Melissa is joined in the kitchen by her pal, celebrity photographer Melanie Dunea, for a lesson in making the perfect Simplest Green Salad. Melanie asks the real questions: do you wash the prewashed greens? What’s the best way to mince garlic? What’s the best tool for tossing? Together she and Melissa mix up a “shaky-shake” salad dressing that will last a week in the fridge. This episode makes it easy to get a salad on your table every single night of the week.
You will not believe what happens to a block of extra-firm tofu when you shred it on a grater. Melissa’s recipe for Shredded Tofu with Spicy Ground Chicken and Edamame comes together in less than 15 minutes and is a master technique for the weeknight cook. The ground chicken is a seasoning here, not the main event and a good lesson in how paying attention to the details of an ingredient, here the texture, can change the way you use it. Also, other unexpected ideas for shredded tofu, the importance of heating a pan before sautéing – and stop stirring! Related Links: Heidi Swanson books, Cuisinart Boxed grater, All-Clad classic 3-quart, 10 1/2-inch, straight-sided sauté pan with lid
Melissa tells us how to change our weeknight chicken game with one technique, spatchcocking, and puts it to work with her recipe for Chicken and Grapes with Sherry Vinegar. Also, to rinse or not to rinse your raw chicken, why you should be excited about gizzards and necks, how to help get crispy skin, and an essential lesson in how to make a pan sauce.
Cookbook author Diana Henry shares inspiration, techniques and recipes for quick weeknight meals cooked in the oven.
Melissa’s friend and Top Chef judge Gail Simmons stops by to work through a recipe she first tasted in Bali. Her Shrimp and Grapefruit Salad with Ginger-Chili Dressing is simple and absolutely delicious. Plus, the secret to super-flavorful poached shrimp, how to make a grapefruit multitask, and the importance of an ice bath. Gail’s latest book is Bringing It Home: Favorite Recipes From a Life of Adventurous Eating.
Melissa brings us her Herbed Parmesan Dutch Baby, a delicious golden cloud of a pancake that comes puffed and fragrant from the oven. It’s great for breakfast of course, but Melissa's twist? She serves it as an hors d’oeuvre with cocktails. What a way to kickstart an evening. Plus, how to really measure flour. And people — put down the pre-ground pepper!
Whoopi Goldberg isn’t just an entertainer on the screen and stage, she is also a serious party planner and hostess at home.
Who doesn’t need another weeknight salmon recipe? Melissa has a fresh take on the world's most popular fish with her version of a classic, Vietnamese Caramel Salmon. Thirty minutes start to finish. Plus, the way to get the fishy smell off your fingers and how to tell if a jalapeño pepper is hot, before you taste it.
We look at what it means to take care of yourself and others with food – from pies and inherited tea to community farms and home kitchens.
Melissa comes home to an empty refrigerator save for eggs, scallions and some sad sage, and ends up showing us an amazing recipe and technique for Olive Oil Fried Eggs with Scallions, Sage and Turkish Red Pepper.