Bitchin' About Food

Kath has been looking forward to/dreading talking to Jan's cousin Lauri Weiss for almost two years because Lauri knows the truth about food and is the epitome of the saying "you are what you eat". A scrupulously clean eater, Lauri recounts her health journey which began nearly 30 years ago with a focus mainly based on diet and nutrition. She debunks the notion that martinis and giant hunks of cheese (Kath) and mini-tootsie rolls (Jan) are good for you and participates in Kath's lightening round of a long list of foods which may or may not be beneficial. Spoiler alert: Doritos don't make the list. A fascinating conversation about the power of the mind, discipline and mindful eating. Listen in!

Karen Pratt is a fearless world traveler with a taste for adventure (and good food). She is also one of Kath's oldest pals and she was kind enough to Zoom with us and regale us with tales of food experiences in foreign lands. Recalling early travel and food experiences as a child, she has now experienced all sorts of gastronomic delights, from Jordanian bread slapped on the side of a hot metal dome to Israeli salads to Norwegian eels to fenugreek cake: she has tasted it all. A true culinary journey that made us both want to simultaneously book tickets and eat something. Listen in!

Jan goes way back with screenwriter and author Parker Bennett and his wife Tish Hicks. As one of LA's most successful voiceover artists for over 25 years, there’s a good chance you have heard Tish’s voice talking to you about Subaru, Citibank or Pop-Secret...or maybe you have even taken her voice-over class (head to www.thevodojo.com - Jan keeps promising to). Tish recounts the Polish feasts of her childhood and how her Swedish stepfather was really the one who introduced her to thoughtfully prepared and executed meals. We talk about the three-meat minimum for any Polish get-together, Parker’s infamous ground turkey "crumble", Kath’s love of pierogis, the famous Croquembouche project and the annual turkey photo with their kids. A delightfully tasty and fun episode – listen in!

Long-time veterans of Chicago theatre Steve Totland and Meryl Friedman join Kath and Jan in the studio to discuss a wide-variety of subjects: vegetarianism, their very long marriage, the journey to Los Angeles from Chicago, Steve’s garden, how working long hours impacts who does the cooking, the price of food, a salmon dinner that went south and Meryl’s face-to-face with a ham sandwich on white bread with mayo served on a Christmas plate. We marvel at how we’ve known each other for decades, but have never really hung out much, yet still have much in common to talk about, especially when it comes to food. A terrific episode that seemed to fly by – listen in!

It's a rollicking good old Chicago love-fest when Kath's old pal and stage manager, Steve Sweeney, joins Jan and Kath in person. We talk about Steve's health journey from scary to svelte, using food quality improvement and portion control as the ultimate medicine. We reminisce about Margie's Candies in Chicago, and Steve finally gets to tell HIS side of the story about how he helped an elderly woman with her Thanksgiving dilemma of a too-big turkey by (let's call it) re-homing it. A hilarious conversation with the cleverest of them all - listen in! 

Kath and Jan are back at it, welcoming Ruth Arnold, Kath’s former hash-slingin’ co-worker at D. B. Kaplan’s in Chicago. Ruth’s life has had many chapters and we delve in to the good, the bad, and the gritty. From persimmon pudding in Indiana, to acting, marriage, Passover challah (oops) children, career-change, sudden deaths and untimely illness, Ruth keeps it real and focuses on what’s really important: food. It’s ultimately the stuff of life! A terrific conversation with the best of the best. Listen in!

Native New Orleans chef Richard Papier began his culinary journey with vichyssoise when, as a child, he suddenly found himself as a third-wheel on his Mom’s date at a fancy French restaurant. To everyone’s surprise, the kid liked cold potato soup! His passion for food started then and has not stopped since. In a far-ranging conversation, we discuss his current gig helping chefs (both in New Orleans and around the country) become more efficient and his former life as a restaurant owner. We learn how butter really is the secret to New Orleans cuisine and how to woo a partner with mussels instead of muscles. Kath and Jan of course manage to wangle a dinner invitation out of him and also his current favorite restaurants. It’s always great fun to visit the Crescent City, even if it’s virtually and this was a terrific conversation – listen in!

We’re back! After a brief unexpected hiatus and of course, THE FIRE, Kath and Jan are back and kicking off 2025 with a small bitch-fest about Christmas brisket and bad Chinese food, then a discussion about where to give to help with victims of the wildfire (see below). Then, we launch a spicy episode featuring Andrea and Eric Mather the couple who created PINCH DAB DASH, a spice blend company which is really a passion project of theirs. Kath questions “who uses a spice blend?” but Jan points out that a spice blend takes some of the thinking out of cooking and is in fact a shortcut. A fascinating glimpse into the rapidly disappearing “Mom and Pop” shop and the world of spices! Find Andrea’s amazing recipes and spice blends at www.pinchdabdash.com and also on Instagram @pinchdabdash and while you’re at it…listen in! To give to wildfire relief please go to www.charitynavigator.org

Kath and Jan travel via Zoom to the Crescent City to talk to New Orleanian John Beyer about his multi-faceted career as producer, editor, writer, filmmaker and most importantly, food historian in that great city. Kath and Jan recall their last visit there where they basically ate more than any human should ever eat and John offers his theories as to why the food down there is so damn good (hint: butter). Kath and John go way back to her final days in Chicago and it’s always great to touch base with him. A wonderful conversation that was over before we knew it – listen in!

Happy Podcastaversary Number Two to US! We are once again joined by our annual (perennial?) November anniversary guest, Nick Sheist, our first beloved engineer. Kath and Jan briefly rehash the debacle otherwise known as the election, and then Nick joins in and regales us with tales from his wedding, honeymoon (he cooked on his own honeymoon!), his rebooting of The Sheist podcast, his continuing love of bad movies @badmoviesweluv and his slight obsession with Dolph Lundgren. It’s always a blast to see Nick and we never run out of things to talk about – listen in!

Constance Bauer wears many hats. Mom, Daughter, Sister, Wife, Lawyer, Therapist, Couples Counselor, Sex Therapist, soon to be Podcaster! Kath and Constance dig deep into their memory archives and reminisce about the old days of waitressing at the base of the Prudential Plaza in Chicago (Kath’s first job in the city!) as well as how she and her husband, both lawyers at the time, managed to feed their young family using the infamously named “Dinner Man.” Other far-ranging topics include Lima, Peru, Philadelphia, Sanibel Island, and a recent safari in Africa! A grand old reunion with a true renaissance woman. Listen in!

Kath and Jan are back! We missed you! To start our long housekeeping and catch-up, we quickly veer into politics, as Jan makes a last ditch effort to show one presidential candidate’s er…shortcomings, to say the least, ending in a tearful plea to vote! Then we head back over to food topics and talk about Kath’s new attitude towards Thanksgiving and a new ramen joint she tried, as well as a bizarre experience in Zion National Park. Later in the podcast, Jan’s best new pal Melissa Sherman joins us briefly (due to throat recovery) to talk about growing up in LA, then moving to a shack as a child, and finally ending up on Oregon! Since we have not been on mic since early August, it was great to be back! Listen in!

Even though they claim to be simple country folk, in reality, dear old friends Michele and Dave Barbee are displaced city slickers who both are avid foodies. We discuss our mutual history together (Chicago theatre, naturally) as well as the fascinating childhood experiences that Michele had growing up in a restaurant-owning family. We examine their respective migration from Oklahoma and Indiana to New York and Chicago and then back to Indiana and how the cooking duties have shifted during retirement and semi-empty nesting. A grand old reunion with wonderful friends that we need to see more often. Listen in!

A conversation with Kathryn Schorr is like zooming down a runway in a jetliner, so Kath and Jan strap in with their tray tables up for rollicking good time as we take a deep dive into Kathryn’s childhood, complete with E/R surgeon dad and deceased sibling and then move into her own grown-up life and how a meteor (or maybe two – we lost track!) landed right in the middle of it and we somehow manage to also bitch about food! A few years back, Kathryn had a hit show - “Death – A Comedy” which chronicled the events that changed her life and was proof that even in the worst of times, she can find humor. A fantastic conversation with the fastest talker in the West! Listen in!

With a name like Viva Krasinski, you know things are going to be interesting. Thanks to our previous podcast guest Emily Vollmer, Viva was brought to our attention and we soon realized she had a lot to say about food and other topics, and we were delighted to meet her. A nurturer from a young age, Viva tells of helping out with her much younger sister and then becoming a very young mother herself. Now living in the high desert, she and her husband maintain two huge gardens and have learned what to grow in the heat! Viva shares her favorite fermenting recipes near the end which has us drooling – a very tasty episode – listen in!

Kath and Jan have a new friend! The phrase “lovely and talented” gets used way too much, but in this case, it truly applies to our guest, Clara York. Coming in smokin’ hot off her successful play “The Jailbait Chronicles” at the Fanatic Salon (next show, August 4th!), Clara recalls her Maine-born-and-bred Mom’s love of lobster and oysters, her charming but shady high school boyfriend and her husband of 35 years and their adopted daughter. In a remarkable story of survival, she reveals how she literally and figuratively gave their daughter a new life. A terrific episode – listen in!

Elizabeth Cortell has stories. She has been entertaining Kath and Jan for decades with them, and today’s episode is no exception. A very unique childhood, a killer wit, a keen eye and a razor sharp mind all lead to Liz’s recounting of her Dad’s Christmas menus, her beloved Mom’s cooking, how her folks knew where to shop in Chicago and her own journey with food as she got older, married, had a kid, moved abroad and then back again. We are lucky to have her nearby (ish) since she may be feeding us from her backyard farm in the future if food prices continue the way they are going. A wonderful conversation with a great friend we don’t see enough of – listen in!

Jennifer Stander claims she is not a genius, but Kath & Jan suspect otherwise. The three of us do a deep dive into mysterious worlds: computer programing, coding, 8 hour work meetings, vegetarianism, Purple Carrot, train travel and the food in the western suburbs of Chicago. Jen reveals the reason she thought she hated food as a child and the relishes the memory of her first really good steak (with herb butter!), as well as a tofu scramble that went south many years ago. During housekeeping, Kath and Jan discuss a variety of topics, catching up on what's been going on and why they've been away for a minute. A terrific conversation with a new friend, who now seems like an old friend. Listen in!ReplyForward

Mariann Sauvion has been cooking and feeding the world since the age of 5 and hasn’t stopped since! Kath and Jan enjoy an extremely convivial conversation with Mariann as she recalls her salad days (see what we did there?) as an 18-year old chef in Manhattan at the late great Paris Bistro, her Culinary Institute adventures, the Coffee House Club, her catering business with her beloved late husband and their extremely successful food styling business. They were a team and people knew them as that, even though they both did their own separate jobs. Mariann has carried on with this business alone and it thrives to this day. Best of all, she dishes on the one time she styled for Martha Stewart and reveals her own secret to a successful Thanksgiving turkey at the very end. We were honored to have Mariann join us via Zoom and if you aren’t hungry by the end of this episode, have we even met? Listen in!

A Bonus Episode as we once again re-visit Jan's mom Frima and her sister Barbara on Kath's patio to honor Frima on her 95th birthday! Amid the pastoral sounds of hummingbirds, wind chimes and our neighbor's incessant leaf-blower, we relay family tributes (more corn memories!), Barbara revisits an old forgotten cookbook, Frima talks about her famous portrait (pictured) and we all look forward to a third (!) birthday cake (this time from Costco).  A tasty little episode for a milestone day! Listen in!