Joy of Cooking

Exactly. No roux-making stage, no “Cajun trinity,” no garlic, no cayenne, no andouille. I’m sure some folks prefer a minimalist gumbo, but we want more than a thin chicken soup with a soupçon of disintegrated rice. We fixed the gumbos in our 1997 edition and have improved on them further since.

This is a perfect example of why we keep updating the book. The amount of safrole in filé powder is minuscule. It’s a harmless ingredient. Another reason: the gumbos in our latest edition are much, much tastier.

That’ll put a shine on your coat! Also: “put a patty between two biscuits”? How thick are the biscuits?!

Thank you! Feedback doesn’t get better than that.

Hard to imagine a rivalry here. Hot cross buns are great and all, but croissant challenger? They seem mismatched.

2 copies of the Joy of Cooking books stacked on top of one another. The bottom one is from 2019, and the top one is from 1975.

I was wondering what the modern version of 1 of my cookbooks looks like. Thanks to my local library, I now know the difference between 1975 & 2019 @joyofcooking.bsky.social. I'm not saying you should put it on your Christmas wish list, but I wouldn't mind finding it under my Christmas tree.

having exactly (1) day out of the year where every amateur chef in America attempts to cook a giant bird and not fuck it up is, honestly, a wonderful and hilarious tradition

Love a recipe that tries to manage expectations in the headnote.

Christmas salad is perhaps too elevated. "Cheery as Santa's chuckle" seems accurate tbh.

The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party The Harrowing Saga of the Donner Party

The Indifferent Stars Above is great! Very hard to put down.

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Smartphone playing episode 44 of the Joy of Cooking Podcast. Headphones are nearby.

a VERY toasty lemon meringue pie. We got a little enthusiastic with the blowtorch.

Italian meringue on the tines of a stand mixer's whisk attachment. There's one tendril-like peak.

Kate McDermott, smiling at the camera, wearing an apron emblazoned with "Art of the Pie" and a papercut illustration of a pie resting on a windowsill.

Big thanks to @katemcdermott.bsky.social for joining us on the pod last week! She recounts her pie whisperer origin story, we talk about geoduck pie (her fam's favorite), why you should be listening for the "sizzle-whump," and how to get the tallest and fluffiest meringue.

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With all due respect to the Campbell’s Company, our tuna casserole recipe in later editions (1997 onward) is much better. It’s a little extra effort, but not as much as you might think.

Perhaps the most "ride-or-die" quality about apple dumplings: we've been telling people how to make them since 1931. All nine editions have this recipe, but you'll find it in the 2019 on page 688.

Moody overhead closeup of apple dumplings

Our recipe pick for this week does not fall neatly in either category. We did not grow up eating apple dumplings, nor do we bake them when we're feeling low, but they are very old-timey and deeply comforting to eat. We tested the recipe ~8 years ago and have been making them ever since.

We talk about loving/hating grits, hot wet goobers, pouring peanuts in your Coke, and cod trauma so bad it has you reaching for the hakarl.

Plus, we share our picks for "ride-or-die" Joy recipes with a listener. Most of our answers are driven by the need for comfort, others by nostalgia.

Overhead view of The Crop Cycle, by Shane Mitchell. The hardcover features big ripe tomatoes set against a background that is the hottest shade pink.

Shane in a farm setting, her garment nibbled by a pig.

A smartphone on a yellow surface, playing our podcast. Headphones are nearby.

New ep is up! We are joined by Shane Mitchell, author of The Crop Cycle, a @bittersouth.bsky.social essay collection that profiles 11 iconic Southern crops. Shane chronicles the history of their cultivation and poignantly writes of those who grow and devour them.
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Agreed! We really enjoyed talking with him.

Closeup of French yogurt cake fresh from the oven, cooling in a loaf pan set on a wire rack.

Each week, we encourage our listeners to cook along with us from the 2019 edition. This week’s recipe = French Yogurt Cake on p. 734. A simple, tangy loaf cake that’s perfect with whipped cream and fresh berries, or compote, or your favorite jam (we think apricot is a winner here fwiw).

Overhead view of Lebanese Baking by Maureen Abood.

Portrait of Maureen Abood, leaning on a white marble countertop, smiling, wearing a yellow patterned blouse.

A smartphone set on a yellow surface plays the Joy of Cooking podcast. A pair of headphones surround the phone.

Happy to share our convo w/ Maureen Abood, author of Lebanese Baking. We talk about the genesis of her book, writing generous recipes, a cheater knafeh that uses shredded wheat cereal, and what sets baking apart as an expression of care and remembrance.

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Thanks for the encouragement Drew ❤️

We did this with RG royal coronas and it was fantastic!

Lane Selman, founder of the Culinary Breeding Network, kneeling in a patch of radicchio.

A smartphone and a pair of headphones. Our podcast plays. Where is the listener?

Closeup of four colorful ears of dent corn at a Culinary Breeding Network event.

A plate of indigo-yellow tomatoes at a Culinary Breeding Network event. A sign reads: “Tomato INDIGO P321-9-1B-1-2-1 'Ananas Noire' x 'Indigo Rose' Esthetics breeding project. Mixture of yellow and red blush.”

Super excited to have @culinarybreeding.bsky.social on our podcast! Lane has been bringing seed breeders and chefs together for over a decade now. We love the community she has created! A good listen for vegetable stans and plant nerds. Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Double boiler/bain marie? Never seen a flared one like that 🤷‍♂️

First two are in Seattle

Close headshot of food blogger, cookbook author, and novelist Adam Roberts.

A smartphone strewn on a yellow surface with a pair of headphones. The phone is playing episode 35 of our podcast, but whoever was listening has obviously been abruptly called away. I hope they are okay!

A call-to-action “tile” exhorting viewers to join the Joy Scouts Cooking Club by preparing a recipe from the 2019 Joy of Cooking. This week: Pistachio and Rosewater Kulfi, page 853.

Ep 35! We loved talking with @amateurgourmet.bsky.social about his debut novel Food Person, a comedy about a cookbook ghostwriter and their narcissistic celebrity client. Plus: ice creams, cookbook faves, and how bad AI search might be making them more relevant. 🤞

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A smartphone on a yellow background sorrounded by a pair of headphones. Our new podcast episode plays on, deeply affected by but seemingly oblivious to the fascistic hellscape that lurks beyond the image frame.

Melissa Knific, down by the water, hair swept back by a light breeze, smiling at a spectacle or person to the right of the image frame.

A sharply lit plate piled high with shaved fennel and white bean salad, topped with shaved parm. An impossibly blue drinking glass filled with an effervescent liquid is nearby.

A book opened on a surface, its pages fanned out. Text superimposed above and below reads: “Joy Scouts Cooking Club: COOK ALONG WITH US WEEKLY FROM THE 2019 EDITION; SHAVED FENNEL & WHITE BEAN SALAD PAGE 129; @joyofcooking #joyscoutscookingclub” (those are for Instagram)

New episode! We talk to Melissa Knific about her upcoming cookbook that celebrates our national parks, and testing recipes from every country in the world (!) for an exciting Jessica Nabongo project. Plus, we offer a listener advice about food and recipe writing.

Some of you may know that my wife started a podcast production company and our first show is @joyofcooking.bsky.social . Megan & John are fantastic & the show is like sitting down with friends and talking about food (and more!) Their second season just started so please give it a listen and share!

Roy Choi, leaning on a bar and eating from a plate of delicious looking chicken wings

A “we’re back” announcement for the Joy of Cooking Podcast. Text reads: Episode 33, August 27, Roy Choi: A Casual Culinary Chat About A Career In Cooking.

A smartphone and a pair of headphones on a yellow surface. The phone is playing our new podcast episode.

We just posted the first ep of our new season with special guest Roy Choi! We talked about life in the restaurant industry, knowing your audience, building bandwidth into recipes, how to become a more intuitive cook, and his new cookbook, The Choi of Cooking.

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Really struggling with the opening comparison… any chance you can unpack @mikecaulfield.bsky.social ?

We have not tested this one personally… I’m leaning toward no.