Logan Browning on Family Mac & Cheese & Why Chocolate Is Technically a Vegetable

0:00Propel Fitness Water with Gatorade electrolytes, zero sugar and vitamins. Propel hydrates better than water to help you get the most out of your workout and get back to your best self. What propels you? Propel with Gatorade electrolytes. I need to understand your logic about chocolate being technically a vegetable. Yeah, it's it's definitely from a bean. It's from a bean. What's a bean? What's a bean? It's a legume. It's a legume. It's a vegetable. So it's healthy. Hi, and welcome to Snacks, the show where we talk to your favorite stars about their craziest food obsessions. Today, our guest, you will know her from Dear White People, but she's also in the upcoming Netflix show, I Will Find You.

0:40Please welcome Logan Browning. And we'll be right back. Propel Fitness Water. With Gatorade electrolytes, zero sugar, and vitamins, Propel hydrates better than water. to help you get the most out of your workout and get back to your best self. What propels you? Propel with Gatorade Electrolytes.

1:07Logan, you are at the Delish Kitchens. Here you are. And what we have going on all around here is we have test kitchens, we have shooting kitchens, they're testing recipes, there's food. So when you walk through, you're going to be able to eat like crazy. Wait, so where are you from? Where do you live full-time? I'm well it's a good question I'm from Atlanta okay um and I was in LA for a really long time and now I'm back in Atlanta Atlanta is a like an amazing food city yeah this is a I'm like just getting back into the vibes but they have the belt line oh yeah have you been on the belt I don't know I don't know Atlanta that well I just know that every time I go there I eat really well I don't know if any other at least in the contiguous United States I don't know if any other place has something like this so the belt line is like miles and miles and miles of a stretch of walking biking path that then has restaurants off of it where you can you can sit on these patios and eat and then hop on a scooter or on a bike and then it connects a bunch of different neighborhoods oh my gosh there are things like like venice beach right has a strip and there are But I don't know a place that has a looped biking, walking path like this.

2:22Any restaurants. Like they're just like every like local places. That is so cool. Yeah, it's really cool. I honestly, I also feel like the South, the food culture there is so next level. Like I do feel like New York has a good reputation for being, you know, a fancy food city. But like I actually feel like the way you get to eat in Atlanta, at least the way I feel like every time I'm there, is that you're so much closer to what the locals love. Right. Like there's just so little fanciness in the way that they eat there in the best way possible. Yeah. Yeah. I'd say that. I also think Atlanta is one of those places where if you ask someone, they'd say and you say, like, where's the best restaurant or where's the best food?

3:08they'd say my house, you know, like people in Atlanta are like, I think they like to cook. Yeah. And did you grow up in a good food house? Absolutely. Yeah. Both my parents are, my dad has passed. Um, my mom and dad were awesome chefs and like a chef, chefs, like not fancy, but like, but like knew both of them knew how to cook. I mean, I think they liked to experiment. Yeah. And then we had our rituals, like Sunday rituals would be my dad would grill, he'd grill salmon, meat. My mom does like the steamed veggies and the rice and they would kind of cook for the week because we were latchkey kids, you know, so they cook for the week and then we would just heat up.

3:46Yeah. And what is the food that sends you straight back to your childhood? Do you have like when you, if you think about like growing up, what's the thing? And it could be homemade or it could be packaged. Oh, that's hard. Straight to childhood would have to be probably something packaged and I would say it would be like like gushers fruit roll-ups you're not the first gushers really literally like gushers is like a trigger food I think here for my guests it also ages you in a certain way like it puts you in a it's like millennial yeah kind of just like puts you in a category when you say gushers so that's so funny though what was your gusher flavor I don't remember I don't I really don't remember them being flavors I just remember like the green and the and the and the very red and like weird thing green and red those are my flavors um fruit roll up what's your what's your flavor oh so i'm like is there another one than red i don't know that i can think of yeah red was strawberry i don't even i wasn't even focused on the flavors i was focused on the tape like i was just so fascinated by this roll of tape got it and like that it seemed like i feel like that gave you like instant social cred like if you pulled out a fruit roll up at a, at a table in school.

4:58That was like, you're like queen. Very unhygienic. Like, I mean, I'm taking the rolls and wrapping it around your finger. Yeah. So why did we do that? I don't know. Gross. Um, I do have to ask though. Okay. Tell me what your mom's cooking, like what your mom is famous for. So I'd say my mom and all the women in our family, generationally, it's really like the holiday foods. So it's mac and cheese. My mom is really known for her cobblers, her peach cobbler. And you got to get a corner piece. Like, that's just, that's the thing. So was she like, like peeling peaches? Like, is this like, okay, no, okay.

5:42It's canned peaches. Okay, canned peaches. I have no idea. I'm like, I'm thinking Atlanta. town like georgia obviously you guys are all like boiling peaches yeah i mean it's funny because you know my mom stepped out and she'll be back so maybe she'll correct me maybe she'll correct i've never made the cobbler but i'm pretty sure it's canned peaches which are sometimes hard to find she when she would come to la to do holidays she would pack or ship canned peaches because it would be very difficult to find them in la but corner piece gotta get a corner because it's got the most crust and um what my mom's mac and cheese like the mac and cheese is so good and me and my cousins so me and my brother versus one of my cousins who is the child of my mom's sister yeah we argue about whether our mom or his mom makes the best mac and cheese to which both of our moms reply it's literally the same recipe and we're like no no no no like we let my mom make it this year There is a thing though, right?

6:38Like there's like a, like a touchstone to that. Like, and I honestly, we have this in our family all the time too. Like my mother-in-law makes this insane cheesecake and I swear I, I've got the recipe. I know how to cook. Like I know how to make this cheesecake, but one, it never comes out the way hers does. It tastes delicious. It just doesn't taste like hers. Yeah. And I don't understand it. Cause she's keeping something from you. That is definitely what it is. I'm like, if you're listening, I'm going to get it. I'm going to find out. All right. I want to talk a little bit too about, so, okay.

7:11I need to understand your logic about chocolate being technically a vegetable. What do you mean logic? I'm ready for this to be like, I'm ready for this to be true. I don't understand the question. Well, I hear that you thought that chocolate, because chocolate comes from beans. Yes. It is like a vegetable. It is a vegetable. You don't understand? No one taught you that? Take me through this, please. I need to know. I'm so sorry. I don't know. Where did you grow up? I grew up in New Jersey. They don't teach that. They don't teach that. And I will tell you, I have never told anybody on this podcast before, but I actually grew up in a house.

7:45This is very true. No one ever does that. No way. I grew up in a house where my mother told me, lied to me my entire childhood, and told me that I was allergic to chocolate because she didn't like how hyper it made me. And so I, until I was like well into my 20s, thought I was allergic to chocolate. You might be. I know, but now I hear it's a vegetable. And so now I'm like, all bets are off. I'm going to just start eating it. Yeah. It's definitely from a bean. It's from a bean. What's a bean? What's a bean? It's a legume. It's a legume. It's a vegetable. So it's healthy. I get it. I think a legume is a vegetable.

8:19It is. We're going to pretend it is. It's fine. It's a healthy thing to eat. Were you eating a lot of chocolate growing up? Yeah. And my dad was a dentist growing up and he had a practice, a dental practice. and next to the dental practice was this place called Gorin's, which is the only time I've ever seen this restaurant in my life. I've never seen it anywhere else. Gorin's was hot dogs and ice cream. Oh, my God. Yeah. So that's just the two best food groups. Yeah. Yeah. So we would go there after my brother and I came and maybe we helped my dad clean the sinks and things. Yeah. And he would let us get ice cream on the way home.

8:57If I got chocolate ice cream, I would spill it on myself. If I got Superman, if I got vanilla, if I got cotton candy, no. So it was almost like a blessing and a curse. It's just like this push and pull, this tug. I had chocolate my whole life. I mean, it's like you love to hate it. You hate to love it. I mean, I get it. All right. I also need to know, too, your late father talked to you about you should always ask for green M &Ms on your writer. What was the thought process? He had never done that before. Really? Yeah, he was like, green's the color of money. So you need to be asking for green M &Ms in your room.

9:35Like it's manifesting. He just thought it was like, he's just like, what's the bougiest, craziest thing I can tell my daughter? He's like, ask for green M &Ms in the writer. And see, they need to be sitting in the room waiting for me, the color of money. What's your best craft service experience? Or do you remember the first time you, like, confronted craft services? Like, or you were like, oh my gosh. I mean, that's a, this is a long, so craft services, I think about the first time I went on a set, which is when I was a kid. Yeah. How old were you? Oh my gosh. So yeah, you tell a 14-year-old that there's a table that has candy and cookies and all the drinks you want.

10:10I mean, you're going to hit it up. It's the best. You're going to hit it up. And then for dear white people, we had, it was kind of in a cafeteria vibe. Like it was an, it felt like almost like a cafe the way they had it set up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And they had great intermediary snacks. So like a little apples with peanut butter, you know. Just classy. Yeah, yeah. I got it. That's a really, that's a classic craft service to go to. Also, post-pandemic, things have changed. Right. A craft service. I mean, it's not, usually it used to be just a big bowl or bag of chips. And John and Dan and Cindy and everybody are reaching their hands.

10:55Everybody's putting their hand in. Into the bag of chips. Yep, yep. It's pretty gross when you think about it. We did this for centuries, right? Yes. So that's not the real. It's funny because we had a similar change here at Delish too, where, you know, we are constantly testing food. And so there was, you know, we would always just put out like whatever we were making. It was like, it could be spinach and archer dip. It could be like mini hot dog. It could be anything, steak. And then COVID happened. And then obviously we had to be like, no, nobody wants to eat from like a trough of food. Yeah.

11:25That said, we're kind of back to free. We're now we're eating out of the trough again. I don't know. We're back to troughs. Yeah. I mean, it's also like you feel like family. You're like, I would do this with my family. I would do this at a home gathering. And to be honest, I do think it's gone too far the other direction because sometimes things are so individually packaged. I'm like the single use plastic here. Yes. It's like really. So I don't want a whole one. Like I don't need the whole thing. Right. Like I need just like I need a little piece of it. And we'll be right back. Propel Fitness Water with Gatorade Electrolytes, Zero Sugar, and Vitamins.

12:01Propel hydrates better than water to help you get the most out of your workout and get back to your best self. What propels you? Propel with Gatorade Electrolytes. So you are a huge Eminem fan, and I am going to— Where'd you get that back from? From the Eminem store. Is it an Eminem store? Logan, are you kidding me? I'm not kidding. Oh, my God. Times Square. I think it's the best museum in the city. I'm just kidding. It's not a museum, but I may as well be. All right. I am going to ask you. You have to rank them. Okay. But I also, we're going to have to eat these. I don't see the peanut M &Ms in your.

12:39You have to try the Logan and rank them. Oh, okay. These are all new. These are all new. Should I go with wine? Should I tell you what I think they are? Yes, that's a great idea. I'm like, do you want to just do my job for me? All right, here. Speaking of hands, close your eyes or don't close your eyes. I don't know what any of these colors are. I need at least two. Yeah, I take two. Obviously, yes. All I had today was a smoothie. Oh, my God. You can take those. Bless. Yeah, we're going to try that. Yeah, I mean. So this is flavor number one. Favorite number one.

13:12Weird. I'm going to try it. It's a little taffy, a little chewy caramel. Let's look. It's a little. Well, it's a little. Oh, no, it's coffee. Oh. It's, um, it tastes like a caramel coffee. I'm missing something. No, no. No? Caramel cold brew. Oh, I was right. You got it, ma 'am. I don't know if I'm good or if M &Ms are good. No, that is you. I'm going to give you that one. Okay. Okay. I'm going to save this for later. Put him in there. All right. There are some weird ones here. Okay. Ready? It's, like, getting actually funky. like orange wine I was not surprised I was not I'm very surprised by this name what do you think of orange wine I don't like it what do you think of orange wine wow it's orange wine in the room with us no but also you this is where you are allowed to say all the things you need to say this is there's no there's no judgment here what do you think of orange wine I mean I don't really know her I mean I think when I when I've hung out with her she's she is a little funky I just but I try to like her because I try to like everyone so I kind of like it's kind of the way I feel about pour over coffee where it's like I feel like I'm not cool for not liking it okay what do you think of this one you know what I mean a lot yeah wait I know what this is this is something from my childhood this is um wait I need to um do another one not my favorite I'm so confused right what the chocolate is actually really overwhelming in that which makes me think i don't know what it's something for my child i need roasted peanuts that makes sense why that makes sense i'm an m why i don't understand all right another there's another round this i gave you a lot but maybe maybe i should swig yeah let's do a palate cleanser we need a little we need a little pal cleanser is this all you do you just eat snacks I really honestly cannot.

15:09I really truly can't. And truthfully, like I'm always so grateful when we have an episode where I'm not giving food because every day it's different. I think last week we had Pat and Oswald and it was like honey mustard and onion pretzels. I was like, I can't eat this. I'm going to be tasting this all day. This is a weird one. Weird. Just say what you feel. I know what it is. It's cinnamon. It's churro. it's um yeah it's like cinnamon churro vibe am I on the right track? peanut butter cinnamon roll did you get this? I didn't get the peanut butter did you get peanut butter? okay I didn't get peanut butter well I'm just like I gotta try it oh it's almost like peanut butter is just a texture yeah you know what I mean?

15:57peanut butter is the conduit is the holder of the cinnamon yeah not bad oh I got a little peanut butter These are shocking when you don't know what you're in for. But M &M's, you guys did a great job. I feel like maybe, sorry to give this one away. Is anything coming out? M &M's, do you want to send me things or pay me? I can't. Okay, here we go. I'm giving you a lot. I'm so sorry. M &M, pay a little game. We do like that. Well, the texture is like when they had the crispy ones that were in the blue packaging. Oh. You really know your, you need to go to the M &M's store. I should. You 100 % should.

16:29Well, this is fruity. Is this fruity? Yeah. It's like a fruity pebble. Oh, yeah. That one's wild. Oh, this actually, it tastes like a fruity pebble. I would eat this. What is it? Lemon meringue. Oh, lemon. Lemon. Yeah, it's good. I would eat this one. Crappers. That's really good. Are they all white, too? Very classy. They look yellow and, no, yellow, orange, white. Oh. They're pretty. Very classy. Very classy. These are the classy ones. Yeah. All right, so rank them. Which one's your favorite? Oh. Sorry. I know you got it. We're not happy unless we're like really tanking something here. There's lemon meringue.

17:08There's peanut butter churro. There's honey roasted peanut. Yep. And then the caramel cold brew. Caramel coffee. I think lemon meringue. Yep. Agreed. She's really bright, wonderful. Really tasty. Yeah. Yep. And then I'm going to put, it's either the cold brew. I put either the cold brew or the peanut butter cinnamon. I'll put the peanut butter cinnamon. Okay. Then the cold brew and then the honey roasted peanut at the bottom. So if you could have any M &M, what is your go-to? Peanut. Peanut. Yeah. I mean, it's kind of like those Snickers commercials where you can eat them in lieu of a meal. Yes.

17:49That's how I feel about a peanut a minute. Actually, it's funny that you say that because Tony Hale was here yesterday and he said the same thing, that he was like the little bit of protein in the... I'm a pretzel. I like a... I am an... Pretzel M &M? Pretzel M &M. I don't think I really indulged in pretzel M &M. Oh, that's your next stop. Okay. I don't go... Don't do anything. Okay. Except go to the store and buy those. Those are my favorite. Mom, come in for a second. You were here at a whole time? Mom, tell me why your mac and cheese is better. Why does Logan think your mac and cheese is better than your...

18:21Is it your sibling? Is it your... Auntie. Your sister? Because I have this problem with my mother-in-law. I cannot nail the cheesecake that she makes. Why do you think your mac and cheese is better than your sister's? Because. Ah, I mean, there it is. Because she makes it is what she said. All right. Fair. Thank you for getting that. You have the magic touch. You have that. So all the women in my family, like it's lots of passing down of recipes. And the thing that I make that I have to make every year, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas, is my great grandmother's pound cake. Oh. And I was making this pound cake when we didn't have a stand mixer.

19:00And of course, she was making it before there were electric mixers. But this pound cake is, it's so simple. And the texture of it is like, it's golden brown on the outside. So it's got a little bit of a crunch, almost like gram, not graham cracker vibes, but it's got a little bit of a crispy outlay. And then the inside is moist and soft. And you just do that. It's a plain vanilla pound cake with a side of vanilla ice cream. Pound cake is one of those things that is such an unsung hero that I could literally eat it every day. I agree. I could eat it every single day. It's so light. And you don't think about like it has a pound of anything in it.

19:45I have wanted to make sure that the people around me know the things that I'm doing to the recipes I'm making. Right. That like so I really tried like with my kids or with my husband. Like I'm like, OK, here's what I make and here's how I do it. And here's like the secret to what I'm trying to do. Because I do make things now without a recipe. And I'm just like, I don't want anybody to be like, oh, I don't know how to make it the way she made it. I want things to live on. Do you document? I do. But you need to make sure you're documenting your pound cake. Because I do. It's documented. I mean, and also, like, maybe share it with Delish.

20:20Absolutely. Because we're going to need to make it. Fair enough. You can't. I can't share it. I can make it. I can make it for Delish. All right. Come back and make it for us. I'll make it. Okay. Well, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. It's been an absolute delight. And please make sure that you watch I Will Find You. And you're also in I Want to Make Sure I Get It Criminal on Prime Video. Both are coming out very soon. and we can't wait to see you. Yeah, thanks for being here. Thanks so much for joining Snacks. Please make sure to like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and make sure to follow us on all social platforms at Snacks Podcast.

20:54We'll see you next time.

21:05Logan Browning:Fall is the perfect time to refresh and reorganize your space. At the Home Depot, Find power tools and tool sets starting at$50 to help tackle DIY projects, home updates, and more. Whether you're drilling brackets to support new shelving or sharpening your hedge trimmer blade with an angle grinder, The Home Depot has the tools you need to check projects off your list. Shop Labor Day savings at The Home Depot and gear up for fall projects with the right tools to keep your projects moving.