Podcast Summary: The Joy of Cooking Podcast

Episode Title: Coco Morante: A Casual Culinary Chat About Restaurants in Portland & Eugene
Date: December 17, 2025
Host(s): Megan Scott, John Becker, Shannon Larson
Guest: Coco Morante

Overview

In this lively and insightful episode, the Joy of Cooking team is joined by recipe developer and cookbook author Coco Morante for a fun and wide-ranging discussion. Topics cover Thanksgiving kitchen adventures, the perennial challenge of weeknight dinners, strategies for meal planning and prep (especially with families and picky eaters), and—perhaps most mouthwatering—an extended, enthusiastic guide to Portland and Eugene’s best restaurants and food spots. Listeners come away with actionable tips, local food insight, and plenty of kitchen camaraderie.

Main Discussion Points

Thanksgiving Recap and Kitchen Mishaps

• Gumbo Awareness
  • John shares his “gumbo for Thanksgiving” story, bemoaning his family’s lack of proper gumbo etiquette—fishing out the seafood but skipping the flavorful broth.
    “People have to appreciate it. You spend a long time doing that roux.” – John (03:24)
• Vegetable Revelations
  • Shannon’s family did a non-traditional Thanksgiving with roasted lamb, beet and lentil salad, Joy’s sheet-pan broccoli rabe (“blanch then roast!”), and a memorable sheep’s cheese-labneh-harissa dip.
    “We added a lot of garlic and yummy stuff... My 8-year-old nephew was gobbling it down.” – Shannon (03:13)
• Hate Cooking
  • Megan and John recount a “hate-cooking” session over a poorly written recipe with frustrating, overly intricate steps; silver lining: discovering a roasted cabbage technique with butter tucked between leaves.
    “We were almost at blows...there was something about the way it was written…” – Megan (04:33)

Recipe Development Insights

• The hosts and Coco trade thoughts on writing user-friendly recipes. Coco’s key advice: use accessible ingredients, avoid specialty gadgets/pans, and always consider home cooks’ realities.
  “How creative and how much deliciousness can we get into something that has really simple instructions…?” – Coco (23:35)

Joy of Cooking & Cookbook Upbringing

• Coco reminisces about growing up in a “Fanny Farmer” household but cooking Joy classics at friends’ houses.
  “Every family I know either had the Joy of Cooking or Fanny Farmer...something on the table was definitely from your book.” – Coco (13:29)
• Discussion on updating party/cocktail chapters in Joy; hosts are weighing how to keep classics while offering something new.

The Challenge of Weeknight Meals & Meal Prep

• Coco introduces her upcoming Instant Kitchen Meal Prep Cookbook, structured around 10 weekly plans with meal-prep strategies for busy families.
  • Each plan includes shopping lists, four dinners, actionable prep tasks on weekends, and flexibility for real life.
• Strategies for burnout:
  • Keep a chest freezer stocked with Trader Joe’s staples like kung pao chicken, gyoza, and mac & cheese for the kids (“the box kind wins!”).
  • “On the weekends is when my brain is more open…” – Coco (17:18)
• “Dinner Thoughts”: Megan shares her own tradition of 3pm dinner anxiety, and her mom’s system of cultivating a rotating list of family favorites.
• Raising adventurous eaters:
  • Coco finds playing it “cool” and letting kids get curious is more effective than pushing new foods. “You have to be so, so, like cool about it. I’ll just put stuff on my plate and start eating...they’ll get curious…” – Coco (20:13)

The Joys and Limits of Kitchen Gadgets

• Coco’s Instant Pot journey began with a Facebook group and led to cookbook deals. Her new book leverages both the Instant Pot and air fryer—often prepping one part of a meal in advance (grains, sauces), and finishing with fresh, quick-cooked items (e.g., meatballs in the air fryer).
• The team briefly debates the fate of gadgets like sous vide sticks and marvel at the hands-off power of pressure cooker stock.

Organization, Delegation, and Family Involvement

• Coco’s pro tip: delegate meal-planning tasks to others (“play to people’s strengths!”) and use tech tools. Her husband uses AI and apps to streamline grocery shopping based on her meal plans. “Use the planning as an opportunity to have these discussions with the people you live with—to figure out which parts...can not be on my plate.” – Coco (32:11)
• Emphasis on flexibility and not striving for “Pinterest-perfect” meal prep every week.

Lighthearted Interludes and "White Elephant" Gift Ideas (38:20)

• The group brainstorms fun, affordable kitchen or cookbook-club gifts:
  • Spiralizer (“vegetti” joke), skull pastry brushes, compact metal cookbook stands, rotisserie chicken for a laugh, Kraft cheese powder, popcorn salt.

Restaurant Recommendations: Portland & Eugene Food Guide

[42:06 – 59:53]
Blair's listener question: Where should she and her sister eat in Portland and Eugene for their upcoming trip?

Megan’s Top 5 Portland Restaurants:

1. Lovely’s Fifty Fifty (Pizza & ice cream; sourdough crust, highly seasonal, “Portland-style” pies.)
2. Eem (Thai food meets Texas BBQ; “papaya salad is legit spicy, white curry with burnt ends...”)
3. Rangoon Bistro (Burmese; tea leaf salad, large pork dumpling, steamed ribs.)
4. Kachka (Russian; herring under a fur coat, pelmeni with fancy broth, great vodka.)
5. Navarre (Constantly changing, market-driven small plates, very “Portland”.)

Coco’s Portland Picks:

• The Heist Food Cart Pod (Woodstock)
  • Golden Triangle: Laotian, wok-fired soft-shell crab
  • Bake On The Run: Guyanese food, especially dal, and Nutella mini bakes for the kids
  • Bark City BBQ: Excellent BBQ served from a cart
• Scotch Lodge: Subterranean, cozy bar with “fancy” bar food and perfect cocktails
• Oma’s Hideaway: Unafraid of spice; “if there’s a salad, get it—fantastic”
• Jeju: “All out” tasting menu, modern Korean, house-butchered meats, $75 tasting menu is a bargain.
• Street Disco, Dirty Pretty, Holy Ghost, Lulu, Bellwether Bar: For drinks, cozy vibes, and inventive small plates

Shannon’s Portland Faves:

• Bellwether (Best burger in town; cozy and beautiful.)
• Jaoye (Innovative, beautiful food—“the cabbage is incredible”.)
• Murata (Classic sushi destination.)
• Han Oak (Hot pot menu, family atmosphere, delicious Korean food.)

John’s Additions:

• Lardo (Sandwiches, currently featuring a special “meatloaf sandwich.”)
• Khao Man Gai (Classic Thai staple, a Portland must.)
• Gado Gado (Indonesian-inspired, sister to Oma’s Hideaway.)
• CáMù Dang (Hawthorne; “the best tom yum I’ve ever had!”)
• Paper Bridge (Northern Vietnamese; house-made noodles.)
• Navarre (See above.)

Eugene Highlights (via Producer Sarah):

• Marché Provisions (Great for snacks/drinks for hotel/Airbnb, plus a full restaurant.)
• Marché Bar (Seasonal cocktails, festive décor.)
• 86 (Speakeasy in the janitor’s closet—look for the red light!)
• Meiji (Izakaya: Japanese small plates, miso mushrooms, fried rockfish.)
• Party Bar (Formerly Party Downtown; creative, Southern-accented veg and sides; supports local farmers.)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "I realized this week that I need to promote gumbo awareness among my Pacific Northwest peers..." – John (01:08)
• "We hate-cooked a recipe." "By the time we were almost done, we were almost at blows." – Megan & John retell a tense but ultimately delicious kitchen experience (04:13–05:31)
• "Meal prep can be kind of a loose concept." – Coco, on making meal prepping realistic and flexible (30:00)
• “You have to be so, so, like cool about it. I’ll just put stuff on my plate and start eating...they’ll get curious.” – Coco, on feeding kids (20:13)
• "Use the planning as an opportunity to have these discussions...which parts of this can not be on my plate." – Coco, on delegation (32:11)
• “If you want to go out for like an all out tasting menu kind of dinner… Jeju, my husband and I, when we went...$75 for their tasting menu is unbelievable." – Coco, on Portland dining (50:20)
• "[Navarre] is like, very Portland. The menu is changing almost daily… everything I've ever ordered there has been great." – Megan (46:40)

Important Timestamps

• Thanksgiving debriefing / hate-cooking story: 01:20 – 06:31
• Recipe development talk: 23:35 – 25:58
• Instant Pot journey & Coco’s meal prep cookbook: 26:01 – 31:36
• Meal planning & delegation tips: 31:52 – 33:33
• White elephant kitchen gift brainstorming: 38:20 – 41:41
• Portland & Eugene food recommendations:
  • Portland: 42:06 – 56:33
  • Eugene: 57:57 – 59:53
• Kai (“hot chocolate”) recipe of the week: 59:53 – 61:23

What’s Cooking This Week? (61:41)

• Shannon: Freezer meals, tortellini soup, maybe some homey “cooking Sunday.”
• Megan: Holiday baking—fruitcakes, lebkuchen dough.
• Coco: Finished meal-prepping for cookbook launch; now winging it, with her kids craving all kinds of hot chocolate.
• John: Excited for a radicchio festival and finally using a specialty tool to shred chicories for salad.

Where to Find Coco Morante

• Instagram: @cocomorante
• Facebook: Instant Pot Recipes group
• Blog: Leftyspoon.com

Final Thoughts

This episode celebrates both the joy and the reality of family cooking: quick wins (Trader Joe’s gyoza), memorable “hate-cooked” meals, the magic of delegating, and the never-ending quest for inspiration. The restaurant guide is loaded with local expertise—enough to plan an outstanding food tour of Portland and Eugene. Coco’s meal prep philosophy shines as the practical heart of her cooking life: prep what helps, delegate what you can, and keep things flexible.

Recipe of the Week

Kai (Hot Chocolate) – p.10 in Joy of Cooking. Based on Royal Navy rations—features condensed milk, custard powder, malted milk powder, optional rum or coffee.
A quick, warming, and decadent treat. Try it and tag @thejoyofcooking on IG!

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Call the Joy Hotline: (503) 395-8858

Next week: Backpacking recipes! Stay tuned for affordable, packable, joy-inspired meals for your adventures.

[Summary created using key moments, quotes, and topics directly from the podcast transcript.]