The Dinner Plan

London-based chef Nargisse Benkabbou has contributed a lot of quick weeknight recipes to NYT Cooking, but in this conversation with The Dinner Plan's host Maggie Hoffman, the author of Madaq shares her preference for big batch dinners that cook low and slow. These hands-off meals don't require more prep time, but the flavors deepen in the oven or on the stove, and each dish can be used multiple ways throughout the week. Nargisse shares her perspective on meal planning, her most treasured condiments and marinades, and the links she'd send a friend looking for dinner ideas. Get two modern Moroccan recipes from Nargisse Benkabbou in The Dinner Plan's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.____Thanks to today's sponsors:Find Soomaaliya by Ifrah F. Ahmed wherever you buy books.Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Tune into The Joy of Cooking Podcast wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jorge Gaviria and Fermín Núñez's new book, Vitamina T, highlights recipes for homemade versions of beloved Mexican street foods like tortas, tamales, tacos, and more. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Jorge and Fermín share stories behind their favorite recipes—and their tricks for making even your simplest, easiest dinners at home more delicious. They also offer advice for using up everything in your fridge and avoiding food waste. Peek at some recipes from the cookbook (and get a chance to win a copy) over at The Dinner Plan's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.____Thanks to today's partners:Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Get tickets for Cookbook Week at CookbookWeek.com.Tune into The Joy of Cooking Podcast wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Top Chef alum Sheldon Simeon has a new cookbook out, called Ohana Style, that's all about cooking family dinners. But sometimes feeding your people is a bigger affair, and Sheldon has opinions about the best things to bring to a potluck. On this episode of The Dinner Plan podcast, Sheldon Simeon chats with host Maggie Hoffman and shares his strategy for potluck leftovers, his advice for prepping food for hot weather gatherings, and a few cookbooks he turns to for inspiration. Get Sheldon's shoyu chicken recipe and a chance to win the book on this week's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.___Thanks to today's sponsors:Tastemade Cooking: Use code DINNERPLAN for 40% off an annual membership at Tastemade.com/dinnerplanMade In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Find Brami protein pasta at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, or EnjoyBrami.comSociety Insurance: Find your local agent at SocietyInsurance.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reilly Meehan really knows his stuff in the kitchen, which means his private chef videos on social media are especially compelling. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Reilly shares his path from the competition cooking circuit to the life of a private chef cooking dinners for clients, what he actually cooks for their weeknight dinners, and insights on how you can add a little flourish to your daily meals. He has lots of advice for what to cook using pantry staples like quinoa, beans, and farro, tips on getting more flavor into your easy dinners, and advice for meal planning during a busy week, plus a favorite high-protein dinner. Reilly's new book, A Little Bit Extra, offers lots of fun cooking techniques that'll come in handy at your next dinner party. Get a recipe preview at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.___Thanks to today's sponsors:Rouxbe Online Culinary School: Get 30% off your first course with code DINNERPLAN30 at Rouxbe.com/dinnerplanFind Brami protein pasta at Costco, Walmart, Whole Foods, or EnjoyBrami.comFind Stone & Skillet English Muffins in the bakery section at Publix, or other retailers nationwide.Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Tastemade Cooking: Use code DINNERPLAN for 40% off an annual membership at Tastemade.com/dinnerplan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chef Christine Flynn has cooked in restaurants in Nantucket, Toronto, and Beaune, but these days, she's trying to feed a family great food on a budget. Her new book, Easy Does It, offers chef-inflected weeknight dinners, impressive sides, salads, and sauces. It's also particularly smart about leftovers. "I think when people get leftover fatigue," Christine says, that's because they're simply reheating last night's dinner. "And, you know, nobody wants to eat the same thing like five times in a row. No, thank you. But I think the cool thing about leftovers," she notes, "is if you sort of reimagine them, sometimes the leftovers are better than the original dish." Learn how Christine thinks about meal planning and avoiding waste in this week's interview, and head over to The Dinner Plan's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com for a peek at one of Christine's new recipes that's really great in a taco the next day.____Thanks to this week's sponsors:Tastemade Cooking: Go to tastemade.com/dinnerplan and use promo code DINNERPLAN for 40% off an annual membership. Be sure to redeem promo code online before downloading the app.Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Nice Cans: Get 20% off Nice Cans sardines by using code DINNERPLAN20 at JustNiceCans.comFind The Joy of Cooking podcast wherever you listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ham El-Waylly has a restaurant—Strange Delight in Brooklyn—but the chef's new book, Hello Home Cooking, is not a restaurant cookbook. In this interview with host Maggie Hoffman, Ham shares his most important tips for home cooks, including smart farmers market shopping advice, thoughts on your nonstick cookware, and his favorite thing to put on a salad. He also shares his most beloved out-of-print cookbooks, memories of his mother's cooking, and the snacks and comfort food he'd sneak from the freezer while playing video games as a kid. Hop over to The Dinner Plan's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com to get the free recipe of the week.____Thanks to today's sponsors:Rouxbe Online Culinary School: Get 30% off your first course with code DINNERPLAN30 at Rouxbe.com/dinnerplanDirty Labs: Use code THEDINNERPLAN to get 15% off your first order at DirtyLabs.comSociety Insurance: Find your agent at SocietyInsurance.comMade In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anissa Helou wrote her first book about Lebanese cooking in 1994. In this week's podcast conversation (recorded February 24), Anissa shares the story of that book, which largely focused on her mother's recipes, and the differences between that first 250-recipe collection and her new cookbook, Lebanon: Cooking the Food of My Homeland. Anissa's new book dives into Lebanese regional specialties, and in this episode, she shares the most memorable dishes of her travels throughout the country, her recommended menu for a Lebanese feast, and the cookbooks that inspire her most when she's cooking at home. For a preview recipe from Lebanon, go to The Dinner Plan's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.___Thanks to today's sponsors:Rouxbe Online Culinary School: Get 30% off your first course with code DINNERPLAN30 at Rouxbe.com/dinnerplan.Find Bethlehem by Fadi Kattan on Bookshop, Amazon, or your local bookstore.Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Find In the Test Kitchen wherever you listen to podcasts and on Netflix. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anna Hezel's new book is full of fun party food you can serve when you're entertaining—and this conversation with Anna offers tips for hosting without stress. Learn how Anna likes to serve party food in courses of quick snacks, heartier appetizers and warm dishes, and even dessert, and get her thoughts on the things we can learn from cocktail parties of generations past. If you've been in a cooking rut, it could be that planning a casual gathering is exactly what you need: "Asking yourself the question of, 'what do I want to cook for my friends?’ is a good answer," Anna says, "to the question of 'what do I want to cook for myself?'" Get Anna's matrimonio tartine recipe on The Dinner Plan's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com—you'll need to scroll all the way down.____Thanks to this week's sponsors:Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Nice Cans: Get 20% off Nice Cans sardines by using code DINNERPLAN20 at JustNiceCans.comFind In the Test Kitchen from America's Test Kitchen wherever you listen to podcasts and on Netflix. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spice importer Sana Javeri Kadri and her team traveled for four and a half months across the length and breadth of India and Sri Lanka to learn family recipes from the spice farmers she works with. They joined a wedding feast in Kashmir and a pakora party in Gujarat, toured a women's market in Manipur, and learned to make fish puffs like the ones at a legendary Sri Lankan bakery. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Sana shares the bites and cooking techniques that surprised her most during these travels—and how, back in California, they were translated into a cookbook for an American audience. Sana also mentions the recipes she leans on most when cooking at home for her stepdaughters. Get a preview of The Diaspora Spice Co. Cookbook on this week's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.___Thanks to this week's sponsors:Dirty Labs: Use code THEDINNERPLAN to get 15% off your first order at dirtylabs.com.Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Find Not from Concentrate wherever you listen to podcasts and at CatherineSmart.Substack.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cookbook author and content creator Maxine Sharf organized her new cookbook, Maxi's Kitchen, by day of the week. Easy recipes for Mondays anticipate lower energy and keep things simple, while Tuesday recipes cut down on dishes. Wednesday mixes things up a bit, and Thursday is date night, with restaurant-worthy dishes you can make at home. Listen to the full episode to learn how she plots the rest of the week, the important thing she does before serving every meal, and why she thinks it's worth building up a regular repertoire of dinner ideas of your own. For Maxine's easy teriyaki chicken meatballs recipe and a list of her favorite cookbooks, head to TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.____Thanks to today's sponsors:Find LaBelle Patrimoine chicken at Whole Foods or GrownAsPromised.comBrooklyn Delhi: Use code DINNERPLAN15 for 15% off your order at BrooklynDelhi.com.Made In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Find Brami’s made-in-Italy protein pasta at Costco or wherever you shop. Get Franklin Farms Ready Bake Tofu Kits wherever you buy groceries. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ella Quittner conducted around 1500 recipe tests as a part of her research for her new book, Obsessed With the Best. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Ella and host Maggie Hoffman discuss the pros and cons of the internet's preoccupation with pronouncing certain foods and cooking techniques "the best," and what Ella was looking for as she attempted to figure out the best roast chicken, crispy smashed potatoes, and other favorite dishes. Ella shares one game-changing pantry staple that’s worth adding to your pantry, the struggle meals she makes when she's out of energy at dinner time, and the weird and fun dinner party tradition she's started with a few friends. Get Ella's Definitely Not a Lasagna and vodka sauce recipe at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.____Thanks to today's sponsors:Rouxbe Online Culinary School: Get 30% off your first course with code DINNERPLAN30 at Rouxbe.comFind LaBelle Patrimoine chicken at Whole Foods or GrownAsPromised.comStone and Skillet English Muffins: Check stoneandskillet.com for a store locator.Find Franklin Farms Veggie Balls and Veggie Burgers in the refrigerated aisle. Store locator: FranklinFarms.com/where-to-buyMade In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you find feeding your kid frustrating, you're absolutely not alone. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, host Maggie Hoffman interviews cookbook author Phoebe Lapine, who is also the voice behind the Munch Menus newsletter on Substack. Phoebe's menu system helps busy parents figure out kid dinners, and in this conversation, she shares her advice for increasing variety if your child is picky (perhaps the word "rigid" is a better one.) She also talks about the ways her experience with auto-immune disease and SIBO changed her thinking about food and home cooking. Listen for Phoebe's favorite store-bought shortcuts for easy dinners, how she strategizes using the freezer to make weeknights less stressful, and how the logistics actually work in her family's busy schedule. Get Phoebe's favorite sheet-pan chicken recipe from Carbivore here at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.___Thanks to today's sponsors:Rouxbe Online Culinary School: Get 30% off your first course with code DINNERPLAN30 at Rouxbe.comMade In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Find Franklin Farms Veggie Balls and Veggie Burgers in the refrigerated aisle. Store locator: FranklinFarms.com/where-to-buyListen to The Side Dish from America’s Test Kitchen on your favorite podcast app or watch on Netflix. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

They call Naoko Takei Moore "Mrs. Donabe"—she’s taught classes on cooking with these Japanese clay pots, and wrote the first English-language book on the topic. Her new book, Simply Donabe, focuses on simple one-pot meals made in the donabe. In this week’s episode of The Dinner Plan podcast, host Maggie Hoffman asks Naoko about the advantages of donabe cooking, the best things to cook in the pot, and how she chooses between the many types of miso she always keeps on hand in the fridge. Over on The Dinner Plan's newsletter, you'll get Naoko's recipe for salmon steamed over quinoa. Find it at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.____Thanks to this week's sponsors:Aunt Fannie’s cleaning supplies are available on Thrive Market and Amazon or AuntFannies.comMade In Cookware: Head to madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.Society Insurance: Find your local agent at SocietyInsurance.comCatch The Side Dish from America’s Test Kitchen on Netflix or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.