Podcast Summary: The Joy of Cooking Podcast

Episode: Shane Mitchell: A Casual Culinary Chat About Ride-Or-Die Joy Recipes
Date: October 1, 2025
Host(s): Shannon Larson, Megan Scott, Jon Becker
Guest: Shane Mitchell (Editor-at-large, SAVEUR; 5× James Beard Award winner)

Episode Overview

This episode is a warm, freewheeling conversation that celebrates the heritage of American home cooking, family culinary legacies, and the recipes that stand the test of time. Shane Mitchell—a decorated narrative food writer—joins John Becker, Megan Scott, and Shannon Larson to reminisce about kitchen traditions, evolving food cultures, childhood favorites, and those inescapable “ride-or-die” recipes in the Joy of Cooking. From apple dumplings to matzo ball soup, Moravian chicken pie to boiled peanuts, this episode is a heartening love letter to the foods and stories that shape who we are in the kitchen.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Catching Up: What We’re Cooking Right Now

Timestamps: 01:27–06:16

• Shannon shares her summer of picnics, snack dinners, green chicken enchiladas, and a Hetty McKinnon vegan feast.
• Megan talks about foraging elderberries for her tincture and recipe testing Moravian chicken pie—a double-crusted pie with chicken and gravy, no vegetables.
• Jon recounts a tomato sandwich mishap with yellow tomatoes, which felt “uncanny valley territory” because they weren’t red.
• All hosts rave about the French Yogurt Cake (“whipped up in 10 minutes,” p. 734) as an ultra-easy, crowd-pleasing Joy recipe.
  • “Effortless. Easy and effortless.” – Megan Scott (05:49)

2. Welcome, Shane Mitchell

Timestamps: 05:49–13:09

• Shane shares her seasonal rituals: canning San Marzano tomatoes and foraging wild apples from roadside trees in northern NY, some of which become chutney.
• Story about a dog joyously eating a semi-fermented, frozen apple (“probably got a little tanked”, 07:40).
• Discussion of late-season garden crops, the self-seeding powers of shiso, and strategies for making small harvests special.

3. Regional Food Diversity & Immigration’s Flavor Revolution

Timestamps: 10:05–13:09

• Shane describes her region’s transformation from bland, heavy comfort foods (e.g., Chicken Riggies from Utica) to a multicultural food scene thanks to refugee communities from Laos, Vietnam, Sudan, and more:
  • “You can stand in the middle of that little grocery store... and see the world.” – Shane Mitchell (12:38)
• Shared parallels with Megan’s North Carolina upbringing and the infusion of global flavors over recent decades.

4. Culinary Memories: The Foods We Flee and Cherish

Timestamps: 13:09–23:01

• Shane stridently confesses her aversion to grits—“I hate grits”—citing childhood trauma and the rise of instant grits as a bland, postwar “lab” food:
  • “There's always one of those foods from childhood that you're just resistant to...” – Shane Mitchell (13:50)
• Historical deep-dive:
  • The invention of instant grits by Quaker Oats (1967), contrasted with ancient corn traditions.
  • Apocryphal tale of Spanish gold-hiding and how polenta was born in Italy.
  • Comparison of dent corn (Southern, for grits) and flint corn (Northern, for polenta), and the role of small-milling revivalists today.

5. Boiled Peanuts & Southern Identity

Timestamps: 23:01–30:07

• Shane explains “Hot Wet Goobers” (boiled peanuts)—a salty Southern snack with global twists as immigrant communities add their own versions. Tips for buying the best roadside boiled peanuts (Valencia over jumbo) and classic pairing with a glass-bottled Coke.
• Anecdotes about putting peanuts in soda (a North Carolina tradition), and quirky relatives' variations.

6. Defining 'Home'—Many Souths and Many Voices

Timestamps: 30:07–34:41

• Shane’s roots: coastal South Carolina (Edisto), with complex family history. Her connection to Gullah Geechee foodways, okra soup traditions, and a devotion to celebrating not the “old” but the “now” South.
  • “The South I like to celebrate... is the greater South. The South that’s the now South. I do not have any nostalgia about the old South at all.” – Shane Mitchell (28:15)
• The importance of recognizing the South’s multiplicity and amplifying new culinary voices:
  • Shoutouts to emerging and established writers and chefs like Amethyst Gannaway, Eric Kim, Obed Vallejo, Bintu Nadal, and the cross-cultural stories they bring.

7. Food Aversion: A Tale of Cod

Timestamps: 34:41–36:36

• Shane’s severe dislike of cod, following a bout of food poisoning in Portugal. Jokes about eating fermented Icelandic shark over cod.
  • “I’d rather eat shark... than cod.” – Shane Mitchell (33:36)

8. Personal Joy of Cooking Connections

Timestamps: 36:41–39:26

• Shane’s beloved editions: a battered 1943 copy from her husband’s grandmother (pages stuffed with handwritten recipes) and a 1975 edition once gifted to her “baby chef” brother—now reclaimed through their ongoing cookbook exchange.
• The sentimental power of cookbooks as artifacts of family and memory.
  • “It's a handwritten one... called Dressing for Turkey... it says Good Luck Mother on the back.” – Shane Mitchell (35:52)

[AD BREAK] — Skipped in this summary

9. Listener Q&A: Ride-Or-Die Joy Recipes

Timestamps: 39:26–53:03
Caller Carly from Kansas asks:
"If you had to pick a recipe from the book to be your ride-or-die, what would it be?"
Carly's go-to: the Banana Bread Cockaigne ("so delicious and easy").

Hosts’ Ride-Or-Die Picks:

• Shannon: Pizza dough and matzo ball soup (“the crinkliest, most disgusting pages in here” – 41:35), reflecting frequency of use and comfort.
• Megan:
  • Pancake recipe (“works every time”),
  • Olive oil cake (“so easy and delicious”),
  • Borscht, Cincinnati chili, Southern cornbread, muffins, mimosa pound cake (inspired by her grandma’s 7-Up pound cake).
  • “If I'm gonna make muffins, I use Joy of Cooking because they always turn out super tall and fluffy.” – Megan Scott (45:38)
• Jon:
  • Asopao de pollo (Puerto Rican chicken & rice stew),
  • Fannkuchen/Dutch baby pancake (childhood taste memory),
  • Country captain chicken (Charleston connection),
  • “Becker burgers” (family hamburger steaks, flavored with Worcestershire, soy, and Tabasco).
  • “They're just like, you know, basically a sauteed hamburger steak that gets lightly steamed...” – Jon Becker (47:54)
• Notable quote on recipe wear and tear:
  • “What are the crinkliest, most disgusting pages in here?” – Shannon Larson (41:35)
  • “That recipe got skewered by the New York Times.” – Megan Scott (48:45)

Guest’s Ride-Or-Die:

• Shane: Creamed chipped beef on toast—her birthday request as a child, representing nostalgia and comfort, even though chipped beef is now hard to find.
  • “There’s something about… that bechamel on top of salty… beef and just shitty white bread… It’s the one recipe I have bookmarked.” – Shane Mitchell (49:59)

Joy Recipe Shoutout:

• Apple Dumplings (p. 688) – Homey, classic, syrupy, and irresistible.
  • “They are fantastic. It feels very old fashioned in the best possible way.” – Megan Scott (52:44)
  • Serving tip: Try with vanilla ice cream for peak comfort.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On food aversions: “No matter what any chef does to it … there’s just such a huge wall of resistance.” – Shane Mitchell on grits (13:50)
• On the South: “There are many Souths, many little micro-cultures within the larger South.” – Megan Scott (27:52)
• On cookbooks as heirlooms: “This ‘43 treasure has a lot of favorite recipes tucked inside… this is ephemera.” – Shane Mitchell (35:50)
• On immigrant food impact: “You can stand in the middle of [Windfat market]… and see the world.” – Shane Mitchell (12:38)

Other Fun Segments

• Hot Wet Goobers (Boiled Peanuts):
  • How to choose good peanuts, pairing with Coke, interstate rivalry, and quirky soda traditions.
• Cod, Shark, and Food Trauma:
  • Why a bad meal in Portugal can change a life (and a palate).
• Emerging Southern Voices:
  • Recommendations for food writers and chefs to follow (Amethyst Gannaway, Eric Kim, Bintu Nadal, Obed Vallejo, etc.).

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------|--------------| | Intro & what we’re cooking | 00:38–06:16 | | Shane’s seasonal cooking & local apples | 06:16–10:05 | | Local food history/multicultural influx | 10:05–13:09 | | Food aversions, grits history/instant grits | 13:09–23:01 | | Boiled peanuts/“hot wet goobers” | 23:01–30:07 | | Defining “the South”; new culinary voices | 30:07–34:41 | | Cod aversion story | 34:41–36:36 | | Shane’s Joy of Cooking memories | 36:41–39:26 | | Listener call: Ride-Or-Die recipes | 39:26–53:03 | | Hosts’ Ride-Or-Die recipe picks | 41:35–53:03 | | Shane’s Ride-Or-Die: Creamed chipped beef | 49:04–50:18 | | Apple dumplings recipe highlight | 51:37–53:03 | | What we’re making next | 53:39–55:00 | | Where to follow Shane | 55:01–55:53 |

Where to Find Shane Mitchell

• Instagram: @shanefarfield — not a frequent poster, not strictly food photos
• Writing: In the pages of SAVEUR magazine (now relaunched and thriving)
• Book: Crop Cycle (Essay Collection)

Episode Takeaways

• Food memory—positive or negative—often sticks with us for a lifetime and shapes our comfort foods.
• The “Joy of Cooking” is a living document with personal meaning—its pages are a map of family traditions, easily splattered and lovingly dog-eared.
• American foodways are in constant evolution, driven by immigration, historical shifts, and local experimentation.
• Ride-or-die recipes—the ones we return to, share with friends, or make on tough days—tell our stories as much as any memoir.
• Community is built not just through sharing recipes, but by uplifting new voices and honoring the diversity within regions.

Next Week

Topic: The best snack foods you can eat frozen (besides fruit).
To participate, call or text: 503-395-8858

Recipe of the Week

Apple Dumplings
Joy of Cooking, page 688

• Whole apples, cored and filled with spiced butter-sugar, wrapped in pastry, baked in a silky syrup.
• Highly recommended with vanilla ice cream.

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