Homemade Live!

JOEL: Today it's all homemade.

We're taking you to Italian cooking school.

Start with a sofrito, garlic, tomatoes and now the ditalini?

- The ditalini.

JOEL: It's such a cute name.

Internet sensation Ereka Vetrini stops by.

We're making pasta e fagiole.

Did I say that right?

- Pasta e fagiole.

JOEL: She teaches me one of her family's Italian favorites.

This looks like just comfort food.

- That's like a lot of love and a lot of nutrition.

JOEL: Plus, I revisit one of the first recipes I learned in Italy.

Tuscan 40-clove garlic chicken.

And I want you to try this.

- Yeah, it's like a hug in the mouth.

It's so warm.

JOEL: Hug in the mouth, baby, I'll take it!

It's all coming up right now, on Homemade Live!

Get it really cold.

Make sure there's a little line riding up, and then, you just kind of follow the line.

- Oh, I never even noticed that line.

JOEL: Yep.

- Yikes.

Dude!

(cheers and applause) JOEL: Isn't that awesome?

Hey, I'm Joel, a dad, husband, and sustainable chef in Seattle, Washington.

I believe the best ingredient on Earth isn't what's on the plate, it's actually what's around the plate-- the people, the places, the stories.

That's what inspired Homemade Live!

Each week, we go live from our kitchen, in front of a studio audience, with famous friends.

We share food memories and recreate them on the spot.

Welcome to Homemade Live!

- Funding for Homemade Live!

is made possible by... - Protein-rich and sustainably raised, American lamb is a versatile ingredient in any dish.

For recipes, nutrition information, and to learn more about our commitment to sustainability, visit americanlamb.com.

(cheers and applause) JOEL: Thank you!

I'm so stoked.

I'm so stoked.

Whether you're on the couch or hanging out with us here, we are taking a plane trip today 'cause we're going to cooking school specifically in Italy.

We're going to Italian cooking school.

(cheers and applause) That's, that's where I went to school.

That's where I went to, to cooking school.

I chose Italy because there's like a rusticity there.

There's like a familial thing there.

I didn't want to learn, like, you know, soldier, yes, sir.

That's French cooking.

Italian cooking is from the heart.

It's unbelievable.

You go there, and the most simple things that you think you know, you just, they get elevated.

I don't, like, you think you know ice cream.

You eat it, it's like, oh, my gosh!

It's the best ice cream of your life.

And I remember I had chicken, and I was 19 years old.

I'm like, it's chicken.

Okay.

I'll have a normal chicken.

And, uh, one of my teachers taught me this chicken.

And, again, I thought I knew chicken.

This took it to a whole new level.

So for our first bite, I'm doing 40 garlic clove chicken.

(cheers and applause) You say 40 garlic clove chicken, this is not good for a date night.

I'll say that right now.

You will have horrible breath, but it's just so warming.

And there's something about caramelized garlic, when you hit it right on the edge of being burnt, that just kinda, mmm, it just works.

So, number one, when it comes to really good chicken, what I like to do, what I was taught in Italy is buy chicken breast with the skin on.

Even if you're not gonna eat the skin, if it's not your jam, cook it with the skin on because it keeps it incredibly moist.

It's almost like a sausage casing.

And if you want to peel it off later, I'm cool with that.

I don't care about that, but it makes it incredibly juicy.

So I have two chicken breasts with the skin on that we just seared in a lot of olive oil 'cause we're at Italian cooking school.

And, um, these are still raw in the middle.

So I just got them brown.

And you can see what's left inside the pan is just love.

If this wasn't scorching hot, I'd lick it.

Yes.

(cheers and applause) This right here, these little brown bits, you know, this is what's gonna make this sauce what it is.

And like I said, it's 40 garlic clove chicken.

We have a couple here already.

Let me get 'em all out there.

So, we're gonna add in our garlic, and you can, like, within a second, it just hits you.

And it's just, 40 cloves is no joke, people.

40 cloves is no joke.

We're just gonna let that kinda caramelize.

Now, this chicken I had in Italy had something that just had depth to it.

And what I learned in Italian cooking school is tomato paste is huge.

You guys cook with tomato paste a lot?

We cook with tomato sauce.

But tomato paste is when they take the tomato sauce and they, like, spread it over a huge table in the sun, and they let it sit out for, like, three days.

And what happens is all the water evaporates, and it just becomes this really thick paste.

And it tastes like it's been cooking forever, because it's been in the sun evaporating, and it gives you that really deep, rich kind of experience.

So just a tablespoon of this transforms this chicken.

Do you guys smell it, by the way?

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

JOEL: And then a couple other ingredients that I love, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts.

These, when I had in Italy, were with fava beans.

Do you guys ever cook with those?

They were so bright and fresh, but sometimes you just don't, who has fava beans?

So go in, grab some jarred artichoke hearts, so get in there.

And now we're just sauteing all of that in all of this goodness.

It looks insane.

We've got some oregano, bay leaf, some chili flake.

You shake that in there, give a little bit of salt, and I'm just gonna kind of scrape this through and let this cook for a minute.

Now, as I season, I think about, you know, here at Homemade, we have an amazing team of chefs.

One of them is with us, and he specializes in teaching Italian food.

Give it up for Nicco.

(cheers and applause) What's up, buddy?

How are you, man?

- I'm great.

Thanks for having me.

JOEL: Nicco!

You've taught so many people how to cook, how to cook Italian food.

You are Italian.

You just got back from Italy.

- Yep.

JOEL: What is, like, the number one mistake people make when they try and cook Italian food, in your mind?

- The, the biggest mistake that folks often make when cooking at home is, is not seasoning enough and... JOEL: Yes.

Yes!

- ...not seasoning as they go.

JOEL: Yes.

- And so right here, already what you've done... JOEL: Yes - ...we're talking about the chicken, seasoning that ahead of time, putting that sear on it, locking in those juices.

JOEL: Yep.

- What happens when you season as you go and as you season in layers is that you draw more flavor out of each component.

JOEL: Yes.

- And it's gonna taste better at the end.

Because if you were to put no salt in this, right?

If you were to just season at the end, you'd get that superficial salt on your palate.

JOEL: Yes.

Yes.

- And then the food drops off on the back.

JOEL: Yes.

- And one of the biggest examples we always like to give in class when we're teaching is the noodle.

If you've ever cooked a piece of pasta before in unsalted water, you only have one chance to season that pasta.

JOEL: Yeah.

- And that's in the water.

If you forget to salt it, you take it out, and you're like, "Oh, darn.

That's kind of a bland noodle."

JOEL: Yeah.

- The best time you have to season that is when it's in the water, so seasoning as you go.

JOEL: That is right.

(cheers and applause) Very good advice.

By the way, I'm stealing the band name Bland Noodle.

I love that name.

(laughter) All right, so I've got a little honey here because there's just a lot of richness going on here.

So honey goes right in, and that will counter it.

And then I've got two things to kind of deglaze.

I've got white wine and chicken stock.

So those are both going in.

And once that's in, you want to give everything a huge scrape.

So you take this chicken back up; you tuck it into bed just like that.

All right, and you let this go for about eight minutes.

And what's cool about this is it's steaming at this point.

So we went from searing, which can make it really dry 'cause there's no liquid in it, to steaming, which, like surrounds it with moisture, and it makes it unbelievably unctuous and juicy.

This is what makes, this is why Italians can take something simple like a chicken breast and just elevate it.

So these are ones that are done.

It's really reduced down.

So the sauce has gotten insanely thick.

And I just kind of baste.

(cheers and applause) JOEL: So good.

And at this point I'm gonna take some kale.

Any-- or spinach would be really nice, add that in there.

I'm gonna add a glug of cream, okay?

They would kill me in Italy if I did this.

But I think it kind of adds just a little bit of just extra softness, velvety-ness.

And we're just gonna kinda let that cook down and as I cook, I have to ask Nicco another question.

Since we got you, you just got back from Italy.

- Yeah, it was my parents', uh, 45th wedding anniversary.

JOEL: Aw, that's awesome.

- Yeah.

(cheers and applause) JOEL: I love that.

So when you go, like, what did you take away from this trip, like, what, what was the big...?

- Especially in Italy, every time I go, I always want to try to learn something new.

JOEL: Yes.

- And as you know, I'm an absolute pizza "obsessie."

In Naples, you know, this is the birthplace of pizza.

JOEL: Yes.

Yes, yes.

- Especially Neapolitan pizza.

And so as a pizza obsessie, I was really interested in watching the process.

And so I was just blown away by how puffy they were able to keep the crust by the stretching techniques that they use, how amazingly crisp it was but still like a really soft and puffy dough.

JOEL: Yes.

- Had to go, had to watch them in Naples and really see how it's done.

JOEL: Sounds terrible.

Pizza, pizza eating in Italy, sounds terrible.

I love it.

Well, while you were telling us about pizza, our kale has wilted down.

This is ready to go, so I just grab one of these.

Right?

And I go right on the plate.

Look at that.

And then I get in there.

You kind of shake that sauce.

Make sure you're getting all of it.

You just kind of drizzle.

And if the bay leaf comes, that's awesome.

That's the whole deal here.

(cheers and applause) Yup.

It's no fuss.

And then the way I finish this, I mean, if we're going to Italian cooking school, we're going to eat some Parmesan cheese.

So a little bit over the top.

(cheers and applause) You can give it a little wedge of lemon, but that is about it, you guys.

My absolute favorite, Tuscan 40 clove garlic chicken.

I want you to try this.

I want you to... - Let's do it.

JOEL: ...try this out.

Let's see.

Hold on.

I'll do it with you.

I'll do it with you.

Insane.

You guys can-- it's-- you can smell it, right?

I mean, it's, it... - (audience reacts) JOEL: ...it's so potent.

- Oh.

JOEL: Isn't that crazy?

Tastes like it's been cooking for hours.

(cheers and applause) - So, so good.

JOEL: Yeah?

Loving it?

- It's outstanding.

Yeah.

It's like a hug in the mouth.

It's so warming.

JOEL: Hug in the mouth, baby, I'll take it!

I love it.

Well, coming up next, um, obviously you guys saw that we used a lot of chicken stock here.

We all have a lot of chicken stock at home, popping out of our ears.

We wanted to show you guys how to save that chicken stock, so watch this.

Yo, guys, we are in the Homemade prep kitchen.

I am with our culinary producer.

Meg, what's up?

- Hey.

JOEL: A big, huge important part to Meg and to myself is to use food well.

And today we are talking about chicken stock.

- I always have some.

It feels productive when you're using scraps that you've collected along the way.

JOEL: When you're cooking and you're chopping, have a little bowl nearby and just throw your scraps in there.

Throw them all in a little freezer bag, yeah?

And then to make the actual stock, how do you do it, Meg?

- I'll throw it in a pot, some spices to add a little bit of depth to your broth.

Want to cover it with water.

JOEL: You bring it to a boil.

Then what, an hour or so?

- Yeah, yeah, watch a show.

Come back, let it, you know... JOEL: Totally.

Do some work.

- Let it simmer.

Yeah.

JOEL: So, after the show, you've got to strain it.

And it looks like something like this.

And then what, Meg?

- So, storing is really important.

I like to use a shallow container.

It's easier to thaw.

I'll label them before with the date.

And then, um... JOEL: This is genius.

- ...an ice cube tray is really great for a risotto.

Then you can just pop a cube of your broth in there.

JOEL: Yeah, the whole point is that you don't want to have to defrost the entire bucket of broth.

Do it as you need it.

Yay.

- Yay.

JOEL: Good job.

(cheers and applause) Thank you.

Um, we are whisking you away to Italy for cooking school today.

And we couldn't imagine a better teacher.

She teaches the world Italian cooking.

She has millions of followers on social media.

Give it up for Ereka Vetrini!

(cheers and applause) Good vibes.

Oh!

- I am so happy to be here.

Hi, everybody.

This is so cool.

JOEL: This is cool, right?

- This is so cool.

JOEL: I mean, you have blown up on TikTok.

My sister, by the way?

- She's so cute.

JOEL: I told her that Ereka was coming.

It was like the Beatles were showing up.

- Shut up.

JOEL: I had to, like, get security around Ereka to make sure my sister stayed away.

It was bad.

- She's so sweet.

JOEL: I mean, you have just gone viral.

People love you.

- Thank you.

JOEL: What has that been like, and how did you get into this?

- You know, it's the craziest story.

I've always had a love of, of cooking.

I was brought up in my parents' restaurant business.

So cooking has always been my way of showing love and, and I've always had people in my home.

And my daughter knew this about me.

And at age 12, she was like, "Mom, you got to get on TikTok."

And I'm like, Joss, I'm not doing the, the dance.

I'm not doing it.

(laughter) I'm not good at it; I'm not doing it.

And she's like, "No, Mom, they cook."

And I said, "No."

So then all of a sudden quarantine hit and we were really bored.

So we created our first recipe.

JOEL: Okay.

Home from school?

Make your own lunch.

Homemade pasta and sauce in ten minutes.

(in studio): That took off, and I kept just kind of pushing it and sharing the recipes that I loved and that were from the heart.

And next thing you know, five years, we got to a million on Instagram and TikTok.

JOEL: Dude.

Separately.

It's kind of cool.

(cheers and applause) JOEL: I mean, that's just crazy.

And one of the things that just I know that we all relate to you is how approachable you are.

You're just us, and you make it easy.

And I know you grew up in an immigrant home.

Did that inform your style?

- Yeah, well, actually my parents, because they are immigrants, they did things by the books, like, and you'll see it in this recipe today, too.

Everything was more long-form.

I think that Italians believe there's a process, and sometimes it is a longer process.

JOEL: Yes, yes.

I, growing up and finally having children, was like, I can't do it the way my mom did it all the time.

I'm gonna do the best that I can do.

And then I just shared.

I lived what I'm sharing is, is the bottom line.

JOEL: Well, thank you for letting us be a part of it.

It's awesome.

- I'm so happy I'm here.

JOEL: It's awesome.

- I'm curious to learn from you.

JOEL: For our next bite, we're making pasta e fagioli.

- Yes.

JOEL: It's gonna be-- did I say that right?

- Pasta e fagioli.

Pasta e fagioli.

JOEL: Pasta e fagiol-- Everyone say it with me.

(with audience): Pasta e fagioli.

- Pasta e fagioli.

You know.

That's it, that's it.

Um, okay!

JOEL: All right, how do we start this puppy?

- All right, we're gonna, we're gonna keep it really simple.

We're gonna start with olive oil because everything... JOEL: Yes.

- ...in Italian cooking starts with a really generous amount of olive oil.

And then we're gonna go in with our sofrito, right?

JOEL: Yeah, what's sofrito?

- Sofrito is the holy trinity.

We've got our, our aromatics... JOEL: Yeah.

- ...our celery, our onions, and our carrots.

(pan sizzles) And beautiful sound right there.

JOEL: Yeah.

- Um, and we... JOEL: And we want to kinda just, like, let this soften... - Yes.

JOEL: ...and sweet and... - Yes.

Okay, so to this, we're gonna add some garlic.

You want to add some garlic?

JOEL: Yes.

- And I have to say... JOEL: This smells really good.

- Yeah, and I'm just, I'm gonna add my seasoning.

JOEL: Yeah, yeah.

- Is that okay?

JOEL: What do you got?

Uh, this is rosemary and thyme.

JOEL: Yeah.

- So I'm just gonna add it in.

- And I'll tell you about it.

My mother, they lived, my dad was coastal and he did seafood, that was like a big thing for them.

But my mom was more inland, and they were resourceful.

This was like povera cucina, right?

This was like use... JOEL: What is it called?

- Uh, povera cucina, like peasants.

JOEL: Why does everything she says sound so damn good?

- Povera cucina.

JOEL: I don't... like, it... JOEL: Povera cucina.

Okay, peasant food.

- Yeah.

And my mom-- we're gonna salt, too-- my, my parents used what they had, and so beans have a long shelf life, right?

So they would-- but the thing about Italian-- like I said, long form, so they liked to soak the beans overnight, and then you cook the beans.

JOEL: Oh, it's a whole thing.

- It's a whole thing.

JOEL: Yeah.

- But that broth from that bean is so special.

I just don't have time for that.

So we have shortcuts here, and we'll show you in a bit that have to do with canned beans.

JOEL: So was your mom just always in the kitchen or your dad alway-- I mean, I know you grew up... - My mom.

JOEL: You grew up-- okay.

So your mom was always in the kitchen because at the pizza shop it was your dad.

- My dad.

My dad was there.

JOEL: So she mentioned she, literally, she grew up in a restaurant, a pizza shop in New York.

- I did, I did.

(cheers and applause) JOEL: I love that.

Tell us, tell us about that.

- Yeah, so my, um, I get like super emotional when I talk about my parents because they came here with nothing.

JOEL: Mmm.

- They're Luigi and Maria.

Maria Carmela Orlandina.

Three names.

I don't understand.

Um, and they had nothing, and they worked really, really hard.

My dad opened his first pizzeria when they got married.

I think I was, like, one, maybe.

It burnt down actually.

They had to rebuild it again.

JOEL: Oh, God.

It's a long story, but they worked so damn hard... JOEL: Yeah.

- ...to build this restaurant.

So I was there ever since I was very little.

Um, you know, making boxes, rolling dough.

JOEL: We played with Play-Doh.

You played with actual dough.

Yeah.

- I played with actual dough.

Yeah, yeah.

So it's, it's a wonderful experience to see your parents work super, super hard.

JOEL: Yeah.

- They paid for me to go through college.

They've always been there for me.

I might cry.

That's how this goes.

JOEL: Bring the tears, baby.

And the pizzeria is still going.

- Oh, yeah.

My brother, Aurelio, just took over, Elio.

JOEL: And what's it called, the spot?

- It's Gino's Pizzeria is the name of the spot.

JOEL: Yeah.

From what I know, and, you know, I lived in, in Manhattan for a little bit, I didn't get out to Westchester that much, but I've heard it is legendary... - Yeah.

JOEL: ...in the area.

- Yeah.

JOEL: Like, it will never leave.

And if it does, there will be riots.

- Oh, it better not leave.

JOEL: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's amazing.

All right, so... - It better not.

JOEL: Sofrito has done its thing.

What are we up to next?

- Okay, so now we're gonna add in our tomatoes.

So my parents are from the Naples area.

JOEL: Yes.

- So red sauces are predominant in that part of the woods, as you probably know.

We're gonna add that in.

JOEL: I think it's so cool in Italy, like, and I'm sure you guys know this if you travel, every region is so different.

- So very different.

JOEL: They might not use red sauce up north, it's more white sauce-based.

Down south, there's almost like it's more vinaigrette-y, like, it just depends where you go.

- 100% because they worked with what they had... JOEL: Yes, yes.

- ...which was easily available.

And it was, they're seasonal, too.

My mom-- I'm gonna add the chicken stock now... JOEL: Do it, yeah.

- My mother, uh, I love her because she'll, like, not eat fruit, if it's not in season; she's like, "No, I don't-- I'm not craving that," 'cause, like, because that's how she grew up.

She grew up with what was seasonal, what was growing, what they picked.

She said she used to travel, like, a mile and a half to go get milk, actually, like, from the cow.

JOEL: I kind of love that because if you cook seasonally, and I, I do this, right?

So like I'm not eating tomatoes in December.

I wait till summer, and I can't freaking wait when the tomatoes are in season.

And it's kind of like seeing an old buddy.

- Yeah.

JOEL: It's like, "Oh, yeah!

I remember you from last year."

Like, it's new again.

And so it's kind of fun to eat seasonally.

It keeps it kind of alive in the kitchen to me.

- That's right.

JOEL: Now I'm seeing the cutest little pastas, what are these called?

Okay, these are ditalini.

Everybody knows what... Has everyone heard "ditalini"?

- No?

No?

You know ditalini.

JOEL: Do you know ditalini?

- Yeah.

JOEL: Okay, Alex... - Pasta e fagioli.

- Pasta e fagioli.

JOEL: Okay, okay.

- So it's a form of pastina.

And pastina, it ranges from everything from like the stelline that we know to the acini to ditalini.

Just tiny little pasta.

JOEL: Okay.

- And if this... JOEL: How long does that take to cook?

- Um, this should probably take about ten minutes if we want it al dente.

And I said this before, my mom probably wouldn't add it to the sauce; she would probably cook it separately.

Because if this sits for too long, it will grow and not be al dente.

JOEL: Yeah.

- And they like everything al dente.

JOEL: Mmm.

- Right?

A little bit of bite.

JOEL: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, So you cook it.

And then you got to kind of watch it.

- Yeah.

JOEL: And not hold it so much.

So that goes right in.

- Goes right in, baby.

JOEL: So, basically, just to recap, we start with the sofrito, a little bit of garlic.

We added some tomatoes.

- Mm-hmm.

JOEL: We added some beautiful stock.

And now the "ditt-a-lini"?

- The ditalini, yeah.

JOEL: Ditalini.

It's such a cute name.

- It is a cute name.

JOEL: I want to name my dog that.

Yes.

- Yeah.

JOEL: We let that cook and kind of for about ten minutes.

And then it kind of looks like this.

- So beautiful.

JOEL: Now at this, which doesn't look that different, but you can tell in ten minutes.

- It's richness.

Oh, yeah.

JOEL: It's rich.

The pasta is beautifully cooked through.

- Mm-hmm.

JOEL: So what do we do at this stage?

- And also the pasta adds to the starchiness, which is amazing.

Okay, so now this is my hack.

I told you that my mom usually soaks, cooks, uses the broth that the beans were cooked in to make the actual soup.

JOEL: Yeah.

- We don't have that flavor, so we want to add that back.

So what I did is I blend... JOEL: This is genius.

- ...a can of the, uh, cannellini beans.

JOEL: Yes.

- And you can see, it immediately starts to thicken.

JOEL: It's such a smart, healthy way to thicken a soup or a sauce.

If you ever have a soup and you're like, "Man, this is just watery," grab a can of, of cannellini beans, grind it up and add it in.

It will just become creamy.

- This richness, this creamy texture.

JOEL: I've actually added it to risotto, too, instead of butter... - Ooh, I love that.

JOEL: ...and cheese.

- I love that.

JOEL: And it's got a really good creaminess, too.

So you just add all those beans in.

This is what you're known for, by the way, Ereka, is these are recipes that go so many years back, and they take hours and hours.

And you think you've got to cook for hours and hours to kind of taste Italy.

You don't.

- You don't.

JOEL: You can find the right places, right, and really make those moves.

And you've done that, and, honestly, thank God you have.

- Oh, you're so sweet.

Thank you.

JOEL: It's the best.

JOEL: It's the best.

- I, I always want to... (applause) I feel like less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying it with my family is key.

Right?

I want to be... JOEL: Absolutely.

That's all we all want.

- Yeah.

JOEL: Absolutely, okay.

So we're gonna let those kinda cook.

I did want to do something; I'm gonna kinda... - Yeah.

JOEL: ...surprise you for that.

First of all, I want to ask you, you grew up in a pizzeria... - Yes.

JOEL: ...in New York.

Would you consider yourself a pizza snob or not really?

- Um... JOEL: Is that a thing?

- Yeah, I think I, I think, I think I'm a snob of many things, actually, when it comes to food, but definitely pizza.

JOEL: Well, we thought it'd be fun-- you're in Seattle.

So you traveled 3,000 miles from here.

So we wanted to, can we bring out one of the pizzas that I got... - Oh, my gosh.

JOEL: ...for Ereka to try?

Get 'em out here.

- I am so excited!

(applause) JOEL: All right.

So, I'm not gonna tell you where these places are from, but I would say... - Okay.

JOEL: ...this is my favorite... - Ooh, it's beautiful.

JOEL: ...New York style in Seattle pizza, okay?

So this is our, this is New York style.

All right?

- Should I go?

JOEL: Yeah, go for it.

- I love already that it's got these burnt crispy edges.

JOEL: Yes.

- And I love how they make the pepperoni turned, uh, per-- look at that.

I love that.

That... JOEL: Yeah.

- Can you see that?

(laughter) JOEL: I like the fold.

- Mmm.

JOEL: Be real.

Be real.

- Why do I take such big bites all the time?

(laughter) I'm so obnoxious that way.

It's so good, though.

JOEL: Yeah?

- Really good.

JOEL: Okay, out of ten.

- I'm definitely... it's an eight or nine.

JOEL: Okay, I love it!

All right, put it back here.

Put it back.

No, no, no, no.

I got more for you.

So, that's our, that's our classic kind of New York vibe over... - I like that a lot.

JOEL: ...on the West Coast.

Okay.

- I like it.

JOEL: Eight or nine is like, I'm feeling a little verklempt.

- No, it's good.

It's good.

JOEL: We wanted to throw a little curveball at you.

- Okay.

JOEL: So have you ever heard of a Seattle dog?

- No.

No.

JOEL: Okay.

- No!

JOEL: Everyone here is laughing.

- Wait.

Is this... JOEL: So, so a Seattle dog, late night, maybe you've had a couple drinks, gone out to the bar, whatever.

- I've been there.

I've been there.

JOEL: Yeah?

Maybe a little concert.

There's hot dog stands here in Seattle.

- Oh, that would be me.

JOEL: And they do hot dog, cream cheese... - Ooh.

JOEL: ...caramelized onion, maybe a little jalapeno.

So we brought a, a pizza that's inspired by that.

- Wait.

I am loving this.

(cheers and applause) JOEL: Let's try this.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Seattle dog pizza.

- Oh, shut up.

JOEL: Yeah.

- It looks delicious.

JOEL: I'm gonna take a bite with you on this one because I've never even tried this one.

Do you want to grab a piece?

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

JOEL: I mean, if you think about it, hot dog is salami.

I mean, it's like pepperoni.

- As long as it's not pineapple.

JOEL: Oh, you won't do pineapple?

You won't do pineapple?

- I'm not a big fan of it.

JOEL: Me neither.

Eh, yeah.

Cheers.

- I mean, I bet you it's good, but cheers.

- Oh.

It's sweeter than I expected.

JOEL: Which is not what your favorite thing is in the world.

- No, no, no.

It's... JOEL: It's got heat.

It's a little dry.

I want more of the cream cheese.

But I would say, honestly, from a flavor combo sitch, I'm in.

What do you think?

- I'm, I'm in.

And especially if it's late night.

(applause) JOEL: That's our little Seattle pizza review.

All right.

While we've been doing that... - Mmm.

JOEL: ...this pasta e fagioli... - E fagioli.

JOEL: Oh my God, look at this.

I mean, it just looks insane.

Do you finish it with everything?

I mean, I know you have this, what is this?

- Okay, so this is a basil oil.

And this is if you have the extra time.

I combine basil and olive oil in a blender with some salt.

JOEL: Okay.

- And then you strain it through a cheesecloth, maybe a little bit of lemon juice, too, to get in there... JOEL: Mmm.

- ...to give it a little bit of that brightness.

JOEL: That just stays good.

You can just have it.

- Yeah, you can have that in the, and you can put that right, as long as you strain it a few times, you can keep this in the fridge.

And what I'll do is I'll garnish it once it gets into side the bowl.

JOEL: All right.

So just go to kind of the bottom here?

- Yeah.

JOEL: Oh my gosh, this looks like just comfort food.

- Look, that's so good for you, too.

That's like a lot of love and a lot of nutrition.

JOEL: Yes!

I mean, does this, to you, just scream childhood?

- Yes, it does.

I'm gonna hit you.

Can I hit it?

JOEL: Hit me.

Hit me hard.

- All right.

Here we go.

JOEL: Yep.

Beautiful.

All right, let's try it, yeah?

- Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

JOEL: It smells incredible.

- It's so good.

Did I give it enough salt?

JOEL: Mmm.

- We'll see.

- Mmm.

JOEL: Honestly?

It doesn't even, like to me... - I love it.

JOEL: Ah-- but to me, that's like our, that's like our matza ball soup in Jewish-- like, this is just so, it's like medicine.

- They say that about pastina, too, that it's the Italian mom's penicillin is what they call it.

JOEL: I have a little announcement today.

And we're gonna break it here right here at Homemade Live!

Guess who's coming out with their first cookbook?

- Mmm.

JOEL: Give it up.

(cheers and applause) - I'm so nervous.

JOEL: This is number one, right?

- This is the first one, yeah.

JOEL: So, I know, I know we can't divulge a lot, um, but what can we divulge?

- It's gonna be more of what you know me for.

And that's just delivering food that is a little elevated but still simple to prepare.

I think there's a... everyone is worried about dinner.

What to make for dinner.

JOEL: Yes.

- What to make for dinner.

So let's solve that problem.

Um, I'll try to do it in a cookbook.

JOEL: You do it way more in a cookbook by just what you do for us every day.

- I'm gonna give you a kiss.

JOEL: Guys-- yeah.

We'll be right back with more Homemade Live!

(cheers and applause) All right, we are back at Italian cooking school with our buddy Ereka Vetrini.

And, uh, every single episode ends with a little bit of a cin cin?

- I knew I liked the show for a reason.

JOEL: You do love the show.

And are you a Bellini fan?

- Oh yeah.

We're gonna make the most stunning rhubarb Bellini.

- Oh, that sounds good.

JOEL: This is gonna have a little Aperol.

So good.

(applause) Uh, you need three ingredients for this.

So you need rhubarb.

You a fan?

- I, I love it.

JOEL: Yeah?

- I love it.

JOEL: So put a little bit in the bottom of each one of these flutes.

So what we did is, is we just took rhubarb, a pinch of sugar or honey, and we just cooked it until it was soft and kind of looks like applesauce, right?

- It's so pretty.

JOEL: And then Aperol.

Yeah, it's a part of Italian cooking.

So we do a little swig of that.

- Okay.

JOEL: Okay, about an ounce each.

Beautiful.

Aren't those already gorgeous?

- Oh, my goodness gracious.

JOEL: Uh, we can put a little orange twist in there.

- In there?

Just like that?

JOEL: And then, yeah.

And then the Italian, uh, champagne, prosecco.

- Yes.

JOEL: We're gonna saber this... - (gasps) JOEL: ...which means we're gonna take it off with a knife.

At home, get it really cold.

Make sure there's a little line running up, and then you just kind of follow the line.

- Oh, I never even noticed that line.

Yikes.

JOEL: Yep.

(cork pops, applause) - (gasps) Dude!

(cheers and applause) JOEL: Isn't that awesome?

- That's fricking awe-- hold on.

JOEL: And we-- I know.

(laughing) (applause) Easy-peasy.

- Wait, wait.

I always thought that it just the cork.

No.

Like, the whole top comes off.

(laughter) We have one speed here at Homemade Live!

- Oh, my goodness.

JOEL: I love it, I love it.

Well, yeah, top it off.

Guys, this is a cheers to Italian cooking school.

This is the best place to learn to cook.

And you, my dear, have brought it to the world.

Italian cooking for all of us, so... - So sweet.

JOEL: Thank you for being here.

Thank you guys for being here.

- Thank you for having me.

JOEL: We'll see you next time on Homemade Live!

Cin cin.

(cheers and applause) Oh, yeah.

- So good.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ JOEL: To check out all the recipes we made today and more, visit us at homemade.live.

You'll find our free cooking class schedule where you can cook with me live in real time.

I'll see you in the kitchen.

- Funding for Homemade Live!

is made possible by... - Protein-rich and sustainably raised, American lamb is a versatile ingredient in any dish.

For recipes, nutrition information, and to learn more about our commitment to sustainability, visit americanlamb.com.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪