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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt Michael Friese of Edible Iowa River Valley and Christine Friese, interview Chef Virginia Willis about her newest book “Basic to Brilliant, Y’all” by Ten Speed Press.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt Friese and Christine Friese talk to Dave DeWitt.

Dave DeWitt is America’s foremost capsicum expert, publisher of fiery-foods.com and Burn! Magazine and the author of over 40 books including his newest, The Southwest Table: Traditional Cuisine form Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt Friese and Christine Friese talk to Poppy Tooker and a Pantry Raid about fish.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt Friese and Christine Friese talk to Mark Bittman. Pantry Raid: A Spring review of CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture): how they work, how to find one.

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Photo: Fran Collin

Blue Plate Special host Kurt Friese talks to legendary magazine editor Dorothy Kalins at the Edible Institute 2011 about the past and future of food magazines, her work with Chef John Besh, and why Downtown Des Moines’ East Village neighborhood is becoming a restaurant haven.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt and Christine Friese talk to Deborah Krasner, winner of just about every award there is for culinary writing including a James Beard Award, an IACP award and a Gorrmand World Cookbook Award. Krasner discusses her new book Good Meat. We also discuss her culinary tours of Italy and Vermont.

Pantry Raid: How to make duck confit and cassoulet – time consuming but not difficult.

Related: read the Edible San Francisco review of Good Meat.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt and Christine Friese talk to Dave Joachim, author of 19 cookbooks, including A Man, a Can, a Plan, Mastering the Grill and the new edition of The Food Substitutions Bible. His approachable books take the intimidation out of cooking for those new to the kitchen or grill.

Dave’s suggests that substituting occurs when an ingredient is unavailable or when a cook wants to change a flavor. Substitutes for things like Agave syrup, sumac are among the harder to find, whereas a substitute for baking powder is good when one runs out of it.

Pantry Raid : How to start brewing beer at home.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt and Christine Friese talk to Fran Voigt, founder of the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) in Montpelier, VT. We discuss the history of the school, how it has evolved and where culinary training is headed now.

Pantry Raid: Pete’s Greens CSA fire and how to store and use up grains – barley, cornmeal.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt and Christine Friese talk to James Peterson about his new book Meat: A Kitchen Education.

Pantry Raid: Mealtrain.com and food for shut-ins of all sorts. What to bring when taking food to friends and family recovering from illness or childbirth, to seniors who need help preparing meals? How to make it easy, tasty and not too heavy.

James Peterson is the winner of six James Beard awards, a photographer, a chef and cooking instructor and his newest book is Meat: A Kitchen Education. In it he discusses techniques for cutting, preparing and cooking a variety of meats, encouraging a more critical tasting to recognize high quality meats. We talk about the ethical issues of meat eating and the proper method for cooking a terrific hamburger.

Do you ever struggle with what to take to people who are recovering: from surgery, childbirth or grief? Do you handle some food duties for seniors? There is a great website that can organize the volunteers so that not all the food arrives at once and so that the person’s tastes and health needs are clear. We talk about some ideas for healthy, light but tasty foods that are also portable and easy to prepare.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt and Christine Friese talk to Jeff Elliott about his new book: The Zwilling J. A. Henckels Complete Book of Knife Skills: The Essential Guide to Use, Techniques and Care. And a Pantry Raid on Potlucks – bringing something to share.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt and Christine Friese interview “selmelier” and author Mark Bitterman about his new book Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes. We learn about this most necessary element in all its varieties. Also, a Pantry Raid preparing foods ahead of time or with house guests.

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Blue Plate Special hosts Kurt and Christine Friese interview Food Network Canada Host Bob Blumer about his newest book Glutton For Pleasure: Signature Recipes, Epic Stories, and Surreal Etiquette, he makes working in small spaces easier and more fun. Also, a pantry Raid on using root vegetables.