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Khiry Palmer from the podcast Cooking in Khiry’s Kitchen transports himself to his mother’s kitchen as he shares one of his favorite childhood meals. Then we hear him cook his own spin on her legendary penne pasta bake.  This is the series finale of Skillet. Thank you for an incredible two years of cooking together and listening to each other. Our archive is full of good stories and sizzling food sounds. There are plenty of podcasts to fill the Skillet-sized hole in your heart. Here are some we mentioned in this episode: The Walk-In with Elle Simone Scott Afros and Knives Home Cooking Black Plant Chick Black in the Garden All My Relations Let’s Go Together Young and Indigenous Podcast Transcripts: Tretter Transgender Oral History Project

Chef Meherwan Irani pays homage to his homeland at his Indian restaurants in Atlanta and Asheville, NC. His innovative take on chaat, the crunchy, spicy street snacks he eats in India, has earned him four James Beard Award-nominations. Yet he is not bound by any notions of authenticity. In fact, some might balk at how he makes biryani in this episode. He cooks this traditional layered rice dish in a most untraditional way, and talks about why he believes it’s not fusion, it’s evolution. Follow Spicewalla, Chai Pani, and Meherwan Irani on Instagram. Learn more about his restaurants at ChaiPaniRestaurantGroup.com. Become a listener food sponsor and pay for the ingredients we cook with in a future episode by donating $20 at SkilletPodcast.com. Follow Skillet Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for behind-the-scenes moments and updates on Season Three.

Joe Bowie Jr. is as graceful in the kitchen as he is gliding across the stage. This professional dancer-turned-baker makes his version of his family’s pound cake recipe at his home in Columbia, South Carolina. Then he shares his journey from growing up in the shadow of the auto industry to touring with some of the best dance companies in the world before falling deeply in love with baking. Follow Joe Bowie’s baking adventures at @brooklynbreadnerd. Tell us what you think! Share your thoughts about this episode on social media. We’re @skilletpodcast on Facebook and Instagram. Want to become next week’s listener food sponsor? Donate at the $20 level at SkilletPodcast.com. Hit subscribe or follow in your podcast app so you don’t miss the season finale.

We sizzle and fry with Reina Gascon-Lopez, the chef and writer behind The Sofrito Project. We visit her in Charleston, South Carolina as she cooks a Puerto Rican feast that brings back memories of her of her homeland. She also talks about her journey from the tech world to fine dining, and why she’d rather fix supper than iPhones. Follow The Sofrito Project for Puerto Rican recipes, and check out @ReinaMadeIt for a behind-the-scenes glimpse into Reina’s fine dining career. Follow Skillet on Facebook and Instagram. Donate to Skillet and become a listener food sponsor at SkilletPodcast.com See photos from the live show and a transcript at SkilletPodcast.com

Check out our first live show! Recorded at Chow Chow, a new culinary festival in Asheville, North Carolina, on Sept. 14, 2019. Featuring Chef Clarence Robinson from Cooking with Comedy Catering.  Check out Chef Clarence Robinson at https://www.facebook.com/CookingComedyCatering/ and @flavor_king_r Follow Skillet on Facebook and Instagram.  Donate to Skillet and become a listener food sponsor at SkilletPodcast.com See photos from the live show and a transcript at SkilletPodcast.com

From lighting candles to bringing out big platters of food, the rituals of family meals bring us closer together. For school counselor, mom, and food blogger Whitney Fisch, those rituals also revolve around Judaism. We spend a Friday afternoon with @jewhungry and her extended family as she prepares Shabbat dinner. While the pesto chicken, smashed potatoes, and five other dishes finish cooking, she delves into some of the negative food rituals that bolster diet culture, as well as the warm memories she wants to instill in her kids. School counselor and mom Whitney Fisch blogs about Jewish food at Jewhungry. She shares Jewish recipes and family life on Instagram at @jewhungry and addresses diet culture and other issues that impact her students at @whitneyfischmsw. Follow Skillet on Facebook and Instagram. Donate to Skillet and become a listener food sponsor at SkilletPodcast.com. Transcript and photos available at SkilletPodcast.com.

Have you ever been in the kitchen with your bestie? The magic of two friends baking together makes everything sweeter, especially for Olga Perez, the owner of Short Street Cakes in Asheville, North Carolina. In this episode, Olga makes tres leches cake with Jodi Rhoden, her close friend and former owner of the cake shop. As they bake, Olga and Jodi remember the joys and struggles of running the bakery and raising their kids in a sugar-fueled dream world.  Short Street Cakes Recipe for Olga’s tres leches is in Cake Ladies by Jodi Rhoden. Tag us if you bake it!  Follow Skillet on Facebook and Instagram Go to SkilletPodcast.com for a transcript and behind the scenes photos. Become a listener food sponsor! Donate $20 at SkilletPodcast.com.

Bestselling cookbook author Julia Turshen isn’t afraid to break the rules. She burns sugar until it smokes (on purpose!) as she pays tribute to Jennie, the woman who inspired this chicken pelau recipe. While she cooks, Julia talks about ways that food can fuel social justice, and shares personal stories of feeling empowered and finding solace in the kitchen. Find more info about Julia Turshen’s books, Small Victories, Now and Again, and Feed the Resistance, as well as her podcast Keep Calm and Cook On at juliaturshen.com. Follow her on Instagram at @turshen. See behind-the-scenes photos at @skilletpodcast on Instagram and Facebook. Transcripts and additional photos at skilletpodcast.com.

What is Appalachian Soul Food and how do you convey its complexities on a restaurant menu? Ashleigh Shanti is chef de cuisine at Benne on Eagle in Asheville, North Carolina. She shares her vision of soul food while she makes one of her favorite childhood meals: braised oxtails with buttered rice and pink-eyed peas. Learn more about Chef Ashleigh Shanti and Benne on Eagle at benneoneagle.com. See behind-the-scenes photos @skilletpodcast on Instagram and Facebook. Become a listener food sponsor by donating at SkilletPodcast.com.

Sometimes the best way to learn how to cook is to have a grandma by your side. Skillet listener Emily Wimberly wanted to learn how to make pasta, so she asked her distant cousin Luigina Fiorio to show her. Through these lessons, Luigina became like a grandmother to Emily while she was away at college, providing a respite from the struggles of young adulthood. Emily recorded these lessons, including the afternoon when she learned how to make pasta by hand. Skillet Podcast edited these recordings down to the best moments and played them for Emily in this bonus episode.

What if all eight storytellers from our first season came together for a dinner party? It might sound like this bonus episode. Enjoy this imaginary potluck featuring some of our favorite moments from Season One. Want to support season two? Help reimburse storytellers for ingredients as a food sponsor. We’ll give you a shout out at the end of the episode! Go to SkilletPodcast.com to support the show. Follow us @SkilletPodcast on Instagram and Facebook .

You might not know Rosalind Scott’s name, but you’re going to love her stories. She’s a grandma, a retired teacher, and a top-notch cook. She shows us how to make one of her family’s favorite recipes: kousa mahshi. She teaches us how to stuff squash, talks about growing up Lebanese in Kentucky, and shares a scandalous story about cake. Nominate your favorite chef, neighbor, or grandma for a future episode of Skillet. Drop us a line at hello@skilletpodcast.com or through social media. See photos and bonus content on Skillet’s Facebook and Instagram. Donate to Skillet Podcast at SkilletPodcast.com.

We could feel the magic when we climbed on board Santiago Vargas’ food truck, Out of the Blue Peruvian Fusion Cuisine. He made seco, a cilantro beef stew that’s full of potatoes, peas, and aji panca, a smoky Peruvian chili paste. While the stew simmers, we meet someone very special in Santiago’s life and hear about a piece of his heart he left behind in Peru. Learn more about Santiago Vargas and Out of the Blue Peruvian Fusion Cuisine food truck on his Facebook page. See photos and bonus content on Skillet’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Donate to Skillet Podcast at SkilletPodcast.com.

Everyone’s comfort food is different, but the feeling of safety and security is the same. For farmer and food activist Sunil Patel, comfort food is a bowl of khichdi—a porridge of rice and mung beans with potatoes and cozy spices. His mother taught him how to make it, and he credits her for his dedication to food justice and his deep understanding of Indian flavors. Learn more about Sunil Patel’s Indian suppers, Patchwork Urban Farms, and Ujamaa Freedom Market on their websites. See photos and bonus content on Skillet’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Donate to Skillet Podcast at SkilletPodcast.com.

“Pie is love,” says baker and journalist Keia Mastrianni. Listen to her make blueberry hand pies as she untangles her own story. It’s a journey about loving her community, her partner, and herself while pursuing her passion for joy and justice. Follow Keia’s baking adventures on Instagram at @MilkGlassPie. Keep up with her food and farm writing at @Keiaishungry. See photos and bonus content on Skillet’s Instagram and Facebook pages.

Treat yourself to a steamy bowl of ramen, courtesy of Dan Wu, the man behind Atomic Ramen. He pays homage to his humble college diet of packaged noodles, punched up with fresh vegetables or whatever’s in the fridge. The self-described comic book nerd has a lot to say about growing up as the son of Chinese immigrants in the South. Now, he’s reclaiming his identity as a Kentuckian, wielding superhuman strength and soup stock. Atomic Ramen is located at The Summit at Fritz Farm in Lexington, KY. See behind-the-scenes photos on Instagram and Facebook. Skillet’s theme song is by Podington Bear and our ad music is by Ketsa Music.

Robin Reeves’ grandmother carried a pistol in her apron pocket when she worked on her tobacco farm in the mountains of North Carolina. Robin is equally tenacious as she fixes her grandmother’s famous chicken and dumplins and talks about her family’s Appalachian spirit. The 1840s farmhouse at Reeves Homeplace Farms in Leicester, North Carolina where we recorded this episode is also a bed a breakfast, owned and operated by Robin.

Lima beans sometimes get a bad rap, but in the hands of Bruce Ucán, chef and owner of Mayan Cafe in Louisville, KY, these legumes are legendary. He shows us how he makes his zesty, crunchy tok-sel lima beans that reinvigorate this misunderstood vegetable. After we eat, Bruce talks about growing up in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and his Mayan heritage. Then he takes us back to a New Year’s Eve that he says saved his life. Mayan Café is an “indigenously-inspired farm-to-table restaurant” in Louisville, KY. Chef Ucán fuses traditional Mayan flavors, ingredients, and cooking techniques with local, sustainably-farmed ingredients.

Ashley C. Smith is reconnecting African Americans in Kentucky with their legacy and contributions in agriculture. She lives in Lexington, a city where the local farmers market is held at a former slave auction block. She says conversations about race and reparations make some people angry, but it’s important to confront the truth and reexamine history. In this episode, she cooks a veggie stir fry with shrimp and Kentucky Hemp Dawgs. While we eat, she explains why these these hot dogs made with hemp taste so good. (Hint: there’s a dash of criminal justice reform mixed in.) We also talk about her childhood garden and how her grandmother Caroline inspired her outspokenness. Black Soil: Our Better Nature, co-founded by Ashley C. Smith and Trevor Claiborn, is a Lexington, Kentucky-based organization that offers farm tours, farm-to-table dinners, and workshops with the goal of reconnecting black Kentuckians to their legacy and heritage in agriculture.

Hear some magical moments from this season’s storytellers and find out why we created this podcast.