The Dinner Plan

On Episode 70 of The Dinner Plan, host Maggie Hoffman talks with Toni Chapman, @themoodyfoody on Instagram, and author of Everything's Good. “Cooking is at the intersection of everything in our lives,” Toni says. "Approaching it with care and love and learning just makes it better." Toni shares holiday recipe favorites, soups she loves, and thoughts on dialing down Thanksgiving stress. Get all the links, Toni's signature cornbread ...

Working as a private chef can teach you a lot about elaborate dinners—including what not to do when you're hosting Thanksgiving. On this episode of The Dinner Plan, host Maggie Hoffman chats with Maddy DeVita, a private chef and recipe developer whose content you may have seen at @handmethefork. Maddy shares advice on cooking more efficiently, tales of cooking disaster, and the way she's thinking about dinner parties now. Get all t...

Elyse Inamine and Jessie YuChen’s new book, For the Love of Kewpie, showed me that my use of Kewpie mayo was woefully limited. In this 68th episode of The Dinner Plan, learn all the ways they bring it into recipes—and all the easy dinners the two authors make most at home. Be sure to jump over to The Dinner Plan's newsletter on Substack for two recipes from the book, Jessie and Elyse's most prized cookbooks, and a chance to win The...

Clare de Boer and Jess Shadbolt's The King Cookbook gives you the kinds of lessons you'd learn if you came to work at the New York restaurant: how to make their signature sauces and other building blocks of their daily menu, how to make a superlative pot of beans, or family-meal soup, or salad. In this conversation on The Dinner Plan, they share the pantry staples that really make a difference, their thoughts on prepping for a dinn...

On the 66th episode of The Dinner Plan, host Maggie Hoffman talks to Michael W. Twitty, the author of Recipes from The American South. This vast collection highlights specialties from various regions across the South—and the history of each dish. This episode will make you hungry for gumbo and barbecue and caramel cake and chicken and dumplings. Luckily you can subscribe at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com to get Michael’s chicken and du...

Dorie Greenspan is the author of 15 cookbooks—including her most recent, Dorie's Anytime Cakes. In the 65th episode of The Dinner Plan podcast, Dorie chats with host Maggie Hoffman about the memories that shaped this book, the dinners she makes most frequently at home, and the differences in her cooking routine when she's in Paris vs. Connecticut. Head to TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com to get Dorie's Fall Harvest cake recipe and a chan...

You might recall Joe Sasto and his mustache from Top Chef. His new book, Breaking the Rules, is full of fun spins on classic recipes—think focaccia with blackberries, Everything Bagel Pasta, and a savory crumble you can take in a ton of different directions. In Episode 64 of The Dinner Plan podcast, Joe talks with host Maggie Hoffman about the food magazine he's collected for years, the unusual method he uses for cooking dried past...

Joanne Lee Molinaro—known to her many fans as The Korean Vegan—may be a James Beard Award-winning cookbook author, but she doesn’t want anyone to feel bad about taking kitchen shortcuts. The former law partner knows exactly what it feels like to come home late and throw a meal together when you're exhausted. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Joanne shares her advice for quick but flavorful meals, a few favorite quick weeknight me...

When chef Mandy Yin's child was born a few years back, weeknight dinners had to get simpler. Her second book, Simply Malaysian, highlights these quick recipes, including a one-pot spin on Hainanese chicken rice, quick noodle dishes, and more. Get a recipe from Mandy and links to all of her cookbook recommendations at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.

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Arnold Myint juggles restaurant life with his role as a single dad. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, he shares his go-to quick dinners for busy weeknights, the ingredients that you really need for great Thai food at home, and the lessons he learned in his family's 50 year-old Nashville restaurant. Head to TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com for two recipes from Arnold and a chance to win the book.

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Hearty salads are at the center of Hetty Lui McKinnon’s new cookbook, Linger. But the book is also about the power of gathering friends to eat together. “The opportunity to stop, slow down and enjoy just other humans is something that we don't do enough right now," says Hetty in this episode of The Dinner Plan. Get a recipe from the book—and Hetty’s recent cookbook favorites—at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com now.

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Natalia Rudin, author of Cooking Fast and Slow, shares her current hyperfixation meal, her freezer essentials, and tips on layering protein into plant-based dinners, plus the reason she always keeps a whimsical pasta shape on hand. Get Natalia's spicy sweet corn chowder recipe (made from frozen corn!) and her savory mushroom miso gnocchi at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.

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Polina Chesnakova's new book, Chesnok, opens at her family table, where Georgian food sits next to old Russian favorites and the classics of Armenia. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Polina shares her soup-season go-tos, her flavor-packed pantry essentials, tactics for cooking dinner during a particularly busy time of her life, and a few beloved older cookbooks that still inspired her. Get two recipes from Polina's new book—plus...

“I used to keep it so separate,” chef Melissa King explains, “Cantonese cooking at home, and then the sort of French, Italian cooking that I was doing in my career in all these Michelin kitchens.” But being on Top Chef showed her she could bring it all together—and her new cookbook, Cook Like a King, is full of Melissa’s signature recipes. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Melissa shares dinner party tips and easy weeknight favor...

Sabrina Ghayour has a particular gift for simple recipes, and her eighth book, Persiana Easy, is full of dinner ideas that’ll save you during busy fall evenings. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Sabrina shares her go-to weeknight meals, the cookbook authors that inspire her most, and her advice for anyone who’s struggling to cook these days. Get Sabrina's recipes for roasted saffron chicken kebabs and her extra-speedy spin on la...

Peter J. Kim's new book, Instant Ramen Kitchen, is about making quick, delicious dinners from the pantry staple. But it's also about setting yourself free to improvise as a cook. In this episode of The Dinner Plan host Maggie Hoffman chats with Peter about essential flavor-boosting pantry staples, the best way to add richness and body to a bowl of ramen, plus the "perpetual stew" he adds to throughout the fall and winter. Get all t...

Ixta’s new Brazilian-inspired book, Fusão, demonstrates how much concentrated flavor you can pack onto a plate—and into a little jar. The building blocks to her recipes include pineapple hot sauce, gingery mango jam, and a must-have quick chile condiment that's great on eggs, rice, or tinned fish. In this episode, Ixta shares the flavor bombs she makes at home to jazz up simple meals, a peek at her ideal dinner party menu, plus her...

This week, host Maggie Hoffman talks to cookbook author Dan Pelosi, also known online as Grossy Pelosi. Dan’s new book, Let's Party, is full of smart advice for dinner party hosts—and so many dishes you can make ahead. Dan shares tips for dialing down the stress when you’re feeding a crowd, the hosting mistake he’ll absolutely never make again, what he’s cooking from late-summer garden abundance, and when he’s at his happiest in th...

Host Maggie Hoffman talks with cookbook author Yasmin Khan, whose new book, Sabzi, shares vegetarian meals to cook at home. Yasmin shares her time-saving prep-ahead dinner tips, her essentials of salad-making, and thoughts on stocking the freezer if you've got a baby on the way. Get two vegetarian recipes from Yasmin at our newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. And be sure to enter the big 50th-episode giveaway there before Aug...