Ep 1: Alison Roman

I started this podcast after I started doing Twitter recommendations based on my one impulsive Amazon purchase of an under-the-desk elliptical, and it sort of spun into this podcast. Unlike other recommendation sites, I'm not here to tell you about the best product, just the things I bought, and I loved. Some are cheap, some are expensive, some have brand names, some are generic, and the one thing they all have in common is that they live in my house, and that I bought them, and that I love them. Welcome to T-Thanks, just bought it, the podcast where I tell you what to buy, and then you tell me what to buy, and then we all go shopping together. I'm your host, Caroline Moss, and today I'm joined by my friend, and your favorite chef, Alison Roman. Hi, hi, Alison. Alison is the chef and author of 2017's Dining Inn, and recently, as of October 22nd, published cookbook Nothing Fancy. Go buy both of her books wherever books are sold, then go home and make the cookies, make the stew. I need you to tell me what the viral recipe of Nothing Fancy is going to be. I literally have no idea. It's I do have guesses. Every time I have a guess, I'm wrong. I'm like, oh, this is it, and then it's not it. And so I feel like anything that I say is going to be, I know that it won't be, and I also have to assume that it's never going to happen again. Okay. Well, it's already happened twice. Right. So I feel like every time is the last time. Every time is the last time. It's a good way of living. And follow her on Instagram also at Alison Roman. Alison, thank you so much for coming. Alison E. Roman. Alison E. Roman. But only because Alison Roman is just a woman with a cat, and all of her pictures are just her and this one cat. First of all, we don't judge. No, listen, I have a cat, and I love her, but my Instagram is a bit more nuanced. She must feel, she must know about you. Yeah, there's also a woman who has a similar email address who gets a lot of my mail, and we've become friends. Oh my gosh. Good luck on the book tour, looks like you're really busy these days. Oh my, I love that. Yeah. It's really sweet. We have a little back and forth. Oh my, that's crazy. Does she live in New York also? I think she lives in DC. Cool. Yeah. Okay. The beige New York. Exactly. The beige more political. Wow. Sorry to mind, spicy. I know. So okay. Alison E. Roman. That is important. Unless you like women and cats, and then also you can follow Alison Roman as well. Follow them both. Um, yeah, no reason to, no reason to not, you don't have to choose. I just want to make sure you also get the right one. Right. Yeah. You'll know. Um, so we're going to start off this episode with a bang. Uh, I tell my guests to come prepared with a product that is less than $25 that they love and that they can't imagine life without. And then they have to give us, um, that's you and me listeners at home, we're in this together. Their best elevator pitch for the product. Will I buy it? Will I not buy it? Will you buy it? You're going to let us know. Alison, what did you come with? Okay. So can I just preface this by saying you picked the worst person to ask because she's so nervous. I am extremely nervous, but mostly because you should have seen me like all week just looking around my apartment being like, what is here that is not expensive or wasn't free or that I don't couldn't do without, which got me thinking I could do with that a lot of stuff. There you go. I have a lot of like small glass bowls that I'm like, I can't, I couldn't possibly part with. And I was like, I'm never going to convince anyone to buy these. Yeah. See, this is a secret minimalist podcast. Exactly. And so I am actually a minimalist. I am a person who believes in less as more. I want to own fewer things. Wow. I don't buy tools that are that serve one purpose, I am a broad strokes, use one tool for 20 things kind of person. Yeah. Especially in the kitchen. Yeah. I mean, that's the whole thing. Exactly. Exactly. Like you don't need a ton of equipment to cook anything wonderful and that's kind of been my M.O. From day one. Right. I know as if I bring something from the kitchen. No. I mean, I kind of was hoping. I would be kind of mad if like I had Alton Roman on the podcast and she brought me like some like, I don't know, lotion or whatever. Well, you that you've shamed me early on in the process of being like, I'm not, you know, make it good, not something like a hand lotion and I was like, well, I just recently fell in love with a hand cream and I wanted to talk about it, but I'm not anymore. This is how we all know how old all of us are when we get excited about the hand cream. Yeah. What I said was you don't, don't feel like you have to bring something. Well, you'll never know what hand cream I like now, so you know what, honestly, you've lost that privilege. I'm going to dig through your bag later. Okay. So let's, let's see it. Do you want to actually grab it? Yeah. Of course. Okay. I feel like you're sweating. Nerv. What do you think is going to happen if I don't like? All right. She's pulling out a. Is that kale? Yeah. There's kale on her tote bag. In case you didn't. I'm just doing it for Instagram. Perfect. Oh my gosh. For Emily and Penny. Yeah. That's. Okay. Okay. All right. Out of the bag of kale, come. Wait, sorry. Also, do they. Do the listeners know that it had to be $25 or other? Yeah. I just told them. I had to be. I told them. And I told them in the beginning that I asked you to bring something $25. Okay. Does it make it a little bit more like. I don't know, accessible. Yes. I also think, now that I'm looking at this thing that you brought, one of the components of this should be me having to guess what that is. Okay. If I don't know. Well, okay. So it's like a plastic. So I'm going to describe it to you at home. It's like a plastic, like half moon. It actually looks like the letter D that is filled in. It looks like it's flexible because you keep moving it around and bending it. I am no pro in the kitchen. If I had to guess, it would be some sort of like. Is it a heavy duty spatula, like a scraper? It's a scraper. Okay. It's a scraper. This is like my desert island kitchen tool aside from like. I wasn't going to bring like a baking sheet. Right, right, right. That's like an obvious thing. Yeah. I didn't want to bring anything that like, you're going to get in a starter pack. Yeah. For kitchen stuff. Yeah. Like we all know about the cast iron. Exactly. Which you're not going to also get for $25. That's true. So yes, this is a plastic bench scraper. It's made by the company Matt Fur. Okay. It might be French. It might be like Matt Fey. Okay. That's not for an America. Matt Fur is mine. Matt Fur. I'm cultured. I've been a farmer. I get it. So this is the first tool that I ever received as a professional cook. Okay. And this little mighty, small but mighty tool is probably the thing that I reach for most. When I don't have it near me, I panic. I feel upset. I feel lonely. I feel scared. Do you sleep with it at night? I would, but I would probably be afraid of misplacing it and losing it. It goes back to its place. Sure. This one that I brought with me, because I couldn't find my other one, is white and translucent. But you can actually die them with vinegar and food coloring, which is what I do. So if I really like you, I die you on the color that I think that is you. That's so nice. And then I give you the bench scraper. So this tool is something that I use as a pastry chef, because it was something that I could use to cut dough, divide, you know, bread dough, or cut cookies, or scrape up chocolate from a cutting board, or whatever. But as a regular marginaric savory cook now, I use it for everything from scraping up herbs on a cutting board. I use it to transfer vegetables from a sheet pan to a plate. There should be video with this, because I'm miming all of these actions. I'm like looking at it. I wish you guys could see my face, because I'm looking at it like it is the eighth wonder of the world. So there is a sharp edge to it. So I see that that would be helpful if you were like doing cookie or cake batter into a thing. Well, that's why so one end is rounded. Right. Which means you can get every last drop of batter out of something, whether it's like a tempura batter or a cake batter. Because like a regular spatula with a handle doesn't do that. Also, like, think about it. Next time you're doing something with a spatula, especially trying to get something out of the bowl. It doesn't look graceful. It doesn't look elegant. It feels like you're stabbing the bowl with a thing. And the thing bends down to it. It doesn't even give to the bowl. Exactly. You're kind of hoping for the best. It's like simultaneously either too strong or not strong enough. It doesn't do a good job. Worse, the ones that are like they separate from the stick and it's like why did that happen? So this is the answer to that. It's basically a hand spatula. It's an extension of your hands. And it feels like you would hold it the same way you would hold a knife. Like you're totally in control of it. It's all about control. Yeah, you're not like stepping into it with the hand on the stick. You're hoping for the best. You're right. There are a lot of imitations of this. That's why I specify the brand. Yeah, I am. I am not necessarily a brand person, except when I really think it matters. And I'm like, I'll buy my ibuprofen at Costco or buy that Kirkland signature. Sure, sure. Do not care. Love Kirkland. Matt Fur, though. Matt Fur can't get Costco. They don't have Kirkland signature. So this, I mean, because this I could easily think like, well, I could just find that for like 99 cents, but I won't get the same. So what did you pay for this? This is, I think, I forget if it's one or two, but it's 14.99. Okay. I mean, so it's obviously still a good deal. They'll also last an entire lifetime. Like they, unless you lose them, like I do. But I don't care about my things. That's why I don't have nice stuff. I was going to say that's why you don't have that many. But it is, once you have it around, you will also just find like a thousand uses for it. I use it to clean cast iron. Once it cools down, I like scrape it, the thing. I use it to clean my work surface after I rolled out pie crust. And do you put it in a dishwasher? Never. Oh, okay. Well, listen, listen, I don't have a dishwasher. That's cool. So I do. I am in the dishwasher. That's cool. But if you had a dishwasher, you wouldn't put it in. Probably not just because you don't need to. It's flat. No moving parts. That's also what I like about it. There's no seams. There's no places for stuff to get stuff to get stuck in. Okay. Like you just wipe it with a sponge and it's clean. This is very, it's very heavy duty. It's like, it's like they make ones that are more heavy duty duty. And those are very ineffective. And they make ones that are more flimsy. And those are ineffective as well. So this is the real deal. Well, because also notice how the thickness changes from the center to the edges. That's right. The edges are definitely a little bit more flexible. And don't have as much like stock today. So the center has weight. Cool. Meaning it's stable and sturdy. And that's where you hold it really. And the edges are slightly bendy, slightly flexible. I use it when I'm like spatch cocking a chicken if I roast the whole thing. As one does. Roasting on the sheet pan. All in all spatch cocking chickens. Like using it to lift the chicken off the sheet pan to like transfer it to the cutting board. What did you do before this? I've had this or I've had others. It's kind of like when you're dog dies and you get the same dog and just keep naming it. I really hope this is not the spatch. Well, I'm just saying like I haven't had that one. Sure, sure, sure. But like you've been using this tool. Wow. Yeah. And it's the one thing or if I can't find it, I panic. Do you remember who recommended it to you? My old and first boss in a pastry kitchen. Ron Mendoza. Wow. Ron Mendoza if you're listening. You know that I adore you. Thank you for bringing this into my life. I mean truly. But he stressed it as well. He's like, this is the only tool you need. Wow. And it was like we would keep them in our back pockets. Yeah. It was like I dyed mine pink because I was 19. Yep. That was my favorite color. Sure. Guess what's still my favorite color. I kept it in my back pocket. And anytime I couldn't, like sometimes I would scrape a bowl and take it to the dish pit, which is what we call the dish washing area in a restaurant. And every time the dishwasher would come back and bring it to me. Because he knew that if I lost it, I would just entier. Wow. Yeah. Was it an automatic love? Oh yeah. And immediate. Okay. And what were you using before that? It was like the first. So you literally got to the kitchen and he handed it to you almost like you're going to need this. This is really, this is a good one because you know, I don't know how to cook. I know how to cook about three things. Though I own your cookbooks. I basically make other people in my house cook out of them and then I eat. But this feels like a tool that even I not always in the kitchen doing extreme cooking will actually use. And honestly, you know, if I wasn't a cook, I would use this for things like repotting plants. I would use it to scrape soil. Oh. I would use it to like do stuff with. It's just a handy tool for moving things from one place to another. Is there any sort of like, I don't know where I'm going with this question. But like, you know, like when you're cutting vegetables on one cutting board, you need to get another cutting board for me. So there's no like cross-contentation. But like do you just like rinse this off quickly and use it for something else? Yeah. Do you use soap on it? Yeah. Wow. Yeah. This is a good one. I don't know why you were so nervous. I'm like absolutely going to buy this. It's a little nerdy, I guess. Oh, also I've used it to make ceramics. So like when you're spinning on the wheel, as one does. You use spatchcock chicken and you spin on the wheel? She does it always. What can you do? I listen. All right. I'm testing those boundaries. True. But yeah, like when you're trying to make flat stuff. Right. So when you're in ghost with Patrick. Exactly. Exactly. And you're sitting at the wheel. Yeah. And then you like instead of doing it with your hands, you pull that out. Because it's a straight flat surface. So it. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I mean, listen. I use it for cooking pretty much exclusively. Yeah. But I'm just saying even if I didn't. It is a household tool. It's a fun tool. Even more fun when you diet. Okay. So just to diet, all you do is get a little saucepan. Like equal parts white vinegar and water. Yeah. And then you add a little bit of sugar. And then like hope for the best in 40 minutes. But a lot of people do think that. I know you're rolling your eyes at me right now. But I'm on that channel. I don't consider cooking therapy. I find it really stressful. Because I've never gotten self-good selfie back from. Like I've never made something where I'm like, damn. Like that was good. You just are not. And the idea that. But I could get it from. You're putting your food in like a spaceship with buttons. And it's like. Yeah. No, I'm on board away from you. We got rid of our so fast. Maybe a knife made a carved out of stone. Right. Like a piece of sheet metal. I don't know. I guess I need something in between. I didn't like the Instant Pot because it was like still like work. But like not the fun kind of work. But I'm not. I can't be left to my own devices in the kitchen. I think we start with sheet. Like sheet pandanars for you. Okay. I can do that. But. I'm afraid. I'll just say it. I'm afraid. It's okay. What's going on? It kind of happens. It's bad. I have to see most dinner. That's fine. I mean, also that's probably what I would do anyway. Yeah. The joy I get from seamless saying is probably the same joy you get from cooking. You know what people are like, oh, I love a home. The joy of seamless. The joy of seamless. Now some people are like, oh, I really love a home cook meal. I'm like the opposite. I'm like, you know what I love? You know Chinese food. I love food periods. I love food periods. So like I write to just do it all and see it all and have it all. I want. So you're going to come over, teach me how to cook. I'm going to put you under the weighted blanket for the length of the time that we need to put the one pan meal in the oven. You're going to tell me if you're going to buy it. To everyone at home, I'm going to link all of these products, including Alison Roman's recommendation of the Matt Fur, pronounced Matt Fur. Matt Fur. If you are fancy, wherever we are linking things where you can see them, and please remember to follow Alison on Instagram, that's Alison E. Roman, not Alison Roman, and by her newest book, which is called Nothing Fancy, wherever you buy books. Alison, thank you so much for coming to GeeThings. Just bought it. I just thought I was like, is it it or this in my head? GeeThings just bought it. And I'm really excited to buy the Matt Fur. Oh, I'm so excited. I really am. For you to buy the Matt Fur. I can't wait to cook with you. Thanks for coming to GeeThings.