Burnt Toast

Part Cookie, Part Pastry, All Delicious! Malted Milk Chocolate Rugelach

Rugelach is a beloved Jewish treasure originating from Eastern Europe. The cookie-pastry hybrid can be filled with anything from jam to chocolate and is the perfect two-b

Play Me a Recipe: Anthony Falco makes Onion & Olive Bread

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a writt

Molly Gilbert Makes Apple Fritter Cake

On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a writt

Simply Genius Cookies with Tara O'Brady

Referenced in this episode  Simply Genius CookbookTara O'Brady's Genius Chocolate Chip CookiesTara O'Brady on SubstackGenius-Hunter Extra Credit Tara O'Brady's WebsiteT

A Simply Genius Tomato Sauce in 5-ish Minutes

eferenced in this episode  Simply Genius CookbookHeidi Swanson's Genius 5-Minute Tomato SauceHave a genius recipe you'd like to share? Tell me all about it at genius@foo

Jolie Laide

In French, "jolie laide" means "pretty and ugly"; it's a way to describe something that is unconventionally beautiful. This homage to jolie laide foods will explore the i

Leonardo Urena and the Giant Pumpkin

How, exactly, you grow a gourd larger than a living room, and more importantly—why. 

Where Did the Banana Peel Slipping Gag Come From?

The banana peel is so synonymous with slipperiness that we know how this joke ends right when it starts—why? And why a banana? We trace down the origins of the gag, and l

Part II: Meet the Inventor of the Roto-Broil 400

After our episode about the vintage rotisserie machine that still has a cult following, we received an email from the son-in-law of the inventor, Leon Klinghoffer. Today’

The Worst Food in White House History

One presidential term goes down in history as serving borderline inedible food to the thousands of guests who dined there. What was on the menu, who was responsible, and

Can You *Really* Season Your Food with Sound?

We talk to Professor Charles Spence about the science behind how what you hear when you eat affects the whole multi-sensory experience.

Meet the Roto-Broil 400

This countertop rotisserie has a lively cult following for producing the juiciest, spit-roasted birds. Our reason to be suspicious? It was made in the 1950s. We put one t

Why is There No Pie Emoji?

We ask—and then we try to change emoji history. Learn how an emoji gets made as we submit our pie emoji proposal to Unicode.

The Kit Kat Jingle That Almost Wasn't

We track down the composer of one of the catchiest jingles of all time—the jingle that opened new factories it was so popular—to learn its surprising origin story. 

Food Swindle, or Absolute Genius? The Margarine Story

We speak with Bee Wilson to follow the curious, contentious history of margarine back to its first invention. Turns out, we have Napoleon III to thank. 

Where Did the Banana Peel Slipping Gag Come From?

The banana peel is so synonymous with slipperiness that we know how this joke ends right when it starts—why? And why a banana? We trace down the origins of the gag, and l

Burnt Toast: My New Eggs for Dinner

Today we dedicate our whole episode to a roundtable on meal planning: Amanda, Merrill, and Kenzi answer questions from our staff and community about how to cook smarter e

Burnt Toast: It All Started With Hot Fudge Sundaes

We invite Doug Quint and Bryan Petroff of Big Gay Ice Cream into the studio to talk about summer’s favorite frozen dessert. There are no boundaries: We discuss bedazzled

Burnt Toast: Lunch is a Point of Honor

Even when it's leftover pizza or takeout from down the block. We talk to book seller and author of Lunch at the Shop Peter Miller about the midday meal: Why we should alw

Burnt Toast: Everyone’s a Critic

This week, we talk to NY Mag food critic Adam Platt about criticism in an age that makes it easy for everyone with an internet connection to be a reviewer. Listen in for