Warm Your Bones | Vanessa Seder
Suzy Chase: When two podcasts collide, magic happens. Welcome to Dinner Party, the podcast where I bring together my two hit shows, cookery by the book and decorating by the book around here. We're all about cooking, sharing stories behind recipes, and creating a cozy home. I'm your host, Suzy Chase, a West Village wife, mom and home cook. Inspired by Martha Stewart, trying to live in a Nora Ephron movie, surrounded by toile, plaid, cookbooks, decorating books and magazines, cooking in my galley kitchen and living my best life in my darling New York City apartment in the cutest neighborhood in the city, the West Village. So come hang out and let's get into the show.
Vanessa Seder: I'm Vanessa Seder and my cookbook is Warm Your Bones.
Suzy Chase: You are very interested, dare I say, in seasonal cooking. This cookbook is full of cozy recipes for chili days and winter nights, and you definitely know something about frigid winters living in Maine. You wrote in the cookbook as a Maine based cookbook author, recipe developer, and culinary instructor. My need to become proficient at using food and cooking as a cold weather coping mechanism was in large part what led to this book. So this cookbook was not only influenced by the weather, but also the pandemic. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Vanessa Seder: Well, so if you recall everything shut down in early March and in Maine the winter is very long and cold and dark here, much more so than other places I've lived. I'm from Los Angeles originally, so I didn't even grow up with many seasons, but I also lived in Boston and New York and the winter's there, even though it's cold and dark, you wouldn't know it as much because there's so much life and light going on here. People really, I would say they turn inward more and they hibernate. People still go out, but it's a smaller city. And during that time too, I was finishing up the shooting of my last cookbook, eat Cool. And it was before Mask were required, or we even had masks and the supermarkets were all getting ransacked. So needless to say, we didn't have very much in our house to cook with, and I saw it as a challenge, but as a positive challenge, what am I going to make with a few things that I have or the wilted kale, or how can I create recipes for my family to eat? I had friends and family reach out and text or call, and they're like, okay, I have one chicken breast in the freezer and a little handful of grain. What do I make with this? So it was during that time that I started to really look inward and also come up with recipes and think about what might be helpful to people. And some of those recipes are actually in this cookbook from that time. That's how it influenced me in writing this book.
Suzy Chase: There used to be a radio show on here in New York City and people would call in to the, I can't remember who the host was, but people would call in and they'd say, I'm looking in my fridge now and I have a chicken and whatever and whatever and whatever. And this person would come up with, oh, you should make this, this, and that. It's so smart. Yeah,
Vanessa Seder: It totally was like that. It was like that. And it also kind of took me back to the days of Gordon Elliot's door knock dinners. Do you remember that show?
Suzy Chase: Yes.
Vanessa Seder: I always thought that was such a fun show and I loved the challenge of it, and it was probably, it was prescripted and everything, but just the whole concept of going into somebody's house, seeing what they have, pulling random things out, and then making the best meal that you can possibly make with it. I don't know. I like that challenge. I think that's why I do what I do, always developing and coming up with new ideas.
Suzy Chase: Well, I think it's so great right now because groceries are so expensive
Vanessa Seder: More and more so yeah, buy what's in season. So I wanted to talk about that. The last book I had Eat Cool and then this book, warm Your Bones. They're both very seasonal oriented. The seasons are really intense here in Maine, in the summer, the days are so long, it's gotten progressively hotter. We're out all the time. We go to the lake, we're hiking, we're just on the move. And then in the winter, things just really slow down and it gets really dark here very early and seasonal, eating as much as possible. It's like the produce is picked at its ripeness, at its peak ripeness, and it doesn't travel far, so you're going to eat such better quality produce. And I love going to farmer's markets. I think it's a way to really connect with the farmers and learn about what's in season. And along the lines of coming up with ideas, I go there and I'm just inspired.
Suzy Chase: So talk about how Warm Your Bones assumes that using a stove and oven and warming up your kitchen is a good thing. I love this.
Vanessa Seder: Right. It's kind of the opposite of my last book, but as I said, the winters here are no joke. This book was kind of selfish. This is for me to figure out a way to really enjoy this time more. We're not skiers. We do ice skate and we sled and we love to play in the snow. So it was really kind of looking inward and enjoying the process of cooking, putting music on, slowing down, making things that take more time to create as a family. We'll stand around in the kitchen with some really good music on fireplace and we'll get all cozy and we'll just start cooking together and we'll have something brazing or stewing and it's a long process and it makes the house smell so good. And it also helps form the house a bit. It can get really cold here, and we live in an old house, so that's how it's a good thing.
Suzy Chase: Where did you look for inspiration?
Vanessa Seder: I kind of looked all over from getting creative, out of pandemic cooking to looking all over the world. How do other countries and regions that have these long, dark cold times of year, what do they make to stay warm? For example? I have in the drink recipe, I have a black currant glog, which is kind of like a, it's like a black current wine that's influenced by Scandinavian cuisine. I also have in the book a recipe in the sides chapter for sourdough spaetzle with brown butter and herbs and a braised cabbage recipe. Those are kind of influenced by German. From China I have a congee, which is, it's like a creamy, savory rice porridge that has ginger and scallions and it's top with sliced pork tenderloin and greens. It is just really yummy. And those are some regions where it does get cold and dark.
But also, I took inspiration from New Mexico too, where I have a beef acorn squash and chili stew, and it's just really hearty, delicious and warming. But it comes from a region where it doesn't get nearly as cold or dark. And also like a Spanish fideos with seafood. I also have, which to me is just pure comfort food, but that doesn't come from such a dark, cold region. So this book, it encompasses a lot of just warming cozy recipes. I wouldn't say merely all comfort food, a lot of recipes that are healthier and hearty and satiating and cozy.
Suzy Chase: Yeah. You were saying that you challenged yourself to avoid comfort foods?
Vanessa Seder: Yes. Well, there are comfort foods in the book. It's hard to write a book like this and avoid them completely, but for the most part, I try to use in season ingredients, go to the farmer's markets a lot, use hardy greens, grains, broths, just really well-tested, well-developed recipes that are a little bit more hearty and healthy, but I still offer homemade mac and cheese and grilled cheese and a homemade some more where the graham cracker is homemade and hot chocolate recipes and dessert recipes, those are in there as well. But it's a mix. I mean, that's pretty much how we eat, but we don't want to deprive ourselves. We enjoy a good treat every now and then, maybe almost every day. Who knows.
Suzy Chase: You just mentioned grilled cheese. What's your favorite way to make a grilled cheese?
Vanessa Seder: So I would say that it's all based on the component being top notch. So I would start with really good bread and I would go with a sourdough. I love a really good crusty low pool, sliced maybe like half an inch, thin slices, stretchy whole good flavor. And then I think with this, I would go with pure butter, maybe Kerry gold, just a really good butter. And then thin slices of cheese that maybe like an aged cheddar or a compte something, a mix of nutty and a little bit of tang, and then just low and slow in a cast iron skillet. That's what I would do. What would you do?
Suzy Chase: Wow, I thought you'd say get really good ham and get some kind of a green or I thought yours would be just piled.
Vanessa Seder: If we're really doing this, I'd probably dip it in a soup. So that's my favorite thing to do. That's good.
Suzy Chase: A tomato soup?
Vanessa Seder: Yeah, well, classic. Yeah, of course I would do a tomato soup. I also, I have a recipe in the book. I was on the fence if I should develop a version of a tomato soup for this book, but I only had so much room, so I ended up going with a Japanese sweet potato kobocha squash soup. And I actually think that would go really, really well with this perfect grilled cheese because it has that kind of nutty compte, the butter, the crusty bread, the pull, the drippy delicious cheese, and then you just dip it in that delicious sweet potato squash soup. I think that would be so good.
Suzy Chase: You are the real deal recipe developer.
Vanessa Seder: Thank you. I've been doing a while.
Suzy Chase: There's so many cookbooks where someone else developed the recipes, but this is all you.
Vanessa Seder: Yes, it is. And I also do all the food styling as well, so it's a lot of work, but I love the creativity. I like the challenge
Suzy Chase: Before the bomb cyclone hits us. I'm going to go to the grocery store.
Vanessa Seder: You were talking before we started about the bomb cyclone, so I don't think people realize that today, you and I, when we're in different places. You're in New York and I'm here in Maine that we're supposed to get a bomb cyclone, so it's perfect for warm your bones cooking, right, go to the market
Suzy Chase: Now I am right after this. I'm running there. I'm going to make tonight for dinner your baked eggs with spinach, pesto, and wild mushrooms. I love an egg for dinner, and it's perfect for the bomb cyclone evening.
Vanessa Seder: Yeah, it's good for any time.
Suzy Chase: Yes,
Vanessa Seder: This recipe is actually in my breakfast chapter, but I agree you could have it for lunch or dinner. This was actually influenced by going to the farmer's market in the fall, and there's just beautiful dark leafy greens. The spinach that comes out of the fall, winter when it gets cold is sweeter. There's more sugars that are created. And we're lucky enough at the farmer's market, there's this place called North spore mushroom, and they just cultivate these gorgeous mushrooms. And so I bought a big crate of them, and my favorites are the chestnut mushrooms. If you get some chestnut mushrooms recommend. And I developed this recipe. It's kind of like a creamy, rich spinach pesto. It doesn't have nuts in it. It's just like spinach and some Parmesano Reggiano cheese and a little touch of cream, bigger chunks of spinach that get mixed into it. The mushrooms are cooked with garlic and butter and then the eggs. And what's great is you can prep it and then you pop it in the oven, go upstairs, you take a shower, you get your clothes on, and you come down and it's done, and you have a really warm, hearty breakfast and you're ready to go and you don't feel his weighed down.
Suzy Chase: Or dinner.
Vanessa Seder: Or dinner, yeah. Okay. Yes, you can pop whatever you do in the evening, you can pop the laundry in, come back, put
Suzy Chase: In your PJ's,
Vanessa Seder: Put on movie on, and get all cozy and eat your dinner.
Suzy Chase: And then I'm going to make your ginger lemon dutch baby on page 39.
Vanessa Seder: That's a good one too. So yes, I call 'em Dutch babies now, as everyone does. When I was growing up, they were called German,
Suzy Chase: German pancakes.
Vanessa Seder: Yes, we're of that age. And my mom made them, and it's a pure comfort food for me, and I love it for breakfast. That's another one where you make the batter and you pop it in the oven and you do whatever you need to do and you come back and it's ready and it's great. It has the protein from the eggs in it. I make it a lot for breakfast for our daughter and for ourselves as well. There's recipes in this book that I refer to as riffs. So each chapter has one, and that's the riff from the breakfast chapter. So there's the basic recipe, it's solid, straightforward Dutch baby. And then I play off of it. So I have different riffs, and the ginger lemon is one of those riffs, so I can't wait to hear what you think of
Suzy Chase: It. So I thought, what's more warming to my bones than oyster stew? On page 77, I'm super intrigued by this recipe
Vanessa Seder: In Maine. Here we are lucky enough to have just gorgeous oysters and delicious oysters. My husband and I absolutely love oysters. And when we moved here, we realized that we're going to have to become shuckers really fast. Because the thing is, you can spend so much money on oysters if you don't shuck 'em yourself. But if you shuck them yourself, that's how you save money. And you can eat oysters more readily, so you can even buy them at the farmer's market. Here there's a woman Emily's oysters, and it's just a great deal, and then you just shuck 'em yourself. So wait,
Suzy Chase: Can I say though, shucking is not fun.
Vanessa Seder: This goes along with the Warm Your Bones philosophy, which is that you're slowing
Suzy Chase: Down. Okay, you,
Vanessa Seder: You're not speeding up here. You're in your house and you put on the fireplace and the music
Suzy Chase: And your PJs,
Vanessa Seder: And with your family and your PJs and maybe an apron, you're shucking oysters, and you get your equipment on and you shuck away. And then at the end, you get to eat these divine, fresh oysters with a mignonette, whatever you want to have with it. So I created this stew, and it's not a heavy stew. When I make chowers or stews, I tend to go light. I don't like a heavy ru, I don't like a lot of flour in them. But this does have a touch of cream in it, so it does a creamy soup, but the base is Lees. So you have that richness and slight sweet oniony flavor from the lee with the garlic and celery seed, a little bit of celery seed, and then a ton of oysters. You can also buy them shocked. So that goes into the pot. And then my secret ingredient, which is in the book, I use a tin of smoked oysters.
And this came about because my husband is actually pescatarian. And I really felt like when developing this, it needed a note of smokiness. It needed that hit of smokiness without ock, and I didn't want paprika, so I threw in what we have. And it totally worked with the juices from the can and everything, and everybody loves it. And we have it when we gather as a family sometimes or friends come over, it's kind of like a fancy kind of a chow. It doesn't have potato in it, so it's not like a chowder, but it's just a really nice creamy soup, and you get that oyster flavor. It's divine. It's wonderful.
Suzy Chase: Talk a little bit about the menus in the back of the cookbook. What inspired this chapter?
Vanessa Seder: In writing my own cookbooks, I just find it really helpful to kind of feed people what to do as much as possible for this cookbook, because people like to hide in their homes all winter. I want them to come out a little bit more. So these are reasons to get together. So I have a menu for a fire pit gathering that has my savory smores, which are in the book. It's like the beef stew with the acorn squash and chilies, the classic elevated smore and maybe some apple cider. And then also I have a smoky maple buttered rum, so that would go with that. I also have other suggestions for a menu for an autumn hike that would have things that are portable, that are easy to take with you, that are warming and relatively healthy friends. Thanksgiving menu, doing that now. I mean, we used to do it when we lived in Brooklyn, a winter holiday meal.
That's like a meal for just about any time. It's a little bit on the fancier end. So maybe you have family come to town or friends and you want to entertain in the winter. But just general, a menu for winter solstice, like if you're outside and some people celebrate winter solstice, it's beautiful. There's candles and woods. And then for the introvert, stay in for the duration and binge watch a video content menu. So that's for somebody who just doesn't want to leave the house but maybe has a friend over, and you can just wear your pajamas. My goal is to prolong the getting together, hanging out as long as possible before it's way too cold to do so. And then maybe you move it inside. But just reasons to gather because it's easy to just disappear. But as much as it's easy and nice to disappear, I also think it's healthy to connect with people. They've done studies on isolation and how we're social creatures as much as I, myself as am pretty introverted, I would say. But I think that it's also good to connect on any way that's comfortable for you, and to do that through food is a great excuse.
Suzy Chase: Tell me about your savory smores. What's that?
Vanessa Seder: Yes. Well, that came out the pandemic too. So here in Maine, I'm not sure about where you live. There's not as many yards, right? But here, everyone was ordering a solo stove or a fire pit of sorts and hanging string lights and adding chairs and finding ways to create outdoor living spaces so that we could keep it going as long as possible. And so we would go to these gatherings that they were safe, they were outside, and everybody had smores. You'd go to everybody's house and you'd have the same thing. So I'm like, well, okay, that's great. We love a smore, but what can we do here? Because I want to turn this into a dinner. I want to elevate it. I want it to be something that could be a whole meal. So a savory some more. It's a concept, but you start with a piece of sausage, a vegetable that can get charred, a little bit like a pepper, a vegetarian sausage or a piece of cheese that's non melty, like lummi cheese.
And you put it on your skewer, and then you have it over the open fire, hopefully it doesn't burn. And then you take some really good baguette and you slather it with either a grainy mustard, honey, some sort of chili, tomato paste, anything like that. And then you top it with your sausage or your cheese or vegetable. And then there's other accoutrement. So there's sliced apple or pear or other types of spreadable cheese or olives or peppers. And you create this board like a cheese plate, and you present it to people and you have that. And then you also have your sweet some more, and you have something to drink, and it's just fun for everybody.
Suzy Chase: So now for my segment called the Perfect Bite, where I ask you to describe your perfect bite of a favorite dish.
Vanessa Seder: Really good fresh pasta, like linguini with the best little nut clams and a little bit of lemon zest and clam broth and garlic, and then amazing, just amazing butter with it, and all twisted on the fork with a spoon. That would be such a good bite for me. My number two. Okay, so it's scallop season in Maine. The day boat scallop are so good. We just had some for dinner last night. I love them raw. If you can have a raw scallop, get one. So I would have raw scallop, really, really good quality, seasoned sushi rice, and extra crispy nori in a hand roll.
Suzy Chase: So good. Oh my gosh.
Vanessa Seder: Simple but really good.
Suzy Chase: Where can we find you on the web and social media?
Vanessa Seder: Vanessa Seder.com or I'm on Instagram too as Vanessa Seder Eats, and it's spelled, I'm going to spell it out because everyone gets my name wrong. It's V-A-N-E-S-S-A. And the last name, it's pronounced like the Cedar Tree, but it's spelled like the Jewish holiday. It's S as in Sam, EDER.
Suzy Chase: I was so excited to chat with you again about this great cookbook, and thanks so much for coming on Dinner Party podcast.
Vanessa Seder: Yay. Thank you for having me. This is super fun.
Suzy Chase: Okay, so where can you listen to the new Dinner Party podcast series? Well, it's on substack suzy chase.substack.com. You can also subscribe to Dinner Party for free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Additionally, the episodes will be available on both Decorating by the Book and Cookery by the Book. Long story short, you'll be able to listen to it virtually everywhere. Thanks for listening. Bye.
