Your Mama’s Kitchen

Renowned American ballet dancer Misty Copeland opens up about the instability she faced in her childhood and how her natural athleticism and incredible discipline led her to shine as a dance prodigy in her teens. She talks about the evolution of her relationship to food and nutrition from growing up in various different kitchens to eating like an athlete. Plus, you’ll hear how to make one of her healthy, go-to recipes: Baked tilapia with veggies.Misty Copeland is a Principal Dancer with the American Ballet Theatre. She made history in 2015, becoming the first African-American woman to ever be promoted to that position. She’s written several New York Times bestselling books and launched her own foundation in 2022.

Journalist and Emmy award-winning TV host Tamron Hall talks about how her upbringing in the small, rural town of Luling, Texas paved the way for her to follow her dreams of being on TV. She praises the many mother figures she had in her life growing up and opens up about what Mother’s Day really means to her. Plus, we learn how to make her twist on a Southern classic – a Sock-it-to-Them cake. Tamron Hall is a two-time Emmy award-winning TV host of her self-titled show, which was recently renewed for its sixth season. Before this, she was the first black woman to host the Today Show in 2014. She’s the author of her own cookbook A Confident Cook, set to publish this year.

Cookbook author and baker extraordinaire, Dorie Greenspan, joins Michele to discuss the long, winding and unforeseen journey to Dorie’s great baking career. Dorie grew up in a household that did not cook home-cooked meals, and as a young adult, she first pursued an academic PHD. Cooking was not on her radar. But when Dorie’s perceptive husband witnessed how much Dorie loved baking, he encouraged her to pursue it; and Dorie did — with enthusiasm. Today, in addition to having been mentored by food-world icon, Julia Child, Dorie has written 14 cookbooks, won five James Beard awards, and has her very own, prized kitchen in Paris. In this episode, find out how Dorie’s story begins by mistakenly burning down her mother’s kitchen, and ends with Dorie being one of the best bakers in the business – and stay tuned for a lovely soft-shell crab recipe that Dorie loved to share with her mother, on the back steps of her childhood Brooklyn home.Dorie Greenspan was born in Brooklyn and pursued a PHD in gerontology before becoming an internationally recognized cookbook author and baker. Dorie has been a columnist for New York Times Magazine and The Washington Post. She’s written 14 cookbooks and won five James Beard awards as well as the Cookbook of the Year award from the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Dorie was awarded the Mérite d’Agricole – the Order of Agricultural Merit – by the French Consulate for her writings about France’s food. Today, she lives with her husband Michael in New York City, Westbrook, CT and Paris, France. 

Eric Kim, staff writer and essayist for The New York Times food section, introduces us to his mother Jean’s exceptional Korean cooking, and to the suburban Atlanta kitchen he grew up in. It was there that Eric developed a love for traditional Korean cooking, and it was the same kitchen he would return to as an adult to write his debut cookbook, Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home. His mother Jean was his chief recipe taster, and his inspiration for the delicious Kimchi Jjigae found in its pages.  Eric Kim is a New York Times staff writer and essayist born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. His debut cookbook, Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home (Clarkson Potter, 2022), was an instant New York Times Best Seller. A former digital manager for the Food Network and contributing editor for Saveur magazine, he now hosts regular videos on NYT Cooking’s YouTube channel and writes a monthly column for The New York Times Magazine. He lives in New York City with his rescue dog, Q.

Journalist and television news personality Natalie Morales takes us back to her globetrotting childhood as a daughter in a military family. She reminisces on living in Spain during her teenage years and food she ate in her Puerto Rican and Brazilian household. Plus, she teaches us how to make the perfect flan.Natalie Morales co-hosts the Daytime Emmy award winning show, The Talk on CBS. Before this, she served over two decades at NBC News, anchoring the Today show and making appearances on Dateline and the Nightly News. She has a cookbook, Cooking At Home With Natalie Morales which was published in 2018.

Award-winning food writer and journalist Mark Bittman walks us through the evolution of his relationship with all things culinary, beginning with his upbringing on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Bittman describes how he first started using cookbooks, the impact of global politics on his perspective, and how his mother and grandmother influenced his cooking habits.Mark Bittman is a food writer and journalist who has authored thirty books on a variety of topics. His work discusses the pleasures of food, how to prepare it, and its impact on our bodies and on the world at large. Bittman is also known for his many appearances on the Today show and for his New York Times column “The Minimalist,” which ran for 13 years. He is the editor in chief of food publication The Bittman Project.Find the episode transcript here: https://www.audible.com/ymk/episode29

Nationally renowned women’s health advocate Dr. Sharon Malone takes us back to her childhood in Mobile, Alabama where she lived through a monumental moment in civil rights history led by her sister, Vivian Malone. Dr. Malone talks about how she views cooking together with family as an act of love, and what better way to show love than baking a decadent pound cake.Dr. Sharon Malone is an OB/GYN and Certified Menopause Practitioner who has been an active advocate for reproductive rights, women’s health and health education. She authored the book Grown Woman Talk for aging women whose healthcare needs are ignored or just less talked about. She is also the chief medical officer of Alloy Women’s Health.

In this episode, Nicole Avant—daughter of legendary music mogul Clarence Avant—looks back at her bustling childhood kitchen, where prominent Black figures were always stopping by. She’ll tell us about her mother’s snow cookies recipe as well as reflect on the loss of her mother and share tips for consoling someone experiencing deep grief. Nicole Avant is a film producer, author, and former ambassador for the Bahamas. She wrote the critically acclaimed book Think You’ll be Happy: Moving Through Grief with Grit, Grace, and Gratitude. She also produced the documentary The Black Godfather about her father’s illustrious music career.