Nº 92: Italian Cookies with Domenica Marchetti

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In this Episode

Highlights & “Must-Listen” Moments

* 0:04 — Another chaotic start: David accidentally goes live 10 minutes early, Amy drops off before we’ve even begun, and Domenica Marchetti is sitting patiently waiting while the hosts sort themselves out. Welcome to live television, folks, take two.

* 5:47 — Big news: SiriusXM signed us!: David announces that SiriusXM has reached out, signed a $2.1 million contract, and created an entire channel called “Culinistas” for them. Amy plays it beautifully straight — until someone notices it’s April 1st. David: “Do you realize SiriusXM has no idea who we are? I bought it!” April Fools. Amy: 1, David: 1.

* 9:39 — Amy’s food week: Providence, Rhode Island food festival: Amy attended a celebration of Providence’s dining scene — a city that, like Portland, Maine, punches way above its weight in food culture. She toured Johnson & Wales College of Culinary Arts, did a panel with food writer elyse major, and came away wanting to move there immediately.

* 11:41 — This week’s bread bake: the Levain: Amy’s sourdough rhythm continues — this week a classic nearly-all-white sourdough with a touch of rye flour. A Levain. Beautiful and tangy.

* 11:53 — Amy’s Passover Seder prep: Amy is getting her brisket going and making chicken stock for matzo ball soup. Her Seder menu also includes crispy glazed sweet potatoes (mandolined, stood up like hassleback, glazed with brown sugar and butter) and roasted asparagus with Parmesan.

* 13:02 — David’s food week: Portuguese Flourless Almond Cake disaster: David attempted his Portuguese almond flourless cake — a recipe he hadn’t made in 25 years — for Passover at Fred and Ginger’s house. He forgot the butter. Alan had to drive to the gas station to buy eggs. ADHD: 1, David: 0. He went to an ADHD coach this week, however — and reports it’s going well.

* 15:01 — Domenica’s food week: Domenica’s retired husband has been doing all the cooking, which has been wonderful. Highlights: grilled swordfish steaks with asparagus and roasted red pepper, and enchiladas made with a whole rotisserie chicken — left on the counter overnight, tragically.

* 17:00 — Crab cake catastrophe: The One was making crab cakes from one-year-old canned crab. The tongue-tingling was histamine poisoning. They tasted it anyway. Don’t be like David.

* 19:41 — Book spotlight: Pimento Cheese: The Cookbook by Rebecca Lang: David recommends this deep dive into pimento cheese from the author of Around the Southern Table — lemony goat cheese pimento, Tex-Mex pimento, pineapple pimento, and pimento cheese with chili crunch. David riffs on his own deep-fried pimento cheese balls: firmed in the freezer, rolled in panko, fried at 375°F until oozy and golden.

* 22:31 — Mrs. Appleyard’s Vermont kitchen: Amy goes vintage with Louise Andrews Kent, who wrote under the pen name Mrs. Appleyard — a sort of 1940s–50s Martha Stewart of northern Vermont who wrote seasonal cookbooks chronicling life in the tiny town of Crosbury Common. Charming, funny, and findable in used bookshops.

* 24:52 — Food news: Copenhagen’s $340 chicken prix-fixe: A restaurant called Kylling (Danish for “chicken”) invites guests to spend the first 90 minutes of their dinner interacting with the chicken that will be