Weekly Specials

Episode 36: Wedge Salad

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Episode 36: Wedge Salad
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As we all know, food is at its most delicious when it is served in triangles. This salad, with its bacon and chives and its creamy blue cheese dressing, conjures the fantasy of eating an entire head of lettuce. (You can’t make Noah mention the tomatoes.) It’s our third episode of Salad Days. You know […]

Episode 35: Caprese Salad

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Episode 35: Caprese Salad
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Basil. Cheese. Tomato. Oil. Long ago, the four ingredients sat together in harmony. Then everything changed when a bunch of people chucked some balsamic vinegar in there for some reason. Noah and Louisa investigate why people can’t just leave well enough alone. Follow us:@NoSubsPlease on Twitter.@NoSubsPlease@mastodon.online on Mastodon.@NoSubsPlease on Cohost. Noah: @elderrumbao on Twitter, @nsmckinnon@laserdisc.party […]

Episode 34: Cobb Salad

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Episode 34: Cobb Salad
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The only thing Noah likes less than cherry tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs in his salads are people who supposedly like those things finding ways to get around the fact that they’re key ingredients. So, for the first episode of our Salad Days, he and Louisa talk about all the different ways people try to get […]

Episode 33: Flan

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Episode 33: Flan
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It’s the king of custards, the despot of desserts, the envy of every other meal-ender—and, as Louisa and Noah discover, the bane of a lot of cooks cursed by iffy ovens or too willing to cut corners.

Episode 32: Roasted Asparagus

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Episode 32: Roasted Asparagus
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Let’s welcome spring into our lives with a tribute to one of the greenest vegetables around—and, we think you’ll agree, one of the most variegated episodes we’ve ever done. Noah and Louisa discover that there are some people who just shouldn’t be allowed near a produce section. Follow us:@NoSubsPlease on Twitter.@NoSubsPlease@mastodon.online on Mastodon.@NoSubsPlease on Cohost. […]

Episode 31: Meatball Subs

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Episode 31: Meatball Subs
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Anchors aweigh! Noah and Louisa cast off to take on these treasure-laden galleons of the sandwich fleet—or, more accurately, some of their worst captains. Do they land a broadside?

Episode 30: Deviled Eggs

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Episode 30: Deviled Eggs
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Whether at a cocktail party or a down-home family picnic, these little vessels for mayonnaise and paprika are the picture of midcentury elegance. Noah and Louisa take on the most ovoid, and therefore most seasonally appropriate, of Easter foods.

Episode 29: Blueberry Muffins

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Episode 29: Blueberry Muffins
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We know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking we all know how blueberry muffins are made. Well, would that it were so simple. Noah and Louisa talk about how, for some people, there is no recipe so easy or so forgiving that it can’t be turned into a quagmire of quick bread.

Episode 28: Shepherd’s Pie

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Episode 28: Shepherd’s Pie
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If you’re the weirdo who thinks we haven’t done enough British food, well, this one’s for you. Noah and Louisa discuss the classic comfort casserole that dares to say: is there anything better than a blanket of mashed potatoes over ground meat? Follow us:@NoSubsPlease on Twitter.@NoSubsPlease@mastodon.online on Mastodon.@NoSubsPlease on Cohost. Noah: @elderrumbao on Twitter, @nsmckinnon@laserdisc.party […]

Episode 27: Scrambled Eggs

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Episode 27: Scrambled Eggs
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If you’ve been listening for a while, you know Noah tends to recoil when Louisa breaks out descriptors for eggs—so, naturally, we figured it was time to take the bull by the curds. Whether you like your scrambles French-style or nearly omeletted, we’re sure you’ll find someone to annoy you in this sojourn through the most controversial of breakfasts.

Episode 26: Buffalo Wings

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Episode 26: Buffalo Wings
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The rare episode where both hosts have made the food in question. If you’re one of the three people left who doesn’t know where Noah lives, let him regale you with the tales of every petty argument he’s had to hear about this food. It’s chicken wings in orange hot sauce. It is not that complicated. How did you jackwagons even find a topic to be more insufferable on than the Bills?

Episode 25: Nutella

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Episode 25: Nutella
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For this exciting milestone, Noah and Louisa decided to do things a little differently. This time, we cover recipes made with Nutella—decadence in a jar or overrated slop? Let them tell you all about it.

Episode 24: French Fries

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Episode 24: French Fries
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How is this the most sacrilegious episode we’ve done yet? Noah and Louisa discuss that most quintessential of fried-tuber side dishes, that most incorrectly-named of fast-food staples: the French fry.

Episode 23: Cheesecake

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Episode 23: Cheesecake
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Picture it: the Internet, 2023. Noah and Louisa discuss the dense and delicious dessert that, despite the doughtiest deeds of this delegate for the duty of description . . . does not start with a D. Look, it’s cheesecake. We love it. Let us tell you all about it.

Episode 22: Squash Soup

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Episode 22: Squash Soup
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Did you know squash soups don’t have to taste like you puréed a pumpkin spice latte? Did you know Noah has actually made some of the foods on the show? This time, he and Louisa get to talk about all the different ways you, too, can make your soup as gourd as possible.

Episode 21: Minestrone

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Episode 21: Minestrone
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Hearty soups, full of beans and tubers, are a regular feature of cucina povera—and, precisely because of that, are particularly susceptible to dinguses who want to overcomplicate things for no reason. Noah and Louisa get to talk about a soup one of them does not, in fact, particularly like.

Episode 20: Clams Chowder

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Episode 20: Clams Chowder
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Bowlful of red, bowlful of white, or possibly a secret third bowlful: whatever kind of mood you’re in tonight, Noah and Louisa discuss the soup that will one day draw battle-lines across the Northeast.

Episode 19: Chicken Noodle Soup

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Episode 19: Chicken Noodle Soup
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At its best, a wonderful savory restorative; at its worst, an unevenly-seasoned mess of mushy vegetables and bad meat. Noah and Louisa talk about that most famous of broths for the convalescent.

Episode 18: Donuts

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Episode 18: Donuts
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We hear what you’re saying: wouldn’t it be easier to just buy some donuts at your local shop? Is it really worth making your own? As Noah and Louisa discover, some people tried—very few of them, as it turns out, with any real understanding of what they were doing.

Episode 17: Pesto

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Episode 17: Pesto
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The perfect time to discuss fresh summer flavors: in the bleak midwinter. Let Noah and Louisa take you on a journey to the Mediterranean coast, where people get extremely het up about what goes in their green sauces.

Episode 16: Nachos

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Episode 16: Nachos
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What’s great about nachos is how modular they are: no matter what protein, type of cheese, or toppings you prefer, there’s a plate of nachos out there you’ll like. And yet, somehow, there are people—quite famous people, of some renown in the recipe world—who have managed to screw them up. Noah and Louisa discover that, for the first time in NSP history, they have the ultimate definitional element for a great show: a recurring villain.

Episode 15: Fruitcake

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Episode 15: Fruitcake
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Whether it’s steamed or baked, dense or light, a full-meal wedge or a dessert slice, there’s one thing both sides of the Atlantic ocean agree on: everyone absolutely hates this garbage food. Noah’s first fruitcake foray came on the same week as this episode was recorded, so Louisa gets to explain to him—and laugh at his increasing terror.

Episode 14: Pernil

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Episode 14: Pernil
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Something like half of Puerto Rican Christmas carols involve the key subject of cooking pork. There is a good reason for this: it’s absolutely delicious. Let Noah and Louisa tell you about this magical dish and all the ways in which it’ll make you happy.

Episode 13: Roast Beef

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Episode 13: Roast Beef
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Whether a Sunday dinner staple or the centerpiece of a beautiful holiday dinner, whether eye of round or prime rib, a roast beef treated well is a memorable treat. Louisa’s got the reins on this episode, as Noah asks her how to choose a good cut, tricks to combat shrinkflation-induced lean roasts, and more. Plus, courtesy of listener Matt, find out how one galaxy-brained genius decided to make his chili.

Episode 12: Stuffing

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Episode 12: Stuffing
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Right now, a number of you are yelling the word “dressing” at your phones, and people think you’re being weird. Better to listen and find out how Noah and Louisa like this side dish, so often oddly restricted to Thanksgiving despite its many wonderful qualities. Plus: our second mailbag, sent in by another loyal reader, and . . . hoo boy, it’s a good one.

Episode 11: Turkey

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Episode 11: Turkey
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If you went to a Thanksgiving dinner this coming week (*brag*), chances are pretty good the centerpiece of it was a turkey cooked to crispy and golden perfection. Or so we hope. For the people who didn’t quite get to enjoy that, Noah and Louisa have some things to say.

Episode 10: Mac & Cheese

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Episode 10: Mac & Cheese
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As a tenth-episode bonus, they also do two firsts: dunk on a recipe they found on the Internet, and discuss a comment received from a reader!

Episode 9: Potato Leek Soup

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Episode 9: Potato Leek Soup
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In the fall, a home cook’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of spuds—and, perhaps, leeks cooked in butter. Noah and Louisa discover that, no matter how simply a dish may be named, you can’t stop some people from overcomplicating it.

Episode 8: Spaghetti and Meatballs

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Episode 8: Spaghetti and Meatballs
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What could be more Italian than spaghetti and meatballs? Well, to hear some people tell it, lots of things—and they might be right. Noah and Louisa attempt to defuse this source of ongoing cross-Atlantic tension.

Episode 7: Pumpkin Pie

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Episode 7: Pumpkin Pie
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Our spookiest episode yet . . . well, if you’re scared of autumnal whiffs of mortality. Look, there’s not a whole lot of homemade Halloween foods, okay? Noah and Louisa did their best to be respectful to a serviceable pie. Some other people did not. These are their stories.

Episode 6: Fried Chicken

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Episode 6: Fried Chicken
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Whether breaded, battered or even dredged—depending on your recipe—delicious poultry covered in equally tasty starch and goldened in oil is beloved the world over. Unless it’s made by some of the people Noah and Louisa tripped over in their research.

Episode 5: Rice and Beans

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Episode 5: Rice and Beans
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Like all classic comfort food, they’re infinitely customizable in flavor, seasoning, texture, technique . . . and yet Noah and Louisa managed to find the one thing you probably shouldn’t do to them.

Episode 4: Caesar Salad

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Episode 4: Caesar Salad
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Anchovies, mustard, torn lettuce—what is it with Caesars and causing arguments about classics? Noah and Louisa wade into the comment sections of the Internet to see what’s what.

Episode 3: Grilled Cheese

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Episode 3: Grilled Cheese
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One cannot live on bread and cheese alone. Or can one? To answer that, Louisa and Noah toast up more of the Internet’s finest home cooks.

Episode 2: Chili

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Episode 2: Chili
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Whether it’s about beans, tomatoes, onions, or garlic, no food seems to cause arguments with more frequency, or more vehemence, than good old chili. This week, Louisa and Noah try to get to the bottom of the bowl.

Episode 1: Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Episode 1: Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Who doesn’t love the classics? For our first episode, Noah and Louisa take a look at that most famous and shareable of baked goods, regardless of breadth, crisp, or chew: the chocolate chip cookie.