← All Of It with Alison Stewart
All Of It with Alison Stewart
Vegetarian Recipes For Your Next Dinner Party
00:22:17
Author Mamrie Hart shares a few recipes from her debut cookbook about vegetarian dinner party dishes.
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- [00:00]
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Mamrie Hart
Listener supported WNYC Studios.
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Alison Stewart
This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. We're continuing our cookbook hour with a new book solely focused on non meat eaters. Excuse me, on non meat eaters out there who are down to clown. It's titled All I Think about is Food. A vegetarian Cookbook that'll keep the party going. There are more than 100 vegetarian recipes and spirited cocktails for the gracious hosts, so nobody feels left out. There are appetizers such as cheddar and stout boozy Fonduzzi. All I Think about is food. We'll be out on April 29th. Talk about her debut cookbook. Host of Food Network's Tiny Food Fight and this might get weird Podcast Mamrie Hart is with us now. Hey, Mamrie.
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Mamrie Hart
Hi, Alison, how are you?
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Alison Stewart
I am doing really well. You mentioned on Instagram that you have quote, honestly never worked harder on anything and never been more proud of this here book. What was the moment you thought, I have to write this book?
- [01:37]
Mamrie Hart
Oh, wow. I mean, I have been wanting to write a book like this for so long because this has been the book that I've wanted to have on my almost hoarder level collection of cookbooks. I saved one little space in the middle, but I think it was a dinner party that I was throwing a few years ago where I was cooking for a bunch of people that do eat meat, but serving up some different ways to do vegetables and having a friend say, wait, you actually made this like kind of fancy and kind of nice and you know, getting that feedback that it didn't just feel like they were coming over to do a meatless Monday, you know, penance.
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Alison Stewart
First of all, when did you become a vegetarian?
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Mamrie Hart
Okay, so my journey began at 8 years old in a little one stop light town in North Carolina, which is not the ideal place to become a vegetarian in the 90s. I literally was working at a barbecue place like under the table while being a vegetarian. So. But I became a vegetarian when I was a kid. No real moral issues. I just gave it a shot and thought it would be cool and it kind of stuck. And from there, besides, a couple years I fell off the wagon when I was working in restaurants in New York city in my 20s and broke, I've pretty much stayed the course.
- [02:52]
Alison Stewart
Listeners, let's get you in on this conversation. Are you a vegetarian? What are your meatless dishes that you think about trying to make at home if you're a vegetarian and you like to host dinner part tell us your go to appetizers or dishes that everyone enjoys whether they have meat or not. Give us a call at 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. You can call up, you can join us on the air or you can send us a text or you can reach out on social media.
- [03:20]
Mamrie Hart
Love it.
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Alison Stewart
Wnyc. My guest is Mamie Hart. All her cookbook is called All I Think about is Food. A vegetarian cookbook that'll keep the party going. How did you land on the title All I Think About Is Food?
- [03:32]
Mamrie Hart
Well, Alison, it's just my truth. I am just wild about food and I truly, you know, I think about it when I first wake up and when I go to sleep and I love planning dinner parties and I consume food content. You know, now I feel like we're very, we're very spoiled in that with because of social media and TikTok and Instagram, we have just as much food content and recipe preparation as you want. But I have loved it, loved it since maybe there was a couple hours of Food network programming, you know, when it was just Tyler Florence having eight TV shows. So, yeah, I just wanted to put out there kind of my motto, which is all I think about is food and cocktails. I will a little caveat.
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Unknown Host
It's a vegetarian cookbook here and I want to point out there's like, there's no fake meat in this book. You write no seitan, no tofu, just produce forward delights. What were some of your guiding principles or just your general vibe you kept in mind as you were building this collection of recipes?
- [04:34]
Mamrie Hart
Right. Well, with the no tofu soy product, et cetera. I mean, I love all that. I have a freezer full of impossible right now. Like the leaps and bounds that's come from just having freezer burned. Black bean patties warms my heart. But I do feel like since this is a dinner party book, when I have friends over a lot of times they do eat meat and so they don't need the novelty of oh, doesn't this have the texture of chicken or whatnot? They really want to enjoy and see what we do with veggies and with fruits and grains and whatnot. So I kind of knew from the get I didn't want to use any faux meat product because there's already a lot of great recipes for that and not much you can do with it. So I wanted to focus on transforming.
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Unknown Host
Okay, let's kick it all the way back. What is the oldest recipe in the book?
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Mamrie Hart
The oldest recipe in the book. Wow, wow, wow. This is.
- [05:33]
Alison Stewart
Hmm.
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Mamrie Hart
I feel like this is not the most exciting recipe, but I am obsessed with Romesco sauce. I absolutely love it. I remember again because I watch so much TV watching an episode of I Believe it was no Reservations where they went to the Anthony Bourdain went to a Calcutte festival in Spain. And it was the first time I saw these beautiful grilled calcutts, like big spring onions. And it was just this community all over these grilled spring onions, peeling the leaves off, dipping them in Romesco. And it felt like a party. It felt like a big food party. And so that was the first recipe I probably knew I wanted to put in the book that went into my Root and Fruit and Cookout chapter.
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Unknown Host
It's interesting because this is a dinner themed party cookbook.
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Mamrie Hart
Yes.
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Unknown Host
How did hosting a party, being the host of the party, influence your recipe development?
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Mamrie Hart
Well, I definitely want to be a host who looks like they're not sweating it whatsoever. You know, I feel like a lot of preparing this book and figuring out what things to pair up in each chapter had the whole idea of, you know, the duck gliding on the water and then the feet are going crazy underneath. So every chapter has things that you can definitely prepare in advance so that on day of, you're really just cooking the things that are fun to have people watch you cook. And then also the other one is with dinner parties and throwing them no matter what. It doesn't matter how many Tupperwares you buy or whatnot, you're always going to be stuck with the leftovers. And I've never loved leftovers, unless it's like cold pizza, you know, with the fridge door open. I always am just, I don't know, I have a short attention span. I guess I get over it. So what I wanted to do is give some, like, fun guide rail recipes for how you could use your leftovers for each specific dinner party and turn it into something you'd want to eat the next day. That feels very different.
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Alison Stewart
What's the biggest misconception you've run into about vegetarian cooking and specifically vegetarian cooking for a group of people?
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Mamrie Hart
Well, I think the biggest misconception is that vegetarian cooking is this, you know, very clean eating, healthy vibe when I'm still pouring some cocktails at these parties, you know, you know, I'm always, I'm the, I'm the tipsy vegetarian. So I feel like the misconception is it's going to be you're going to be at a wellness retreat if you go and eat vegetarian with your friends as a part as opposed to it still being this bacchanal, you know, cocktail rowdy vibe.
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Alison Stewart
My guest is Mamrie Hart. The name of the book is All I Think About Is Food, A Vegetarian Cookbook that'll keep the party going. She's here to discuss her book and to hear about your favorite vegetarian dishes. Give us a call. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. You can text that number or you can call in and join us on air. If you are a vegetarian, you'd like to host dinner parties or even go to them, tell us about an appetizer or dish that everyone enjoys. 212-496-922-12433, WNYC. Let's talk to Cindy on line one from Danbury. Hi, Cindy. Thanks for calling, all of it. You're on the air.
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Cindy
Hi. Thanks so much for taking my call. I've been a vegetarian for 53 plus years and I love to cook and all I think about is food. So I really resonate with this conversation. But some of the things that I love to make in the summer, we have a big, big vegetable garden and I love to make panzanel, our homegrown tomatoes and cucumbers and red pepper and wonderful croutons. That's one of our that's a weekly dinner for us. But it's great for company. And another thing I love to make is risotto. And we grow wonderful butternut squash and I roast the squash and there's some kale and leeks and that's a wonderful thing for company. So I just wanted to share some of that.
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Mamrie Hart
Yeah, that sounds delicious. I want to come over.
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Alison Stewart
Let's talk about some, some vegetables that you have in your book. You use celery root. You have a recipe called Sunday celery root on page 162. First of all, what made you decide to use the root part of the celery?
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Mamrie Hart
Well, you know, it's one of those things that you walk by all the time in the grocery store. And I know I am guilty of walking past it and just assuming it's some type of Turn up or some type of yucca or whatnot. And then the first time I had it, I was traveling abroad, and it was just like a roasted celery root. It was. It was actually one of the most magical meals. It was in the restaurant of the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, and they had one thing that was vegetarian. You know, they're not big veggie on that island. And I. It transformed my brain. I'd never even thought about it before, and I was shocked that it still hasn't become quite popular here. So I played around with. Instead of just roasting it whole, brining it and brining it in, like, a pickle juice and breading it with a little sweetness. And I just really love the herbaceousness you get from the celery root. You know, it's like a root vegetable that just got kissed with the celery leaves. And I just absolutely think it is one of those ingredients that deserves more attention. That's actually in my dinner party called Underdogs that I think are ingredients that I feel like haven't had their moment in the sun on, you know, the chef's hot new appetizer. You know, we've done the brussels sprouts, we've done the cauliflower. What are the other guys that, you know, deserve their PR makeover?
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Unknown Host
All right, celery root.
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Alison Stewart
20, 26.
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Mamrie Hart
Yes, please. Get it trending.
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Unknown Host
Let's talk about pearl and pesto stuffed peaches. Now, imagine if you've never grilled fruit before. You have to grill the peaches for this. What's the trick for not having your peach turn to mushroom if you're grilling it?
- [11:46]
Mamrie Hart
Yeah. I think the trick for having it not turn to mush is to really. I get it. Do it more of a sear. I still want the peach to be al dente, you know, and really hold kind of a cup shape. But what I do is I give it a good sear. And the part that does turn into more of a mush in the middle, we scoop out, and I actually turn into a puree for, like, a delicious mezcal Rita. So no peach flesh will be left behind.
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Unknown Host
Let's talk about pistachio pesto. That's kind of interesting.
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Mamrie Hart
I just feel. Listen, I love a pine nut. I have no problem, no beef with a pine nut. They are delicious. Sometimes they can be a little pricey, but I love them all the same. However, I feel like in my experiments of using everything, you know, pecans, almonds, what have you, that something about pistachio pairs so nicely with the basil and the acidity, you have kind of a natural sweetness to the pistachio as is. And I just feel like it is the superior nut to make pesto with. Also it's already green. It just looks great as well. But I feel like it holds its, it holds its texture a little more when a pine nut would go creamier. I actually like a pesto to feel have a little toothsome to it.
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Unknown Host
Let's take another call. This is Chandler who's calling in from western Massachusetts. Hi, Chandler. Thank you for taking the time to call all of it. You're on the air.
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Chandler
Thank you. Love your show. So I was vegan for 38 years and then I was diagnosed with Ms. So I have to eat meat. But the most amazing dish is Ottolenghi. These leeks are anything but humble. Slow cooking turns these over vegetables into melting rich tangles of sweet flavor. So it's black lentils, leeks, garlic, lemon and cream. And if I was still vegetarian or vegan, I would absolutely have this as a side as that would be the main course for some holiday. But now I use it as a side course and it is absolute divine. It takes a long time to make, but it's worth every millisecond.
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Mamrie Hart
Oh, that sounds amazing.
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Unknown Host
Chandler. Thank you for the calling us in. Hey, we'd like to hear about the recipe or something that you bring to a dinner party or if you're hosting a dinner party and you're a vegetarian, what is a dish that everyone enjoys? Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. We want to hear from you vegetarians as we talk to Mamrie Hart. The name of her new cookbook is All I think about is Food. A Vegetable Cookbook. That'll keep the party going. It's going to be out on April 29th. All right.
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Alison Stewart
I had to read this three times to make sure I got it right. Let me hope. Hopefully I got it right. That butternut bee bone marrow onion dip.
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Mamrie Hart
Yes.
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Alison Stewart
All right.
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Mamrie Hart
Yes.
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Alison Stewart
Let's break this down.
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Mamrie Hart
You nailed it. You nailed it. Okay, so it's a classic caramelized onion onion, Caramelized onion dip. However, I wanted to do a playful take on it as it's in my steakhouse chapter. I love the vibe of an old school steakhouse. I want an 80 year old man in a tuxedo pouring a martini in front of me. I want to barely be able to see who I'm eating dinner with because it's so dark in there. I love the vibe, but never love what I end up eating. So this was kind of a play on bone marrow, you know, vegetarian bone marrow. Who doesn't love it? I was once, I was cooking up the crook of a butternut squash and I just roasted it up, put some, you know, chickpeas and some other things down the center of it. I love a stuffed food and I put it up on my Instagram story and my best friend of 20 something years said, oh, my God, is that bone marrow? Now, she eats all the meats all of the time. I always say she eats like a Greek God. I've seen her eat a lobster in a bubble bath. You know, she is a lost member of cast. Lost cast member of Mad Men. But so I, I got to thinking and I go, oh, that's kind of fun. This actually does look a lot like the crook, like the bone of a bone marrow appetizer. So what I settled on is I really roast this crook and then I fill it with this caramelized onion dip and top it with more caramelized onion. And it, it looks like a bone marrow appetizer. You'd be served with toast points and with, you know, a citrus tossed herb salad. And it's really nice because it's not one note. You kind of scoop the roasted soft butternut squash on to your toast point and then top it with the onion dip. I also say you can put a little bit of butternut squash just in the onion dip as well, and those two combinations together just fall on a plate. So, yeah, what I try to do in the cookbook is I'm not reinventing the wheel with a, you know, caramelized onion dip. However, serving it a little more, you know, playful or whimsical, that gets your dinner guests talking and having fun with it.
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Alison Stewart
Let's talk to Jennifer from Port Washington. Hi, Jennifer, thanks for calling, all of it. You're on the air.
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Cindy
Hi. I was calling to give you my secret for really good vegan chili.
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Mamrie Hart
Yes, please.
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Cindy
All right, so I used to, I do the Christmas bird count for the Audubon Society, and at the end of it, we have a dinner and I make chili for 30 to 40 people. So it's a big crock pot. And I used to make meat chili and vegetarian chili, and then I decided to heck with that. So the secret to really good vegan chili, there's four. Cocoa powder and cinnamon with a spice mix, about a half a cup of olive oil. It gives you the fat that you're not Getting with the meat.
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Mamrie Hart
Oh, yeah.
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Cindy
And then I take a couple cups out and I blend them. Or I just put the immersion blender in so that you get a nice thick gravy.
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Mamrie Hart
Wow.
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Alison Stewart
Love all of those.
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Mamrie Hart
I love the immersion. I love the cocoa powder and cinnamon. It's giving that kind of backbone body of like a mole. And I love that. That sounds delicious. I have never done the immersion technique, but I've obviously done it with soups before, so why not chili too? Thank you for the tip.
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Unknown Host
Let's talk to Susan from Fairfield. Hi, Susan. Thanks for calling. All of it. Hey, Susan, are you there? Oh, maybe Susan's not there. Maybe we'll get her. That's okay. Besides, I had to ask you about this anyway. Mamrie.
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Mamrie Hart
Yes.
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Unknown Host
You call fondue the quintessential sexy time snack, and you suggest that we use a real fondue set. I've not really seen one of these since the 70s. But first of all, why is this a sexy time snack? Melted cheese. And what kind of fondue set are we talking about?
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Mamrie Hart
Well, I mean, every good host needs a classic fondue set. Just me. Says the girl who has a like a chocolate fountain in her cabinet right now. Like I said, I love to buy gadgets and cookbooks. Well, maybe you don't want a vat of cheese. Maybe you want something else. Like I have a miso bagnacouta in the book, but I just feel like the act of picking things and dipping them and feeding to each other, you know, I. That chapter which is let's get it on the Plate, which features all aphrodisiac inspired ingredients. I just. I feel like you need to use your hands. I feel like there's a sexiness to that. I feel like going having a romantic meal and just sitting there with your little knife and fork and plate is not as romantic as, you know, grabbing a piece of baguette and dipping it in cheese with a cheese pull to your lover's mouth. Are you kidding me? What's sexier than that?
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Unknown Host
And finally, pickled pink eggs. You have pickled pink eggs here. You paint a very vivid picture of a gas station pickled egg trauma that you had.
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Mamrie Hart
Trauma. Correct.
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Unknown Host
But you decided to still include it in the book. What finally convinced you to give pickled eggs another chance?
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Mamrie Hart
Well, I feel like pickled eggs are one of those recipes, and I feel this way about a lot of probably vegetables and different things that people might be trying again as an adult is I had my pickled egg trauma of, you know, growing up in the south and going into a dusty gas station and seeing the big jars of pig's feet and pickled eggs and me just thinking it looked like I walked into a lab and how could anyone eat that? So I never tried it until I was an adult. And then once I did and had it, you know, at a schmancy fancy restaurant, I realized how delicious it was and how much I'd been missing out. So I guess my lesson with that one would be just if, if you feared it when you were younger or if you had a bad experience, maybe try it again now that your taste buds have have grown up a little bit.
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Unknown Host
This says my favorite is vegan oyster mushroom wings. Super crispy and versatile. Add any spices and dips to any sauces. Also known as vegan fried chicken. Thanks for that text as well. I should also mention your book. You enjoy a cocktail.
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Mamrie Hart
Oh, do I, Allison?
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Unknown Host
There's a couple of cocktails in here.
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Mamrie Hart
I really do. I spent my, my youth, my twenties bartending from college to Park Avenue in New York. I was always my comedy and writing career was always in tandem with me, bartending to pay the bills and fell in love with cocktails and tried to branch out and really create some new ones. And then I created a YouTube channel called you'd deserve a Drink where I paired jokes with original cocktails and for about eight years had lots of people watching that. So every week I was tasked with creating a new cocktail for that YouTube channel and I just absolutely love it. I feel like while I love love wine and I study wine and it's my absolute favorite, I feel like there's a whole part of entertaining that hasn't used pairing cocktails with meals yet. You know, you can always get a wine recommendation of, you know, this white will taste great with this pasta or whatnot. But sometimes I want a cocktail instead of wine. So what can I drink that is going to enhance the flavor of my meal as opposed to work against it? And so that's what I tried to do here is pair a couple cocktails with each meal as well as doing a dessert cocktail. Because I don't make desserts in the book, but I will make you a dessert cocktail.
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Alison Stewart
You can read about it in All I Think About Is Food, A Vegetarian Cookbook that'll keep the party going. It's out April 29th. Mamrie Hart has been our guest. Thanks, Mamrie.
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Mamrie Hart
Thank you so much. This was such a pleasure to come on here. I'm a big fan.
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WNYC Studios is supported by Articulated, a podcast from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art. This season, catch up with four trailblazing artists who have gone their own ways to create and chronicle community. From Anita Field's Osage Ceramics and Leo Tanguma's Chicano murals to Lenore Chin's Communal Documentation and Pat Stier's bold paintings, you'll hear from legends who continue to push the limits of art. Available wherever you get your podcasts.
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Mamrie Hart
Great brands, great prices. Everyone's got a reason to rack because they have framed jeans.
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Alison Stewart
Nike?
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Mamrie Hart
Yes, just so many good brands. Vince, Kurt, Geiger, London, Rag and Bone and more are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. You never know what you'll find, but you know it's going to be so good. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.