Spilled Milk

If you've been taught to cook your peas just until they're bright green and fresh-tasting, you're about to get schooled. We know a guy with a pea-encrusted axe to grind. Guest: Francis Lam of The Splendid Table. MUSHY PEAS Adapted from Jamie Oliver 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves 1 pound frozen peas (preferably not petite peas) 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons butter salt and pepper In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mint and peas and cook until the peas begin to lose their frosty tinge. Add the water, cover, and simmer until the peas are army green, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a food processor, add the butter and salt and pepper to taste, and process to just shy of smooth. Serve hot. Yield: 4 servingsSpecial Guest: Francis Lam.

Here at Spilled Milk, our Easter party is still raging, because we can't stop eating ham. Dry-cured, wet-cured, we don't care: we love and investigate them all, with stops in Spain, the mall, and the Middle Ages. Recipe: Greens with ham and cheesy grits. www.spilledmilkpodcast.com Brought to you by Sur La Table.

Do you smell something burning? Sorry, that was us. Not even the smoke alarm can deter us from our mission to make crispy potatoes two ways. Plus, Matthew's freezer contains an embarrassing secret. Again. Recipes: Smashed Roasted Potatoes; Cold-Oil French Fries. www.spilledmilkpodcast.com

Do you enjoy stinky little fish like sardines, anchovies, mackerel, and herring? We do. So does Becky Selengut of www.chefreinvented.com and Mission Sustainable, who joins us to help answer the age-old question: what is your power fish? We're on a mission to get you to eat weird fish. TRISCUITS WITH SARDINES AND MUSTARD Inspired by Gabrielle Hamilton, chef-owner of Prune Triscuits (regular flavor) Dijon mustard Canned sardines, drained and coarsely chopped Spread a Triscuit with a generous smear of mustard. Pile some sardines on top. Repeat, and serve. KYOTO MISO-MACKEREL HOT POT Adapted from Japanese Hot Pots: Comforting One-Pot Meals, by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat 2 mackerel fillets (about one pound) salt 1/4 pound daikon, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices 2 cups dashi 2 cups water 1/2 cup sake 1/2 cup white miso (or saikyo miso, if you can find it) 1/2 pound napa cabbage, sliced 1/2 pound firm tofu, cut into four pieces 4 ounces oyster mushrooms, trimmed and pulled apart

Your hosts may not be Irish, but we make a mean corned beef and colcannon, not to mention fools of ourselves. Join us as we drink Guinness from the can (wrong!), discuss the etymology of bubble and squeak (not Irish!), and otherwise give St. Patrick an excuse to chase us out of Ireland. Recipes: Corned [...]

As a kid, Molly coveted Hostess Twinkies, and Matthew ate something called Jingles. This week, we bury our faces in childhood junk food favorites and ask: which salty and sugary sensations still make our mouths happy? We also find out, once and for all, what cherry snot tastes like. And we talk with our mouths [...]

Only braising can get you through the winter alive. But what to braise? Matthew says meat. Molly says vegetables. If this strikes you as stereotypical, however, check out Matthew's gender-bending headgear.

As Shakespeare didn't put it, "If food be the food of love, eat food." That's how we would put it, though, and we are turning your Valentine's Day into a scorcher with a feast of noted aphrodisiacs, from green M&Ms to ambergris. You know that movie Love Actually? This episode is ten times more romantic [...]

We're whizzing up trouble here in the Spilled Milk test kitchen, as your hosts make milkshakes and mistakes in equal measure. Follow us down the rabbit hole. Recipe: Chocolate malt. NOTE: Even though this episode has the Explicit tag, it is probably safe for Grandma's house, but don't say we didn't warn you. Includes suggestive [...]

Winter squash is a big, scary vegetable. Matthew is scared of its sweet taste. Molly is scared of its thick skin. Can they put their fears to rest? What is the "throwdown method"? And is squash-licking fatal? Recipe: Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Sauce.

Does everything taste better with a fried egg on top? Molly and Matthew come up with many things that do and a few that don't. Plus, the pros and cons of snowy white bottom. Recipe: Kimchi fried rice with a fried egg.