Easy Weeknight Dinners Book Talk | NYT Cooking

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E E E E E E E E E E E e This is the first episode in a series of Seven where I'm going to teach you a Bunch of culinary Basics so you can be Better in the Kitchen sometimes you want to make a Showstopping dessert this is shortcut Versus showstopper we are making coconut SOG that is a recipe for people who hate Chopping or do not trust their chopping Today we're making eggplant parm it Takes me 20 minutes if you love eggplant You will love this dish and if you hate Eggplant you also love this dish go to Recipe the base for everything that you Need to make a great Pancake please welcome to the stage Pete Wells Hello hi welcome Everybody thank you for thank you for Your patience thanks for waiting I'm Glad you stuck it out uh I am Pete Wells Uh I'm uh restaurant critic for the New York

Times or am I actually I am the ex restaurant critic For the New York Times uh I stopped Doing that this summer Um uh I have returned to civilian life Um and uh uh after 12 years of going out Almost every night uh I'm eating at home A lot uh uh which is one of the reasons I'm very excited About nyt cookings new cookbook uh I uh I'll tell you that uh uh I am not the Man I used to be at the beginning of the Year I I was 50 pounds heavier um and I've hadn't been able to wear this Jacket for some time I'm glad to see it Back uh um and I owe a i a lot of my Transformation to cooking at home which Means I owe a lot of that to nyt cooking It's been a huge help to me and uh uh in Fact I made uh I make recipes from it Every week I made two over the weekend Um uh this book that we're here to Celebrate tonight is a collection of More than a hundred recipes uh you can Make for your family you can make for Yourself which I'm often doing um uh Good food Wherever you eat it is very important it Sets the tone for your day and uh uh one Of the things we believe at uh at the Food department and nyt cooking is that We all deserve something good to eat Whether we have a lot of time to put it Together or a

Little uh so I am pleased to welcome our Our uh esteemed panel um first is our Moderator uh she's a novelist children's Book author a reader a bookstore owner And a home cook Emma Strob I think not yet But but but she's there uh uh she'll be Speaking with my colleagues Emily Weinstein Melissa Clark and Eric Kim Emily is nyt cookings Editor in Chief She has been at the times for more than 15 years and she helped to Steward the Food coverage alongside Sam sifton Before nyt cooking was even a gleam in Anybody's eye uh this is her first book I am told it is wonderful I look forward To curling up with it uh and next we Have my friend food writer cookbook Author Melissa Clark uh author of 45 Books four followed by Five Uh uh and also the author of two of the Recipes I made and ate over the weekend Thank you Melissa uh uh and you'll know my Colleague Eric Kim from his delicious Recipes his regular videos on nyt Cookings YouTube and for his book Korean American food that tastes like home uh I Think this is going to be a real treat Please welcome our Panel hi Everybody I'm sorry to keep you uh in Suspense that we weren't quite sure when

Um to come out anyway I am Emma stra as Pete said I am uh a lot of things uh but One of them is a a sort of middling but Enthusiastic home cook and I personally Use the New York New York Times cooking App and Page all the time all the time Truly maybe not every single day but Most days so I am very excited to be Here um And and today like this is a sneak Preview too I don't know if everyone Understands that the book is actually Published Tomorrow so so you're all like really Getting here um right on time ahead of Time um yeah okay so here's what's going To happen so we're going to talk for a While um and then we're going to go Downstairs and um you get to eat food That is made from this book I believe And um you will have a chance to buy Copies of the new book and to get copies Signed all of these things are true Facts I believe okay so I'm going to Start with Emily um first of all Congratulations the book is so beautiful You thank you so much are you so are you So delighted with how it turned out I'm So delighted with how it turned out also That's an amazing compliment coming from You um I am delighted with how it turned Out um you know we have an amazing team At the Times who who worked on the book Itself and a 10p speed but um the book

Is is recipes from myt cooking right um I have the pleasure of editing nyt Cooking um I love nyt cooking I'm an nyt Cooking superan that's what I cook at Home and the recipes are really a Celebration of that and um of our Writers of Eric and Melissa um and so It's it's beautiful because their work Is beautiful yeah and so I want to ask Why so the book Is um easy right you're starting with Easy which I think is a beautiful place To start for those of us who um love Food and love cooking but aren't Necessarily like um skilled highly Skilled so I I wondered um sort of what Made you want to start there like I mean Your newsletter is five week night dish You know which it's like easy adjacent I Would say um what made you want to start With easy I know we need a radically Easy newsletter radically easy um uh That's a great question um you know we Started really thinking about easy in a Very deliberate serious way about I Would say six years ago um we were Trying to figure out how we could help People with meal planning right we were Doing all this audience research and We'd go and we talk to people who use The app and people didn't use the app But seemed like right a Right audience For the app and what we learned right Away is is yes people wanted meal

Planning but actually they just needed Ideas like they just needed you to put The recipe in front of them and it had To be so much easier than anybody on our Staff ever imagined and then like we Would make the easy recipe and it's like Oh no no no no no like cross off four of The ingredients in this recipe right and It was really striking and like Sometimes you'd meet people who were Really emotional like they were they Were working full-time a lot of them had Small children and they were really Trying to make it all work right and They just needed some help um and that Was when we launched five we night Dishes we're like okay we need a Newsletter that is just a kind of Cooking that can happen at the end of a Long day however you spent the day like And and some of it is a little bit more Complicated I think for the people who Want to put in a little more but I'm Always trying to slip in one where it's Like put the ingredients in the pan and Cook them and then you'll have dinner so We aim for a miss a mix there well so And like how do you how do you define Easy like is there a certain criteria Like when it came to selecting the Recipes for the book like were there Certain like I don't know like a number Of ingredients or techniques that you Were just like no this could not

Possibly be considered easy like what Yeah and you know I think week night is Also a key word in the title as say Dinners Yeah but uh you know the criteria Basically look there there are long re Recipes that don't have a lot of Ingredients there are complicated Recipes that don't have a lot of Ingredients like I would argue making an Omelette perfectly is not actually easy Right but that's just you know whisking Eggs in a pan butter um for for easy Week night we're thinking about as few Ingredients as possible sometimes we Stray from that in order to be you know Culturally appropriate you know if a Recipe calls for several spices and we Want you to make that recipe we're going To call for all the spices we're not Going to try to reduce that right yeah But generally we're looking for for as Few ingredients as possible two pieces Of equipment only like we don't want you To have to clean up like I I think Before we started really thinking about Easy cooking we weren't paying attention To like cleaning up time consuming so so You know we can call for like one pot One pan or like one pot one blender you Know and but we're not doing a ton of Pieces of equipment we're not doing a Lot of ingredients and then critically It has to be less than 45 minutes and

Ideally less than 30 minutes yes oh yeah When when you see that number you know And it's like 10 or 15 like Eric has Like a like a like the peanut noodles That where it's like you're using Ramen And peanut butter and soy sauce like is There anything else in that the there's A little parmesan yeah yeah right right Okay and I'm like I just made a whole Meal in five minutes you know it really Like it really makes a difference it Really makes a difference so we Appreciate that it's cuz things like That come from real life yeah feel like I think when I think about the most Successful recipes and most of them are In this book I think it's stuff that I Made because it truly helped me and then I run to my editors Genevie Co the one Who edits a lot of my recipes I feel Like that's how we know that we kind of Hit something real yeah yeah I mean Because it because it's like I mean it's It's going to real people I mean and I Think that like I mean I love I love Beautiful you know I H like I have some Cookbooks that I never open and they're Beautiful and maybe I you know read them But the ones that I really cook from Like that's what you need um okay so nyt Cooking just turned 10 yeah which is a Big number double Digit very Exciting so but that to me also

Just my anxiety talking perhaps but like When when when presented with the Opportunity to make a book that also Seems like a lot Of uh material to sort of go through how Did you decide what was going to make it Into this book well you know I I'm I Think this is coincidental I'm not sure Um Caitlyn Roper um who's in the Audience tonight who runs um she's a Genius um and and what she's working on Now at the times that she's working on Books and film and TV how to take um What the work we do at the times and Expand it and right before she and I Really started talking about this in Earnest I had had this deranged idea That what I should do before I went on My vacation in August was sit down and Write a list of a 100 recipes I thought You should make this year and I'm a Parent of small children but even so I Always still think of September as like Back to school I remember thinking of About that even before I had children It's like there's some there's like There you get a fresh start in September Even if you don't have children in School right so I's like oh 100 recipes To make this year and like what a dumb Thing to assign yourself before you go On vacation I was at it like nights and Weekends but I made this list of 100 Recipes and um you know I it might

Surpris you don't learn I know nyt Cooking really well um I know all the Recipes and so I just started pulling I used my recipe box shout out to the Recipe box I hope NY cooking fans use it And I have all these different folders You know for for meat and rice dishes And so I just started getting organized And then I wrote through that and that Published on our website and it found This amazing audience people were really Excited to have it and you know that was The list we started from we ended up Making quite a lot of changes to it but We weren't starting from scratch which Is nice you know that's daunting right Yeah we did I mean the final book is Quite actually bit different from that List but we had a we had a sense of what It could be because I had done that yeah Well and I you Know aforementioned Caitlyn roer also uh Wanted me to point out something that is That I I think probably comes out of That list that you're describing which Is that the way that the recipes are Organized in the book like there's a There's a cool index at the front where It's like it's not just like Steak whatever it's like tastes like Pizza you know it's like organized in a Fun way and so that thinking about what You just said like that it makes me Understand that index like where that

Came from you know I mean yes cooking is A chore right you have to do it you have To eat um but um we really wanted this To feel delightful we wanted there to be A lot of recipes that got people excited That excitement you felt about the Peanut butter noodles like we want People to feel that way and so you need To have those moments in the book Yeah yeah yeah um okay so I I think this Is can I something yes please in that in Next section my favorite category is you Must they're all based they're all Grouped with like a few under each Category but there's one category that Has one recipe and it's like must make This immediately and it's genev CO's fi Alfredo with chili crisp and spinach Have you made that that I need to make It I have not but even raise your hand If you've made That that's a lot of ha if you if you go Back and read jev's column on that even That one's about how she was really Craving F Alfredo it was a dinner like It a week night but she didn't want to Pay all the money for that delivery so She just looked in her pantry and did it And it's sort of those are the recipes That when they just come from real life And real situations and then they're Easy to write about but they always end Up doing the best and I feel like that's Something that's really apparent in

These in this collection they connect With people yeah do you do either of you Have a recipe that like took off on the App in a way that you didn't anticipate Where like now you're just walking down The street and people are like oh my god Oh red lentil soup my red yeah I mean That recipe Yeah I that's the only recipe of mine That I don't mess with like I I never Make the same thing twice you know if I Or I never follow anyone's recipe I Definitely don't follow my own recipe But that one I follow because I there's I can't do it any better it's just like It's a particular thing it's really easy And um yeah and I'm glad people really Find comfort from that recipe so that's The one they're like I made you red Lenel soup so many emails so many you I Made you red lenel soup and I think oh Good I fed you well and it's really Gratifying that one's legendary uh Mine's the Goan caramel cookies yeah Thank oh yeah Come those are great I followed your Recipe for those actually those are Great you know when our recipe is famous When the when people know the the cookie But they don't know the author's name I Think That's cookies and then they and then I'll meet like you know a part my Partner's friends who have who meet who

Like talk to me oh you work for the Times what's your name I was like oh Actually I know your cookies that's when You know It's wow that that's power that's power When when your cookies preced You but sales did Spike during that Period so yeah Not um well so here this this could lead Into the next question So specifically with the Cookies um that have an ingredient that Maybe was unexpected for that kind of Cookie are there recent Trends or Ingredients that have sort of become More popular in home cooking that have Surprised or excited you it's for Everybody feel like Melissa's been doing This a lot long I know I mean every time I you know what I love I love it when an Ingredient hits you know it's like Because I I will buy all the things Anything I see I want to experiment with But I'm like can I use it in an ingred Can I use it in a recipe that's going to Reach a really wide audience like what's The threshold what's that moment where It's okay to use pomegranate molasses Like which was a long time ago but when Was that moment right when was it okay To use goou Jang and that you could just Call for it without saying and you can Special order it on you know and that People can and that people can get these

Things so that's really exciting so I'm Trying to think of things that I'm that I'm like okay like what are some things The thing that really gave me permission To then introduce people to other types Of you know lesser known ingredients was Shashimi togarashi oh yeah sort of this Like spice blend that I grew up loving It's it was in the sushi restaurant near Our house growing up in Atlanta and it Was just always on the table and we Sprinkle over the udon and I was like That bite of udon with that little seven Spice blend is so Prismatic and I think I was like how do I get this just to Spread out even more so I did like a m a Pork chop which had like a maple lime Kind of soy pan sauce and that brought Out all the flavors of that of that Ingredient and a lot of people bought That ingredient and they didn't question It they just wanted to try it because of The recipe and so people are also Excited to try new things and encourage Me to go on it's that intersection that Moment where you that people are willing To buy it but also that they can find it You know because it's also like you want To be able to tell people to buy the Thing that they can actually get because Then you don't want them to be Disappointed yeah ex so it's that and And just but that's that exciting moment It's like ah yes and we can now call for

You know maybe green sesu and Peppercorns is going to be the next Thing I think maybe a couple years away From that but that's that's on the Horizon green s pepper on hor first yeah They're very exciting you've been a Columnist for like 17 years right or or More you've been a columnist for like 17 Years or more I got the column in 2007 So however many years that is but um I Feel like you've done a lot for harisa And preserved lemons I you actually There was one point where Emily said to Me she's like um we have to step with The hares just for a moment just take a Moment I'm like Okay wow so it was I mean wasn't just me You know y was like it was a bunch of us I I don't remember this conversation Yeah well but this I mean this makes me Have a lot of follow-up questions just Like in terms of how how it happens like So forgive me guys I'm going really Off Script here but I don't think you'll Mind um so do you how does it work like Do You each along with all of your Colleagues come up you have an idea and Then you pitch the idea to Emily and she Says no or she says yes we haven't had a Melissa Clark Harissa you know recipe in months or how How does it work how does how does a Recipe get from like your brains to the

Nyt app I want to hear your answer well I mean you were just saying real life For you yeah I mean to be honest it's I Have to go the funny thing about working Lifestyle you know like media is you Have to live a life to be able to like Write about it So that's a really good point so I just Have to like you know go into the Kitchen and cook for my partner and me And you know if it tastes good you know I go to JY I'm excited about it that's How I pitch it usually yeah I do yeah no I have I have a note I have a kitchen Notebook and so when I'm making dinner If it's good my husband will say write It down write it down right now before You forget because I will forget and so Then I'll I'll take my chicken scratch Notes and then that'll be get the basis Of a recipe and then I'll develop it From there and if it's good then I'll Pitch it I'll say okay Yeah that's but that's that's one Avenue But then another Avenue is what do you Know I mean it's like my editor who Right now like it used to be Emily but Now it's chrisan shamrat who's amazing Also and she'll say you know you haven't Done chicken in a While or how about a pasta you know so And then we're also thinking seasonally Right you know and we're working ahead So we're thinking okay what's going to

Be in season in three or four months and It's all of these factors and they all Come together um and also what else is In the section you know because you Don't want the whole section to be Chicken need you need to diversify it so So it's sort of like it's sort of like How you know that like the models in Like the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue are freezing to death because They're no Everybody because because they're or Like fashion models or whatever where Like their those pictures were taken six Months ago you know what I mean it's Kind of like how we roast turkey in July Right exactly but don't they fly those Models somewhere Warm sorry I actually don't know that Much about about twim photography but I Just was thinking about things that have To be shot in advance anyway moving on Um so Melissa the uh Joy of both cooking And eating is everywhere in your recipes In your videos and your reviews um and It's Infectious how do you think slash is it Possible do you do this all the time This Joy can be cultivated in busy home Cooks is that part of your goal no that Is that is exactly part of my role Because I I mean I know yes I get an Inordinate amount of pleasure from Cooking but not everyone does and I

Realize that I cook all day and then I Still want to make dinner you know I I Just that's that's my own craziness But But so how do I get people to feel a Little bit of that and I have this thing That I always say and I think it's Really important is that you know if you If you love to cook on weekends there Are ways for you to take that love and Turn it and put it during the week use It during the week right and I say make Making dinner your time don't think About it as a chore don't think about it I mean it is but you try to downplay That and think about it is this is my Time and so create an environment that Makes it your time like what what do you How what's works best for you you know In my case what I want is I want my Family in the kitchen with me I want you Know my husband mixing me a cocktail or Playing music or sometimes he'll read to Me like that is the best thing and so It's like that's really joyful right but Maybe you want to be alone and you want Everybody out of the kitchen get out of The kitchen you want to turn up your Music and you want to do your thing do That just create an environment and a Space for you to make cooking time a a Good at least a time that doesn't feel Heavy and like you're working make it Feel as good as it can whatever that Means for you yeah wow how about you

Does that Truth for you too uh yeah definitely I I Mean I could speak to another side of Our recipe development which is a lot of What I do is also I interview chefs or I Try to get recipes from restaurant Kitchens and that's why it's it's not Just in our own kitchens when we're Eating out and we find something that's So amazing that we have to share it with Other people that's when you know you've Landed on something lovely and and then You kind of like fall in love with the Source and then which you're not Supposed to do but you kind of fall in Love with the source really get to know Their story and then watch them cook and So recipes come from all over but I Think the joy can also come from other People I think that's something and I Would imagine it also comes from like Feeding feeding people you know the People who are on the other end unless You're just cing for yourself but you Know I don't know I have two small Children who like don't eat anything but This Week both of them were like how about You make some more roast broccoli which Is nothing it's nothing you know but It's but it's not nothing it's Enormous I'm a good parent everyone my Daughters never ever asked her roasted Broccoli ever keep

Waiting um okay so this is this sort of Speaks to what you just said Eric about Um sort of getting inspiration from from Other sources as well how do you strike A balance um between creativity and Inspiration and accessibility like I Think that with this book in particular You know the the recipes are are aimed For a wide audience and for people who Aren't Pros Necessarily it's Hard you're so good at it though well I Feel like you and I actually travel a Lot you know for pleasure but also for Work and so through the traveling I mean I'm not going to be cooking or Developing a recipe in my hotel room Sometimes I do but you know for the most Part you don't and so you really are and I think it's a blessing like we we we're We're kind of working all the time like Even when we're going out to eat or Going over to a friend's house I mean Some of my favorite recipes are the ones That I get from a friend throwing a Dinner party and I'm just like oh that's One way to do it that's amazing and then And I'll credit that friend and then you Know sort of come home and try in my own Way and yeah I think you have to I have To personally not cook to be in to stay Inspired it's it's like a it's like a Practice for me I I think also like you Know when you're talking about um

Stories behind the recipes because I Know how important that is to both of us That I and when you have a recipe that Has a story it's like it's a great Recipe but then it's also so much easier To write about and it just it it and you Can communicate it to people so a lot of The creativity comes in getting that Story out as opposed to like taking the Dish and adding like you know preserve Lemons and hares you know it's really Like what is the story behind this Dish you know can I add something to so So you had asked about that sort of that Sort of convergence of um convenience And accessibility right yeah uh no sorry Creativity and Accessibility um when we were putting Together this book you know and looking At the list of recipes and looking at it Really you know with fresh eyes as a Collection of recipes that you would Hold in your hands in this book um we Really tried to include like only nyt Cooking recipes that hit that balance Like you need to look at these recipes And think like this could only be nyt Cooking um and um you know we publish Plenty of recipes we publish recipes for Classic dishes and you know we think It's the best possible version of the Classic dish but we don't change it you Know it's great the way it is these Recipes are not that these recipes aim

To be sort of brilliant in their Swiftness and their deliciousness There's always that little something in These dishes that makes a different and Special and that was for me a big part Of thinking about the book it's like Finding those and putting them all Together yeah what about Um seasonality like I feel like it there Seasonality is something that I think a Lot of people think about when cooking Um like especially you know if they shop At the farmers market or you have a CSA Or what have you um but how does that Work when you're thinking about about Putting together a cookbook because You're not like it's not Like summer right you don't want to Pigeon hole yourself so how how does That work into how you organize or or Think about or plan it um so there are Very few I I thought about this a lot There are very few recipes in this book That will only taste good during the Peak produce season which is you know I Think here in the Northeast summer yeah There're very very very few recipes I Can actually only think of one where It's like no no no make that was summer Corn but even then you can make this Recipe with frozen corn it's Melissa's Sheep pan chicken with the corn and Chilies which is a great recipe what do Do you do you agree with this assessment

Melissa yeah no I I mean I when I Developed that recipe I did it before There was summer corn yeah so I did this With like crappy you know bad corn and Then I did it again with frozen corn and Then it's actually really funny because I have a similar one that I do with tofu It's a and I actually made that last Night yeah I made that too last night I Made it on Wednesday oh my gosh really But I I want I change the recipe because I can never do it so instead of using a Poblano because I didn't have it I used Um I had a bunch of randomly shidos and You know how sometimes you get a Shashido that's really really hot yeah Yeah so Daniel got that one my husband Got that one he was like what the heck Did you do to me Sorry another great recipe I I um I yeah You know I really think if you're you're Putting out a book you you do kind need Something that's going to work all year And also the reality is yeah cherry Tomatoes are going to taste best from The farmers market in August yeah I mean That's my feeling um but you can get That stuff you're around now and it's Pretty good so we also try to focus on Ingredients if they're out of season That you can still get stuff at the Supermarket and it's not local but You'll still get a good result I mean And I think cherry tomatoes actually we

Do quite a few recipes with cherry Tomatoes for that reason you don't need A gorgeous fat heirloom tomato for those Recipes to take taste great um and I Don't even think they would taste better I I think that that's one of the Strengths of the book is exactly that is That yeah you can make this all year Round and it's going to be delicious With frozen corn with actually not such Great Supermarket corn it's going to be Still delicious because of the way the Recipes are constructed throughout the Whole book right but then when you do Make it with something in season you're Like oh my God so that's that's which is Great so it's a yearr round experience We're speaking to this before a little Bit but the development process is kind Of like that anyway we're sort of Cooking out a season yeah and it's sort Of a good like I personally like to go To the you know big box Supermarket to Get you know worse ingredients just to Make sure that it will taste good for Every no seriously you're right no we Live next to farmers markets but not Everyone does so you want to make sure It tastes good with if you can make this With those January Tomatoes you're going To be amazing In I two of mine my favorite recipes in This book are have cherry tomatoes in Them they're and one of them you know

How when you get like your high school Yearbook and you bring it home and you Flip through really quickly just to like See if there are pictures of you and Your best friends in it that is how I Felt with this book where I like got it And I flipped through right away and I Was like because the first spread the First picture I wish I had a copy up Here cuz I would hold it up show you the First spread is like two page gorgeous Photograph of the recipe that I Personally cook the most like in my life Which is this feta Red Onion cherry Tomato lemon broccolini Situation that is such a good that is a Good oh my God I was like there she is She's right There it made me so proud she got a Applause Um wait so Eric I want to go back to What you were just saying you guys were Just talking a little bit about Storytelling um and like I you know I Know you a little bit but I feel like I Know you more than I do because I read What you write and I I don't know I just Wondered if you guys can talk a little Bit about that because I feel like Writing about Yourself and food is like a certain kind Of um I don't know like openness or Vulnerability how do you how do you Think about that as you write oh I think

About it all the time um it's sort of This is a really weird job right I I say I like I think that all the time I mean It's a great job love it um but you know To be to be responsible for you know Cooking and then writing recipes and you Know they come from our lives it's a Very private thing to share food and um But doing it publicly has has really Been such a an honor and a joy because Um I think when people stop me on the Street they're they're not really like Telling me you know you know once in a While someone be like I love your videos And I love your your writing but a lot Of the times it's like thank you so much For that you know she pan peing Pub that Really helped me you helps my family Like once a week like it's that's really Intimate and and so there's immediately The breaking of that like barrier and You can just like speak about the Cooking and it feels really it's kind of Kind of lovely it's a different kind of It's not really Fame it's like I don't Know you're like I feel like you're just Like a neighborhood like you're the You're the cook next door kind of thing Right yeah you're in people's kitchens And it's strange yeah I mean it's it is I mean you use the word intimate and I Think that that really is that that is What it is yeah and you know beyond the Week night cooking you know there's

There's like a stove top there's a stoer Style mac and cheese and this one person Was staring at me all day or like the Whole dinner and then I was like and and They finally came up to me with with his Daughter and he was like this is her you Know annual her like birthday Ma and Cheese and just really Lov and then you Kind of like end up and I mean I don't Know how many people come up to me and They're like oh my God Melissa Clark They Name anyway and one thing I just wanted To say was that this is our day-to-day It's our jobs but you know what's really Lovely is I remember when you were doing That Chic pan chicken with the corn and What's exciting is we're all just Working you know from assignment to Assignment but we don't really know Until it comes out and goes out to the World whe you know if it's going to be Viral or and so we're like making hits Without knowing it and it's cool to be a Part of that you know environment you're Sort of there's always the chance that Something's really going to reach a lot Of people so that's why I think we take It seriously we never know what that Thing is no not really just never know Um this is I I I hope this is an okay Question to ask ask but so the the Nyt cooking app I think of as being Famous for its comment section oh

Yes it's all of You okay okay not to do like so much Crowd work but will you raise your hand If you've ever written a Comment okay that's like that is a That's a that's a healthy healthy number Um Do do you read the comments oh God yeah Absolutely I I do because well first of All they make me a better recipe writer Because if someone's tripping up over a Point I need to know I need to Understand what's working for people and What doesn't work and you know to Emily's Point earlier about what does Easy mean like I earlier in my career I Had a very different idea about what Easy meant than I do now and it's gotten Way easier and I've tried to strip it And that's all from the notes it's for All of your notes and also I steal your Ideas when you're like oh I made that Except that I instead of the chicken I Use you know mashed potatoes or whatever Like I'm stealing it and then I'm making It into a recipe so I'm very grateful For the notes I think our nyt community Is quite amazing and then talking about Sharing stories you know we'll share our Stories but people share stories in the Notes too and sometimes they're crazy And sometimes they're amazing and it's Just like reading the notes is one of my Favorite things I definitely use nyt

Cooking as like a social media App Instagram's got any other social Medias have gotten so toxic it's just Like you know ni to read about cooking I Can say just blanket as just I think as A department we love the comments and And when you find a really good one like A gem and and and by that I don't mean Like a really helpful tip on a recipe Although those are grade two when you Find the crazy story or or just Something it just like a t div Force Comment we we share them with each other In the slack Channel cuz we love them we Genuinely love them well and I mean you Love them clearly you love them so much That there there are actually comments Printed in the book too yes yes so if You are a frequent commenter whether or Not you just raised your hand you should Flip through the book downstairs and see Because you might be I don't know if you Had to ask permission from the you know What I don't know if we know we didn't We did not ask permission the New York Times I'm sure has great lawyers I Apologize if I just got Anyone but we we're going to use People's full names okay so it's your Handle but um yeah and you know the Comments actually have their own fan Account on Instagram oh I know I follow It Uh I was at a wedding in Italy and on

The Dance Floor I met someone who Happened to be the guy who runs that Account And we became friends wow I love to meet Someone on the dance floor at a wedding In Italy that was a great introduction Life life RS of all of Us um okay so we we only have a few Minutes left so I I want to ask a couple A couple more um juicy questions okay um Okay here let's start with this one Maybe so what um what are some common This again this is thinking about easy Easy week night what are some common Sort of challenges you see home Cooks Facing or some like sort of common early Sort of Mistakes and how do you help people Avoid them when writing Recipes yeah that's that's a that's like A work in right like a work in progress Constantly I have a thought Um I have this made corn fried rice Where you truly just mix all of it in a Bowl and then put it in a pan but the Comment section is full of people who Are like way overthinking it which which I totally which I totally understand yes You know so it's it's a real balance It's like you think you wrote it simply Enough but you also don't want to bog Them down with too information too much Information and everyone's so different In the way they use a recipe so I think

My my kind of main thought is um we're Pretty literal so what's on the page is What you should do I think that's like You can start there but I don't know That's my well I think um also I mean I Think you're right I mean I think like Number one rule is you know follow try Try following the recipe just to see if It works it's like a good but but then But another rule is if you know you Don't like something like you know you Don't like lemon zest anchovies whatever It is in the recipe don't use it because You know what ultimately you're making Dinner for yourself and you have to make Yourself Happy I I have a more techn technical Technical but um I find that when we're Thinking about recipes and we're Thinking about Fast Recipes real hurdle For people is the ingredient prep and That's also very hard for us to estimate The time for because people just chop Things at really different rates and and Also they don't have you might not have A sharp knife or um I remember when I Had my first apartment all my cutting Boards were like tiny I had like I had Like so many cutting boards but they Were all very small and that's like not Helpful when you're trying to chop Something or cut something and so a Thing I'm thinking about is a lot is how Do we help people just get themselves

Set up so they actually can zip through These recipes and part of that is Equipment not expensive equipment just Equipment um and um I will say I think The best thing somebody can do for Themselves to be a better everyday cook Is is um knife skills like improve your Knife skills yeah okay well so this lead Leads in perfectly to my last question Question which is advice so what advice Would you give to someone Emily's just Given a great piece of advice um who's Really just starting their like home Cooking Adventure especially you know it The world is overwhelming Like on on on that level like if if We're going to take it like easy to Heart like what's more Advice like having some knife skills or Sharp knife even just a sharp knife yeah Sharp knife yeah I would say I would say On um one of those rasp microplane Graters like that I mean you can that is Just before we had those we had to chop Everything by you had to chop the garlic And the ginger by hand really fine and We had to grate lemons on a box grater Like and I know it's like it's just Changed my life because those are the Things I use a lot I want to have those Fresh flavors right at the end the lemon Zest the garlic the ginger and I want Them really easily and you can just add It to anything yeah um so I would say

That would be my number one is get get Yourself one of those it's just going to Save you so much time and then you throw It in the dishwasher yeah that's true uh I I think this is something I do Personally and I I think it could be Helpful for people but I have a quarter Sheet pan next to my stove at all times And there's um whatever can fit in there Is what I use in my daily cooking and I Switch things out here and there it's Like oh I've stopped using Pima split Like that like French Bas like you know Red chili pepper H so I'll and and I Think the reason I like to say that is Um it's okay if that changes but it's a Finite amount so and that's the Realistic way people cook and the way we Develop actually and one beautiful thing About this book is I've never seen it's Really as just you know for us as Developers and colleagues it's lovely to See all of us in one book because you Really as you flip the page you're Really like oh that has a lot of Ginger And lime and oh that's definitely like a Yand recipe or like oh there some Dumplings and tofu and it's vegetarian Oh that's definitely he Um if you check if you check the B line Across you know our work we're using Similar ingredients we're we're working From our own you know you know daily Pantries and one way to do that is to

Just practice like keeping that quarter Sheet pan next to your stove I I like Doing that personally yeah I I I Actually love that like following Someone you know like H I mean I love H As a human yes also which helps but like I just like whenever I see I'm like oh Well I can do that I can do it if P says I can do it I can do It it um all right we have hit z00 Z on The timer um which is it's good news bad News everybody because the bad news is That I have run out of time asking these Beautiful people questions but the good News is that you get to now go Downstairs um and eat food you get to Eat Food and you get to and you get to buy The book and um you know for everyone at Home the recipes are of course also Online but the book is so beautiful You're going to love it um you can get All of these beautiful people to sign it For you thank you so much for coming Thanks for Amazing E E E E E E E E

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