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Tapping into one of my favorite sources, NYT Cooking, I discovered their rundown on the menu and dining trends happening across the country right now. Menus are getting smaller and more descriptive. Current menu items include everything from caviar to fried chicken and so much in between. Even nostalgic (and yummy) desserts are making a big comeback.Also noticed, commitment to staff (long overdue) and adding service charges to take care of them.Gone are the days of cryptic, two or three word item "descriptions". Now, diners can actually understand what they're ordering without needing the Michelin guide. Menus have become not only smaller (one page) but are brighter and more inviting, informal and often personalized to reflect the personality of the restaurant, the chef and the neighborhood. FUN!They are now devoting whole sections of the menu to non-alcoholic drinks.I don't want to give it all away. I mean, we want you to listen to the episode, right?So, hope you enjoy this week's menu and dining trend review. Thanks for listening and if you want to watch the up close and unedited version, check us out on YouTube @thegirlcancook (https://youtu.be/CE9d3_syp9E). You can watch today's episode and lots of past episodes as well.We'll be back next Friday with lots more food and cooking opinions, just for you!

Whether you like it or not, solid knife skills make your cooking life easier.In today's episode, we discuss a short list of what to consider when using, buying and holding a knife.Some basics include: Do not rub your fingers across a knife no matter how careful you are. There are many other ways to get the garlic smell off your hands.Cut an end off round fruits or vegetables so they don't roll around. Better yet, if it's a carrot or cucumber, cut it lengthwise and cut with the flat side down on your board.Curl your fingers and tuck your thumb away from the cutting blade.And finally, try a gentle, rocking motion rather than attempting a samurai chop when you are cutting foods up.Some of the suggestions make sense...others not so much.You be the judge of this short and sweet episode.As always you can find the show and tell version on YouTube @thegirlcancook.Thanks for listening and watching and be sure to subscribe, rate and review us!

Ready for a history lesson? A food history lesson.Believe it or not, there is almost always history behind a food especially one that was created and does not exist organically.Enter J-E-L-L-O! Jello! Whether you love it, hate it or have never eaten it, Jello has a long and unusual story that began a trend and inspired home cooks but then fell out of favor. But it lasted for a good six decades before losing its popularity. People still eat it though and love it. It comes in all kinds of flavors even though it only started with 4 and there was great fanfare when a fifth flavor came on the scene.My mom was a big Jello fan. I know this because in the 50s and 60s, molds were big and my mom had a good 8 - 10 Jello molds that I share during this episode. You can see them on our YouTube channel Not a Single Fork playlist @thegirlcancook. (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTAD_0SoZg1WXzTAzmMJZwA) Every shape and form, you can imagine.We also share a recipe handed down through our friend, Rebecca Bennett's family. Remember Rebecca? She was our extern at the kitchen and also appeared on our podcast in Episode 276. It's called Xmas Salad and the method described in the recipe is a bit hard to follow so hoping we get some more intel from Rebecca on this one.You can get all the Jello details wherever you get your podcasts.Thanks for listening and be sure to subscribe, rate and review. We appreciate it!

Welcome February and Groundhog Day. Hope spring comes early regardless of what happens with Punxsutawney Phil.We took today's episode as an opportunity to bring you a little food chemistry (get the allusion in the title?) because we received a very nice email from a very nice listener who shared her experience using baking soda to calm the acidity in her tomato sauce. Thank you, Brenda!If you haven't listened yet (then run on over to your favorite podcast site), she said she will add a pinch of baking soda to the sauce and then let it simmer for awhile, letting the acid base reaction happen and then try it again. If it is still acidic, she'll add another pinch. She said it can become "over-neutralized". Not sure what that means for taste but maybe it loses flavor at that point. Should have asked that question.In any event, we traveled down the food chemistry rabbit hole to not only share the wonders of baking soda (there are many) but also shared several chemistry-type foundations that can help you with your cooking journey. I won't bore you with a list here but if you want one, contact us from the website, thegirlcancook.com and let us know.This was a fun episode for us so hope you enjoy it, too. No, science is NOT boring!You can watch us up close and unedited on YouTube @thegirlcancook or listen anywhere you get your podcasts.Thanks for listening and watching!

Don't you just love those "hook" words?The ones that basically provoke you to click or respond in some way?I think "cheat" is one of those words. We either want to see who cheated or why they cheated or more importantly, how wecan use that cheat.To that end, we ran across a Buzzfeed article about cooking "cheat codes". Frankly, I don't really know what that means. The cheats all seemed like tips or suggestions. Things that the person uses in their everyday cooking which apparently made it better or easier or something. I wouldn't call it a cheat. I mean, you're not really getting away with anything.But there were some nice tips that you can use in your cooking. Things like the best way to clean a cutting board that I actually modified for you to make it a better tip. There were some odd ones that kind of depended on the way you cook, like making large batches of roux to keep in the fridge until you're ready to make your bechamel or the way to clean a vat of cooking oil so you can reuse it as "cleaned" cooking oil.So, if you're looking for some mostly helpful hints to make your cooking a little easier or faster or better or whatever, this episode is for you.You can watch us up close and unedited on YouTube @thegirlcancook or listen wherever you get your podcasts.Thanks for listening or watching!

In the whole scheme of things, recipe ownership probably doesn't mean a lot to most people. But if you are a recipe creator, chef, cookbook author, etc. then having your own recipes becomes meaningful. If you have taken the time, effort and your skill/talent, to put together a step-by-step plan to make a tasty dish, you don't want someone else saying it's theirs. That is plagiarism and in the writing world, one simply does not do that.Long lead in to today's episode, sorry!When does a recipe become yours? This question is especially important when you have taken an existing recipe and changed it. How much do you need to change before you can say...yep, that one belongs to me.This is not a new issue. There is a long history of people "stealing" other people's work. However, there are only so many ways you can make a ham and cheese slider before someone says "HEY!" I did that first. I created that. Or is there?I read a blogpost that highlighted this with regard to a column that Julia Child wrote back in the 80's. She posed the question of there being a type of food "telepathy" where we, as food industry people, all convene with the same collective mind. We take a look at what it takes to change a recipe, why you would want to change one and is it "allowed". And, of course, it is.To watch us up close and personal, check out our YouTube channel @thegirlcancook. You can also listen to the "cleaned up" version, and I'm not talking about Natalia's f-bombs, wherever you get your podcasts.Thanks for listening and watching, Not A Single Fork!

BRRRR! We are deep into soup season and I know most of you guys love it. As you probably know, soup is not my favorite but hey! It's not all about me, right?It's really all about YOU! So, here comes not only an entire episode about soup but we are sharing four new soup recipes with our website subscribers.You can find all the soups we talk about in our Online Recipe Collection starting next week. Sign up on the website (https://www.thegirlcancook.com) and you get a 3-day free trial and then a monthly release of four brand new videos as well as a library of over 100 videos waiting just for you and we go way beyond soup there.We don't waste your time in this episode either. We get right to the point and then release you to move on with your day and your soup.Watch us unedited and personal on YouTube @thegirlcancook or anywhere you get your podcasts.Thanks for listening!

Happy New Year! Hope everyone is ready to jump in feet first!Not into the trends, though. It seems like during the first week of each new year, we've got to bring out what the Trendsetters are thinking.This year I think they are a bit late on some of the them, at least the list I found.And not sure we agree with a lot of their forecasting as usual.Included in the discussion and opinions is the pickleball craze, not going to call it a trend because people are pretty adamant about it. I have a problem with stuff that has a dumb name, however, so I don't think I'm going to be joining any leagues any time soon. Although I do love pickles.The most offensive trend we unearthed was "faux fish". Yep, you read and heard that right...fake fish. Apparently, they're working on a plant-based version of fish. I don't know about that.I also don't know about the whole "caffeinated drink" without coffee thing. I share a great article from NYT Wirecutter about one reporter's 7-day MUDWTR journey and our conclusion is stick with coffee and take your mushrooms in pill form.You can listen to this week's podcast wherever you like to listen or you can watch us up close and personal and unedited on YouTube @thegirlcancook.Thanks for listening.

The last episode of 2023 lies ahead and boy...did we go off the rails on this one.Must be this time of year but whatever.It is pretty entertaining and there's something here for everyone whether you sew, cook, or anything else.Things are changing around the kitchen so you'll find us on our website: The Girl Can CookSo if you're looking for recipes (video or otherwise), pasta classes, wine tastings, that's the place for you.Once more, the brick and mortar location is now closed so don't go there.Hope you enjoy this end of the year episode. Listen wherever you get your podcasts and thanks!You can also find us on YouTube @thegirlcancook. Unedited, up close and personal and you can check out the Christmas tree for the last time.Happy New Year!

Do you like to receive cookies for Christmas? Or one step better, do you make food gifts for Christmas?In today's episode, we break down homemade food gifts and which ones mean the most and maybe those that don't.Not surprisingly, Natalia has some definite opinions about what she likes to get and how she likes to get them. Just hope your house doesn't have a distinctive smell that sneaks its way into your packaging. Although she does love a great looking package.The bottom line is: It takes time to make a food gift and it requires considerable effort to plan, prepare your gift and then package it for gifting.Something to truly appreciate.Thanks for listening and if you want to see our holiday shenanigans, flip on over to YouTube @thegirlcancook. You can watch us up close, personal and unedited. You can listen wherever you get your podcasts.Happy Holidays!

What's your favorite Christmas movie? And is there ever any discussion about whether it is or isn't?I contend that Die Hard is a Christmas movie but I know not everyone agrees with me. So, Natalia and I discuss Christmas movies with food themes along with a few others without food themes. And as usual, it's a matter of opinion.Today, December's Online Recipe Collection videos drop. If you listened to our last episode, we told you all about it. This is just another little shameless plug for gifting this subscription for the holidays. You can put in the recipient's email address so they get the videos but use your credit card and pay for it. Great idea, right? And super easy. The gift that keeps on giving and who knows...maybe they'll cook something just for you. Click here to check it out and watch our teaser.Thanks for listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Watch us do our thing on YouTube @thegirlcancook. It's unedited and highly crazy.

Happy Hanukkah! May your candles burn bright this season!!My apologies for not being better versed in my Hanukkah knowledge...I got a little rusty.We stumbled through my very bad explanation of the Festival of Lights and then we moved on.You probably know we have an opinion or two about everything so wanted to share how much we appreciated Chef Nikki setting us straight with her experience and opinion regarding culinary school. Thanks, NIkki!I hope you're right about people listening to our podcast!Then we jumped into International Christmas foods by country and I quizzed Natalia about what each country has for the holiday table.We also shared what our families do or did during Christmas.Check out our YouTube @thegirlcancook for the unedited version and you can see all the Christmas in my house. You can listen to this episode wherever you get your podcasts and thanks for listening!