August 28, 2024 • 24 mins
Ever wondered how an Emmy Award-winning television host and a James Beard Award-winning culinary producer team up to create kitchen magic? Join us for an episode filled with laughter, empowerment, and culinary adventures as we welcome Tamron Hall and Lish Styling to the Baking for Business podcast. From the roots of their extraordinary friendship, this dynamic duo shares their journey of creating "A Confident Cook: Recipes for Joyous, No Pressure Fun in the Kitchen."
Their collaborative spirit and passion for making cooking and baking accessible resonate through their personal stories and practical advice, ensuring you'll come away inspired to explore new techniques and make the most of what you have on hand.
Celebrate the power of collaboration and the joy of cooking as Tamron and Lish recount their humorous mishaps and triumphs in the kitchen. From setting off fire alarms to mastering the art of spatchcocking a chicken, their experiences provide a relatable and encouraging guide for home cooks and bakers at all levels.
Grab your copy of the book by clicking here
Check out their newsletter and get more info on their website by clicking here https://www.aconfidentcook.com/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, sweet friends, my name is Chef Schaumburg.
I started my baking businesswith a bottle of DeSerono and
one Bundt cake pan.
Fast forward to today, fromnews to magazines, speaking on
national stages and more.
I can truly say that baking haschanged my life.
So now, as a bakery businesscoach, I get to help others have
the same success.
I've helped hundreds of mystudents across the world in my
(00:24):
global membership programsix-figure businesses, mainly
from home.
The Baking for Business podcastis an extension of that, from
actionable tips to valuabletools and resources that can
impact you as a business owner.
I truly believe y'all.
We would never have been givena gift if we couldn't profit and
prosper from it.
So come on, darling.
What are you waiting for?
(00:45):
What's going on, you guys?
And welcome back to the Bakingfor Business podcast.
There is a new cookbook which ishitting the shelves soon, and I
have a feeling you guys arereally going to fall in love
with this one because the styleof it is so unique.
But before I get into the goods, I have to tell you who it's by
(01:06):
.
So, Tamron Hall, EmmyAward-winning television host
and executive producer of thesyndicated talk show Tamron Hall
.
She's also a veteran journalistand best-selling author, along
with Lish Styling, who's a JamesBeard Award and Emmy
Award-winning culinary producer.
She's a chef, she's a foodstylist, she's awesome sauce
(01:27):
herself, and the two of themboth have a book titled A
Confident Cook Recipes forJoyous, no Pressure Fun in the
Kitchen.
And it really is no pressure.
You guys.
I've had the privilege ofreading this.
I don't want to give it allaway, but y'all are going to
love it.
So, ladies, welcome to thepodcast.
How are you guys doing today?
We're doing great, Thank you,we're happy to be here with you.
(01:50):
Yeah, awesome.
So before we dive into the book, I know it's filled with some
amazing storytelling elements ofthe friendship between the two
of you guys.
So for our listeners, how didyou guys cross paths together?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, I was actually at the Today Show and you know
we always did great foodsegments at the end of the show.
And one day I was walking, myoffice happened to be next to
the kitchen which was lucky meand I saw one of our staffers
and there was a radish and acarrot tattooed on her arm and I
(02:30):
said anyone that has a tattooof a root vegetable must know
what they're doing.
In truth, I was also grievingthe loss of my father and my
father had been the cook myentire life and my father had
been the cook my entire life.
And at the same time I met thisreally interesting person.
I was starting out on thisjourney to just a love letter to
my father and learn to cook,and I walked over to Lish with
(02:53):
her two tattoos and I said Ireally would love to hang out
and learn to cook.
And she opened her heart andopened her experience to me and
the journey was set.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
I said, the only way we can become friends is if you
come to boot camp with me.
Oh, yes, that part, and we rollaround in Central Park and do
some burpees.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I conveniently said past that part, because you
might ask how it ended, and letme just tell you how it started
was not how it ended.
I started fresh and ready andit ended sweating on the ground.
So it was like a sitcom episode.
But in exchange for fallingdown and humiliating myself in
this boot camp, I then got alifelong friend who is like my
(03:35):
sister, who is my sister, and weset out on this journey, not
honestly to create a cookbook.
It was really born from Lishbeing so close to her own family
and hearing my story andwanting to help and through that
and over the years we said youknow what there might be a
cookbook in this, but it didn'tstart out as an idea of cooking,
(03:55):
creating a cookbook.
It really was two people whomet in the most organic way and,
as we all do in life, we needsomeone who's there to root for
us and help us, and she wasthere for me.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yes, I love it.
That's a wonderful tale offriendship as well as
inspiration, and, tamron, youshared what inspired you.
So, lish, when the idea cameabout, what was your inspiration
?
To take on this challenge andsay, okay, let's do it.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
So I mean, even with our friendship, which we now are
family genuinely, it started byTamron like texting me one
night saying what should I makefor dinner?
And I just responded with, well, what do you have?
So she was able to say I havethis, this and this.
And I was like great, let's dothis bronzino with a roasted
(04:45):
root vegetable ratatouille, playon ratatouille kind of thing,
you know, and walk her throughstep by step and she was able to
ask her questions that so manypeople have when you just read a
recipe, right All on textmessage.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
And, by the way, when she said ratatouille, I was
like I love that movie.
And so I was like that movie'sgreat.
But really I was always aperson who had things in my
refrigerator.
I just didn't know.
And so how many times have youcome home and said what am I
going to cook?
Or I don't know what to cook?
And so, through being in morningshows for all of my career, I
(05:18):
always had the templates right.
So I had apple cider vinegar,but I didn't know if you're out
of certain things using that.
I didn't know all of themechanics.
I didn't know.
I had every cooking gadget inthe world, but I didn't know how
to use them or, better yet, Ididn't know which ones I really
needed.
Liz took me to buy a fishspatula.
I was like, what is a fishspatula?
(05:39):
The best tool ever.
Thank you, it's Haldex.
The best tool ever, thank you,it's Haldex.
And that's what we have in ourbook.
I mean, down to what pantrythings you should have, what
tools we think set you up forsuccess.
You can always have what youwant in your kitchen, but we
want to set you up to beconfident, and that's what she
did to me and it started out ontext.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yeah, and I mean for me through this book, like I
want to empower people to learnthe technique behind cooking so
that you can feel that emotion,so you're not so like stressed
out about following a recipe.
It's like you know how to seara steak, you know how to clean a
piece of fish, like all thoselittle things just empower you.
(06:19):
It's like learning those littledetails in life in general,
right, like you walk through alittle bit taller so you can
walk into your kitchen goingokay, like I have some idea of
what I'm doing.
You feel a little bit betterabout it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Lish make the great point.
We start the book with like thepantry, what we feel you, you
know can succeed with in yourpantry the tools.
And then Lish gives tips on howto sear a steak.
I know it sounds so simple, butyou build your confidence by
starting at the foundation wehave in the book.
(06:53):
You know how to make thecreamiest scrambled eggs People
think they know until your eggsturn out crazy looking.
I'm just going to be honest.
And my cousin, who is a greatcook I sent her the cookbook.
She said I have been makingscrambled eggs wrong the entire
time.
It sounds simple, but thetechnique that Lish demonstrates
in our cookbook really was agame changer for me.
And so we start with thefoundation and we help you build
(07:16):
on that confidence.
The recipes are fire, I'm noteven going to lie about that.
But it's the additional element, things in the book that allow
you to build your confidence.
It's not just here's our steakrecipe, which is delicious, it's
here.
Here's the tip on searing asteak to perfection, something
that you might think you know.
(07:37):
But through licious, trainedculinary experience, we are
giving you those tips that youdon't often get in a book.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yep, absolutely.
You hit it directly on the head, because what I was going to
say was I know Lish and tell meif this was intentional or not.
So many people, when we hearcookbook, we are used to recipes
.
Okay, this book is filled withrecipes.
When I read this book andfinish, what I really liked was
I said you know what?
(08:06):
This book took an entire miseen place direction.
It wasn't just the recipes youliterally start from hey, that
confidence has to start in thepantry.
But then you went to the tools,because so many people that's
normally what makes them feelintimidated I have to have this,
(08:26):
I have to have that.
But she went over hey, let'stalk about what you really need
and now let's go over thetechnique.
So was that intentional to kindof give the book a mise en
place feel for the beginner cook?
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Oh, absolutely 100%, Because that's part of some of
the text messages that T wouldsend me is.
It's like you know what roughchop, what the hell does that
mean, like you know so.
Or how do I dice an onion?
Like all of those little thingsthat set you up for success,
lining up your mise en place,like that's what we wanted to
touch on, because those are thethings that boost your
(08:59):
confidence and make you feellike a little bit more sure of
yourself going into it.
It's like I know how to dice anonion, I know how to sear a
steak.
I know how to dice an onion.
I know how to sear a steak, Iknow how to you know, clean
asparagus, like any of thoselittle details.
We want to empower the readerto actually feel good about it
going in.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
We even say salting water, you know, but every time
somebody says salt water, right,right.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Salt is a taste in general.
What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (09:24):
And so you have a pot of water.
Even to make pasta, it's saltwater.
Lish takes us through what thatreally means.
It's more than some advice onthe back of a package, and we
talk about what does saltedwater really taste like?
Not how you measure it.
What is that pot of watersupposed to?
Speaker 3 (09:43):
taste like yeah, and that's a big thing that I think
we kind of shoved down people'sthroat.
It's like season as you go andtaste, taste, taste, yeah, like
people tend to get into a recipeand they're like they don't
taste it until it's done yeah,at that point you can't tweak
anything.
And I was that person.
I was that person.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I was afraid to taste as I went along because I was
so, you know, focused on therecipe, right?
We all have seen recipes was.
So, you know, focused on therecipe, right?
We all have seen recipes.
My aunt had her Betty Crockerrecipes.
I have my Barefoot Contessa.
We all have taken out a recipeand tried to follow step by step
.
But really what we want is youto feel less pressure to be
connected to that exact recipefor this to be experienced.
(10:24):
I used to laugh at people whenthey said, oh, cooking was
relaxing for me, and I'm like,not for me because I'm running
around.
But over time, what we havelearned, through Lish helping me
, is that really I can becomeconfident in the kitchen.
Anyone can.
My father cooked every meal forme my entire life.
My mother doesn't cook.
So I'm two generations in myhouse of women, defying the
(10:48):
stereotype of the mom in thekitchen.
My dad was the person in thekitchen and sometimes folks, and
even Lish, asked me why didn'tyou learn from your dad?
My dad loved cooking anddelivering the meal to us.
That was his love language.
So when I would walk in thekitchen, he'd say no, no, get
out.
So I'm at the table because thatwas his love language.
And when I met Lish, she hasthis gift of food being her love
(11:12):
language, but teaching beingher love language, as well, and
so with me being a compliancestudent, because I really wanted
to.
I was sick of.
I moved to New York.
My takeout bills was more thanmy rent and so you know it was
an awakening for me.
Starting out in New York I waslike, listen, I can either buy
this 45 delivery dollar burgeror I can learn how to do it
(11:34):
myself.
You know, and now that I'm amom, you know my son there we
have great recipes that arefamily friendly but still
delicious and amazing, and myson loves to cook.
There are a lot of pictures ofMoses with Liz in the kitchen.
We just had Chef DanielleBalloud on and he talked about
starting out as a 14 year old,not knowing what he wanted to do
(11:57):
with his life, but that heloved to cook.
And when I told him the premiseof our book and I showed him
the pictures of Lish and my sonin the kitchen, he's beamed
because he is celebrating thefact that we are building
confidence in the kitchen.
He just he's beamed because heis celebrating the fact that,
you know, we are buildingconfidence in the kitchen for
you if you're single, for ifit's a family, for a kid, it's
all in there.
We have a bucatini recipe thatis divine and everyone in your
(12:21):
family can enjoy it.
Moses approved, moses approved,but it still has a delicious
palate for an adult.
But they still have a deliciouspalate for an adult.
So we want the food and thejourney in the kitchen to the
table to be with whomever youwant to celebrate.
Sometimes it's a solocelebration and other times it's
a family celebration.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Absolutely, and that journey is definitely felt and
you said it so amazingly it'sfelt before the cook even walks
into the kitchen, which isreally the most important part,
because that's really where thatconfidence begins.
Ladies, what were some of yourfavorite memories while you guys
were both writing this cookbook?
Any funny or special memories?
Oh boy, there's so many.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
I got a good one, I think.
So I got a call from Tamarinssaying I think it was a FaceTime
actually you just set off myfire alarm, my smoke detector,
and now the fire department's onits way and this is going to be
the most expensive steak dinnerI've ever made, because she was
cooking the steak from thecookbook for her nephew and his
(13:28):
girlfriend and it literally inthe head note it says if you
don't set off your fire alarm,you're not doing it right.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Well, she said, so my smoke detector is right above
my oven, which I don't even knowwhy they designed it that way,
because of course I'm not goingto set off an alarm in my
kitchen.
No, the steak recipe.
It's a beautiful, delicious twoand a half inch rib eye and you
(13:56):
need that heat to really searthat steak.
And it set off the alarm.
But I thought she was going totell the funniest story for me
was spatchcock.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
And in the book we have dialogue, because we wanted
to take you into our world.
And so Lish one night said tome you know, why don't you
spatchcock a chicken?
And I'm like, I'm offended, Iwill not, I will not do that to
a chicken.
And she I'm calling her, we'reFaceTime I am like so
intimidated by the idea ofspatchcocking a chicken.
(14:30):
And for those who don't know,that is taking out the bone, the
backbone of the chicken, sothat it lays flat on the cooking
surface.
Think of it like butterflyingthe chicken.
But it takes a little muscle,it takes some confidence.
In the past I would haveprobably had the butcher or
someone do that or just skip therecipe.
But we take you through thisand I can tell you I the first
(14:52):
time said I'm not doing this,it's done, I'm not doing it, I
gave up, I gave up and I waslike I was all chicken.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
I was like, was like.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
I don't deserve this.
I don't deserve this chicken,if this is what I have to do
with it.
But Lish walked me through itand last night and this is the
truth last night I deboned thebackbone of the chicken, aka
Spatchcock Most beautifulchicken.
It's a recipe in our book.
(15:22):
My husband said to me my God,this chicken is so moist because
it's marinated overnight, dry,brined in salt, lemon, black
peppercorn.
It is heavenly and it's fromour recipe and we did
deliberately include some ofthese things that are seen as
more challenging.
A whole fish One of our firstbig vacations together, we went
away to the Caribbean.
My family Lisha's family and Ilove whole fish.
The idea of bringing in a wholefish and preparing it is
terrifying to the Caribbean.
My family Lisha's family and Ilove whole fish.
The idea of bringing in a wholefish and preparing it is
(15:44):
terrifying to some people.
It shouldn't.
It's so simple and we take youthrough what seems like a
pressure cooker and release thatpressure through great advice
when you go to the Caribbean.
Whole fish is something you seeeverywhere and everyone does it
, but for us, we wanted peopleto have that same experience and
(16:04):
we demystify, if you will, someof these things.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Yeah, Again, with the whole fish, it's the technique
of it right.
It's not that complicated, it'sjust certain little isms that
if you do properly it's actuallyquite simple to prepare.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
We're building your confidence.
I mean she's saying it's notthat difficult, not that
difficult.
She's also James Beard awardwinner, right For me.
I saw it as difficult.
I'm like, well, I don't knowwhat you're talking about, but
but once Lish walked me throughit, it demystifies.
And that's what we want.
We want you to have fun, wewant you to laugh, we want you
to feel less pressure, we wantyou to feel confident so much of
(16:42):
what we both do, and that's whywe shared our.
We start the book with ourlittle pictures of us both at
the same age, you know, inkindergarten, because we want
everyone to feel welcome to thistable.
Even if you are an experiencedchef, I think you will find
celebration of food and familyin this book.
And if you're someone who'sjust starting out, who you know,
(17:03):
you maybe want to cook.
Just on Sundays, we have thesestories and these techniques and
this advice and these recipes,all with one intention to build
confidence joy in the kitchen.
It's the same as if she was inMilwaukee and I.
She was in Milwaukee and I wasin Texas, and we had the same
hairstyle and I'm like a 100years older than her.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
No way, and all the recipes sound so delicious.
You mentioned some amazingsavory ones, but, ladies,
desserts are a favorite aroundhere and, tim, I'm a huge lover
of pound cake.
So take us through just acouple of the amazing desserts
that are in these books.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Oh, listen.
So I grew up in Texas.
The sake tsumi cake was a bigcake, you know, in my church
every Sunday.
So we were talking and each ofus tried to bring something from
our backgrounds and our pastwhether it's the chicken salad,
in this case it was the cake andI said, ok, if we can impress
my mom, my Southern mom, withthis cake, we've won.
And my mother, who's in thebook, you see her.
(18:08):
It was the first time shetasted, so we have a socket to
them cake because we wantedeverybody to enjoy it.
We have a beautiful blueberryand this was new to me blueberry
galette.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I still don't know to say, but I know I eat it and I
make it.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Um, the blueberry galette is so, um, amazing.
And when Lish first showed methis recipe, I again said how do
you pronounce it and what is it?
And when I tell you it is themost flaky, beautiful pastry
that everyone will celebrate itremarkable.
We also have the grasshopper,inspired by my love of Blue Bell
ice cream, which is a winner,winner.
(18:46):
We are sweet people and that'sthe thing about our book.
You know whether it's the lowkey lunch we talked about, as a
journalist and and as two peoplewho work in and out of our
homes.
Life changed with COVID and somany people found themselves
eating lunch at home.
And I said to Lish do you knowwhat door dash bills are, or
(19:07):
takeout, or how many timespeople just skip lunch because
they were used to being in theoffice and walking downstairs or
outside to grab and go?
You have to be able to come upwith something and we worked on
it and we came up with these lowkey lunches so that you don't
have to skip lunch.
Life has changed.
So many people are working fromhome and skipping lunch and we
wanted to have a beat in thebook that recognizes where we
(19:28):
are in society right now.
So that's where we came up withthe lunch menu.
We love brunch.
Brunch is huge in ourfriendship and our family, so
that's why.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
But, by the way, brunch is basically at one of
our homes.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
At one of our homes.
Yes, so like the like the pullapart sandwich, I just made our
French toast casserole bakedFrench toast the other day.
It's with the cardamom, it'samazing.
Or the mimosa buffet.
Those are things.
Everything in this book isauthentic to how we live our
lives and that's why, sweets,listen we're also not vegan.
God bless vegans and I love youall.
And we have.
We have vegetarian recipes inthere a carrot with harissa,
(20:06):
that is out of this world.
We have a a low taste stylecorn with pink peppercorn, with
plenty of offerings for thosewho skip on protein sourced from
cows or whatever else, but Idon't.
I'm going to have my burger.
Wisconsin, texas.
So we again.
(20:26):
We weren't, you know we didn'twant a book that fit into a
trend, whether it's great or not, and we want it something that
really spoke to our journey.
Because what we both havelearned, and I know you will
agree when you are yourauthentic self, the masses come.
(20:48):
Whether it's my talk show orLisha's work with Giada and her
great culinary career on her own, when your intention is to
reach as many people as possible, it happens.
When you are authentic, andthis book is an authentic story
of friends, of family, but alsome trying to figure out how to
boil water, it's legit.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
It's the story.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
The authenticity is definitely felt through the
flavors and the amazing stories,and it was awesome going
through this book.
Ladies, before I let you guysgo real quick, I do have a game
of lightning round for you.
Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
We are ready, let's go.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Let's do it.
What is your favorite kitchenutensil?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Fish spatula easily.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Knife.
Favorite color Green Blue.
What is a dessert you cannotlive without.
We're going to wrap it, sorry.
We're like, yeah, no worries.
What is a dessert you cannotlive without?
No worries.
What is a dessert you cannotlive without?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Ice cream.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
The blueberry.
I fell in love with it.
It's one of my favorite thingsin the world, and not just
because it's in our cookbook,but it is one of my favorite
things in the world.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Oh my gosh, we've got to get our hands on it and I'm
going to skip the last question,because the last question is
what is your favorite book?
However, I'm encouragingeveryone today because I'm sure
the book that is on you guys ismine.
A lot is A Confident Cook, andso we want to make sure that you
guys get out and pre-order AConfident Cook.
(22:19):
From the bottom of my heart,lish and Tamron, thank you guys
so much for stopping by thepodcast today.
It was amazing to hear yourjourney and I appreciate you
guys both.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Thank you, we appreciate you.
Thank you so much.
We're excited.
You hold a special place nowbecause this is our first
together Zoom promoting the book, so thank you to you and your
audience.
I'm videotaping you on my phoneright now.
Thank you so much to you andyour audience and you have set
us up for success and weappreciate the love.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Absolutely.
You ladies are more thanwelcome.
You know, one of the things Igather when speaking to Tamron
and Lish is just what amazingthings can happen when we come
together as women andcollaborate.
Not only are we able to empowereach other, but the confidence
that we find along the way isalways amazing, also when
(23:11):
learning something new together.
So special thanks again toTamron and Lish for stopping by
the Bacon for Business podcast.
I'm honored to be one of thefirst that they record with, as
they share, this amazing bookwhich is filled with so much
awesome delicious savory andsweet recipes, storytelling and
(23:33):
just tips and tools to help youwith your journey in the kitchen
.
You can find all of thatinformation so that you can get
your hands on a copy of theirbook A Confident Cook in the
show notes below.
I know you're going to enjoy it.
Thanks so much for listening.
Take care and bye for now.
Hey, sweet friends, my name is Chef Schaumburg.
I started my baking businesswith a bottle of DeSerono and
one Bundt cake pan.
Fast forward to today, fromnews to magazines, speaking on
national stages and more.
I can truly say that baking haschanged my life.
So now, as a bakery businesscoach, I get to help others have
the same success.
I've helped hundreds of mystudents across the world in my
(00:24):
global membership programsix-figure businesses, mainly
from home.
The Baking for Business podcastis an extension of that, from
actionable tips to valuabletools and resources that can
impact you as a business owner.
I truly believe y'all.
We would never have been givena gift if we couldn't profit and
prosper from it.
So come on, darling.
What are you waiting for?
(00:45):
What's going on, you guys?
And welcome back to the Bakingfor Business podcast.
There is a new cookbook which ishitting the shelves soon, and I
have a feeling you guys arereally going to fall in love
with this one because the styleof it is so unique.
But before I get into the goods, I have to tell you who it's by
(01:06):
.
So, Tamron Hall, EmmyAward-winning television host
and executive producer of thesyndicated talk show Tamron Hall
.
She's also a veteran journalistand best-selling author, along
with Lish Styling, who's a JamesBeard Award and Emmy
Award-winning culinary producer.
She's a chef, she's a foodstylist, she's awesome sauce
(01:27):
herself, and the two of themboth have a book titled A
Confident Cook Recipes forJoyous, no Pressure Fun in the
Kitchen.
And it really is no pressure.
You guys.
I've had the privilege ofreading this.
I don't want to give it allaway, but y'all are going to
love it.
So, ladies, welcome to thepodcast.
How are you guys doing today?
We're doing great, Thank you,we're happy to be here with you.
(01:50):
Yeah, awesome.
So before we dive into the book, I know it's filled with some
amazing storytelling elements ofthe friendship between the two
of you guys.
So for our listeners, how didyou guys cross paths together?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Well, I was actually at the Today Show and you know
we always did great foodsegments at the end of the show.
And one day I was walking, myoffice happened to be next to
the kitchen which was lucky meand I saw one of our staffers
and there was a radish and acarrot tattooed on her arm and I
(02:30):
said anyone that has a tattooof a root vegetable must know
what they're doing.
In truth, I was also grievingthe loss of my father and my
father had been the cook myentire life and my father had
been the cook my entire life.
And at the same time I met thisreally interesting person.
I was starting out on thisjourney to just a love letter to
my father and learn to cook,and I walked over to Lish with
(02:53):
her two tattoos and I said Ireally would love to hang out
and learn to cook.
And she opened her heart andopened her experience to me and
the journey was set.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
I said, the only way we can become friends is if you
come to boot camp with me.
Oh, yes, that part, and we rollaround in Central Park and do
some burpees.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
I conveniently said past that part, because you
might ask how it ended, and letme just tell you how it started
was not how it ended.
I started fresh and ready andit ended sweating on the ground.
So it was like a sitcom episode.
But in exchange for fallingdown and humiliating myself in
this boot camp, I then got alifelong friend who is like my
(03:35):
sister, who is my sister, and weset out on this journey, not
honestly to create a cookbook.
It was really born from Lishbeing so close to her own family
and hearing my story andwanting to help and through that
and over the years we said youknow what there might be a
cookbook in this, but it didn'tstart out as an idea of cooking,
(03:55):
creating a cookbook.
It really was two people whomet in the most organic way and,
as we all do in life, we needsomeone who's there to root for
us and help us, and she wasthere for me.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Yes, I love it.
That's a wonderful tale offriendship as well as
inspiration, and, tamron, youshared what inspired you.
So, lish, when the idea cameabout, what was your inspiration
?
To take on this challenge andsay, okay, let's do it.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
So I mean, even with our friendship, which we now are
family genuinely, it started byTamron like texting me one
night saying what should I makefor dinner?
And I just responded with, well, what do you have?
So she was able to say I havethis, this and this.
And I was like great, let's dothis bronzino with a roasted
(04:45):
root vegetable ratatouille, playon ratatouille kind of thing,
you know, and walk her throughstep by step and she was able to
ask her questions that so manypeople have when you just read a
recipe, right All on textmessage.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
And, by the way, when she said ratatouille, I was
like I love that movie.
And so I was like that movie'sgreat.
But really I was always aperson who had things in my
refrigerator.
I just didn't know.
And so how many times have youcome home and said what am I
going to cook?
Or I don't know what to cook?
And so, through being in morningshows for all of my career, I
(05:18):
always had the templates right.
So I had apple cider vinegar,but I didn't know if you're out
of certain things using that.
I didn't know all of themechanics.
I didn't know.
I had every cooking gadget inthe world, but I didn't know how
to use them or, better yet, Ididn't know which ones I really
needed.
Liz took me to buy a fishspatula.
I was like, what is a fishspatula?
(05:39):
The best tool ever.
Thank you, it's Haldex.
The best tool ever, thank you,it's Haldex.
And that's what we have in ourbook.
I mean, down to what pantrythings you should have, what
tools we think set you up forsuccess.
You can always have what youwant in your kitchen, but we
want to set you up to beconfident, and that's what she
did to me and it started out ontext.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Yeah, and I mean for me through this book, like I
want to empower people to learnthe technique behind cooking so
that you can feel that emotion,so you're not so like stressed
out about following a recipe.
It's like you know how to seara steak, you know how to clean a
piece of fish, like all thoselittle things just empower you.
(06:19):
It's like learning those littledetails in life in general,
right, like you walk through alittle bit taller so you can
walk into your kitchen goingokay, like I have some idea of
what I'm doing.
You feel a little bit betterabout it.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Lish make the great point.
We start the book with like thepantry, what we feel you, you
know can succeed with in yourpantry the tools.
And then Lish gives tips on howto sear a steak.
I know it sounds so simple, butyou build your confidence by
starting at the foundation wehave in the book.
(06:53):
You know how to make thecreamiest scrambled eggs People
think they know until your eggsturn out crazy looking.
I'm just going to be honest.
And my cousin, who is a greatcook I sent her the cookbook.
She said I have been makingscrambled eggs wrong the entire
time.
It sounds simple, but thetechnique that Lish demonstrates
in our cookbook really was agame changer for me.
And so we start with thefoundation and we help you build
(07:16):
on that confidence.
The recipes are fire, I'm noteven going to lie about that.
But it's the additional element, things in the book that allow
you to build your confidence.
It's not just here's our steakrecipe, which is delicious, it's
here.
Here's the tip on searing asteak to perfection, something
that you might think you know.
(07:37):
But through licious, trainedculinary experience, we are
giving you those tips that youdon't often get in a book.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Yep, absolutely.
You hit it directly on the head, because what I was going to
say was I know Lish and tell meif this was intentional or not.
So many people, when we hearcookbook, we are used to recipes
.
Okay, this book is filled withrecipes.
When I read this book andfinish, what I really liked was
I said you know what?
(08:06):
This book took an entire miseen place direction.
It wasn't just the recipes youliterally start from hey, that
confidence has to start in thepantry.
But then you went to the tools,because so many people that's
normally what makes them feelintimidated I have to have this,
(08:26):
I have to have that.
But she went over hey, let'stalk about what you really need
and now let's go over thetechnique.
So was that intentional to kindof give the book a mise en
place feel for the beginner cook?
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Oh, absolutely 100%, Because that's part of some of
the text messages that T wouldsend me is.
It's like you know what roughchop, what the hell does that
mean, like you know so.
Or how do I dice an onion?
Like all of those little thingsthat set you up for success,
lining up your mise en place,like that's what we wanted to
touch on, because those are thethings that boost your
(08:59):
confidence and make you feellike a little bit more sure of
yourself going into it.
It's like I know how to dice anonion, I know how to sear a
steak.
I know how to dice an onion.
I know how to sear a steak, Iknow how to you know, clean
asparagus, like any of thoselittle details.
We want to empower the readerto actually feel good about it
going in.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
We even say salting water, you know, but every time
somebody says salt water, right,right.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Salt is a taste in general.
What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (09:24):
And so you have a pot of water.
Even to make pasta, it's saltwater.
Lish takes us through what thatreally means.
It's more than some advice onthe back of a package, and we
talk about what does saltedwater really taste like?
Not how you measure it.
What is that pot of watersupposed to?
Speaker 3 (09:43):
taste like yeah, and that's a big thing that I think
we kind of shoved down people'sthroat.
It's like season as you go andtaste, taste, taste, yeah, like
people tend to get into a recipeand they're like they don't
taste it until it's done yeah,at that point you can't tweak
anything.
And I was that person.
I was that person.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
I was afraid to taste as I went along because I was
so, you know, focused on therecipe, right?
We all have seen recipes was.
So, you know, focused on therecipe, right?
We all have seen recipes.
My aunt had her Betty Crockerrecipes.
I have my Barefoot Contessa.
We all have taken out a recipeand tried to follow step by step
.
But really what we want is youto feel less pressure to be
connected to that exact recipefor this to be experienced.
(10:24):
I used to laugh at people whenthey said, oh, cooking was
relaxing for me, and I'm like,not for me because I'm running
around.
But over time, what we havelearned, through Lish helping me
, is that really I can becomeconfident in the kitchen.
Anyone can.
My father cooked every meal forme my entire life.
My mother doesn't cook.
So I'm two generations in myhouse of women, defying the
(10:48):
stereotype of the mom in thekitchen.
My dad was the person in thekitchen and sometimes folks, and
even Lish, asked me why didn'tyou learn from your dad?
My dad loved cooking anddelivering the meal to us.
That was his love language.
So when I would walk in thekitchen, he'd say no, no, get
out.
So I'm at the table because thatwas his love language.
And when I met Lish, she hasthis gift of food being her love
(11:12):
language, but teaching beingher love language, as well, and
so with me being a compliancestudent, because I really wanted
to.
I was sick of.
I moved to New York.
My takeout bills was more thanmy rent and so you know it was
an awakening for me.
Starting out in New York I waslike, listen, I can either buy
this 45 delivery dollar burgeror I can learn how to do it
(11:34):
myself.
You know, and now that I'm amom, you know my son there we
have great recipes that arefamily friendly but still
delicious and amazing, and myson loves to cook.
There are a lot of pictures ofMoses with Liz in the kitchen.
We just had Chef DanielleBalloud on and he talked about
starting out as a 14 year old,not knowing what he wanted to do
(11:57):
with his life, but that heloved to cook.
And when I told him the premiseof our book and I showed him
the pictures of Lish and my sonin the kitchen, he's beamed
because he is celebrating thefact that we are building
confidence in the kitchen.
He just he's beamed because heis celebrating the fact that,
you know, we are buildingconfidence in the kitchen for
you if you're single, for ifit's a family, for a kid, it's
all in there.
We have a bucatini recipe thatis divine and everyone in your
(12:21):
family can enjoy it.
Moses approved, moses approved,but it still has a delicious
palate for an adult.
But they still have a deliciouspalate for an adult.
So we want the food and thejourney in the kitchen to the
table to be with whomever youwant to celebrate.
Sometimes it's a solocelebration and other times it's
a family celebration.
Speaker 1 (12:50):
Absolutely, and that journey is definitely felt and
you said it so amazingly it'sfelt before the cook even walks
into the kitchen, which isreally the most important part,
because that's really where thatconfidence begins.
Ladies, what were some of yourfavorite memories while you guys
were both writing this cookbook?
Any funny or special memories?
Oh boy, there's so many.
Speaker 3 (13:04):
I got a good one, I think.
So I got a call from Tamarinssaying I think it was a FaceTime
actually you just set off myfire alarm, my smoke detector,
and now the fire department's onits way and this is going to be
the most expensive steak dinnerI've ever made, because she was
cooking the steak from thecookbook for her nephew and his
(13:28):
girlfriend and it literally inthe head note it says if you
don't set off your fire alarm,you're not doing it right.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Well, she said, so my smoke detector is right above
my oven, which I don't even knowwhy they designed it that way,
because of course I'm not goingto set off an alarm in my
kitchen.
No, the steak recipe.
It's a beautiful, delicious twoand a half inch rib eye and you
(13:56):
need that heat to really searthat steak.
And it set off the alarm.
But I thought she was going totell the funniest story for me
was spatchcock.
Speaker 3 (14:05):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
And in the book we have dialogue, because we wanted
to take you into our world.
And so Lish one night said tome you know, why don't you
spatchcock a chicken?
And I'm like, I'm offended, Iwill not, I will not do that to
a chicken.
And she I'm calling her, we'reFaceTime I am like so
intimidated by the idea ofspatchcocking a chicken.
(14:30):
And for those who don't know,that is taking out the bone, the
backbone of the chicken, sothat it lays flat on the cooking
surface.
Think of it like butterflyingthe chicken.
But it takes a little muscle,it takes some confidence.
In the past I would haveprobably had the butcher or
someone do that or just skip therecipe.
But we take you through thisand I can tell you I the first
(14:52):
time said I'm not doing this,it's done, I'm not doing it, I
gave up, I gave up and I waslike I was all chicken.
Speaker 3 (14:58):
I was like, was like.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
I don't deserve this.
I don't deserve this chicken,if this is what I have to do
with it.
But Lish walked me through itand last night and this is the
truth last night I deboned thebackbone of the chicken, aka
Spatchcock Most beautifulchicken.
It's a recipe in our book.
(15:22):
My husband said to me my God,this chicken is so moist because
it's marinated overnight, dry,brined in salt, lemon, black
peppercorn.
It is heavenly and it's fromour recipe and we did
deliberately include some ofthese things that are seen as
more challenging.
A whole fish One of our firstbig vacations together, we went
away to the Caribbean.
My family Lisha's family and Ilove whole fish.
The idea of bringing in a wholefish and preparing it is
terrifying to the Caribbean.
My family Lisha's family and Ilove whole fish.
The idea of bringing in a wholefish and preparing it is
(15:44):
terrifying to some people.
It shouldn't.
It's so simple and we take youthrough what seems like a
pressure cooker and release thatpressure through great advice
when you go to the Caribbean.
Whole fish is something you seeeverywhere and everyone does it
, but for us, we wanted peopleto have that same experience and
(16:04):
we demystify, if you will, someof these things.
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Yeah, Again, with the whole fish, it's the technique
of it right.
It's not that complicated, it'sjust certain little isms that
if you do properly it's actuallyquite simple to prepare.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
We're building your confidence.
I mean she's saying it's notthat difficult, not that
difficult.
She's also James Beard awardwinner, right For me.
I saw it as difficult.
I'm like, well, I don't knowwhat you're talking about, but
but once Lish walked me throughit, it demystifies.
And that's what we want.
We want you to have fun, wewant you to laugh, we want you
to feel less pressure, we wantyou to feel confident so much of
(16:42):
what we both do, and that's whywe shared our.
We start the book with ourlittle pictures of us both at
the same age, you know, inkindergarten, because we want
everyone to feel welcome to thistable.
Even if you are an experiencedchef, I think you will find
celebration of food and familyin this book.
And if you're someone who'sjust starting out, who you know,
(17:03):
you maybe want to cook.
Just on Sundays, we have thesestories and these techniques and
this advice and these recipes,all with one intention to build
confidence joy in the kitchen.
It's the same as if she was inMilwaukee and I.
She was in Milwaukee and I wasin Texas, and we had the same
hairstyle and I'm like a 100years older than her.
Speaker 1 (17:25):
No way, and all the recipes sound so delicious.
You mentioned some amazingsavory ones, but, ladies,
desserts are a favorite aroundhere and, tim, I'm a huge lover
of pound cake.
So take us through just acouple of the amazing desserts
that are in these books.
Speaker 2 (17:46):
Oh, listen.
So I grew up in Texas.
The sake tsumi cake was a bigcake, you know, in my church
every Sunday.
So we were talking and each ofus tried to bring something from
our backgrounds and our pastwhether it's the chicken salad,
in this case it was the cake andI said, ok, if we can impress
my mom, my Southern mom, withthis cake, we've won.
And my mother, who's in thebook, you see her.
(18:08):
It was the first time shetasted, so we have a socket to
them cake because we wantedeverybody to enjoy it.
We have a beautiful blueberryand this was new to me blueberry
galette.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
I still don't know to say, but I know I eat it and I
make it.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Um, the blueberry galette is so, um, amazing.
And when Lish first showed methis recipe, I again said how do
you pronounce it and what is it?
And when I tell you it is themost flaky, beautiful pastry
that everyone will celebrate itremarkable.
We also have the grasshopper,inspired by my love of Blue Bell
ice cream, which is a winner,winner.
(18:46):
We are sweet people and that'sthe thing about our book.
You know whether it's the lowkey lunch we talked about, as a
journalist and and as two peoplewho work in and out of our
homes.
Life changed with COVID and somany people found themselves
eating lunch at home.
And I said to Lish do you knowwhat door dash bills are, or
(19:07):
takeout, or how many timespeople just skip lunch because
they were used to being in theoffice and walking downstairs or
outside to grab and go?
You have to be able to come upwith something and we worked on
it and we came up with these lowkey lunches so that you don't
have to skip lunch.
Life has changed.
So many people are working fromhome and skipping lunch and we
wanted to have a beat in thebook that recognizes where we
(19:28):
are in society right now.
So that's where we came up withthe lunch menu.
We love brunch.
Brunch is huge in ourfriendship and our family, so
that's why.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
But, by the way, brunch is basically at one of
our homes.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
At one of our homes.
Yes, so like the like the pullapart sandwich, I just made our
French toast casserole bakedFrench toast the other day.
It's with the cardamom, it'samazing.
Or the mimosa buffet.
Those are things.
Everything in this book isauthentic to how we live our
lives and that's why, sweets,listen we're also not vegan.
God bless vegans and I love youall.
And we have.
We have vegetarian recipes inthere a carrot with harissa,
(20:06):
that is out of this world.
We have a a low taste stylecorn with pink peppercorn, with
plenty of offerings for thosewho skip on protein sourced from
cows or whatever else, but Idon't.
I'm going to have my burger.
Wisconsin, texas.
So we again.
(20:26):
We weren't, you know we didn'twant a book that fit into a
trend, whether it's great or not, and we want it something that
really spoke to our journey.
Because what we both havelearned, and I know you will
agree when you are yourauthentic self, the masses come.
(20:48):
Whether it's my talk show orLisha's work with Giada and her
great culinary career on her own, when your intention is to
reach as many people as possible, it happens.
When you are authentic, andthis book is an authentic story
of friends, of family, but alsome trying to figure out how to
boil water, it's legit.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
It's the story.
Speaker 1 (21:08):
The authenticity is definitely felt through the
flavors and the amazing stories,and it was awesome going
through this book.
Ladies, before I let you guysgo real quick, I do have a game
of lightning round for you.
Are you ready?
Speaker 2 (21:22):
We are ready, let's go.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
Let's do it.
What is your favorite kitchenutensil?
Speaker 2 (21:28):
Fish spatula easily.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Knife.
Favorite color Green Blue.
What is a dessert you cannotlive without.
We're going to wrap it, sorry.
We're like, yeah, no worries.
What is a dessert you cannotlive without?
No worries.
What is a dessert you cannotlive without?
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Ice cream.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
The blueberry.
I fell in love with it.
It's one of my favorite thingsin the world, and not just
because it's in our cookbook,but it is one of my favorite
things in the world.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
Oh my gosh, we've got to get our hands on it and I'm
going to skip the last question,because the last question is
what is your favorite book?
However, I'm encouragingeveryone today because I'm sure
the book that is on you guys ismine.
A lot is A Confident Cook, andso we want to make sure that you
guys get out and pre-order AConfident Cook.
(22:19):
From the bottom of my heart,lish and Tamron, thank you guys
so much for stopping by thepodcast today.
It was amazing to hear yourjourney and I appreciate you
guys both.
Speaker 2 (22:30):
Thank you, we appreciate you.
Thank you so much.
We're excited.
You hold a special place nowbecause this is our first
together Zoom promoting the book, so thank you to you and your
audience.
I'm videotaping you on my phoneright now.
Thank you so much to you andyour audience and you have set
us up for success and weappreciate the love.
Speaker 1 (22:49):
Absolutely.
You ladies are more thanwelcome.
You know, one of the things Igather when speaking to Tamron
and Lish is just what amazingthings can happen when we come
together as women andcollaborate.
Not only are we able to empowereach other, but the confidence
that we find along the way isalways amazing, also when
(23:11):
learning something new together.
So special thanks again toTamron and Lish for stopping by
the Bacon for Business podcast.
I'm honored to be one of thefirst that they record with, as
they share, this amazing bookwhich is filled with so much
awesome delicious savory andsweet recipes, storytelling and
(23:33):
just tips and tools to help youwith your journey in the kitchen
.
You can find all of thatinformation so that you can get
your hands on a copy of theirbook A Confident Cook in the
show notes below.
I know you're going to enjoy it.
Thanks so much for listening.
Take care and bye for now.
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