Good Food
A Pie Champ Shares Her Tips, California Wheat, Wet Burritos
A pie pro shares her tips for bakers looking to enter this year’s Good Food Pie Contest. Plus, Gustavo Arellano finds historic Cal-Mex in Orange County.
By Evan Kleiman • • 57m ListenInterested in competing in this year's Good Food Pie Contest? Nicole Mournian, who swept last year's contest winning four blue ribbons, stops by with tips for this year's bakers. Maine-based baker Amy Bouchard confesses that she is partial to whoopie pies and Christopher Kimball unearths some classic American recipes that have fallen out of favor. Gustavo Arellano says the Cal-Mex combo plate at 301 Cafe in Placentia will change your mind about wet burritos, and Jonathan Gold recommends the wild hot dog combos at The Slaw Dogs in Pasadena. Food historian Sandy Oliver paints a picture of the food our forefathers ate and cheese-monger Liz Thorpe discusses Kraft singles, green cans of Parmesan cheese and the romance of the small cheese maker. At the market, Laura Avery talks to New School culinary instructor David Sykes about Stanwick (aka Snow Queen) nectarines and Nate Peitso announces that he and his mother will soon bring wheat berries and freshly milled flour from heirloom wheat varieties to the farmers market.
Banner image: Nate Peitso
In this episode
8 storiesMarket Report
Chef David Sykes is the culinary instructor at the New School of Cooking in Culver City. He is hooked on the Stanwick - aka Snow Queen - nectarines from the Santa Monica Farmers' Market. He likes to make handmade ricotta to pair with grilled stone fruit. A recipe for his handmade ricotta is on the Good Food blog .
Read the story10 minA Historic Combo Plate in Placentia
Gustavo Arellano is the editor of the OC Weekly and a KCRW contributor . He also writes the Ask a Mexican column. This week he recommends 301 Cafe in Placentia for some of the best Cal-Mex food in Orange County. He recommends the wet burrito, chile rellenos, chile colorado, refried beans and house made salsa.
Read the story6 minA National Pie Champion Shares Her Pie Tips
Nicole Mournian swept KCRW's 4th Annual Good Food Pie Contest , taking home four blue ribbons. She went on to travel to the largest national pie championship in Florida earlier this year where she won a blue ribbon for technical excellence with her Perfect Apple Pie. She is now the pastry chef at Gjelina and Gjelina Take Away .
Read the story10 minWicked Whoopie Pies
Whoopie pies are one of Maine's best-loved and most traditional comfort foods – a soft-cookie sandwich with a fluffy sweet cream filling. Amy Bouchard is the proprietor of Wicked Whoopies , a booming whoopie pie business in Gardiner, Maine that Bouchard started in her own kitchen.
Read the story6 minColonial America's Food Traditions
Sandy Oliver captures our country's Federalist and Colonial food traditions in her book, Food in Colonial and Federal America . She documents how American cooking practices changed very little from the early 1600's to the mid-1700s.
Read the story7 minAmerica's Best Lost Recipes
Christopher Kimball is the founder, editor and publisher of Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country magazines. He finds over 150 unforgettable heirloom recipes in the 2007 book, America's Best Lost Recipes .
Read the story5 minAmerican Cheese
Liz Thorpe is the author of The Cheese Chronicles : A Journey Through the Making and Selling of Cheese in America, from Field to Farm to Table. She is a vice president at Murray's Cheese in New York.
Read the story6 minA Hot Dog for Everyone at The Slaw Dogs
Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer for the LA Times, reviews The Slaw Dogs in Pasadena. He likes the Green Monster, the Original, the Caesar Dog the onion rings and the sweet potato fries. The also have french fries, sweet potato fries and onion rings.
Read the story6 min
