Morgan May Treuil [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to Am I Doing this Right? We do change clothes.
Leslie Johnston [00:00:05]:
If you've seen us. And you're like, man, those girls were the same thing every single. If you go back on, like, the last two podcasts, she'll be like, this is what they're wearing.
Morgan May Treuil [00:00:13]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:00:14]:
And unfortunately, I didn't really put much effort into my appearance today.
Morgan May Treuil [00:00:17]:
I thought, we're gonna batch episodes. I should run something hot through my hair. I didn't. That's. I had. I had a dance team director who used to say that to us.
Leslie Johnston [00:00:24]:
She used to run something hot.
Morgan May Treuil [00:00:26]:
Yeah. She used to be like, hey, before you come to this game or this show, put makeup on and run something hot through your hair. Like a straightener, a curler, a blow dryer, something. Cause you're ratchet looking.
Leslie Johnston [00:00:40]:
Run something hot through your hair.
Morgan May Treuil [00:00:41]:
Run something hot through your hair.
Leslie Johnston [00:00:43]:
Well, we're doing kind of like a little. We'll call this a Monday mini Monday Mini.
Morgan May Treuil [00:00:48]:
Yeah, Monday mini.
Leslie Johnston [00:00:49]:
Cause normally our podcasts are very, like, intentional conversations.
Morgan May Treuil [00:00:55]:
They're like, sorry, I'm confused. Cause I didn't think this was okay.
Leslie Johnston [00:01:00]:
They are still really unintentional sometimes and funny. But we always have, like, a more serious topic to cover, which we love. But we also were like, well, if you listen to last week's. Which I think we're putting them in this order, but Morgan and I are taking some breaks in the summer. Not from the podcast, but, like, going on vacation, so. And unfortunately, we can't carry the studio and the video team with us, so we batched a couple episodes, which, don't worry, they're still current. I actually hate sometimes when podcasts are like, I shot this back in some random month. And I'm like, no, this is in July.
Morgan May Treuil [00:01:34]:
It's in July. Like, you're listening to this in July and we're filming this in July.
Leslie Johnston [00:01:38]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:01:38]:
But we just wanted to honor what we talked about about, like, actually vacationing and wanted to podcast before we left for vacation. So we did.
Leslie Johnston [00:01:46]:
Exactly.
Morgan May Treuil [00:01:47]:
Not that this is work, because this.
Leslie Johnston [00:01:48]:
Is the most fun thing of my entire life.
Morgan May Treuil [00:01:51]:
And we're also going to be talking like this with no cameras while we're on vacation. So everything is still the same. But. Yes. So this is why, if you're watching this, just turn the video part off, because you already seen.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:04]:
You've seen it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:02:05]:
Just listen and go drive somewhere.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:07]:
Exactly. But today we're going to do a little, like, Monday mini episode where we're just going to have fun. But I want to kick us off with an unpopular opinion.
Morgan May Treuil [00:02:15]:
Okay.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:16]:
Unfortunately, this opinion, I don't think is unpopular anymore. And by this point, I guess there will have been a few more episodes coming out. But I just watched the new Bachelor in Paradise. So bad.
Morgan May Treuil [00:02:29]:
It's so bad.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:31]:
It sold out to Love Island.
Morgan May Treuil [00:02:34]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:35]:
Which, first of all, I know everybody, like, loves Love Island. I hate Love Island. And I can't even, like. I can't even act like this is a part of, like, oh, my, like, character that, like, I would watch.
Morgan May Treuil [00:02:47]:
It's not even, like, a conviction.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:48]:
It's not even about conviction. It's about. I hate. I hate the way they film it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:02:54]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:54]:
I hate the setting. Like, where are. Where's the beach?
Morgan May Treuil [00:02:57]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:58]:
No beach.
Morgan May Treuil [00:02:58]:
There's no island.
Leslie Johnston [00:02:59]:
No island. This is like, in the. It could be in the middle of, like, wherever they are.
Morgan May Treuil [00:03:03]:
Like an Airbnb in Arizona or something like that. That's what it looks like.
Leslie Johnston [00:03:07]:
And it's just, like, in the middle of some weird thing. It's so bright. The shots are so weird. I. I just hate it. And I feel like it's so, like.
Morgan May Treuil [00:03:16]:
Overproduced that it feels.
Leslie Johnston [00:03:18]:
And it's way overly sexualized. That's for sure.
Morgan May Treuil [00:03:21]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:03:21]:
And that's not fun to watch either. No, but take all, like. But Bachelor in Paradise was this thing that felt like it kind of, like, stuck in this little retro kind of vibe.
Leslie Johnston [00:03:33]:
It was funny.
Morgan May Treuil [00:03:34]:
It was funny.
Leslie Johnston [00:03:34]:
They didn't take themselves too seriously.
Morgan May Treuil [00:03:36]:
It was the same location every single time. All these characters that you already know from different seasons. And it has the same look, the same aesthetic. And you look forward to that because of the nostalgia of it. Like, partially. It's nostalgia.
Leslie Johnston [00:03:51]:
Yeah. And people, like, don't like the Bachelor and the Bachelorette anymore, apparently. I still watch it and I like it, but they don't like it anymore because they're like, oh, we're over it, whatever. But they all still loved Bachelor in Paradise because it was like the wheels came off in the best way. They're, like, opening. Remember, like, the Almost paradise song is the opener. And they would all be doing these, like, embarrassing things.
Morgan May Treuil [00:04:13]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:04:14]:
It was like someone took their, like, camcorder quarter over to Mexico on the beach.
Morgan May Treuil [00:04:17]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:04:18]:
It was not high quality filming, but that was the point. It's like, it's saying supposed to be.
Leslie Johnston [00:04:22]:
That, like, children should watch the show. Obviously, it's not great, but I loved it and so I was excited. Like, Bachelor in Paradise is back on. And the moment it started, I went, first of all, the exposure is so high. I can't even so bright. Even know what's happening behind them. It's so bright. I'm like, where? I can't even tell where you are right now.
Morgan May Treuil [00:04:39]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:04:40]:
It's horrible.
Morgan May Treuil [00:04:40]:
I turned it off and then, like, they each have little. I turned it off. I turned it off too. They each have, like, their little, like, walk up songs. It's like all current music and it's like no one wants that of the Bachelor. That's. That's not what the brand is. It's not.
Morgan May Treuil [00:04:52]:
I'm not. I don't want to be brought into, like today. I want it to be like, it's an old school dating show. This is what it was. Like, it being stuck in the past, like, it being the same show that it always has been is why people like it.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:06]:
It was the magic.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:07]:
It was the magic of it. And they've. They've lost it.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:09]:
They've lost it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:10]:
And I'm bummed because I also love. It's inappropriate. I shouldn't love it. But, like, I just thought. I don't know.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:17]:
It was. It was the best.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:18]:
It was the best, and now it's the worst.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:20]:
It's a good life lesson.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:22]:
Never change.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:25]:
Don't ever change anything. No, the life lesson is just because someone else out there.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:31]:
Oh, yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:32]:
Is doing something weird and new and it's getting attention. Don't change who you are. No, don't change who you are because you're a classic.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:40]:
You're classic.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:41]:
Be you.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:42]:
Don't change.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:42]:
Be you and don't change.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:44]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:44]:
No. Literally.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:45]:
Just because something else is popular and you're like. But I really like this. My niche is this and people like me for this. Stick with that.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:51]:
No. Stick with that.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:51]:
Don't change your. The whole thing.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:54]:
Don't change your brand. Don't.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:56]:
I'm going to write a letter.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:57]:
You should.
Leslie Johnston [00:05:58]:
I'm going to write a letter.
Morgan May Treuil [00:05:59]:
Write a letter. I don't know who it goes to anymore.
Leslie Johnston [00:06:01]:
The Bad 2 franchise.
Morgan May Treuil [00:06:04]:
Yeah, I agree with you. I tried to watch it yesterday and turned it off because it was not familiar. I like something familiar. This is not familiar even.
Leslie Johnston [00:06:12]:
Which I know that I was thinking Bachelor in paradise did change it up to be quirkier. I remember that year because I was like, oh, this is a little different. But it felt very true to them. They were doing something new. Like, I can respect if maybe they changed it to be like, hey, we're doing something totally different that no one else is because we're trying to be on, like, the cutting edge.
Morgan May Treuil [00:06:32]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:06:32]:
What they're doing. Is they're copying Love island. Because that's successful.
Morgan May Treuil [00:06:36]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:06:36]:
But that's a whole different group of people that watch that.
Morgan May Treuil [00:06:40]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:06:40]:
Those Love island people, I don't think are watching the Bachelor.
Morgan May Treuil [00:06:43]:
No, they're not very different.
Leslie Johnston [00:06:45]:
Like.
Morgan May Treuil [00:06:45]:
Yeah, they're totally different demographics, so. Of people. And. And I. Yeah, I wouldn't have thought that either. So, also, is the Bachelor now going to look like that?
Leslie Johnston [00:06:56]:
Gosh, I hope not.
Morgan May Treuil [00:06:57]:
Or does it already kind of look like that? I haven't watched.
Leslie Johnston [00:07:00]:
No, it doesn't.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:01]:
Are they going to change the location of the man? Like, even the year during COVID when they couldn't do the Bachelor Mansion, then they did that. They did La Quinta in Palm Springs. I was like, this is terrible.
Leslie Johnston [00:07:10]:
It's terrible.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:10]:
And it was there.
Leslie Johnston [00:07:11]:
I was actually. For that.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:12]:
You were in. Yeah, Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:07:13]:
I drove in while they were filming, and I didn't see anything, so I drove out. But.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:17]:
But, like, even that, I hated it. They weren't in the Mansion.
Leslie Johnston [00:07:19]:
Yeah. Yeah. It's like things just need to stay where they are. Like, especially if you're a TV show.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:25]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:07:26]:
That's been existing.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:27]:
That's a good unpopular opinion. I agree with you. You should write a letter. I'm not sure, too. We were talking about this last episode kind of as a joke, but now I think we actually should do it. Summer recipe or food ideas.
Leslie Johnston [00:07:38]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:38]:
I don't know about you guys. If you're a guy listening to this, I hope that you fall into this category.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:43]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:07:44]:
But one of my favorite things to do is to peruse social media to see what other people are cooking. And when you cook something good, I actually do screenshot it and desire to make it. And so I think it'd be fun. We could go back and forth. We could share some things that we've made, some things that we've done, some stuff that we've tried. Like, I like that Trader Joe's products or whatever it is. And then we can just call that the minisode.
Leslie Johnston [00:08:06]:
But I like that.
Morgan May Treuil [00:08:07]:
First things first. You need to describe the way that you do chicken salad, because.
Leslie Johnston [00:08:12]:
So good.
Morgan May Treuil [00:08:12]:
I had never heard of the way that you eat it with the. I'll let you explain it. But I had never poached chicken that I had never heard of.
Leslie Johnston [00:08:21]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:08:21]:
But then also the other thing that makes it special.
Leslie Johnston [00:08:23]:
So I always feel bad. Like, you are kind of like a cook. Like, you come up with your own recipes, and I don't know how you do it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:08:30]:
Not always, but recently But a lot.
Leslie Johnston [00:08:32]:
Of times you come up with, like, your own stuff, so then you can post it and be like, this is my recipe. To me. I'm like, I've stolen everything that I've made, so I can't even, like, give credit for it. I thought that I. I grew up thinking, I don't like chicken salad. Had I ever had it? No. But I was like, I look at looks like I don't like it. Mayonnaise, cold chicken.
Leslie Johnston [00:08:53]:
Like, it just sounds terrible.
Morgan May Treuil [00:08:54]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:08:55]:
So in our area, there's a store called the Feathered Nest. And Shannon Ertel, she runs it. She's incredible designer, all the stuff, but she also is, like, secretly the best, like, cook and baker that I've ever met.
Morgan May Treuil [00:09:10]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:09:10]:
She's ever met.
Morgan May Treuil [00:09:11]:
She's fantastic.
Leslie Johnston [00:09:12]:
I'm like, please do a recipe book. Like, I will buy. There's recipes that I'm just, like, begging her for, like, cakes and all this stuff. So I went to a, like, lunch thing that she did one time. This was years ago, and she had chicken salad. And it was the only thing. Like, it was like, what we were eating.
Morgan May Treuil [00:09:27]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:09:27]:
And I was like, shoot, I don't like chicken salad. And then she's like, just try it. I do a little differently. So hers was actually like, a really simple chicken salad, but she put it on a Hawaiian roll with a. Now maybe this is not new to everybody else. This was new to me.
Morgan May Treuil [00:09:42]:
This is new to me, too.
Leslie Johnston [00:09:43]:
A Hawaiian roll chicken salad with a slice of green apple. Like, as almost like a. Like a garnish. Like, you take your Hawaiian rolls, you put your chicken salad, and then you put the little apple and then the Hawaiian roll on top.
Morgan May Treuil [00:09:57]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:09:58]:
It is, like, the best, like, mix of, like, a crunch with the soft Hawaiian roll. And the chicken salad is so good.
Morgan May Treuil [00:10:07]:
That is. I had never heard of that either. And that, to me is. Is a game changer. Because you want crunch. I want crunch in my chicken salad.
Leslie Johnston [00:10:13]:
And to me, people, like, overdo the chicken salad. Like, it doesn't need all the, like, random stuff in it. I think I should actually look it up. The chicken salad recipe that I use is, like, some from. I. Well, I picked it based off. I Google searched chicken salad, like, simple chicken salad, and this one came up, and it was actually like the low carb versus, like, some skinny something skinny taste, maybe.
Morgan May Treuil [00:10:38]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:10:38]:
And it was like a more low carb one. Now I take that recipe and I make all the things regular. So I don't make it low carb.
Morgan May Treuil [00:10:45]:
It's like, light Mayo. Regular mayo.
Leslie Johnston [00:10:47]:
Sound like regular mayo. And all it has, like, with the extra stuff. Will you poach your chicken?
Morgan May Treuil [00:10:53]:
Do not rotisserie chicken. Explain how you poach, because that's, like, a word that people probably only hear in restaurants.
Leslie Johnston [00:11:00]:
So you take your chicken, you dethaw it, or if you buy it fresh from the store, and then you put it in, like, a stock pot, like a big pot. You put, like, celery. You can do a bunch of stuff. I've done it in straight water, but I put, like, some water and some chicken broth. And then you bring it to a boil.
Morgan May Treuil [00:11:19]:
Right.
Leslie Johnston [00:11:19]:
When it's done boiling you. Or like, after it starts boiling, then you simmer it for, like, I think, five minutes or so. And then you put the lid on, you take it off the heat, and you let it sit for 15 minutes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:11:30]:
Right.
Leslie Johnston [00:11:31]:
Like, just on the stove, no heat.
Morgan May Treuil [00:11:32]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:11:33]:
And basically, it's just like poaching your chicken.
Morgan May Treuil [00:11:36]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:11:36]:
I don't even know what poaching means, but it just means, I guess it's cooking it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:11:39]:
Yeah, but, like, the cook on it is different because of it.
Leslie Johnston [00:11:41]:
The cook on it is really different.
Morgan May Treuil [00:11:43]:
Not rubbery.
Leslie Johnston [00:11:44]:
If it's chicken, there's a thermometer in it. Because I'm like, I'm not messing around with chicken.
Morgan May Treuil [00:11:49]:
No.
Leslie Johnston [00:11:49]:
So I have a thermometer in it. I also think you should get chicken that's, like, pretty even across. Because if you poach it, then one side's gonna be a little rubbery if it's not pretty even. But it's made great chicken. And you pull it out right when it hits 165 degrees.
Morgan May Treuil [00:12:04]:
Yep.
Leslie Johnston [00:12:05]:
And then you put it in your stand mixer, mix it all up, shreds it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:12:09]:
Some people don't know that you can do that.
Leslie Johnston [00:12:11]:
Oh, yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:12:11]:
You put, like, a whole cooked chicken breast in your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
Leslie Johnston [00:12:16]:
Yep.
Morgan May Treuil [00:12:17]:
And if you turn it on, like, a medium speed, it'll shred your chicken for you. So you don't have to do the whole, like, fork meth.
Leslie Johnston [00:12:23]:
No.
Morgan May Treuil [00:12:23]:
And honestly, any meat is like that too. Like any. You could put pulled pork in there. You could put any meat in your stand mixer. It'll shred it for you.
Leslie Johnston [00:12:30]:
And if you don't have a stand mixer, I actually used one of the little hand mixers, and it worked not quite as good, but good enough.
Morgan May Treuil [00:12:37]:
You could also slowly pulse a blender.
Leslie Johnston [00:12:40]:
Oh, yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:12:40]:
Like, not full on because it will grind up your meat. But, like, you could.
Leslie Johnston [00:12:44]:
Just a little bit.
Morgan May Treuil [00:12:45]:
Just a little bit, probably. I Don't know.
Leslie Johnston [00:12:47]:
And then in the chicken salad is literally just, like, celery, red onion, mayo, and then a couple other, like, salt and pepper in the chicken. Like, I don't even put. I love craisins, but I don't even put craisins in there. To me, the green apple is just, like, a perfect crunch.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:02]:
Yum. And a Hawaiian roll, too.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:05]:
Freaking Hawaiian roll.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:06]:
There's nothing better than a Hawaiian roll.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:07]:
I know. That's so true.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:08]:
Okay, that's really good. And that's nice because you can. You can. That's a great summer recipe. Because it's cold.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:13]:
It's cold, and it actually gets better, I think, like, the second day.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:16]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:17]:
Everything that sits gets better.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:18]:
Mm. Well, for the most times sometimes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:22]:
But then that. It's like. That's such an easy lunch because then you just have the Hawaiian rolls. You, like, scoop it. You just keep going.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:28]:
I love it. I know. It's. I'm actually sad because I kind of forgot that it was in my fridge. I don't know how good it's. How long is it good for? Like, if I ate it tonight?
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:37]:
Five days. Yeah. When did you make it?
Leslie Johnston [00:13:39]:
I made it probably two days ago.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:41]:
You can.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:41]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:42]:
No, yeah, yeah. You're plenty. Yeah, plenty.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:43]:
Chicken's fine.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:44]:
Chicken will last in the fridge for, like, a week, I think.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:48]:
Would you eat it?
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:49]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:49]:
Oh, good. Okay.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:50]:
I would eat it probably for the full week.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:52]:
Great.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:53]:
My dad would eat it past, like, two weeks, and he's literally had. Never has time.
Leslie Johnston [00:13:56]:
Okay, I'm. I'm making. I'm. That's what I'm eating.
Morgan May Treuil [00:13:58]:
My parents. I think your parents like this too, where it's like, you go in the fridge and it's like, hey, is this still good? You're like, oh, that doesn't go bad. I'm like, okay, it goes bad.
Leslie Johnston [00:14:07]:
My mom's like, they just put that on there for.
Morgan May Treuil [00:14:09]:
So you can keep buying it.
Leslie Johnston [00:14:11]:
Exactly.
Morgan May Treuil [00:14:11]:
That's my badass. So you can keep buying it. I'm like, that's. That can't be correct.
Leslie Johnston [00:14:15]:
I know, I know.
Morgan May Treuil [00:14:16]:
Can't be right.
Leslie Johnston [00:14:17]:
Okay, so you resurfaced on Made to Food.
Morgan May Treuil [00:14:21]:
There's been a couple things I've made recently that I really liked, but I've also had kind of a cooking hiatus. I was just looking for my pictures to see. I just haven't. The idea of it has really grossed me out. Last night, I made something amazing. It was an adaptation of a recipe. I wouldn't say that it was, like, the simplest thing It. I think it's very easy because it all happens in one pot.
Morgan May Treuil [00:14:46]:
That's my seat. Like, that's like, my favorite kind of meal. Like, it all happens in one pot.
Leslie Johnston [00:14:50]:
You love soup and like, I love stew.
Morgan May Treuil [00:14:52]:
I love one pot pasta bake. Yes, I love it. But there was one hack from this that I thought was good to share. I made, like, a beef stew, which I think sounds gross. This was like red wine beef stock, like, all the really good veggies. So it wasn't like, beef steak.
Leslie Johnston [00:15:09]:
You put like, flour on your beef.
Morgan May Treuil [00:15:11]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:15:11]:
This is what's crazy.
Leslie Johnston [00:15:12]:
Create a roux.
Morgan May Treuil [00:15:13]:
Yeah, sort of. So it's like the. The beef gets, like, a little crispier when it has flour on it. So, like, think about, like, Panda.
Leslie Johnston [00:15:20]:
I'm like, not that good of a cook. So if I sound surprised, it's because.
Morgan May Treuil [00:15:23]:
I never heard these things. No, but there are things, like, I never knew how to poach something before. If you put flour around your beef or your meat, it creates, like, a crispier edge to it. So, like, for example, chicken piccata, they'll, like, lightly dust their chicken breasts in flowers and flour to saute it, and then it gives it, like, a crispy edge to it.
Leslie Johnston [00:15:42]:
Okay.
Morgan May Treuil [00:15:42]:
That's why people do flour. But yeah, it was like, very simple. It was like bacon beef tips, which I was stressed about because I thought beef tips are going to get overdone and then they're going to be like, chewy, chewy and overdone and stiff. Cuz, like, chewy, overdone steak is not good.
Leslie Johnston [00:16:00]:
Not good at all.
Morgan May Treuil [00:16:01]:
However, this cooked and simmered in total in the broth for like an hour and a half. You do you make your full broth first that has like, red wine, beef stock, tomatoes, that kind of stuff. You put your beef that's already been cooked and your bacon back into it, and then you let that simmer in the oven at 350 for like, 30 minutes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:16:24]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:16:25]:
Pull it out. Then you add your potatoes, your carrots, your onions, whatever veggies you want to put it back in for an hour. By the time it came out, all of that beef was like, fall apart tender. Which this was my cooking hack that I just like. I feel like people should do two things. Number one is when you add red wine to stuff and cook it down, it does two things. Any alcohol that you add to a hot pan will deglaze the bottom. So if you get burnt bits on the bottom of your pan, you.
Morgan May Treuil [00:16:55]:
And you're worried about getting them Up. If you put alcohol onto a hot pan with the heat off, turn the heat back on. It will like scrape up all the bottom bits. The alcohol will lift up the bottom bits into your pan so you don't have to clean that hard.
Morgan May Treuil [00:17:09]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:17:10]:
It's also extra flavor. Number two, the longer you simmer something and cook something, the more tender meat gets. So it's like when. But it like, like simmer it in liquids of some kind. So it's like braising is the technique that people use.
Leslie Johnston [00:17:24]:
Okay.
Morgan May Treuil [00:17:25]:
It takes a longer time that if you like put it in and then leave it. I feel like it's really easy. Last tip, I was gonna say from this is when your soup is really thin and you want it to be a thicker. Everyone says add flour. So you like sprinkle flour in it.
Leslie Johnston [00:17:39]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:17:40]:
I've always thought that has made it clumpy. The flour doesn't dissolve. It's just gross. I was reading this recipe by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, and she's like, take 2 tablespoons of butter, room temp, 2 tablespoons of flour and mash it up into like a pasty.
Leslie Johnston [00:17:56]:
I saw you do that.
Morgan May Treuil [00:17:58]:
And then you put that into the, into the soup.
Leslie Johnston [00:18:00]:
It.
Morgan May Treuil [00:18:01]:
The butter melts with the flour and it immediately thickens your soups. There's no clumpy pieces of flour anywhere. It's like it immediately thickens it.
Leslie Johnston [00:18:11]:
I didn't mix it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:18:12]:
I didn't either. And I was like, this is genius. Cuz I hate putting flour in stuff to make it.
Leslie Johnston [00:18:17]:
And you kind of hate sometimes when a soup is supposed to be like a, like a hearty soup.
Morgan May Treuil [00:18:21]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:18:22]:
You don't want you to be super, like soupy. No. Or watery.
Morgan May Treuil [00:18:25]:
No. You don't. This is how you fix that. Two tablespoons of butter, two tablespoons of flour, paste it together and then you put it in and it was like perfect. It was so good.
Leslie Johnston [00:18:35]:
Tell them you were getting a little bit flamed for using a lot of dishes. But I like your, your strategy with this and I actually think it's a way better way to cook and I'm going to start doing it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:18:46]:
Two reasons why I did this. Number one is I wanted to film and I will tell them what you did. Okay. So I, I filmed me making this recipe because I think that's helpful sometimes to watch people together. I love it and I just think it's satisfying to watch. Like watching food get made, to me is so fun. Unless you're in your first trimester and Then I hate everyone. So what I did was I pre portioned out every ingredient.
Morgan May Treuil [00:19:12]:
So, like, meaning if there was two cups of beef stock and one cup of red wine, I put one cup of red wine in a bowl, separate. Two cups of beef broth in a bowl, separate. And then every ingredient, like carrots, needed to be peeled and chopped. I did all of that ahead of time, put it in a bowl, set it aside. So every ingredient was fully prepped as it needed to go in and in a separate bowl. And I did that because when I filmed it, I wanted to be able to, like, grab it and pour it. And then someone messaged me and was like, the amount of bowls that you use, that would stress me out. And I was like, I agree with you.
Morgan May Treuil [00:19:46]:
Except two things. Number one, I had a. I had a clear dishwasher. So every bowl I used, I just put it in the dishwasher and we ran it immediately. And it was like, no harm done to the kitchen. Number two, it actually made it so easy to cook because everything was already pre portioned and sized. So you weren't like, searching for measuring cups while you're burning your beef stock. While you're burning it, you're not going to grab the flour.
Morgan May Treuil [00:20:10]:
I can't find the salt. Everything's in there.
Leslie Johnston [00:20:12]:
It's way messier because then you're like trying to do a cup of this over the stove and then it's falling on the side.
Morgan May Treuil [00:20:17]:
Cleanest way I had ever cooked. The fastest way I had ever cooked.
Leslie Johnston [00:20:21]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:20:22]:
And it was, like, visually more satisfying. Everything about it was better. I will probably only cook from that way forward. Like, all portioned out, ready to go. In culinary world, they call that, like, mise en place, everything in its place. So they, like, have all the little, you know, whatever, like all of your little stuff, like, out and ready to go exactly as you need it. Your cutting board, your knives in a certain direction. Anyways.
Morgan May Treuil [00:20:45]:
Okay, what's something else that you've. Oh, your spinach dip. The fourth of July was so good.
Leslie Johnston [00:20:50]:
My icy spinach dip.
Morgan May Treuil [00:20:51]:
Your icy spinach dip was so, so good.
Leslie Johnston [00:20:53]:
What's so sweet is this recipe is from my mom's mentor when I. The year I was born. So, like, it's like a lady that she knew is her recipe. So it's like written on a card in a Ziploc bag. It's so sweet and wholesome. And so my mom has made this, and I hated it growing up, but now, like, all of a sudden, it's like my taste buds change. And I love it, so I'm always like, can you make it? But I made it on 4th of July, and it was great.
Morgan May Treuil [00:21:19]:
But it was so good.
Leslie Johnston [00:21:20]:
Yeah. You're just. I mean, it's. Now I know, like, there's a spinach artichoke dip, and that's more like. You bake it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:21:26]:
It's hot.
Morgan May Treuil [00:21:27]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:21:28]:
My hot take is that your spinach dip should be cold.
Morgan May Treuil [00:21:31]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:21:31]:
I think it's better. I think it's lighter. I think you can eat way more of it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:21:35]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:21:35]:
I think you have, like. If it's too rich and too, like, cheesy and creamy, then I think it's great. But you're. You're done with it after, like, five minutes. This spinach dip, you could eat it all day long.
Morgan May Treuil [00:21:45]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:21:46]:
And. And yeah, you use, like, a bag of frozen spinach. Use one of those. Lipton.
Morgan May Treuil [00:21:53]:
This was funny to me.
Leslie Johnston [00:21:54]:
What do they call that? Seasoning packet. Yes. Seasoning packets of leeks. Leeks.
Morgan May Treuil [00:21:59]:
The leek seasoning.
Leslie Johnston [00:22:00]:
Leek seasoning packet.
Morgan May Treuil [00:22:01]:
Ek, which, if you don't know what that is, it's like a.
Leslie Johnston [00:22:04]:
It's like, right next to the soup.
Morgan May Treuil [00:22:05]:
It's like a large. A very large layered green onion. Oh, yeah, that's what it is. I think a leak.
Leslie Johnston [00:22:11]:
Yep. You use that packet. You use sour cream and maybe a little bit of. I think you use some mayonnaise. And then you chop up water chestnuts.
Morgan May Treuil [00:22:22]:
This was also different to me, too. I had never heard of this.
Leslie Johnston [00:22:24]:
Yep. Water chestnut.
Morgan May Treuil [00:22:25]:
Water chestnut is like. You probably would have had those in Chinese food.
Leslie Johnston [00:22:28]:
Yes. And then you chop them up really tiny. And then you do a bag of frozen spinach and you. I think there's a couple seasonings you throw in there, but I forget what they are. It's a secret recipe, I guess. And then you stir it together, and then you put it in the fridge for a couple hours, and then it's. You chop up French bread. Not sourdough, a little French bread.
Leslie Johnston [00:22:51]:
And it is so good.
Morgan May Treuil [00:22:52]:
That sounds so good. It was so good. Even though there were, like, little bitty frozen pieces in there, it was still so good.
Leslie Johnston [00:22:58]:
I know.
Morgan May Treuil [00:22:59]:
We were, too.
Leslie Johnston [00:22:59]:
We were, like, wanting it now.
Morgan May Treuil [00:23:01]:
We were powering through the frozen spinach.
Leslie Johnston [00:23:03]:
But it was great.
Morgan May Treuil [00:23:04]:
That was so good. Yeah, I love it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:23:06]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:23:06]:
What else have you made or what have you made in the past that you're, like, so either proud of or, like, good tip on cooking?
Morgan May Treuil [00:23:14]:
I actually really are a great cook. That's really nice. I actually really liked this the other Day. This is. It sounds really exotic, but it's not. It's a. It sounds exotic. It's not.
Morgan May Treuil [00:23:30]:
It's called shakshuka. Shakshuka. Shakshuka. It's Mediterranean, and it's a breakfast dish. And basically what it is.
Leslie Johnston [00:23:37]:
This dish scared me when I saw it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:23:39]:
When you saw it, it was this one. This is the one that you're talking about. It's really good. It's good for breakfast. You can put it on toast. It's basically like, a big thing of, like, tomato and red pepper and onion sauce, but it's, like, thickened. And then you, like, put. You cook your eggs in that sauce, and you top it with, like, feta cheese and parsley and all these different spices.
Morgan May Treuil [00:24:04]:
And then, like, if you get really crusty bread, like, toasted crusty bread, and then you just, like, put the egg and some of the sauce on top, it kind of makes, like, a toast situation. It's actually really good.
Leslie Johnston [00:24:15]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:24:15]:
It's funny because my dad, growing up, he didn't have many. He was great on the grill, and he's actually got, like, a good flavor profile. He just always likes to add, like, jalapeno and lime flavors to everything, which used to just make us mad. But we were growing up, and he would cook. We were always just like, no, as kids, because he would do things that were just like, you know, like spaghetti, eggs. Like, eggs and tomato sauce. And we were like, this is so gross. Like, why would we do this? Or if mom is out of town, and we'd be like, let's go out to eat.
Morgan May Treuil [00:24:45]:
And he's like, no, Open up a can of beans. Like, he was just very, like. He was like, what we had was what. We love that. Which, you know, used to stress us out, but now that I'm thinking about it, this is kind of like that. It's, like, really doctored up. So it's not just spaghetti sauce and whatever, but it's like canned tomatoes, which are very easy, like, canned Marzano tomatoes, and then, like, peppers, and then you just poach the eggs in there. It's so easy, and it's actually so, so good.
Morgan May Treuil [00:25:12]:
It's like. I don't think it's too heavy, but it was. It was bomb. And you make it all, like, in one dish. Again, it's like, one skillet dish. I love a one skillet dish, which is so nice. I don't know if people knew this. You don't have.
Morgan May Treuil [00:25:25]:
There are certain pasta bake recipes where your pasta can cook. While baking submerged in a sauce water combination.
Morgan May Treuil [00:25:36]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:25:37]:
Which I thought was crazy cuz I.
Leslie Johnston [00:25:39]:
Always thought to cook your noodles before.
Morgan May Treuil [00:25:41]:
That's what I would have thought too. But not necessarily.
Leslie Johnston [00:25:43]:
Nice.
Morgan May Treuil [00:25:44]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:25:44]:
Is that what we're doing this weekend?
Morgan May Treuil [00:25:46]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:25:46]:
I'm going to watch you make that.
Morgan May Treuil [00:25:48]:
Cuz it's very easy and you just like make sure everything's covered and then it all just cooks in the thing.
Leslie Johnston [00:25:53]:
See, that's nice. That's why pasta. Sometimes I'm like, I just never think I'm gonna cook it right and I always like it a little al dente. So then I'm like stressed out if it's getting overly done. Whatever in the line of breakfast to me. Scones. Ooh, you got me a scone.
Morgan May Treuil [00:26:12]:
Like a mold?
Leslie Johnston [00:26:13]:
Yes, like a scone mold for my birthday and I'd never seen one before. I didn't even know they existed. I know they're like those brownie pans where it's all edges. Have you seen those?
Morgan May Treuil [00:26:22]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:26:22]:
This is what this scone thing is like where they're little triangles and I honestly first thought like, oh, I wonder if I like need this. It saves so much time really.
Morgan May Treuil [00:26:31]:
Like, like the shaping.
Leslie Johnston [00:26:32]:
Oh, and they're perfect. Like they come out in these perfect little triangles where like my scones always look just like. I mean I just made them, they're whole.
Morgan May Treuil [00:26:40]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:26:40]:
Like blobs. Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:26:41]:
But I would say I've been trying to perfect my scones because I love to bake. Great baker.
Morgan May Treuil [00:26:48]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:26:49]:
I use half bake harvest scone recipes. She has like a lavender like blueberry, I think, and then one that's like a BlackBerry with like a glaze on top. First of all, every scone needs a glaze. I don't care what type of scone you are, you need a glaze.
Morgan May Treuil [00:27:02]:
It needs an icing.
Leslie Johnston [00:27:03]:
No dry scones allowed. No. So she has a great scone recipe.
Morgan May Treuil [00:27:08]:
Yum.
Leslie Johnston [00:27:08]:
And they're so easy to make and they're so good. You gotta like cheese grade your butter though. So you gotta get your butter like in the freezer, not like totally frozen, but like throw it in the freezer like 30 minutes before.
Morgan May Treuil [00:27:20]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:27:21]:
And then you just shave it over. Don't over mix it too much.
Morgan May Treuil [00:27:24]:
I wonder what that does to help it. Like what do you think that does to like shave your bug? It's like it just gets more incorporated probably.
Leslie Johnston [00:27:31]:
Well, because you need a cold butter for scones. Like I think you can't. Well, you can't use melted because then they'll be like too melty. So you want cold? Yes. You want a cold butter which is. Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:27:42]:
It helps hold their shape.
Leslie Johnston [00:27:43]:
It holds their shape, yeah. But even your hand holding the like outside of the butter when you shave it is warming it up too much. So that's why they want it like almost to the point of like it's freezing.
Morgan May Treuil [00:27:54]:
Oh my gosh. Baking is so exact.
Leslie Johnston [00:27:57]:
That's why I love this out. I love that about it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:27:59]:
What is this? The last question we will ask for this minisode. What's one thing you've done this summer activity wise that you're like, this was a blast. Everybody should do this.
Leslie Johnston [00:28:13]:
We, we went to Yosemite just a couple like weekends ago and just for a day, A day trip, which if you live in California and you have not gone to Yosemite.
Morgan May Treuil [00:28:25]:
Yeah.
Leslie Johnston [00:28:25]:
You need to go like before the summer is over, set a date. Even if you have to drive three hours to get there, go for a day trip because it's the most beautiful place.
Morgan May Treuil [00:28:33]:
It's surprising to me how many people who live here who have not been to Yosemite, which there's so many. You would think.
Morgan May Treuil [00:28:39]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:28:39]:
I don't know. Like, I just like I've been everywhere in Texas. Because you live in Texas.
Morgan May Treuil [00:28:42]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:28:43]:
But there are a lot of people here who have never been to Yosemite. I'm like, this is a, Is this like a wonder of the world or something? Isn't this like a huge deal?
Leslie Johnston [00:28:50]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:28:50]:
We went like immediately after coming me moving here.
Leslie Johnston [00:28:54]:
So we went and right now the river is like the perfect temperature. It's so like it's refreshing and still cold, but it's not like absolutely freezing. So we, well, first we went to like the, the waterfall. I forget what it's called, but it's like the two waterfalls, like the one that goes into the other one. And we actually hiked up and swam in. Cuz right now, I mean it's pretty rushing but it's better than what it is in the winter time so you can actually swim in it. But then we went down the river on a little floaty, but the water was so nice. I just jumped in and it's like a chill river for the most part depending on where you go.
Leslie Johnston [00:29:29]:
And I just like literally floated on the river the entire way down and it was like the best.
Morgan May Treuil [00:29:35]:
That's so nice.
Leslie Johnston [00:29:36]:
It was so nice.
Morgan May Treuil [00:29:37]:
That is so nice.
Morgan May Treuil [00:29:38]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:29:38]:
How long was the float?
Leslie Johnston [00:29:40]:
We probably floated for like maybe like 30 minutes. It wasn't that long. Yeah, but it Was so nice.
Morgan May Treuil [00:29:46]:
That's so fun.
Leslie Johnston [00:29:47]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:29:47]:
The water was cold.
Leslie Johnston [00:29:49]:
It was. But it was hot outside, so it was so much fun.
Morgan May Treuil [00:29:51]:
We kind of wanted it to be cold.
Leslie Johnston [00:29:52]:
Yeah, it was the best.
Morgan May Treuil [00:29:54]:
We went to South Lake Tahoe. No, North Lake Tahoe. The other day we went to. What was the beach. It was. If you're a California local, this will be good for you to know. But Christie recommended this spot to me because we've been here a few times. Not to this beach, but to some of, like, the cliffside, rocky areas around it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:30:13]:
But it's Sand Harbor State park and it has great beach sand. And then you're looking. It was the best, I would say. Like, I've been to beautiful parts where you can see Lake Tahoe and you can see mountains and it's stunning. But they're not like habited inhabited places. Right. They're like kind of off the beaten path.
Morgan May Treuil [00:30:33]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:30:34]:
Most of the times when you go to beaches around Lake Tahoe, you don't really see. I don't think the scenery is as good. Like, the water's crystal clear blue. But you can't always see, like, mountains and beautiful stuff. This part, Sand Harbor State park, was like. You could see mountain over here. You felt like you had the Tahoe visual, but you're like, sitting on the beach, lounging. It's kind of oceanside vibes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:30:57]:
And it was so nice. We went for. We took our niece and we just went for the day and just like, like went for a few hours, relaxed and hung out by the beach. And it was like you. You lay outside until you get too hot, then you go in and you cool off and then you come back out and then you love the feeling of, like, cold water on your.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:14]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:15]:
In the heat is so nice.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:16]:
That's so.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:17]:
It was just like a quick little water day. I loved it. It was really nice. It was so fun.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:22]:
I know. Summer's a great time to, like, go out and explore places that you maybe haven't been before and find good spots.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:29]:
Yes.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:29]:
And just spend, like a relaxing day cooking and trying new recipes and all of that. Yeah, summer's great.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:37]:
This is. Yeah. This is the time to, like, waste time learning stuff and doing stuff.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:41]:
Yes.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:41]:
Going and trying and finding stuff.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:43]:
Exactly.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:44]:
Because then you learn.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:44]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:45]:
Okay.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:46]:
Well, this has been fun and relaxing. I like it.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:48]:
Hopefully you got some ideas, maybe some fun things to do, and if not, it's just like, maybe a fun way to waste your time.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:54]:
Yeah.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:54]:
And if you hated this, we won't do this very often. So you're good.
Leslie Johnston [00:31:56]:
So don't worry. I liked it, though.
Morgan May Treuil [00:31:59]:
I know. I did, too. I think I learned a lot. Okay. Thanks for joining us. And am I doing this right? We will.
Morgan May Treuil [00:32:03]:
See you guys.
Leslie Johnston [00:32:03]:
See you next week.
Morgan May Treuil [00:32:04]:
Next week.
Leslie Johnston [00:32:05]:
Bye.