The Instant Pot became a true craze. Even an international craze. At one point, a major department store was selling up to sixty Instant Pots per minute.

But things have dramatically changed. And we know why. We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written three dozen cookbooks including THE INSTANT POT BIBLE and THE INSTANT POT BIBLE: COPYCAT RECIPES. (Click those links if you're interested.)

We rode the Instant Pot roller coaster. And we're here to report back what happened. Join us for our food and cooking podcast. We're glad you're here.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:50] Our one-minute cooking tip: Trash your garlic press and use a small hand-held grater.

[03:27] What happened to the Instant Pot? It went from an international craze to a much smaller presence. We rode this roller coaster. We're here to report back, from our initial reserve about the pressure cooker to our giant, big-selling Instant Pot bibles!

[23:31] What’s making us happy in food this week: unexpected food pleasures and lemon marmalade.

JM Hirsch is no stranger to this podcast. He's got a new book out, all about building cocktails you can keep in your freezer door, ice cold for when friends drop over or you want to kick back. Join us as we welcome him back to our show.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three dozen cookbooks (with more coming!). We've been contributing editors and columnists for the likes of COOKING LIGHT and EATING WELL. We've written for WINE SPECTATOR and THE WASHINGTON POST. And we've developed tens of thousands of original recipes during our twenty-five-year tenure in the food and cooking business.

This is our podcast about our passion. Thank you for being a part of it.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[01:09] Our one-minute cooking tip: toasting nuts in a microwave.

[03:22] Bruce's interview with JM Hirsch, author of the new book, FREEZER DOOR COCKTAILS. If you'd like to get a copy, you can find the book at this link.

[22:00] What's making us happy in food this week: smoked knackwurst and kimchi!

Who doesn't love meatballs? Well, maybe Mark, as you'll hear. But we're making meatballs even Mark will eat!

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, the authors of three dozen cookbooks and tens of thousands of original recipes. We've been in the food business for almost twenty-five years. This is our podcast about our passions: food and cooking.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:32] Our one-minute cooking tip: Try roasting white chocolate for a deeper, more caramelized flavor.

[02:48] We’re making meatballs! Here's the recipe:

Start by soaking 1/2 cup or 45 grams FRESH bread crumbs in 1/4 cup or 60 milliliters milk (of any sort) for about 20 minutes in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl you'll use with an electric mixer.

Crumble in 1 pound or 450 grams lean ground beef, 1 pound or 450 grams sweet Italian sausage meat (no casings), 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons dried minced parsley, 2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg, and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix at low speed until well and evenly combined.

Clean and dry your hands, then oil them with olive oil. Form the meat mixture into 12 balls, each about the size of a golf ball.

Put them on a lipped baking sheet and roast in a 375F or 190C convection or fan-on oven until brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, finely chop 1 small yellow or white onion (peeled), 1 large cubanelle or Italian frying pepper (stemmed and seeded), and 2 medium garlic cloves (peeled).

Warm 3 tablespoons or 45 milliliters of olive oil in a Dutch oven set over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon chopped FRESH rosemary leaves, 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 teaspoon anchovy paste. Stir until fragrant, then add the chopped vegetables. Cook, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes.

Add 1 pound or 450 grams sliced brown button or cremini mushrooms plus 1/2 teaspoon table salt. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms give off their moisture and evaporates to a glaze, about 5 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup or 120 milliliters of dry vermouth, dry white wine, dry sherry, or unsweetened apple juice. Scrape up all the brown bits, then pour in one 24 1/2-ounce or 700-gram jar of tomato passata, preferably the Mutti brand. Fill the jar of Mutti with water, swirl it around to get every speck of passata, and pour it into the pot as well.

Bring to a simmer, add the browned meatballs, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally but very gently.

To finish off, add 12 torn-up FRESH basil leaves and lots of ground black pepper. Taste for salt and dish it up.

[17:53] What’s making us happy in food this week: Santa Rosa plums and ice cream.

Who doesn't love the burn? In this episode, we're talking all about hot sauces, spicy condiments, and chili sauces. A listened asked us to explain hot sauces, particularly Sriracha (which we love!). So we've blown that idea out to include lots of hot sauces including peri peri sauce (or piri piri sauce) and even a fermented chili sauce from the Middle East that has become a staple in our kitchen.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written three dozen cookbooks under our own names, plus lots more for celebs. (We've even fixed a few celebrity books before they went to publication.) We've also developed over 10,000 original recipes in our career.

Thank you for choosing our food and cooking podcast. Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:53] Our one-minute cooking tip: Find the hot spots on your grill. Get to know your grill.

[03:51] We had a listened (hello, Debbie!) request a segment on hot sauces, chili sauces, and spicy condiments. So here we go! We're talking about Sriracha (and the changes to it for the North American market), chili crisp, salsa macha, harissa, and even a fermented chili sauce we've come to love.

[23:58] What’s making us happy in food this week: tinned fish and goat birria.

What's authentic? How do you label that authenticity, particularly when it comes to recipes from cultures other than your own?

These questions have become increasingly pressing in the twenty-five years we've been writing cookbooks. How can we identify a recipe popular in Thailand without referring to the ethnicity of the recipe? Especially when we two writers don't live in Thailand or have any connection to Southeast Asian culture?

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three dozen cookbooks with one more now in production for 2025! This is our podcast about our passion: food and cooking.

We've also got a one-minute cooking tip about grilling. And we'll tell you what's making us happy in food this week.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:45] Our one-minute cooking tip: Don't flip meat too often on a grill.

[03:00] The on-going and very difficult questions about ethnicity and authenticity in recipes. Also, how the matter has changed in our twenty-five years of writing cookbooks.

[24:16] What’s making us happy in food this week: potato chip chocolate chip cookies and white currant jelly.

It's grilling time in our part of the world. And we've got a great, easy recipe, particularly if you can find cross-cut beef short ribs (sometimes called "flanken"). We get ours at a big-box store. We stock up every time we're there because we want this great barbecue meal a lot all summer long.

We're veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've published three dozen cookbooks with eight New York publishers. Our most current is THE LOOK AND COOK AIR-FRYER BIBLE, which you can find here.

This podcast lets us indulge some of our passions: food and cooking. (Bruce is off on knitting adventures on his own; Mark has a podcast solely focused on walking slowly through Dante's DIVINE COMEDY.)

We're glad you're with us. Thanks for being a part of our journey.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:56] Our one-minute cooking tip: Clean your grill AFTER every use.

[02:32] We're making grilled, cross-cut, beef short ribs!

Here's how:

Put all of this in a turbo blender or a food processor to make a marinade:

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch or 2 1/2-cm chunks;

1 medium Asian pear (about 6 ounces or 170 grams);

5 peeled, medium garlic cloves;

one 1-inch or 2 1/2-cm piece of peeled fresh ginger, cut into smaller chunks;

1 cup or 250 milliliters soy sauce;

1/2 cup or 125 milliliters water;

1/4 cup or 55 grams packed light brown sugar;

2 tablespoons or 30 milliliters mirin;

and 1 tablespoon or 4 grams freshly ground black pepper.

Blend until a smooth puree, then pour into a very large, zip-seal plastic bag. Add about 3 pounds or 1.4 kilograms of cross-cut beef short ribs. Massage the puree into the meat, seal, and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

Grill over direct high heat 3 - 4 minutes per side. Cut them into chunks with at least one oval bone in each. Serve with cooked white or brown rice and lots of kimchi.

Garnish with minced scallions and sesame seeds.

[13:52] What’s making us happy in food this week: affirmation from others on our TikTok channel and homemade kimchi!

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, veteran cookbook authors with over three dozen cookbooks published under our own names. We've also been contributing editors and columnists for the likes of EATING WELL, COOKING LIGHT, and weightwatchers.com.

This podcast is about our passion: food and cooking. We're so happy you joined us. Thank you for that.

If you'd like to buy Renato's new baking book, DOLCI: AMERICAN BAKING WITH AN ITALIAN ACCENT, you can find it here.

Here are the segments for this episode of this podcast:

[00:52] Our one-minute cooking tip: Cover a cutting board with plastic wrap to carry raw meats out to the grill.

[01:59] Bruce interviews Renato Poliafito, owner of a Brooklyn bakeshop and author of the brand-new cookbook DOLCI: AMERICAN BAKING WITH AN ITALIAN ACCENT.

[18:37] What’s making us happy in food this week: curried lentils and cannoli. (Bruce says "cannoli" for one. Don't write in. We've hashed it out enough!)

Beef chow fun! Is there better take-out? (Or take-away?) It's always been one of our favorites. But we live in rural New England . . . so we have to make our own.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written three dozen cookbooks and been contributing editors and/or columnists at a host of magazines (back in the day). We're working on our 37th cookbook right now! But in this episode, we're making that chow fun, one of our go-to dinners.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:44] Our one-minute cooking tip: Start cooking thin strips of bacon (or streaky bacon) in a cold skillet (or "pan," as Bruce would say).

[02:33] We're making beef chow fun at home.

Here's the recipe: soak 10 ounces or 285 grams of wide dry rice noodles in a bowl of water overnight (or at least 12 hours--yep, that long).

Slice an 8-ounce or 225-gram beef flank steak into thin strips (angle your knife and cut thin strips sort of on the diagonal). Put these strips in a bowl and add 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon Shaoxing (a rice wine for cooking) or dry sherry, 1 teaspoon vegetable oil, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch (or cornflour). Mix well and set aside for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the sauce in a small bowl: 2 tablespoons (30 ml) standard soy sauce, 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Shaoxing (as above), 1 tablespoon (15 ml) dark soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon granulated white or caster sugar.

Drain the noodles in a colander set in the sink.

Set a wok over high heat until smoking. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons (23 ml) refined vegatable or peanut oil. Add the beef strips and any juice in the bowl. Spread out the slices all across the wok (even up the sides) to brown on one side.

Char for about 1 minute, then add 2 tablespoons (26 grams) julienned or minced fresh peeled ginger and 4 medium scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch (5-centimeter) segments.

Stir-fry for 1 minute, gathering all the beef strips together as you do. Spread the drained noodles over the top. Then pour the sauce all around the inner edge of the wok (so it runs down). Stir-fry gently until everything is coated (without breaking up the noodles).

Add 6 ounces (170 grams) of bean sprouts and a big pinch of ground white pepper. Serve it up!

[15:10] What’s making us happy in food this week: rhubarb pickles (look for a video on how to make these on TikTok and Istagram) and bread-and-butter pickles (for our recipe, see our YouTube channel: COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK).