Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy

This week we’re talking about pasta recipes and ideas that go beyond the comforts of red sauces like marinara and bolognese. As the weather gets warmer, we’re leaning into the bright flavors of spring. We’re sharing dishes that celebrate fresh ingredients like spinach, parsley, and peas, as well as earthy flavors like mushrooms and shallots. We also include a few super simple tips that play on cla...

Do you have a go-to dish that you make from memory? Many of us lean on recipes for inspiration for our daily cooking, but there's something to be said about the meals we make off the cuff, over and over again. This episode explores the dishes we cook straight from memory, without consulting a cookbook or app. For instance, Sonya shares her almost weekly routine of roasting chicken, a classic...

We’re celebrating spring in this week’s episode with time-honored rituals and new traditions to welcome light, warmer weather, and connection with family and friends! In honor of the changing season, we’re sharing a few ways that we like to celebrate. Sonya offers her strategies for hosting Passover, including ways to make it a little easier and more collaborative for everyone. She’ll also share h...

We are thrilled to chat with FOOD FRIEND, Grace Chon ! Grace is not only a passionate gardener, but she’s also an acclaimed photographer, best-selling author, creativity coach, and host of Creativity School — a podcast dedicated to finding and expressing creativity (we are both big fans!).  There’s nothing better than cooking with food you’ve grown yourself, and Grace inspires us to plant and...

What are the key elements of a great lunch salad? How can you elevate a sandwich from ordinary to extraordinary? What simple kitchen tool is a game-changer when it comes to making crave-able meals? How do you make delicious lunches at home? This week’s episode was inspired by a lunch that Kari experienced at Sonya’s house several years ago. Sonya and her husband Jonathan created a beautiful midday...

Being a personal chef is, well…personal…and in this episode, we’re taking you on a behind-the-scenes look at our unique experiences cooking in our clients’ kitchens. We’ll share how we got to know our clients’ preferences, meal planning, shopping, and some of the unexpected realities of the job. Being a personal chef has its ups and downs, and we get real about what the profession is really like,...

“I want to run some ideas by you” launches these FOOD FRIENDS into a spirited conversation where they join forces to share ideas and recipes to make casually hosting during the week that much easier. Sonya asks Kari for advice on what to serve alongside the main dish. Kari eagerly (and firmly!) pitches ideas for suitable sides. Sonya shares her brilliant tip for a make-ahead dish that actually tas...

What happens when FOOD FRIENDS reunite? This episode captures all the excitement of Sonya’s recent trip to Los Angeles to visit Kari. Tune in to find out where Kari took Sonya out for dinner, and what treats Sonya brought to Kari in her suitcase.  In this conversation, we’re also exploring what it means to be together with the people we love. As we begin to travel and reconnect with our neare...

Have you ever wondered what chefs keep in their freezers? This week we’re waxing poetic about one of our favorite appliances, divulging some unexpected staples we always keep on hand, and offering some game-changing tips on how to store favorite freezer items. We like to think of our freezers as treasure chests filled with delicious possibilities, and we share the many ways we use our freezers to...

This week’s episode answers an essential question: what’s the best pizza? You may be relieved to hear that the answer is a very loud “ALL OF THEM!” We reminisce about the pizzas of our childhood, the slices that we’ve enjoyed together, and the pizza memories that we hold in our hearts, plus a few of the ways we love to make pizza at home.   Our conversation explores pizza in its many for...

frying, encourages you to freeze your tofu (who knew!), and describes several ways that silken tofu can be delicious in both savory and sweet dishes. *** Links to recipes from this week’s show: Sweet and Crunchy Tofu (made with potato starch) from Maangchi (Frozen) Tofu Braised in Soy Sauce from Chichi Wang of Serious Eats, and How to freeze Tofu by Jessie Yuchen of Bon Appetit Tofu Guide from Ser...

After fifteen years of friendship and collaboration, we’re finally asking each other the question: how did you get your first job as a private chef? This conversation traces each of our own unique culinary paths back to their humble beginnings cooking in homes across Los Angeles. We have no idea what took us so long to have this conversation, but are excited to discover so many unexpected similari...

This week we’re exploring our favorite meatless meals that are flavorful, easy, and exciting. These veggie-centric dishes include several one-pot meals, a deconstructed lasagna, and the “casserole” we both can’t stop making. We’ll also share a few surprising ways to use up that cauliflower! While we’re both fans of starting our week with a vegetarian dinner, we also don’t have any hard and fast ru...

From intimate dinners to huge potlucks, this week we reflect on our favorite dishes of 2022. These stand-out food moments made the cut, not because of their ingredients, but because of the special FOOD FRIENDS we shared them with and where we ate them. We are inspired by our friends’ beautiful cooking, insightful questions, and courageous projects that continue to expand the ways that we eat, cook...

Our food friend and cookbook author, Shannon Sarna, reveals all the details of her holiday cookie boxes and shares the recipes she must include each year, as well as some of the cookies she makes sure to leave out. She has us drooling over her cranberry streusel bars made with homemade cranberry jam (YUM!), as well as her legendary rainbow cookies from her new cookbook, Modern Jewish Comfort Food...

“Classic Latkes & Country Ham” might not be an obvious holiday food pairing, but these two iconic dishes hold special places in our FOOD FRIENDShip.   Sonya collected several key insights that led her to the latke of her dreams: crispy golden edges with a tender center. Surprisingly, one of those insights came from a catering experience with Kari, which helped Sonya to rethink the wa...

The buttery, crunchy Chex mix Kari ate throughout her life is the traditional version that comes from the recipe found on the cereal box. Recently, Kari discovered an updated version of Chex mix that inspired us to talk all about our favorite party snacks, including muddy buddies and ranch fun dip! These snacks are equally fun at a party as they are in a lunchbox, or on a long car ride. Along with...

Welcome to our first guests! Lauren Miller Rogen and Seth Rogen have been hosting Thanksgiving together for close to twenty years. In this episode, they share stories about how they host and cook massive Thanksgiving gatherings, their favorite and not-so-favorite recipes, and how they’ve merged their different backgrounds (and tastes) to create new traditions with their friends and family. Not sur...

This week we break down the elements for hosting a successful potluck meal, whether it’s for Thanksgiving or any time of year. We’ll share our favorite dishes, as well as tips for both hosting or attending potlucks. As always, Kari and Sonya will share their unique culinary experiences like Kari’s favorite Midwestern “salads” that her family makes at Thanksgiving, both of which include Cool Whip....

Sonya tells Kari all about the life-changing frittata made by her chef friend, Lauren Chandler . Who knew this simple egg dish could be so delicious with a few key, unexpected, ingredients? Frittatas and egg casseroles are the perfect dishes to feed a crowd during the holiday season, or really any time of year. Kari and Sonya also talk about Kari’s breakfast egg casseroles, and the benefits of hav...

Kari is known for bringing jars of delicious, nourishing soups and broths to her friends’ doorsteps. Homemade broths and soups can be the best gift you can give someone, especially if they’re under the weather or going through a rough patch. In this episode, we talk about all the ways we like to make bone broth, mineral broth, and vegetable broth, and how we turn those broths into soup. Links to s...

Sonya’s quest for the perfect chocolate chip cookie led her on a 10-year journey of tasting, testing, and asking hundreds of questions all in the name of creating her ideal version of America’s most iconic cookie. In this episode, we examine the ingredients that make a great chocolate chip cookie, delving into specifics about butter, chocolate, and more. Sonya reveals details about the many chocol...