Amy Thielen is a chef, a TV cook, and a two-time James Beard Award-winning writer. She’s the author of "The New Midwestern Table" (a cookbook) and "Give a Girl a Knife"(a memoir).
In the early days of the pandemic, Amy Thielen joined KAXE’s Heidi Holtan for a kitchen-table conversation about what we the pandemic had us focusing on: cooking at home.
From powdered milk and scratch-made biscuits to comfort classics like meatloaf and wild rice hotdish, Amy offered inspiration for eating well with what you have—and finding joy in it. Her family is what she described as "eating heavy" with comfort foods like biscuits and gravy and other big meals.
Amy shared pandemic practical ideas on how to boost leftovers with bright herb sauces, why yogurt belongs in your biscuits and how to brine chicken in pickle juice. She also gave listeners a behind-the-scenes look at fan favorites like her Smoky Sauerkraut Soup and the ultimate “company dish”—Chicken and Wild Rice Hotdish topped with buttery Ritz crackers.
For Amy, cooking can unite during uncertain times." I think that food has been this kind of common, I don't know, some sort of unifier or something else to talk about that we're all doing."
“It’s like everyone’s living the way I always have—socially distant, cooking at home,” Amy joked.
Hear the full conversation above.
