Joy of Cookingis an instantly recognizable, iconic cookbook.
Do you feel like people are still doing that kind of cooking this far into the pandemic?
Megan:I think a lot of people have cooking fatigue.
John:We just assume that pantry cooking is a default.
People are still not going out to restaurants if theyre smart.
Not to say that people who are going to places that are being responsible are dumb.
Its great that the waitstaff are taking all these precautions and youre all well-distanced and eating outside.
But what about the people who are making your food?
Its exhausting and it really sucks and its not efficient at all.
John:I mean, I dont know how other people operate.
moments when it comes to creativity.
Theyre just like I have this.
Or Im going to use these leftovers in a different way than Ive ever thought of doing.
Its much more sustainable and youre going to get less burnt out.
Megan:No, its not fair and its not accurate.
It is full of hubris and its just not reality.
We really dislike that approach as well.
You dont have to teach creativity.
You just have to encourage people to stop worrying about what happens.
John:Its naive.
This is how people act.
This is whats going to happen.
I mean, its not futile to write recipes, of course.
You dont have to teach creativity.
You just have to encourage people to stop worrying about what happens.
Megan:And to that point, not everything is gonna be amazing.
I mean, Im self-critical enough.
So might as well stop caring.
Thats the hack.
Speaking of pantry cooking: Whats usually in your pantry?
John:As far as grains go, we still have so many leftovers from testing for the book.
We have a lot of Rancho Gordo beans, and we have a lot of spices, and chilis.
That shit is amazing.
And we definitely have been stocking that ever since.
Megan:Tons of rice.
We eat a lot of rice.
John:We always have to have Jasmine.
Megan:And a short grain.
AndTilda Basmatiis really good.
How do you keep track of everything?
Megan:Well, I do have a spreadsheet.
John:Thats for the freezer!
Megan:No, I have the pantry stuff on there too.
John:This should give you an idea of the division of labor.
I actually have to update the spreadsheet.
I just didnt realize that allthatwas on there.
Since Im househusband now, I have been trying to do more of this record keeping and expense tracking.
Im doing okay, I think.
Megan:Youre fine.
John:Thank you.
Megan:Luckily our garage is right next to our kitchen.
So its easier to see everything because its all spread out.
We go through the spices enough, and enough of them are whole.
But the whole spices have gone way past what we recommend keeping them around for.
But at least, once you grind them, they kind of still have some smell.
Is that a do as I say, not as I do kind of thing?
Megan:Thats definitely one of them.
They should probably be in opaque jars or containers.
John:The Masons and their lids are just so easy to clean.
Maybe we should frost the glass.
Then make some candles.
John:I mean, apparently Ina Garten gave up in May.
We dont do that shit, but we have bought our fourth frozen pizza this month.
Megan:Were leaning into freezer meals right now.
What frozen pizza do you buy?
Do youmodify them?
John:This last time: it was just a frickincheesepizza.
Megan:All the cheese.
John:And I think Megan had brought home some sopressata.
So halfway through the bake I just put sopressata on top.
I mean back in the day my favorite thingNo!
Im not going to say that.
c’mon tell me.
On cold, leftover frozen pizza.
Id put ketchup on it.
What kind of ketchup?
John:I mean, Heinz.
Then some vinegar or a little powdered clove or whatever.
Its really good, but its still not Heinz.
Megan:This is like emergency ketchup.
So you just make this little batch of quick ketchup.
And it scratches that itch, I think.
John:So condiment-wise: A new mustard has emerged.
I always think of it as extra scharf.
Oh, its in one of these metal squeezy tubes.
And speaking oftomato paste needs to come in these tubes and thats it!
Thats such a good idea.
I cant remember the brand.
Its like triple concentrated.
Wed get like a fucking twelve pack.
Megan:A case.
John:Two dollars a pop!
You know, when we were testing, wed go through it.
Besides the frozen pizza,what other freezer meals do you have on deck?
Theres some raw meatballs ready to be cooked.
And we broil them, because were dirt people.
John:Those were made with smoked pork barbecue that had been frozen a year ago.
Megan:Not a year ago.Maybesix months ago.
John:Recently we had a weird amount of prepackaged ground meat.
So theres some raw meatballs ready to be cooked.
And we broil them, because were dirt people.
John:But its so easy.
And that was from one meal that I made for my mom when she was in town.
Its something we dont do enough, but we should.
When you make something, make a little bit more.
Megan:And freeze it.
I like that approach better than make a big batch and eat it the whole week.
Megan:Thats boring.
John:Its like youre your own institutional cafeteria cook
Can I see inside your fridge?
Did you guys get on the sourdough kick at all?
John:A little.
Megan:Well, actually not really.
John:Yeah, because we killed it again.
Megan:I murdered my starter again.
Theyre really hard to kill, but I just…
John:Theres no coordination between us.
John:Its usually vinegary.
It has to exhibit symptoms before we put it out of its misery.
Megan:Its easy enough to just make a new one.
At first I was almost religious about it.
Oh, I want this sourdough starter…
John:…to be 90 years old!
And then I killed it and I was like Its actually easy to make a new one.
It doesnt matter that much.
You also can buy them.
That was a weird rabbit hole to go down one day.
There areso many rabbit holes in food.
That was my favorite part about the bookthat it was one rabbit hole after another.
But I wouldnt get lost because there was a purpose.
I feel lucky for that.
Having a focus really helps.
How much of this is actually trying to help people?
I mean the extreme of course would be those really heinous videos with, like, blocks of Velveeta.
Chefs Club!
Megan:The last one with the scrambled eggs inside the block of cheese.
I never feel like I know whats gonna happen next.
Im not a chef.
Im just a cook, and I write recipes.
John:At least theres suspense.
I mean, everything makes sense.
I know what youre saying.
Were all trying to make a living writing about something thats existed forever.
Theres only so much you might really say about it.
John:You could talk about chefs.
Thats what people have been doing.
Yeah, and people dont eat like chefs.
Its a different motivation.
John:My house is not a brigade, and Im not a fucking boss.
Whenever anyone has called us chefeither one of usits just like no.
People dont know anything but chef, it seems.
Im not a chef.
Im just a cook, and I write recipes.
John:I try not to be a dick about it, but Im just a cook.
Chef means head or boss.
John:Again, I try not to be an asshole.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
