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A
Hey, everybody. Stephen Colbert here about to read the copy for our sponsor. This is from our friends at Wonderful Pistachios. And I was the wonderful pistachio spokesman for years. Yeah, I have a real close association with nut meat. Okay. You know what they say when they reach for a snack? Don't hold back. And that's exactly the approach with Wonderful Pistachios. The don't hold back snack. These little wonders are so tasty, it feels like getting away with something. But surprise. Each serving has 6 grams of protein and 0 grams of regret. That's right. No guilt. Just glory, glory in our nuts. Whether it's a satisfying crack of in shell pistachios, and that's capitalized in shell, or the smooth, instant gratification of no shells. No judgment. That's just it. Just eat. No judgment. I take issue with one thing. It's instant gratification. It's super tasty smooth.
B
It's a hard nut smooth.
A
Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.
B
We can't disparage the nuts. You.
A
I'm not disparaging the nut. I'm describing the nut.
B
Don't disparage any flavors.
A
I'm not. I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love pistachios. I love a crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter? Who cares?
B
Very good.
A
And I love pistachio ice cream.
B
Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious.
A
I didn't even know I get them.
B
Before the softball games.
A
But that's. You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful Pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.
B
Yeah. Yeah.
A
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B
That was a wonderful.
A
I wonder what more there is to learn. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios. But evidently, there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.
B
They got a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.
A
Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.
B
No, no, no.
A
Bring it on.
B
Nothing bad to say.
A
Nut me.
B
Nut.
A
Nut me with nut meat.
B
We're nut.
A
No, we got nothing but nut. Nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty. Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about nutty. Good.
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B
Hey, everybody. This is the Late Show Pod Show. I am honored to be joined by Stephen Colbert himself.
A
I am honored to be next to someone so honored.
B
Okay, so Samin Nostrat just came out with the book Good Things. She's got the amazing salt fat acid heat.
A
I love it. You want to know my order of enjoying salt fat acid heat?
B
Yeah.
A
I go salt.
B
Yeah.
A
Because I love all the. Basically the soy sauce making episode. Part of that episode. Then I go fat because I like. It's an Italy. They're talking about, like, like pork and. And like using the oil and the cheese and the nuts to make pesto. And then. Then I go heat and then acid. I'm not as much interested in pickling or the. Like the. Or. Or the. The use of, like, sour oranges or something like that. It's not. Just not my jam baby. Just. It doesn't make my mouth salivate.
B
Yeah, totally. But it is an important. Like, I'm not a very good cook. And I think reading that book was like, oh, that is usually what I'm missing.
A
The acid to brighten everything up.
B
Exactly, exactly. So it's more of like a learning.
A
Shall we tell people what happened on the segment? Is that part of it?
B
I would love to hear.
A
What you won't see at home, I don't think, is that they test everything that we're gonna cook multiple times. All the equipment, the ingredients, everything. They do it multiple times because it has to work when we go out there. I don't know why this time, but the pans just wouldn't get hot. And so I think we pulled out maybe 10 minutes of waiting for the pans to heat up. I think I took questions from the audience, Honest to God. I had to do something long enough to keep the hands. I think it was because it was cast iron and it didn't respond to the induction, the, you know, heating element or something. I'm not sure what it was, but it was literally, we put butter in the bottom of a pan to fry pancakes, and the butter just sat there. It just stuck to the bottom of the pan and then didn't start to melt. We're like, oh, this is not good.
B
Yeah.
A
I want you to know that the pancake that you see me eat on air was raw.
B
Oh, okay.
A
But I didn't realize it at first. Cause we had, like, whipped cream on or something like that. So I took a bite, and it was tasty, had all the flavor. And then I very quickly went, this is a raw pancake. I am eating, like, raw batter.
B
You are such a professional. You have no idea. You take so many bullets for this show, you know? But that. Yeah, well, you can make them at home if you get the book. But I have a question for you.
A
They look fantastic.
B
You're on an island. You're on an island. You have to pick. Are you bringing a cast iron skillet? You're bringing a stainless steel skillet. None of this nonstick stuff. What's your skillet?
A
I'm on an island. I assume it's a saltwater island.
B
Sure. Yeah.
A
But I'm not bringing iron. I have to bring stainless because it's just gonna. Like, a cast iron pan is gonna rot.
B
Oh, true.
C
Okay.
A
Because cast iron pan won't resist the rust of the sea.
B
You went way more scientific than I thought you would, and I love it.
A
Just basic. It's not that scientific. Iron rusts. I think we've known this for about 3,500 years. So you're a stainless steel guy on an island alone? Yes, on an island. I'm taking stainless steel. I love a good cast iron pan.
B
Yeah.
A
If I'm. If it's gonna. If it's gonna Be a bit before I wanna eat. Because you gotta bring that pan up to the right temperature and you have to be cooking the right thing in it. If I'm scrambling an egg, I wanna stay in steep pan that I get ripping hot. Put some oil in there, get that egg there. Cause I like to do it a real quick flip and everything like that. I can fry an egg in 30 seconds or something if you do it right.
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like that. Okay, last flash question.
A
Hit me.
B
Cast iron soap, yes or no?
A
No, no, no. Just a little chain mail.
B
You heard it here first. Yeah, just the scrub. A hard scrub.
A
A hard scrub. Like there's a. There's a. Literally, there's a place that makes chainmail scrubs.
B
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
A
And then rinse it. Rinse it thoroughly. Make sure you get all the gunk off the bottom.
B
Yeah.
A
Dry it thoroughly. Put it back on the oven. Put it back on the stove.
B
Right, right, right.
A
For just a minute to really make sure you've dried it out. Put just a tiny drop of oil and some neutral oil and then rub that on. Towel that off and put it away. Only takes a minute.
B
Yeah. All right.
A
Don't complain.
B
You've heard it first. Stephen Colbert. Keeping it seasoned. Keeping it seasoned. Keeping it hot.
A
I'm a big fan of Smithy.
B
What's.
A
Oh, Smithy is a local Charleston. Cast iron and wrought iron. They do some. Some ham. Hammered pans too.
B
Oh, very cool.
A
Really, really, really lovely stuff. I mean, lodge are great. Yeah, a lodge pan is fantastic. If lodge wants to send me anything, I'm not gonna. Lodge are the best, but it's hometown and they're really beautiful quality, super heavy.
B
Yeah, great. All right, well, this is Samin Nosrat on the late show. And keep it spicy, keep it seasoned. This is the late show pocho.
A
Ladies and gentlemen. My next guest tonight is a James Beard award winning chef and the bestselling author of so salt, Fat acid heat. She's got a new book. It is called good things. Please welcome chef Samin Nosrat. Thank you so much for being here.
C
Thank you so much for having me, Samin.
A
You know, I'm a big fan of the old salt, fat, acid heat. Every. I love it. So fantastic. Okay, so what are we making today?
C
We're gonna make some super simple and super delicious.
A
That is good, because let's just imagine that you're cooking with somebody who didn't get much sleep this weekend and might be still a little hungover.
C
Yeah, exactly.
A
What are we doing?
C
We're gonna make some Ricotta, custard pan.
A
So what do we do? What do I do here?
C
So you're gonna separate your eggs. You're gonna put your yolks in your wet ingredients and put your whites in this bowl.
A
Okay. Or whites and. Oh, okay.
C
Or in that bowl.
A
Okay. I do my shells.
C
That's good, too. You can do it that way.
A
My yolks in here. There you go. Okay, that's great. How many yolks would you put in?
C
Okay, here. You know what?
A
What am I doing? What am I doing?
C
We have a matching setup. So you're going over here.
A
Oh, I'm over here.
C
This is our discard bowl. So I'm gonna come. You got.
A
Here, you take one of my.
C
Yeah, yeah. Here, I'll take.
A
Here, we're gonna.
C
White's in here.
A
Yolks in here. Okay. All right. All right. We're twins.
C
We're twins.
A
There you go. Now, how'd you get started as a cook? Did you always want to do that?
C
I wanted to be a poet. Oh, yes. So it's a natural transition from poet to.
A
And now we just get salmonella. What do I do with my hand?
C
We have a wet towel. Thank you.
A
Very wonderful. Thank you very much. Thank you. Let's edit this before the health department sees it, please.
C
It's true. It's true.
A
Okay, so what's the connection between food and poetry for you?
C
Oh, the connection. You know, they're both, like, a place for you to be creative.
A
Okay.
C
And make things up as you go, I guess. So go ahead and stir up your dry ingredients.
A
Dry ingredients.
C
And then stir up your wet.
A
Basically, this is flour, a little baking powder.
C
Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.
A
Okay.
C
And then this is just your milk, eggs, and ricotta.
A
And I get this. I get this.
C
Yeah.
A
And just get it. Sort of, you know, just break that up a little bit. Just get a little loosey, loosey goosey in there.
C
And then we're gonna use a clean whisk.
A
Okay.
C
And you're gonna whisk the crap out of your egg whites.
A
I am. Am I trying to get peaks?
C
Yes. We're going all the way to peaks. Cause that's what's going on.
A
I have to get peaks with a hand.
C
Yes.
A
By hand.
C
Yes.
A
This is only an hour show.
C
I know. We can do it. Let's race. Let's race, let's race.
B
What?
C
That's good. That's good.
A
There you go.
C
All right. And in the meantime, we're heating our pans. They're nice and hot. You're doing a Great. You're doing a great job. But the way I became a cook is I wrote a letter. So I did use my writing skills. I wrote a letter to Alice Waters at Shape and Eats.
A
Oh, it's a great writer.
C
And asked for a job.
A
Wait, Wait a second. So what did you do working there?
C
So I was a busser busting cable, but I was graduating college soon, and I wanted to be a poet, which is. Oh, that's perfect. You can stop. So I wanted to be a. I wanted to be a poet, and I realized. No. Now what you're gonna do is you're gonna put this in there and mix it up with your whisk. But not too much. You don't work it. Don't overwork it. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There you go. Good job. Let me make this a little warmer.
A
Okay.
C
What is happening? Okay, okay, okay. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
A
I'm not overworking you now.
C
I fold this now. You know, just a little at a time.
A
Oh, my God.
C
First, a little bit. We're going to lighten, you know, there. Wait. Aren't you ready to do this for me?
A
You could just buy this stuff in a box.
C
I know, but this is so much more special, and it's so delicious.
A
I'm sure it is. So we're folding this. This always upsets me when it says fold in but don't mix in.
C
Well, the reason.
A
How do you know that the egg whites are fully incorporated now you can.
C
Add all the rest? Because I lightened it a little bit.
A
Pancake souffles, essentially.
C
Yes. Good.
A
Am I doing right?
C
You're basically. I know you wrote your own cookbook, so. Yeah. You don't even need me here.
A
There you go.
C
All right. You're doing great.
A
All right.
C
So this is. I used cardamom ghee, which is cardamom ghee. There's a recipe for it in the book. I made it because during the pandemic, a pastry chef friend bequeathed to me 14 pounds of butter, and I didn't know what to do, so I made ghee. And I really love cardamom. It's my favorite sort of sweet spice. So I added a whole bunch in there, and then it became this ingredient that I had around that's perfect.
A
What would we normally use? Cardamom. Like, what would I have used? Cardamom.
C
If you've ever had Swedish cardamom buns, there's always cardamom sugar on top. No buns. No. If you had Indian style chai, it's kind of the spice in there.
A
So now what?
C
Now we're going to put. I want it a little warmer. I want it nice and warm because I want.
A
Is yours hotter?
C
We use this.
A
I don't know.
C
Let's see. Mine doesn't seem. Let's see. What if we just set the whole place on fire?
A
Sounds good.
C
Okay, Is that enough? Yes, that's enough. It's going to fluff up real beautifully. There we go. It's gotta do.
A
In fact, I'm gonna.
C
Yeah, let's do two. Perfect. Let me turn it down now. It's a little too hot, guys. Okay. Like, here, let me scoot it over.
A
Oh, boy. It's a disaster.
C
No, it's not a disaster. It's perfect. They're gonna be so fluffy.
A
Fantastic. Okay, we're good.
C
Awesome.
A
All right.
C
Okay. Perfect.
A
All right.
C
See, this is perfect. I will say it's crucial to wait for the sizzle. It's crucial to get yourself a nice, stiff peak, if you know what I mean.
A
Sure.
C
And it's also wait for the sizzle.
A
Wait for the sizzle, and get yourself a sniff peek. It's great dating advice as well. All right. Does food appreciation run in your family?
C
Oh, yes. Well, so my family's from Iran, and my parents immigrated to San Diego, and I feel like I spent half of my childhood in. Now it's a long. Half of my. Half of my child.
A
Okay.
C
Half of my childhood in the car, driving all over.
A
Exits are clearly marked for our audience tonight. That way. That way. So your mom wanted the Iran ingredients.
C
So my mom, she always was looking for the best ingredients that reminded her of Iran. So we would drive, like, at least Once a month, 88 miles to Irvine to a grocery store called Fresh Choice to buy special Persian sangak breads. They're like beautiful sangak. Sangak.
A
Are they sweet?
C
No, they're like savory flatbreads with sesame seeds and nigella seeds on top. And there was a limit at the bakery, three per person. So she would put all the kids in the car and the kids. So we each would have to get them so she could then drive them back. So this looks.
A
Wow.
C
Yeah. All right.
A
Okay.
C
So that's like the lengths I'm used to going to.
A
Okay, so now, before we actually. It needs to go for a little bit longer, I think, before you flip it.
C
I don't know, man. That looks.
A
I don't see any bubbles. Well, that's actually pretty good.
C
Doesn't that look good?
A
Can I try to flip one?
C
Yeah, yeah.
A
Can I try to flip one?
C
They're Definitely very delicate.
A
Okay.
C
Because of the eggs. I trust you.
A
I believe. What are we putting on this when we finally. Oops. When we finally get it?
C
You could put butter. You could put maple syrup.
A
Yeah, it flipped fine.
C
You did a great job.
A
It flipped fine. You get up here and do it.
C
You do it. We'll try. We'll taste mine. We'll taste mine.
A
Well, this is now the. This is hotter than the surface of the sun now. Okay, so what are we putting on it while that's cooking away?
C
We have butter. I like salted butter. And then I also brought you some of my special apricot jam that I make. So I want you to taste that because it's one of the best things I make, and that is what I think you should put on your plate.
A
That is fantastic. Why are we fooling around with the pancakes?
C
I'm gonna leave you the jar. I'm gonna leave you the jar.
A
What do you think?
C
All right. That looks pretty freaking good. So usually I do one little last flip for a second. Oh, there we go. And then bring it on over. Maybe we'll just eat mine. Awesome. Okay, so why don't you go ahead and put a little ghee on there.
A
A little butter on there if you want.
C
You can do fruit, maple syrup also. I feel like we want a little bit of this. Powdered sugar is a little pretty.
A
Do that, and then you can rub that around a little bit here. I'm destroying it.
C
Okay, we'll do some jam.
A
What is the best ratio of topping to pancake in your.
C
50. 50. Don't you think? One and one to one. Oh, yeah. You're making a design perfection.
A
I. I didn't work at Chez Panisse or anything.
C
I know, but you know how to do it.
A
Exactly.
C
I. I want some of the ginger.
A
I slung hash at a diner.
C
Did you really? Oh, my God. We are doing.
A
I breathed in while I ate it.
C
It tastes really good.
A
And now. Now I have confectioner's sugar lung. Well, listen, do a better job than I did, and you're gonna love. These are incredibly delicious. Samin Nosrat, thank you so much for being here. Good things is available now. Chef Samin Nosrat, everybody. Thank you for listening to the late show pod show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel for more clips and exclusives. Sunday count on an afternoon of stellar QBs and two of the NFC's best going head to head on an NFL on CBS doubleheader first, Aaron Rodgers looks to keep the Steelers rolling against the Browns. Then the 49ers travel to Tampa to take on Baker Mayfield and the Bucks.
C
That's a touchdown.
A
It all begins at noon Eastern with the NFL today. You can always count on Sundays with the NFL on CBS and streaming on Paramount plus, Tulsa is my home now. Academy Award nominee Sylvester Stallone stars in the Paramount plus original series. Tulsa King. His distillery is a very interesting business, and we got to know the enemy from Taylor Sheridan, co creator of Landman. What are you saying? If you think you're going to take me out, it's going to be really difficult. Tulsa King New season now streaming exclusively on Paramount plus.
Episode: Stephen Presents: Chef Samin Nosrat
Date: October 8, 2025
In this lively, food-filled episode, Stephen Colbert welcomes renowned chef, author, and James Beard Award winner Samin Nosrat. The conversation dives into Nosrat’s culinary background, the creative overlap between food and poetry, the making of a ricotta custard pancake, and family stories that reveal the role food plays in identity and memory. Colbert’s signature humor and curiosity set the tone as he and Nosrat whip up a recipe from her new book, Good Things, serving up insights, mishaps, and plenty of laughs along the way.
[09:58–11:27]
[09:13–17:05]
[13:57–14:53]
[06:24–07:52]
[15:36–16:27]
This episode blends humor, technical cooking advice, and heartfelt stories about food and family. Colbert and Nosrat’s chemistry makes for engaging, approachable listening, with plenty to learn whether you’re a home cook, food lover, or just in the mood for a good story and a laugh.
Summary by The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert