growing up around the table. Mom Corky passed down a culture of cooking and eating together, which has now been passed down to a new generation of cooks. Along they way, they wrote a cookbook: accessible, everyday recipes, heavy on the vegetables, to inspire families to come together around the table. 

The Pollan Family Table

Website | Instagram

Their cookbook: The Pollan Family Table

Recipes:

Pumpkin goat cheese baked gnocchi | A Couple Cooks

Preorder A Couple Cooks cookbook >> Pretty Simple Cooking

A Couple Cooks on Instagram and Twitter