Special Sauce with Ed Levine

On this episode of Special Sauce, we’re joined by the incredible youtuber, podcaster and  Cheese, Wine and Bread author Katie Quinn who says that metaphorically speaking, people ferment just like cheese wine and bread. Plus, Kenji adds his two cents about Katie and fermentation.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we’re joined by Reem Kassis, the thought provoking author of The Palestinian Table and her new book, The Arabesque Table. Plus, Kenji gives us some helpful tips of making falafel at home, courtesy of the chef Einat Admony.  Kenji’s falafel recipe video on youtube can be found here:  https://www.youtube.com/kenjisfalafelrecipe Learn about your ad choices: do...

On this week's Special Sauce, we're joined by NY State Senator and Colombian-American Jessica Ramos who talks about her fearless approach to food activism as she fights for both her diverse constituents and the rights of migrant farm workers.  Plus, Kenji weighs in on his Colombian-American wife Adri's favorite dish and tells us about Temblores, an NGO that monitors state violence in Colombia. Lea...

On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we’re joined by the brilliant and hilarious comedian, actor, writer and producer Susie Essman. Essman explains how her pandemic cooking increased her husbands ardor, plus she gives us a special sneak peak of what’s coming up on the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week’s episode of Special Sauce we’re joined by Chef Nina Compton who talks about her experience working in fine dining as a woman of color, how her restaurants have grappled with the pandemic, and the imperiled hospitality industry in her beloved St. Lucia. Plus, Kenji stops by to share a nifty hack for making jerk chicken, one of Nina’s favorite dishes at home.  Learn about your ad choic...

On this week's episode of Special Sauce legendary food writer and television cook Nigella Lawson gets real about both her new book "Cook, Eat, Repeat," and the remarkable arc of her life and career. Then Kenji stops in to sing Nigella's praises and reveals what happened when Nigella cooked at his restaurant.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week’s Special Sauce, we’re joined by the great pit master and James Beard Award-winning chef Rodney Scott and his coauthor Lolis Eric Elie talking about their new book "Rodney Scott's World of BBQ." They talk about whole hog BBQ, fathers and sons, and a whole lot more. Plus, Kenji weighs in with his approach to smoking a pork shoulder. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choi...

On this week's episode of Special Sauce, we're joined by TV and food writer Lolis Eric Elie who dishes on diversity -- or the lack thereof -- in Hollywood and tells us about the joys of eating in and  out  in his native New Orleans. Later, Kenji stops by to give us his helpful tips for cooking red beans with rice.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we continue our deep dive into the world of fast food. This time   Franchise  Author Marcia Chatelain,  Drive-Thru Dreams  Author Adam Chandler, and Kenji discuss the unique good vs. evil duality of fast food. The new-ish made-to-order McDonald's Quarter Pounder and the Popeye's Chicken Sandwich are definitely on the menu. Learn about your ad choices: dovet...

On this week’s episode of Special Sauce, we ponder the highs and the lows of fast food culture with Marcia Chatelain, Georgetown University Professor of history and African American studies and author of Franchise , and Adam Chandler who wrote Drive-Thru Dreams . Then, Bill Oakley shares a few of his fast food reviews from instagram and later, Kenji stops by to share his recipe for Smash Burgers. ...

When the ultra-talented chef Mashama Bailey collaborated with first-time restaurateur John Morisano to open The Grey in an old abandoned Greyhound bus depot in Savannah Georgia, they knew that their partnership was not going to be easy.  On this week's Special Sauce you will hear about the difficulties they encountered along the way related to race, class, and gender. The story of their unlikely p...

On this week's Special Sauce we talk to Grace Young, renowned Chinese cookbook author, self-described wok therapist, and New York Chinatown advocate  during the Pandemic #SaveChineseRestaurants. Plus, we check in with Kenji about Grace and his own upcoming Wok cookbook.  Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week's episode of Special Sauce we celebrate one of the greatest food writers, Jessica Harris, who introduced many of us to the food of the African Diaspora. Jessica talks about her new book Vintage Postcards from the African World , her twelve cookbooks, and her friendship with Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, and Toni Morrison. For some added perspective on Jessica's extraordinary life and w...

On this week’s episode, we talked with Washington Post food writer Tim Carman and his wife, spirits writer Carrie Allen, about their scary battle with the Coronavirus and the lasting impact it has had on them. Later in the episode, Kenji stops in to offer up a simple soup recipe to comfort them, and you. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week's Special Sauce, host Ed Levine talks to Brooklyn restaurateur (BK Jani) Sibte Hassan. Hassan contracted the Coronavirus in April, and his long road (including a 12 day stint in the hospital) to recovery and redemption takes him through both near-death moments and a surprising spiritual awakening. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This week, host Ed Levine is joined by the Baltimore-based baker Amanda Mack, who defied the odds when she opened up her family-inspired bakery, Crust By Mack, in the middle of the pandemic. Then, former journalist and podcaster turned Youtube food star, Adam Ragusea, talks about his own holiday-inspired traditions and offers some sage advice to home bakers. Later, Kenji participates in a holiday...

Kenji Lopez-Alt tells all about his new New York Times best seller children's book Every Night is Pizza Night on this week's episode of Special Sauce.  It turns out that for Kenji writing a 48 page picture book for his daughter was in many ways much more difficult to write than his 900 page mega-hit The Food Lab . Counterintuitive, right? Lucky listeners will also get a sneak preview of his next c...

Special Sauce, Serious Eats founder Ed Levine's podcast, is back to stay (with new theme music, no less) with a Thanksgiving episode that explores the seemingly antithetical nature of the pandemic and Turkey Day. After all, Thanksgiving is all about gathering around the table with people you love and sharing a meal with them. The pandemic on the other hand is all about minimizing contact and conne...

Much has been written during the pandemic about the increased popularity of community supported agriculture, commonly referred to as CSA. On this week's Special Sauce, we had a far-reaching conversation with Maggie Cheney, one of the owners of Rock Steady Farm , which is part of a special kind of CSA. Rock Steady describes itself as a women and queer owned cooperative farm, rooted in social justic...

On this week's Special Sauce, Susan Spungen, author of  Open Kitchen: Inspired Food for Casual Gathering  and other books, regales us with her experiences in Hollywood as a food stylist and culinary consultant for movies like  Julie and Julia  and  Eat, Pray, Love . What's it like to be on set and cooking for the likes of Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, and Amy Adams? Listen and you'll find out. Susa...

On this week's Special Sauce we talk to Dan Barber, executive chef and co-owner of Blue Hill , about the huge changes being brought about in the food culture by the Covid-19 pandemic. The startling conclusions he's come to are the result of a survey he and his team sent out to more than 500 farmers . The farmers' responses made it clear that the effects of the pandemic will have catastrophic conse...

On this week's Special Sauce we're once again talking about selling cheese during the pandemic with cheesemonger Anne Saxelby of Saxelby Cheesemongers and cheesemaker Sheila Flanagan of Nettle Meadow Farm and Artisan Cheese . Without a hint of self-pity, Anne and Sheila talk about the nimbleness and the optimism required to keep their businesses going. You can support both Saxelby and Flanagan by...

This week on Special Sauce we are returning to the topic of the horrendous toll the pandemic has taken on the food culture. Today, we’re talking cheese. In the first of two far-ranging interviews, I spoke to cheesemaker Sheila Flanagan, co-owner of Nettle Meadow Farm, and Saxelby Cheesemongers owner Anne Saxelby. This episode of Special Sauce also marks the return of our "Ask Kenji" feature. Today...

"A jukebox is the musical equivalent of a well-stocked pantry," says Alexander Smalls. Poetic riffs on the relationship between food and music are just par for the course with Smalls, who's both a Grammy and a James Beard Award winner (not to mention a Tony winner, too). In part two of our interview, we talked about everything from hanging out with James Baldwin and Nina Simone in Paris to the gue...

The last Special Sauce I recorded in a studio before the coronavirus pandemic hit was with the multi-talented chef, opera singer, and restaurateur Alexander Smalls. He was just about to publish his new book, Meals, Music, and Muses: Recipes From My African American Kitchen . It was March 11th, and after an hour-long interview I found myself in awe of Alexander. We hugged in the green room at the s...