Show Notes
I recently asked you for your questions, feedback, and topics you want to hear more about and you gave me a ton of great ideas. One of the most common questions was a version of, “So what’s your deal? What’s your background, and what exactly do you do now?” Good question. How did I wind up as a recipe developer/cookbook author/whatever-I-decide-to-call-myself-that-day? You’re about to find out. In this first solo episode, I share my “villain origin story” along with, of course, a few of the things I’m into right now. I talk about where I come from, how I met my husband George, my crazy idea to start a catering company in San Diego, working in a test kitchen, and how that evolved into what I do today. Next solo episode, I’ll get into the nitty gritty of what my day-to-day looks like as a full-time creator, including how I make money, what I love about my job, what I don’t love as much, and my goals for 2024 and beyond. I also get into: * Is a few days apart occasionally a good thing for married couples? (yes) * The small but *wonderful* change I think you should make to your kitchen (possibly my favorite part of the renovation…?!) * How I learned to write recipes that people can clearly read, understand, and cook from * The story behind my “Just Married” cookbook * How COVID lockdowns inspired What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking * My weather-related So Out On and my IRL LOL of the week * How to make an egg quesadilla with chili crisp * My cookbook… coming soon! Links: * Kate Hutchison, the interior designer who designed our home * Red Clay Chili Crisp (code CARO15 should work) * Book Lovers by Emily Henry * Food writer and cookbook author Melissa Clark * My fave former boss, Ben Pote, has a restaurant in Greenwich, CT called Wildacre Rotisserie. Go visit him! sign up for my weekly "complete meal" recipe newsletter HERE 🍳: https://whattocook.substack.com/
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit whattocook.substack.com/subscribe
More from What To Cook
For the grand finale episode of this season of the What To Cook show, I bring you a fajita feast! We’re headed to my backyard to grill up the most delicious summer spread of hanger steak, shrimp, and veg for fajitas, plus we’ll make a creamy charred jalapeño sauce and corn on the cob to finish off the meal. In this episode, you’ll learn about… * Grilling over direct vs. indirect heat * Using your intuition when you’re grilling a bunch of food that has different cook times * Cutting against the grain to make steak SO much easier to chew * How to prep all sorts of peppers * Much more!! I absolutely loved filming this first season and getting to SHOW you many of the things I tell you about all the time in the newsletter. Also to show you that my kids are in and out of my kitchen at all times trying to introduce me to lizards and climb on the counter and crawl at my feet. If you have kids, your cooking process likely looks similar, and I want you to know that we’re in it together! Have any of you become Cometeer diehards like me?! The fact that I can make myself a coffee shop-grade cup of coffee or iced latte at home in about 15 seconds flat has TRULY improved my life. Cometeer is what to make when you don’t feel like making coffee (or spending money at a coffee shop on a daily basis), and if you appreciate the ease of WTC recipes, I know you will love the ease of their product, too. THANK YOU, Cometeer, for supporting this show, and for fueling me with your delicious coffee every day! If you haven’t tried it yet, you must. Remember to go to cometeer.com/caro to get $20 off your first order! OK, that’s a wrap on this season of the show! Thank you SO much for watching. I’d love any feedback you may have. Did you like the longish-form format or would a shorter show be easier to watch? Would you be interested in watching more entertaining-style content, or anything else!? As always, I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow with the recipe itself, including a bunch of notes and substitutions. Happy long weekend! xx Caro Click here to watch this episode on YouTube!
Hi! In this week’s episode of the What To Cook show, I’m making a deconstructed version of my favorite sushi roll and adding a secret summer ingredient to the mix! Watch this episode to learn how I get my kids to eat oatmeal, how to perfectly sear tuna, what the delicious secret ingredient is, and much, much more. Tomorrow I’ll be back in your inbox with the recipe itself, including all the notes and substitutions you expect here at WTC. Not a paid subscriber? Upgrade now to get this sushi-night-at-home recipe along with a new recipe every single Saturday morning — plus access to a HUGE archive with hundreds of complete-meal dinner recipes — for just $50 a year, aka less than an Uber Eats bill for ONE sushi night delivery.
Hi, happy Friday! We’re back with episode SIX of the What To Cook show and today I’m cooking an easy peasy, absolutely delicious pasta. It’s pasta alla vodka, but we’re adding fresh in-season tiny tomatoes to the mix plus the spicy flavor bomb ingredient that I introduced in episode one of this series, Calabrian chili paste! I have excellent news: we are indeed publishing this recipe during Sungold season. So if you can track them down at your farmers’ market or grocery store, I highly recommend it. Do any of y’all grow Sungolds in your home garden? Give us your tips, if so! I set out to cook this pasta in 20 minutes. Watch to see if I can beat the clock! A full written recipe for this Calabrian chili cherry tomato alla vodka will land in your inbox tomorrow morning along with all the usual notes and substitutions we provide here at WTC. If you aren’t a paid subscriber yet, upgrade now so that you get it!
Based on reader feedback, this recipe has been retested and updated since its original release and this show was filmed! Click here for the new and improved recipe. In this week’s episode of the What To Cook show, I’m demoing my new one-pan green chile chicken and corn rice bake that will land in your inbox tomorrow morning! This dinner showcases the spirit of the “Walk Away” chapter in my new book What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking: Make It Fast (OUT NOW and on sale, if ya haven’t heard!!). The recipes in it all require very little hands-on prep time, then have a longer cook time, letting you walk away from the kitchen and go do something else entirely. There are recipes that simmer, braise, roast, bake, and slow-cook for anywhere from an hour to, in some cases, four hours, and you don’t need to babysit a single one! In this walk-away-style recipe, we are popping rice, corn, chicken, diced green chiles, salsa verde, stock, shallots, and seasonings into the oven and return an hour later to find a cozy and delicious chicken, corn, and rice feast. Bonus points that your house will smell incredible while it cooks! Once you cook it (again, the full recipe’s coming tomorrow!), report back! I want to hear how you spent your hands-off time while dinner was in the oven!!! Did you read a book? Watch a show? Go for a walk? Pick some weeds? Break up fights between your kids?! Give us recs if you’re reading or watching something good right now! Links to a few things I mention in the episode: * Melty zucchini pasta * Tiny tomato pasta * 15-minute peanut noods * If you like the sound of “cook once, eat multiple times,” here 5 cook-once, eat-twice ideas * And here’s how to make lime pickled red onion! Click here to watch this episode on Youtube.
It’s time for EPISODE 4 OF THE WHAT TO COOK SHOW!! And because it’s PUB WEEK (!!!!!), today’s recipe is from the 15-minute chapter of Make It Fast! But I wanted to make it a little bit more show-off-y, so we’re leveling the recipe up in a few different ways, using the “Extra Extra” notes from the cookbook — AKA the tips that will teach you how to make the recipe a little extra! In this BBQ chicken and peach chop, we’re going to double the dressing and use half of it as a marinade for our chicken. We’re then going to grill that chicken along with fresh corn on the cob and peaches. AND we’re going to let the black beans marinate in the salad dressing for a bit, infusing them with flavor. The full recipe along with the inspo for this salad, how this version compares to the one in the book, and all the usual notes and substitutions will be in your inbox tomorrow. Want in on the full recipe? Upgrade to a paid subscription now so that it lands in your inbox bright and early tomorrow!!!