The Dinner Special - Helping Home Cooks Explore What To Make For Dinner And Find Their Zest For Cooking

Hi Everyone! Gabriel Soh here! Welcome to the Dinner Special podcast. I want to first apologize for being MIA. I know it's been a while. Almost a year in fact, but it's definitely been a process figuring out what to do and how to build on the 139 episodes. Thank you for sticking with me. […] The post 2017 Food Boss Summit first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

The Forest Feast Gatherings cookbook I am so happy to welcome Erin Gleeson of  The Forest Feast here to the show today. Erin is the author, illustrator and photographer of the New York Times best-selling cookbook The Forest Feast and of course she has her popular blog called The Forest Feast, as well. Earlier this year […] The post 139: Erin Gleeson: The Art of Hosting Gatherings first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Alternative Baker cookbook I am so excited to welcome Alanna Taylor-Tobin of The Bojon Gourmet back to the show today. The last time we talked was over a year ago. And Alanna has been busy working on a bunch of awesome stuff. One thing in particular is her cookbook called, Alternative Baker: Reinventing Dessert with […] The post 138: Alanna Taylor-Tobin: Behind the Pages of Alternative Baker first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

A Message from Gabriel Hey everyone! It's Gabriel Soh, your host here on The Dinner Special podcast for the past 137 episodes. Today is a little bit different. I won't be chatting with a super awesome food hero guest, instead, it'll just be me! First of all, thank you for listening and for carving out […] The post A Message from Me first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Culinary Backstreets Yigal co-founded the blog Istanbul Eats with Ansel Mullins to bring us the best undiscovered local eateries you might not always find on your own. The blog has grown and evolved into Culinary Backstreets, which tells the stories of a city's foodways, giving equal measure to the culinary side as the human element […] The post 137: Yigal Schleifer: Guided by Stories of Unsung Food Heroes first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Muy Bueno On her blog, Muy Bueno, Yvette shares her family stories and takes her readers on a journey through old-world northern Mexican cuisine, traditional south of the border home-style dishes, and Latin fusion recipes. Muy Bueno was a finalist in the Saveur Blog Awards in 2012 and 2014, and Yvette has published two cookbooks: […] The post 136: Yvette Marquez-Sharpnack: Passing On the Flavours of Mexico first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Steele House Kitchen Meredith left her job as a graphic designer to become a stay-at-home mom after her daughter was born. During this time, she created her blog In Sock Monkey Slippers, started her own recipe development company, and was a finalist in the 2013 SAVEUR Blog Awards. At the end of 2015, insockmonkeyslippers.com evolved […] The post 135: Meredith Steele: From Stay-at-Home Mom to Food Entrepreneur first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Taste of Beirut Born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, Joumana moved to the U.S. in 1979 and is a former school teacher, pastry chef, caterer and translator. She started her blog, Taste of Beirut, in 2009 to share a window into the Eastern Mediterranean where Lebanese food mixes with Turkish, Syrian, Persian, Iraqi, and Egyptian […] The post 134: Joumana Accad: Sharing a Taste of Beirut first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Rooting The Sun Danielle is always dreaming up ways to feast from the season and celebrate the garden. A Virginian turned Californian turned Midwesterner, her blog, Rooting The Sun, is where Danielle shares her approach to cooking, food, and gardening. I am so happy to have Danielle of Rooting The Sun on the show today. […] The post 133: Danielle: Gardening and Feasting from the Seasons first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Luisa Brimble Luisa is a food and lifestyle photographer, based in Sydney, Australia, who strives to capture images that exude warmth, simplicity, honesty, and connection. Her work has been published in numerous print and online publications, including Kinfolk magazine, Frankie magazine, and Food & Wine magazine, just to name a few. When she is not photographing, […] The post 132: Luisa Brimble: Photography, Food and Relationships first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

The Food In My Beard Dan's blog, The Food In My Beard, is his recipe playground where he cooks anything and everything, and enjoys mashing up flavors and cuisines that aren't normally paired together. Since starting his website in 2008, he has published over 1,000 recipes. Dan's first cookbook Stuffed came out in 2014, and he's […] The post 131: Dan Whalen: Mashing Up Flavours and Cuisines first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Afrodite's Kitchen A Canadian Cypriot, Christina was an international arbitration lawyer for six years in London before moving to Cyprus. On her blog, she shares Cypriot recipes that she learned from her aunts while adding a modern touch sometimes to traditional Cypriot recipes. Christina writes and photographs for Taste Magazine in Cyprus. I am so […] The post 130: Christina Loucas: Preserving Cypriot Recipes first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

This American Bite Since starting This American Bite, Yosef has evolved into a Kansas City based kosher food blogger. On his blog is where he welcomes us into his kitchen, where he highlights flavor when cooking from scratch, seasoning a plate, and breaking bread. Yosef believes that though it is not always easy to express […] The post 129: Yosef Silver: Kosher Cooking and Barbecue first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Matters of the Belly Noha was born and raised in Egypt where food was such a huge deal that it felt like a member of their family. She moved to Australia with her husband in 2013 and is where she currently lives. On her blog Matters of the Belly is where Noha shares with us […] The post 128: Noha Serageldin: An Introduction to Egyptian Cuisine and Beyond first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Husbands That Cook On Husbands That Cook, Adam and Ryan share quick and easy vegetarian meals, drinks and snacks, their favorite dishes from around the world, and everything from decadent desserts to healthy vegan options. They try to make their recipes as accessible as possible so everyone can confidently follow along and have fun with […] The post 127: Husbands That Cook: How Cooking Together Makes Food Better first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Foolproof Living Ice was born with itchy feet. She grew up in Turkey, lived 10 years in the States, four years in the British Virgin Islands, and has recently moved back to the U.S. A food and lifestyle photographer and full-time blogger, she is a firm believer that if you know how to read, you […] The post 126: Ice Sanford: Tasting Food from Around the World first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

600 Acres Posie grew up on a farm that is just over 600 acres where here family had access to the freshest of milk, eggs, and harvests from their well-attended garden. On her blog, 600 Acres, is where she shares some of her memories as well as the new things she is cooking and trying […] The post 125: Posie Harwood: A Career Cultivated from Growing Up on a Farm first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Sweetish.co Robyn launched her blog in 2015 after a decade of dabbling in storytelling through writing, baking, and photography. She is obsessed with people and food, and her food experiences range from working in professional bakeries to teaching cooking classes to freelance baking and cooking for clients. Robyn firmly believes there is joy in treating […] The post 124: Robyn Holland: Baking Up a Whole New Way to Treat Yourself first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Fox and Briar Meghan is a passionate, self-taught home cook who recently moved from Portland, Oregon, to the Seattle area and spent most of her childhood in Alaska. While she tries adopting adult skills like meal planning and healthy eating, she balances the boredom by being creative in the kitchen mixing new drinks and discovering […] The post 123: Meghan McMorrow: Cooking Up a Sense of Accomplishment first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

The Malabar Tea Room The Malabar Tea Room is a mother/daughter project where Aysha is the writer and photographer, and her mother is the chief recipe tester. On their blog, they cook up culinary favorites from around the world, using local ingredients, improvisation, and a keen imagination. Aysha is a food writer with a penchant for […] The post 122: Aysha Tanya: A Taste of The Malabar Coast first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Tasty Yummies Beth has been 100% gluten-free since 2005 and was inspired to create her blog, Tasty Yummies, after significantly changing her diet and her life in 2010. Her goal is to inspire us to get creative with our food and to live and eat well with food intolerances and allergies. Her work has been […] The post 121: Beth Manos Brickey: Taking Control and Making Healthier Choices first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Butterlust Katie's blog, Butterlust, allows her to combine her love of food with the need for a creative outlet. She is open and honest about everything she makes on her blog and believes that she could quite possibly be the messiest cook on the planet. I am so thrilled to have Katie Wahlman of Butterlust […] The post 120: Katie Wahlman: Finding A Creative Outlet In Baking first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

The Best Bite of the Plum Her blog, The Best Bite of the Plum, is where she celebrates the experience of eating, preparing, and sharing sustainable, seasonal meals. Alexa is driven by her passion for food and the people who produce it, and can usually be found promoting healthy school food and farm to school […] The post 119: Alexa Arnold: Seasonal Food and The People Who Produce It first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Nothing but Delicious Hannah graduated from Boston University with a photojournalism degree and started her blog Nothing but Delicious out of boredom. She had spent some time away from writing and photography, but through her blog, has learned many lessons like that she indeed wants to be a writer and that cooking is an exercise […] The post 118: Hannah Messinger: How Cooking is an Exercise in Patience first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Sweets & Bitters Hannah is the founder and editor of Sweets & Bitters, a blog and series of printed mini-cookbooks offering a beautiful and practical vision of everyday pleasure. Each volume features fun recipes with helpful tips, and sets the scene with photo essays. Hannah grew up on a small farm in Washington State, and continued […] The post 117: Hannah Kirshner: Studying Food Through Work first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Ambitious Kitchen Monique started her blog at the end of 2011 to share her love of healthy, nutritious food and baking, and in less than three years was able to quit her full-time corporate job to work on Ambitious Kitchen full-time. Most of Monique's food is geared towards those with active, healthy lifestyles, and she […] The post 116: Monique Volz: How Healthy Food Doesn't Have to be Boring first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Chinese Grandma Lilian is not a Chinese grandma. Rather she's a mother of four who believes in old-school food and philosophy inspired by her Chinese grandmas. Her heart is in home cooking, which she describes as uncomplicated, healthful, and satisfying food you can live on, and thinks food should be fresh, comforting, and nourishing. Apart […] The post 115: Lilian: Inspiration from Old-School Food and Philosophy first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Not Eating Out in New York From 2006 to 2008, Cathy made a commitment to stay away from eating out in restaurants, having street food and take out, so she could explore other avenues of not eating out. She wrote a book about her experience called, The Art of Eating In. More recently, Cathy published […] The post 114: Cathy Erway: Eating In and The Food of Taiwan first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

The Actor's Diet On her blog, The Actor's Diet, Lynn shares restaurant views, fashion and beauty tips, recipes and her life in show biz. She credits her blog for helping her come to terms with her eating disorders and it's now a place for celebrating food. An actor, body image activist and podcaster, just to […] The post 113: Lynn Chen: Forging a New Relationship with Food first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

TENDING the TABLE Sasha grew up on a farm in Oregon, and has always had a deep interest in food. With her cooking, she enjoys following the seasons and revels in the creativity, precision, tranquility and bustle required in the kitchen. Sasha is inspired by the food of the world and the simple things such […] The post 112: Sasha Swerdloff: Learning to Love Mornings and Hosting Brunch first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Heartbeet Kitchen On her blog, Amanda shares food stories and recipes with the hope to inspire us to realize that the best meals are those made with fresh seasonal and simple ingredients. She believes that food doesn't have to be fancy nor does it require expensive equipment. Amanda is also the author of Smitten with Squash, […] The post 111: Amanda Paa: How a Gluten Allergy Inspired Her first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking Kate is an author, freelance writer, and educator. She's written two books, Hip Girl's Guide to Homemaking and Hip Girl's Guide to the Kitchen. And her writings can be found in publications like Edible Austin, HGTV Mag, and websites such as Canning Across America and The Kitchn. Kate learned to […] The post 110: Kate Payne: Stumbling on Homemaking and Food Preservation first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Gimme Some Oven On Gimme Some Oven, Ali creates fresh, creative, quick and easy recipes for sharing, and does all the photo taking, recipe creating, food styling and taste tasting for her blog. Apart from her recipes, Ali shares plenty of beauty, craft, fashion and gift DIYs, as well as music and movies just to […] The post 109: Ali Ebright: Step-by-Step Cooking and Blogging Growth first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

The Pig & Quill Emily started The Pig & Quill in 2012, and most recipes on her blog are heavy on the plants and low on refined sugars and starches though she is a firm believer in moderation. She is also a new mom. I am so happy to have Emily Stoffel of The Pig […] The post 108: Emily Stoffel: How Cooking Changes with Parenthood first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Keys to the Cucina Alexe is from a large Italian family where food is the center of everything. She's been a food lover all her life and plans for meals way too far in advance. Alexe is a musician, and on her blog, she integrates music and food because she believes they're the most important […] The post 107: Alexandra Lawrence: How Music and Food Come Together first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Egeedee Edlyn restarted her blog when she moved from Goa, India, to the U.S. in 2012. She is greatly influenced by the way her family approaches food and the way they cook. And though she is not a professional cook, she likes believing that she is. I am so psyched to have Edlyn D'Souza of […] The post 106: Edlyn D'Souza: An Introduction to Goan Cuisine first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

SugarHero Elizabeth is a baker, photographer, writer, taste tester and chief sugar officer of SugarHero.com which she started in 2011. Elizabeth went to culinary school after college to learn about baking and patisserie, and worked for years in a number of Los Angeles restaurants and bakeries. She now makes her living developing candy and dessert […] The post 105: Elizabeth LaBau: Making Candy and a Sweet Food Career first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

CakeSpy Jessie is a writer, illustrator, baker, and founder of CakeSpy, which is a dessert detective agency dedicated to seeking sweetness in everyday life. From write-ups on bakery visits and delicious recipes to art projects, Jessie encourages us to bake and live with sweet abandon. Jessie has authored two books, CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for […] The post 104: Jessie Oleson Moore: How Baking Led to a Healthier Relationship with Food first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

The Woks of Life The Woks of Life is written by Bill, Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin a family that has been cooking and serving up meals for a combined 139 years. Their blog is for anyone looking to try their hand at grade A authentic Chinese cooking whatever their background may be. The Woks of […] The post 103: Kaitlin Leung: Connecting with Family Through Cooking first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Naturally Ella On her blog, Naturally Ella, Erin shares seasonal vegetarian recipes that are pantry-inspired and favorite recipes that are simple, fresh and exciting for her family. She's written two cookbooks, The Homemade Flour Cookbook and The Easy Vegetarian Kitchen. I am so happy to have Erin Alderson of Naturally Ella here on the show […] The post 102: Erin Alderson: Moving From Fast Food to Healthier Eating first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

One Hundred Thank-Yous Welcome to The Dinner Special, I am Gabriel Soh and because we've just hit our 100th episode, I want to take a bit of time to say some thank yous and share with you what's next with The Dinner Special podcast. 100 episodes!! I can't believe it's been 10 months since I uploaded […] The post 101: Gabriel Soh: One Hundred Thank-Yous first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Inspiralized Ali discovered the spiralizer in March 2013 and since has created Inspiralized, which is a blog, a community, a product, and a book. She lost 30 pounds by eating Inspiralized and she aims to inspire others to always feel their best, in part, by helping turn vegetables into healthy, creative, and satisfying meals. Ali […] The post 100: Ali Maffucci: Getting Inspiralized first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Dennis The Prescott Dennis cooks, photographs and writes all the time. His food photography is incredible, and I have to confess I get instant cravings when I see his beautifully made, styled and photographed food on Instagram and on his blog. You can also find Dennis on Food and Wine's FWx.com where he's also got […] The post 099: Dennis Prescott: An Unfolding Food and Photography Journey first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

B. Britnell Brita is a Nashville native and on her blog B. Britnell she hopes to inspire us with recipes we'll enjoy making, love eating and most importantly, be eager to share. I am Gabriel Soh and I am so happy to have Brita Britnell of B. Britnell here with me today. On Growing Up […] The post 098: Brita Britnell: All About Nashville and Hot Chicken first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Healthy Nibbles and Bits Lisa is a lawyer turned food blogger and on Healthy Nibbles and Bits is where she shares simple, healthy recipes with bold flavors. She loves experimenting in the kitchen and can talk about food all day. I am so happy to have Lisa Lin of Healthy Nibbles and Bits with me […] The post 097: Lisa Lin: How a Lawyer Became a Food Blogger first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Bread + Barrow Meg is a proud New Englander who grew up on the sandy beaches of Cape Cod. Bread + Barrow is her space, where she shares her love of New England and recreates the magical moments from her childhood. Like memories of her dad's culinary genius over a camp fire and her mother […] The post 096: Meg Dubina: About New England and Family Dinners first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Salted Plains Tessa is fascinated with turning her love of baking into creating gluten-free treats that taste good. On her blog Salted Plains she shares recipes of her gluten-free creations many of which are also dairy-free or vegan. Tessa strives to use whole ingredients and refrains from baking with refined sugar whenever she can. I […] The post 095: Tessa Fisher: Gluten-Free Baking with Whole Ingredients first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

A Saucy Kitchen Sarah moved away from everything familiar in Arizona to Sheffield, England in 2014, and busied herself in the one place where she was always comfortable, the kitchen. She feels strongly that the food we eat has a huge impact on the way we feel in our daily lives. This really hits close […] The post 094: Sarah Nevins: Cooking and Eating with Celiac Disease first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Feasting At Home Sylvia's path has been a winding one, and has included practicing as a therapist for a few years, starting and operating a successful vegetarian restaurant for 10 years, and now, she's the chef and owner of Feast Catering Company. On her blog, Feasting At Home, Sylvia shares healthy, seasonal, and global recipes […] The post 093: Sylvia Fountaine: Traveling a Winding Path Towards Food Entrepreneurship first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

My Darling Lemon Thyme Emm went to culinary school and worked as a chef for almost eight years in restaurants, the pastry section of cafes, and catering companies in Australia and New Zealand. She left when she became a parent and discovered that not only do her children suffer from gluten and lactose intolerance, but […] The post 092: Emma Galloway: Learning to Cook with Food Intolerances first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.

Alexandra's Kitchen Ali grew up in a home where cooking from scratch was the norm. After college, she enrolled in a cooking school and subsequently worked at various catering companies and restaurants. Ali's two years in the Fork restaurant kitchen in Philadelphia where she became sous chef, was the experience that shaped what and how […] The post 091: Alexandra Stafford: From Catering and Restaurants to Blogging first appeared on The Dinner Special podcast.