The Dinner Plan

Getting your kid ready to go to college includes a lot of tangible stuff, like dorm setup. But they might also be cooking dinner for the very first time in their first apartment or a university-housing kitchen, and chef Claire Thomson has all the advice they need for that. Her new book, Dear Grace, is full of quick dinner recipes and meal planning advice for new cooks, including ways to cook on a budget—even when you're feeding friends after a night out. In this episode, Claire shares some of the most important cooking advice she'd give to first-time cook: how to make the most of cheap pantry staples, how to lean on your freezer for dinner ideas, and the most important part of meal planning: how to adjust a batch-cooked meal to eat other versions throughout the week. Get Claire's recipes for Creamy Tomato Pasta With Sausage and her Roast Sweet Potatoes With Black Beans and Spiced Pumpkin Seeds at our weekly newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com. While you're there, enter The Dinner Plan's Big Summer Giveaway by July 29, 2026.
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Thanks to today's sponsors:

Trimona Yogurt: Find Trimona's A2A2 Bulgarian-style yogurt at TrimonaFoods.com and stores near you.
McEvoy Ranch: Use code DINNERPLAN for 10% off at McEvoyranch.com
Bubbies Mochi Ice Cream: Find Bubbies at Sprouts, Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Albertsons, and other grocers nationwide.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode highlights so many Italian vegetable recipes: ideas for cooking eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and all the other produce that's at its peak right now. Your expert guide: Tuscan cooking teacher and cookbook author Giulia Scarpaleggia, whose most recent book is Vegetables the Italian Way. Tune in to learn why you should salt your eggplant even though modern versions aren't as bitter, what to make with tomatoes that aren't fantastic, and the most important steps to making pesto.

Recipes and links, plus our big summer giveaway: TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com

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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Find Massican Wines at your local wine shop or Massican.com (21+ only)
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mélanie Masarin wants you to feel less stressed out about hosting. She says that her rule with friends is: “If I’m home, you can come over.” Her pantry is stocked with tinned fish and olives, and other little snacks to serve—but her ideal setup for a dinner party is prep-ahead recipes like ratatouille that can be served at room temperature. In this episode of The Dinner Plan, Mélanie shares a behind-the-scenes look at her new cookbook, Riviera, and her advice for making homemade aioli to eat with crunchy vegetables. This episode is full of seasonal recipes that are more about assembly than actual cooking.
Get the aioli recipe and the ratatouille recipe on this week's newsletter at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.
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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Row 7: Get 10% off Row 7’s chef-prepared tinned vegetables using code DINNERPLAN10 at Row7Seeds.com
Find Lido: Recipes and Stories from Italy’s Beach Clubs wherever you buy books.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Listen to Bitefully with Claudia Sandoval on your favorite podcast app.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Want to make better pizza at home but not sure how to start? Today's guest, David Tamarkin of King Arthur Baking Co., is the co-author of The Book of Pizza. This episode of The Dinner Plan podcast is packed with advice, sharing how to hack your oven for better pizza crust, how to choose toppings depending on the style of pizza you're making, and how to fit pizza-making into a weekday schedule. Why is your pizza soggy? David has the answer to that, too.

Get the recipe for King Arthur's Weeknight Detroit Pizza at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.
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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Straus Family Creamery: Find Straus organic ice cream at Whole Foods nationwide or at strausfamilycreamery.com.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Need another pizza book for your collection? Tara Jensen's Pizza Practice is available on Amazon, Bookshop, or wherever you buy books.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Camping food doesn't have to mean freeze-dried meals you reconstitute with water. On this week's episode of The Dinner Plan, Emma Frisch, the author of Feast by Firelight, shares cooking inspiration for your next outdoor adventure, and tips for camping trip meal planning, the best way to pack your cooler, and thinking ahead so you don't end up cooking dinner in the dark. Get Emma's pork chop and corn salsa recipe this week at TheDinnerPlan.Substack.com.
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Thanks to this week's sponsors:

Bubbies Mochi Ice Cream: Find Bubbies at Sprouts, Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Albertsons, and other grocers nationwide.
Trimona Yogurt: Find Trimona's A2A2 Bulgarian-style yogurt at TrimonaFoods.com and stores near you.
LaBelle Patrimoine: Find LaBelle Patrimoine spatchcocked chickens in select Whole Foods Markets now.
Made In Cookware: Visit madein.cc/dinnerplan to unlock your discount offer.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.