Food Friends: Home Cooking Made Easy

What if one simple technique could change how you make roast chicken forever?
In this bite-sized episode, we share delicious moments about the best things we ate this week to inspire each other – and you!
By the end of this episode, you’ll discover why the Zuni Café Cookbook is a timeless classic for home cooks – including why the roast chicken and bread salad is still its most famous recipe!
You’ll also want to make our favorite nachos layered with veggies, beans, and meat. Discover how to construct it so each layer is perfectly cheesy and flavorful, and it might just become your new favorite weeknight meal.
Tune in for a quick dose of home cooking inspiration!
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We can’t wait to gather in community and swap recipes + tips with fellow curious home cooks!
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Links:
Zuni Cafe Cookbook, by Judy Rodgers
A simplified version of the famous roasted chicken and bread salad from Smitten Kitchen
Pasta with spicy cauliflower from Amateur Gourmet (the original uses a mix of broccoli and cauliflower, which he mentions)
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Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
Order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!

Ever wonder what two former personal chefs actually eat in a day?
If you’re constantly asking, “What’s for breakfast, lunch, or dinner?” This episode is packed with easy meal ideas and real-life recipes to reduce that feeling of overwhelm, and deliver practical inspiration you can use all week.
In this episode, you’ll learn how to:
Upgrade your breakfast with a simple Turkish-inspired egg dish or a skillet pancake that brings joy to any morning
Make lunchtime easier with smart leftover transformations and a few make-ahead, deli-style salads
Discover two flavorful sheetpan dinners, and a one-pot meatless main we're making on repeat

Tune in now, peek inside our kitchens, and leave with fresh ideas for the week ahead!
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For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our free Substack here. And join us on our live monthly calls by upgrading your subscription to paid!
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Links:
Day 1
Sonya:
Breakfast – Yogurt bowl with homemade granola, flax, kiwi, blueberries, goji berries and homemade granola.
Kari’s granola recipe is from Sony’as cookbook, Braids, and David Leibovitz has a a really good loaded tahini granola recipe
Lunch – Golden egg salad, black sesame rice crackers, tangerine, carrots, sauerkraut, radishes, grapes, pickled kohlrabi
Dinner – Tomato lentil stew with crispy potatoes, by Hetty Lui McKinnon for NYT Cooking (unlocked)
Kari:
Breakfast – Dutch Baby recipe by Florence Fabricant from NYT Cooking (unlocked), made with Einkorn flour and inspired by the recipe in Einkorn Made Easy by Adrian J.S. Hale
Lunch – Huevos Rancheros by Kay Chun for NYT Cooking (unlocked), made with leftover refried beans and salsa from takeout
Dinner – Roasted Cauliflower with Feta & Dates Sheet Pan Salad by Kendra Vaculin for Bon Appetit (radicchio and shredded cabbage was subbed for the arugula, and hazelnuts were swapped for pistachios )
Day 2
Sonya:
Breakfast – Turkish-inspired eggs, but instead of poached eggs, they were fried in butter spiced with smoked paprika and aleppo pepper, once...

What if your best bite of the week came from beans… or a conversation at the butcher counter?
In this bite-sized episode, we share delicious moments about the best things we ate this week to inspire each other – and you!
By the end of this episode, you’ll want to make our favorite crispy-topped “pizza beans” that are hearty, cheesy, and ideal for a meatless dinner. You’ll also discover how a local butcher inspired our new favorite collagen-rich braised meat sauce.
Tune in for a quick dose of home cooking inspiration!
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For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our free Substack here. And join us on our live monthly calls by upgrading your subscription to paid!
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Links:
Smitten Kitchen’s pizza beans
Sausage Ragu by Sara Jenkins and Nancy Harmon Jenkins, adapted by Julia Moskin for NYT Cooking (unlocked)
Pennsylvania-Dutch scrapple from Food Network
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Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
Order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!
We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at [email protected]!

Are your weeknight pasta nights starting to feel predictable…even though you know pasta has so much more potential?
When you’re tired and hungry, it’s easy to reach for the same jar of sauce and the same box of noodles. In this episode, we’re showing you how to turn pantry staples and simple techniques into pasta dinners that feel comforting, craveable, and completely new.
By the end of this episode, you’ll:
Learn the secrets to a crispy-topped, gooey baked pasta that’s worth turning on the oven
Expand your rotation with dishes built around seasonal greens, wild mushrooms, and bright citrus
Discover how to harness your pantry to build bold, flavor-packed sauces—including a Samin Nosrat recipe we can’t stop making

Press play and make pasta night the best night of the week.

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Links
Six Seasons of Pasta by Joshua McFadden and Martha Holmber, for all the best ways to make a baked pasta dish
Baked Ziti from All Recipes – Sonya made a version with Cavatapi pasta and swapped sausage for blanched broccoli rabe
Cheesy baked pasta with Sausage and Ricotta by Melissa Clark for NYT Cooking
Baked gnocchi alla Sorrentina from Wishbone Kitchen
River Cafe Walnut Tagliatelle from The Guardian (we skip adding oil to our pasta water)
Sausage ragu by Sara Jenkins and Nancy Harmon Jenkins, adapted by Julia Moskin for NYT Cooking (unlocked)
Bucatini with Swiss Chard, Raisins and Parm by Joshua McFadden by way of Nigella Lawson by way of Amateur Gourmet
Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Garlic Miso Butter by Chandra Ram for Food & Wine
Nigella Lawson’s famous lemon linguine
Chicken Piccata pasta by Anna Theoktisto for Food & Wine
Samin Nosrat’s spicy tuna pantry pasta from Food and Wine

Do you want to know the secret to cooking the crispiest, fluffiest roast potatoes at home?
In this bite-sized episode, we share delicious moments about the best things we ate this week to inspire each other – and you!
By the end of this episode, you’ll want to try British-style roastie potatoes known for their golden, crackly exterior and fluffy interior. You’ll also want to cook up our go-to chicken enchiladas; they're perfect for weeknight dinners, feed a crowd, and make smart use of leftovers so you can get dinner on the table with ease.
Tune in for a quick dose of home cooking inspiration!
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Links:
British roast potatoes from The Jam Jar
For a deep dive on roasties, check out The Best Crispy Roast Potatoes by Kenji Lopez-Alt for Serious Eats
Sam Sifton's Chicken Enchiladas with Salsa Verde for NYT Cooking (unlocked)
But this week, Kari used leftover roasted chicken and green enchilada sauce by Siete Foods (not sponsored!), and topped them with Monterey Jack and Queso Fresco
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Got a cooking question? Leave us a message on our hotline at: 323-452-9084
For more recipes and cooking inspiration, sign up for our free Substack here. And join us on our live monthly calls by upgrading your subscription to paid!
Order Sonya's cookbook Braids for more Food Friends recipes!
We love hearing from you — follow us on Instagram @foodfriendspod, or drop us a line at [email protected]!