814: How Pierce Abernathy Went from Instagram to Your Bookshelf

22:32Pierce Abernathy:I love, I had, to be fair, I hadn't eaten squash until probably like 2018 after college. Like maybe I had, but like not in a direct way. So you're making up for it. Yeah, not in a direct way. And I just love the sweetness, the nuttiness, how much you can really manipulate this thing to whether to be savory, to be sweet, to treat it like a root vegetable, to treat it like carrots, to treat it like a pumpkin puree. you know there's so much variety and there's such a variety of squashes and you know it being this you know typically cellared vegetable um there's a lot of time of the year that you can use it and it's super affordable it's affordable it's hearty it's dense it's really good for you it's full of like beta carotene um and it can go a long way so it's it's kind of an ode to uh you know something that can hold its weight and pack a punch.

23:35Totally. I feel like if you don't have the big squash sending you money, you should get them on that because you're a good advocate for it.

23:42Pierce Abernathy:Yeah, call me. Squash. Squash, call me. I have to ask you about the forward to the book, which is written by Alice Waters, which I imagine is just such an incredible feeling to get to have somebody like that introducing the book. How did that come about? Completely surreal. I feel so grateful and so lucky that came about because two years I think almost two years ago I was doing a pop-up series with Earthship and we were doing an event at a restaurant called Winona's in Brooklyn and I was doing it in collaboration with an amazing Palestinian chef Nadia Gilbert and I get this cold email at like 8 a.m.

24:26Pierce Abernathy:the morning of I think it was the first day of the pop-up that it said the subject was alice waters come eat tonight question mark and i was like this has to be spam and it was um it's a phishing email developed yeah it was for you it was someone who i'm still in touch with this amazing guy jason who has really uh kind of been and has really helped her with her edible schoolyard program um but yeah she was like we she we saw this and I think it was like an eater uh roundup and we'd love to come in and so she came in and dined and um we chatted and we you know didn't really stay in touch but I still have her business card and as I was thinking about the book and I was like you know I never really feel comfortable asking for favors or asking for help especially with someone that you know I look up to so much and we you know we don't have a strong relationship but I was like you know it's it's worth it's worth an email like what could what could be worse and um it was received so well and um yeah I feel so grateful she's a massive inspiration to you know helping me form my own philosophy around food and and how I think about my career and how I think about how I eat.

25:49Yeah, I think probably a lot of listeners are familiar with Alice Waters and her work with Shea Panisse, this trailblazing farm to table seasonal restaurant in California. But I think the ethos of this book is so clearly kind of on this path that she has paved. And the fact that she's had your food and Nadia's food before and enjoyed it in the intro she writes about, I think she writes about trying to smuggle za 'atar out of the pop up in like a folded paper menu in her bag, which all respect to Miss Waters, I don't think that's the best way to transport zaatar. She could have just asked us. She could have just asked and I'm sure you would have given some in a deli container.

26:24But I know I'm often like smuggling bread out of events and things like that. So I felt very heartened to know that I was also carrying on her legacy by doing that.

26:33Pierce Abernathy:Yes, exactly. It's an ode to, you know, how much she cares about food and she doesn't want anything, you know, to go to waste. Yeah, you're right. It's a sustainability edict from her. Exactly. So I guess on this topic of sustainability, I'm curious, you know, that word I think is used so much that it can have many different meanings or no meaning. Like, what does that mean to you in general or maybe in like the context of this book? And how do you kind of try to encourage that while also being realistic about what people have time to do? Yeah. I mean, I think it's That's a great question that I think I have evolved my thinking with a lot.

27:12Pierce Abernathy:And I think it, yeah, it really depends on the context of the conversation I'm having and what I am talking about. It, you know, for me in terms of food, it's a closeness to food. It's a respect for the food. And it's like a respect for the time spent around food, whether that's, you know, respecting the farmer, respecting how you cook, respecting the time of like having and sharing a meal with someone, respecting what you're throwing away. Um, yeah, for me, it's just this, this idea of, of respecting something that has traveled a lot and was a living thing and, um, is, is so special and necessary to all of us.

28:01And using all of what you have, I guess, is that what the title of the book is kind of referring to?

28:06Pierce Abernathy:Yeah, it's like I think as a society, we've become a lot more thoughtful about where our food comes from. But I don't necessarily see that same thoughtfulness in the back end of kind of how we throw things out or what we don't use. And for me, that's been an area of like joy and creativity and wanting to really share that with people and share that it can be a lot of fun and it can be really interesting, exciting and can open up a lot of new flavors to to use as much as you can from these things and look at, you know, pieces of produce in a different way and, you know, challenge yourself to use up as much as you can.

28:50Yeah. And you're not standing in someone's kitchen with a ruler ready to smack their knuckles if they throw out the parsley stem or the broccoli stem. No, I mean, I'm a realist.

29:02Pierce Abernathy:Like in my own kitchen, I do that sometimes too. It's like I luckily have, you know, a compost bin and that's, you know, a system that works. But, you know, as much as I can, I look to trying to find ways to transform these things and preserve them. because I think it's, you know, for me, I get, yeah, again, there's so much satisfaction in that, especially when I can have someone over and tell them to like, you know, try this carrot top oil. Like, what does it taste like? Have you ever tasted anything like this? You know, there's this saltiness to it, but it also tastes, you know, earthy. It also does taste like a carrot and kind of geek out and get someone to, you know, maybe do the same.

29:46Yeah. Do you know this like Buckminster Fuller quote? It's like more and more with less and less until you can do everything with nothing.

29:54Pierce Abernathy:No, but I love I love that quote. Maybe I should use it when I talk about the book. Yeah, it seems like a Pierce related quote, but I think, you know, Buckminster Fuller was a kind of futurist who I read about in school. But then I was this is so embarrassing. I was having a wheatgrass margarita at Dimes many years ago. You're literally about to spit take crazy two words together. Oh, it's incredible. Wheatgrass margarita. I highly recommend it. I know it sounds like no one should be drinking that, but I'm an L.A. girl at heart. So there's something about the green juice with tequila in it. It's all about balance.

30:27It's good. It kind of brings out the herbaceous quality of the tequila. I don't know why I'm making the case for this. But on the receipt that they gave me, it had this Buckminster Fuller quote on it. and I think like in a time when we all are trying to do so much and there are so many options of things to make and eat like I think you go to the grocery store and if I don't have a plan like I'm overwhelmed with every possible thing I could buy and cook with or all of the things I have in my fridge and pantry that I think sometimes doing more with less and just like I have my carrot I have the tops I have the rest of the carrot whatever that kind of approach is like maybe using all of something allows you to not have to add something else.

31:05Pierce Abernathy:Yeah. And I think I sometimes create some of my best food when I'm like, okay, I'm not going grocery shopping. I'm just using what I have. And like putting those constraints on yourself pushes you to, you know, be more creative and make something work. And I've, yeah, I've had a lot of, I think, personal satisfaction with that. Totally. I think that's such a kind of pleasure of cooking and having so many different kind of, you know, when you have the dish that you've made out of three other dishes that you've made, there's a lot of flavor and things going on in there. Yeah. So I want to talk about specific recipes.

31:43It's summer right now. Is there a summer recipe in the book that you are especially proud of or that you've been kind of thinking about recently?

31:51Pierce Abernathy:Well, corn has just hit. I've been looking for it. I haven't. I just got some yesterday. And there's two corn recipes in there that I really love. One is just so simple. It's like a tomato toast with corn butter. And the other is a kind of stone fruit and tomato salad with whipped corn. What is whipped corn? It's kind of exactly what you would imagine. But where I'm whipping it, so I'm taking it off the cob. I'm taking it off the cob, sauteing it, and then blitzing it with a little bit of silken tofu and a little salt. And it has this like such a nice savory salty sweetness and this, you know, nice, subtle, soft texture from the tofu that is, I don't know, I think really sings with the stone fruit and the tomatoes.

32:52Pierce Abernathy:It, it, for me, it feels like this thing of like what grows together, goes together. And, um, I've really enjoyed transforming corn into different things of, you know, making corn juice, making corn soups. Wait, what is corn juice? Um, just juice the corn, juicing corn. And then you drink it, putting it through a cheesecloth and drinking it. It's incredible. I really am a big corn devotee. And I, the tomato toast with corn butter, which is like a corn compound butter. I got really excited about that because I make tomato toast probably once a day when tomatoes are in season. But all of this made me realize I basically never, I think maybe I'll saute corn and then use like a handheld, like an immersion blender to make like a pasta sauce.

33:38But I don't think I'm doing enough with like blitzing, transforming my corn into other things. Like you are turning corn into things that I didn't know corn could exist as.

33:47Pierce Abernathy:Yeah. I mean, look, I think a lot of true corn lovers might come at me because they say just eat it on the cob. Just eat it on the cob. And I'm like, yes, that's fine. But I think it's also when you transform it in this way, it's a vehicle for it to play with other ingredients in such a new, exciting way. That's also both of those recipes are so simple. You know, there's like two to three ingredients in there. But I think being able to eat it in this way fully transforms versus like me just sauteing corn and sprinkling it on top of stone fruit and tomatoes. It's a very different dish. And I think that's what's, you know, for me, yeah, super exciting is like, can I transform it in a way that adds value to the dish and gives you a whole new experience with eating these things?

34:34Pierce Abernathy:these things together. Totally. Can we talk about corn dessert? I feel like corn ice cream has been on the come up for a couple of years now. I have yet to make corn ice cream, but I would love to. But you've had it. I've had it. Corn blueberry, amazing combo. I had my first mulberry last year. Completely blew my mind. The golden mulberry or the dark one? The dark one at Frog Hollow Farms in California where they have these amazing mulberry trees. And, you know, if you've ever seen a mulberry tree, how you should be harvesting them is literally just waiting for them to fall off the tree. And they have these nets under the tree.

35:15Pierce Abernathy:So they get so ripe that they just fall off and they tell you when they're ready. And that was just like an amazing experience. I believe like Alice Waters has talked about how amazing mulberries are. But mulberry corn ice cream, I think that's where my mind's going. I feel like it would be so divine. It does sound really good. Have you seen the mulberries that grow in Brooklyn? I have. I've seen people trying to harvest them too. Yeah, well, similar to what you just said about how they fall off the ground when they're ready, I have always found mulberry trees just because I'm walking along the sidewalk and then all of a sudden it's, you know, splatter paint.

35:52Although I don't really feel brave enough to eat them off of the ground here.

35:56Pierce Abernathy:Yeah. probably for good reason. But I do love the experience of walking around Brooklyn and then all of a sudden looking down and looking up and seeing this full kind of mulberry tree above. Yeah. It's amazing. Yeah. Fig trees in Brooklyn too. Like I loved, yeah, snagging a fig leaf or two, go steep in some cream. Fig leaf ice cream. That's the other, I feel like fig leaf and corn, I would say are the two like kind of trending ice cream flavors. I mean, I can't get enough of fig leaf. I really, really love fig leaves. I just tried, I haven't worked through the whole idea, but I just tried fermenting some fig leaves because I wanted to soften them a bit and use them as like the wrapper for dolma, like you would a grape leaf.

36:40Um, so I want to get back to that,

36:43Pierce Abernathy:but yeah, I feel like it'd be amazing. I know people like to cook like whole fish in them a lot, but I want to see if you can actually eat the fig leaf like itself. I think it might be in Natasha Pickowitz's most recent book that it's a cake that's like wrapped in fig leaves. Yes. I mean, I'm sure it tastes great, but also just there's something about it that looks so appetizing to me about biting into a leaf. Yeah. So beautiful. I mean, yeah, the fig leaf itself is just like so perfect. You know, it's very pretty. The story about Frog Hollow and getting the mulberry makes me think about just all the amazing food experiences that you have and the places you get to go to.

37:25I'm sure there are many that come to mind, but I'm wondering if there was a producer that you got to speak with or a farm, something like that, that was kind of especially inspiring to you maybe over the past year or so.

37:37Pierce Abernathy:Yeah, I was lucky enough to go visit one of my favorite farms who comes to Union Square Farmer's Market, Lonnie's Farm, which is in Bordentown, New Jersey. And I've really fallen in love with their produce over the past couple of years. And it's, you know, going to visit them was super fascinating to realize and, you know, speak with the farmer there who is very stoic, very quiet. very uh doing things the hard way because it's the right way and learning from the mistakes and not you know so like anti-capitalist approach to farming um you know they sell their greens for 3.99 and that price hasn't changed for i believe like 10 to 15 years because he's so adamant around keeping the greens this you know this price their greenhouses are powered by like wood chips and logs that they get dropped off from different businesses who just like dump them there for them they have a compost pile I think of there I think they have around 200 acres now it's like 60 acres or more used for just used for just compost well um and it's such a living breathing farm it's like everything you know always doing you know analysis around what's working and what's not what what what should go in this field and realizing the overall like work that it really takes to do things right and to do them you know and to be patient with it too um it's super super interesting And it was a really special experience to kind of see where that comes from.

39:27Pierce Abernathy:And they have this whole other arm of the farm where they have already thought about their own waste and how to make value-add products with that. Whether it's their juices that I love, whether it's kimchi or dumplings that they make, they have this whole kind of ecosystem that's alive and breathing and focused around just putting out the best food possible and making sure that they are doing right by the soil. Yeah, farming is like a super long-term kind of project. Yeah, very much so. Yeah, it's like the reward is just doing it. There's no future reward that they're looking for. I love that story.

40:13And I want to play a rapid fire game with you. But before we get into that, I have to ask you about dips.

40:19Pierce Abernathy:Yeah. Not what you thought I was going to say. Because I think like maybe at one point there would have been a dip cookbook that was being like, I think dip is something that was kind of like an early kind of foothold into food creating for you. What's up with dip? Like, why is it such a good canvas and how does it kind of appear in the book? Yeah, don't skip the dip. Don't skip it. Yeah. So I kind of when I started making these videos on Instagram, it really started with dips. and you know for me as someone who is not really a traditionally or classically trained cook in any way you know I had a few stints in in you know a restaurant and staged at a few places but you know someone who a lot of what I learned was just kind of through myself I saw it as this amazing canvas to transform and just try things creatively where it didn't really matter about the techniques I was using or exactly how everything was cut as long as the texture and the taste of the dip was good at the end.

41:31Pierce Abernathy:And it like opened up this whole door of like this like awesome challenge that felt like there was no parameters around it. Where it's like, all you got to do is like make this into something that tastes good at the end and it's like a nice dippable texture. And for me, how I started, it was that, you know, That same idea was I, every time I went and wanted to make a video, I'd go to the grocery store and pick out like a new piece of produce or something. Maybe I didn't really cook or I haven't eaten a ton. And it was this challenge to take it, figure out what to do with it and how to make it taste good and always know that it was going to end in this like very simple format that I felt really comfortable working in.

42:14Wow. that's such a like philosophical intellectual kind of process driven answer which i i totally see and i think is valid and the other half obviously is like everybody loves eating dip and dip is like the great cross-cultural uniter i didn't even think about it in that way because

42:30Pierce Abernathy:it's like i grew you know growing up in america it's like all right you have like you know buffalo chicken dip and like spinach artichoke dip and all these like cream cheese like super heavy and fatty dips that like I was to be honest just like not really interested in right well you're the kid that didn't like mac and cheese yeah and I didn't really like that stuff and I was like no there's this whole other world of dips that are you know vegetal and and you know more subtle and earthy and kind of beautiful and you can use all of these different sources of fat sources of acid and you know you can top them in so many different ways with something crunchy with something you you know, nutty with something, you know, soft or fresh or vibrant.

43:14Yeah. No, totally. Do you feel like when you start learning more about Armenian food, did dip kind of come in in there?

43:22Pierce Abernathy:A little bit. There's not a ton of dips in Armenian food, at least that, you know, what I've explored. There's, you know, we have a version of hummus, of baba ganoush, and things like that. But one of the first videos that went viral for me actually was a dip. My brother's fiance is Iranian. And there's an amazing dip called Kashqa Batamjan. This amazing Iranian eggplant dip with like fried onions and sizzled dried mint and yogurt. Or typically it would be Kashq, which is this like dehydrated, dried, very intense, like what you would call yogurt. It kind of looks like chalk and you would grate it in.

44:07Pierce Abernathy:And that dip like fully blew my mind. But the Armenian exploration, I think, happened when I kind of brought two and two together of like my great aunt wrote this amazing cookbook called Please Pass the Pilaf. and as I started getting more into cooking, it really kind of became this cherished possession of mine because I didn't grow up with eating that much of a variety of Armenian food. There are a few things on the table, but it was, you know, it was pretty simple and being able to kind of cook through some of her recipes and explore that as someone who is also cooking in America, in cooking what she knew.

44:53Pierce Abernathy:So it was, you know, some may not even be fully, you know, traditional Armenian recipes, but it was this connection with my own heritage that, you know, I didn't really think I had. And I was nervous about sharing as someone who's not even 50 % Armenian, but I did have this physical book that was like a, you know, a connection to my family and my heritage that I like really loved. And when I started sharing those recipes, it was amazing how receptive the Armenian audience was that I was platforming that. And I was really nervous. It was like, do I have the authority to even talk about this stuff as someone who wasn't, you know, a hundred percent Armenian or wasn't raised in an Armenian family.

45:39Pierce Abernathy:So yeah, it was, it was so warming in it. It just pushed me further to further explore it. And I think it's something that I would love to further explore. You know, I would have a dream to republish my great aunt's cookbook and find a way to incorporate, you know, some of my own recipes or ideas in that. I love that idea. And, you know, I've heard about this book before, but it kind of wasn't top of mind for me. So I love the idea of thinking about like, you've experienced what it's like to have a family heirloom that is a cookbook and to be inspired by it and then to have the opportunity to kind of make that for yourself.

46:17It does feel very kind of sweet and special to me.

46:19Pierce Abernathy:Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's incredible. I feel so lucky to have it. And it's, you know, this kind of grounding thing that I can always go back to because, again, her recipes were pretty simple. And sometimes when life gets busy or I get overwhelmed or, you know, overthinking a recipe, I can go back to that and be like, all right, you're just overcomplicating things. Yeah. Sometimes less is more. I feel like we've been talking about these ideas of kind of timelessness a lot in this conversation. And one of the ways you got your start was through social media, which, you know, can really be trend driven or have kind of concepts of virality.

46:58Do you feel like you're thinking about the way that a recipe is going to be perceived online? Or like, do you have a sense of if something is going to go viral? Or is that kind of less important?

47:09Pierce Abernathy:I think there's been waves at this point. Pretty gratefully, like my ego is pretty separated from that. You know, maybe not exactly right now when I have a book to promote. Right, by the book. Yeah, by the book. But in general, you know, I have seen the world of video recipe creation transform in the past six years. And even previously when I was working at BuzzFeed, I've been a part of this world for a really long time. And it's really like a flip of the coin of kind of sometimes what works and what doesn't. I have formats and frames that I like to approach. I don't think it fully dictates what I cook, but it's more of how can I best present this idea to get the most people's eyes on it.

48:01Pierce Abernathy:I think at this point, the people that are watching my videos or following me kind of know what I'm about in a loose way, at least. so it's more about how can I yeah how can I showcase what I'm doing in a light that hopefully the most people will engage with I like that framework I think that's also you know you don't want to be chasing trends or changing up what you're doing too much you want to be authentic to yourself obviously yeah looking back on the whole book process if you were going to talk to Pierce who is just kind of starting to think about the book is there a piece of advice you would give How long do we have?

48:43Start the tape over clean. I would say try not to overthink. Sometimes less is more and like listen to yourself and respect yourself enough to like know when to stand up for yourself in the process. and hard things are hard for a reason

49:09Pierce Abernathy:and they will, you know, reap a reward and just be grateful that you've had the opportunity to make a book. That's good advice probably for anyone listening, even though your younger self maybe won't be able to listen to the podcast.

49:27Chevy is called the heartbeat of America for a reason. With SUVs made to move with your rhythm, The versatile Equinox tackles your entire day The spacious Traverse fits your crew and your whole weekend And Trax brings style with value you can count on All infused with tech that has your back So your drive always hits the right chord Chevrolet, together let's drive This episode is brought to you by Facebook So you were scrolling on Marketplace And there it was the bike you'd been searching for. You sent a message and it turned out the seller was super chatty, kind of funny, and an avid cyclist.

50:10The next thing you know, you're in a cycling crew. Well, a community cycling group. The thing about Facebook, you might find more than what you're looking for. From a browse to a bike ride, this summer, find more on Facebook. Chronic migraine, 15 or more headache days a month, each lasting four hours or more, can make me feel like a spectator in my own life. Botox, onabotulinum toxin A, prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. It's not for those with 14 or fewer headache days a month. It's the number one prescribed branded chronic migraine preventive treatment. Prescription Botox is injected by your doctor.

50:45Effects of Botox may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. Alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. Patients with these conditions before injection are at highest risk. Side effects may include allergic reactions, neck and injection site pain, fatigue, and headache. Allergic reactions can include rash, welts, asthma symptoms, and dizziness. Don't receive Botox if there's a skin infection. Tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, including ALS Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, and medications, including botulinum toxins, as these may increase the risk of serious side effects.

51:19Why wait? Ask your doctor, visit BotoxChronicMigraine.com, or call 1-800-44-BOTOX to learn more. So can you tell me about Book Tour? What do you have planned that you can share?

51:29Pierce Abernathy:Yeah, I'm so excited. I am hitting six cities, doing quite a few events in New York. Starting August 15th, I'll be doing a collaboration with Apollo Bagels, featuring that corn butter and tomato toast. That'll be at their Tribeca location. Wow, I will be there first in line to eat the bagel. Amazing. And then on Friday, the 21st of August, I will be signing books with Norwich Meadows Farm at the Union Square Farmers Market. On Saturday, I will be signing books at the Prospect Park Farmers Market. And then Friday night, I will be doing a big hullabaloo party at Public Records. Very excited about that.

52:14Pierce Abernathy:There will be some live music. Is hullabaloo party your name? I just said a hullabaloo. I don't know why I used that word. I've never used that word before. It's very what I would imagine to be Louisville coded. Well, I've been thinking about hiring a bluegrass band maybe, which is why I said. I think now that you've given it the name Hella Blue, you kind of have to bring in the bluegrass band. And I imagine you have like more events in other cities. Yes. So then I'll be heading to L.A. Confirmed I will be doing a kind of late lunch at Lulu, which is at the Hammer Museum, I believe. Alice Waters Restaurant.

52:51Pierce Abernathy:Alice Waters Restaurant, exactly. One to two other events that are soon to be confirmed. Check my Instagram for updates there. Then heading to San Francisco, where on August 30th, I will be having a conversation with Steve Gordo of Rancho Gordo Beans at The Gardner, followed by a little happy hour at Bar Panisse. and then heading to Portland, Oregon, Chicago, Austin, Texas. Those dates are being solidified as we speak. And you can check out my Instagram to find out more. Okay. Do you want to do rapid fire? I'm going to make you play some favorites. Let's go. Okay. Okay. Easy start. Your favorite season for cooking?

53:36Pierce Abernathy:Spring. Oh, I thought you were going to say summer. Oh, okay. Late spring, early summer. Like end of May, early June. Okay. Your favorite farmer's market to shop at? Union Square. Favorite day to shop at Union Square? Monday. Your favorite use for a part of produce that often gets thrown out? Crispy leek tops. It's like fried onions. With the dark green part? Yeah. Wow, I always throw those out. So good, and they store forever. Just put a little, either like a silica packet or a tissue, and you have fried shallots or fried sizzled onions. Wow. It's so tasty. A favorite cookbook that isn't your own?

54:16Pierce Abernathy:I'll think about like the first cookbook that I ever received was Jerusalem, Sami Tamimi in Yodemal Andalenghi. So I have a connection to that book. Your favorite bakery? Saragina. Your favorite quick lunch spot in New York? Quick lunch spot. Poonjab Deli. Your favorite special occasion restaurant in New York? This is going to be so antithetical to the book, but the grill. I mean, the whole experience. It's, yeah. I mean, this is very, very special occasion, but it is, it's a, it's a transformation, you know, you're, you're really transformed and you're, it's, it's really special and interesting and they put on a show.

55:04Pierce Abernathy:It's, it's cool. Yeah. My side note is that the ladies restroom at the grill is like the nicest bathroom I've been in in my entire life. You could just hang out the whole night in that bathroom and touch up your makeup and chat. Other, Cove. Cove is great. Just had dinner there. It was nice. A lesser known piece of produce that you think more people should try? Rutabaga. In what application? Rutabaga slaw with brown butter vinaigrette. It's in the book. In every leaf, every stem. Every leaf, every stem. The most overrated piece of produce? Man, who's going to come for me? Let's see. Wow, this is tough.

55:43You can't do it? What do you think about Harry's Berries?

55:47Pierce Abernathy:They're good. Okay. They're very good. They're very good. I don't know. If you want to say all produce is appropriately rated, I'll accept that. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I don't want to say it because I don't truly believe it, but what comes to mind, I'm not head over heels for asparagus. I think it's kind of a psyop. It's like one of the first new pieces of spring produce. Same with ramps. When I moved to New York, I was kind of like, why is everybody obsessed with ramps? And then after going through a New York winter, I was kind of like, oh, it's the first new thing that we have. White asparagus, incredible.

56:22An underrated piece of kitchen equipment.

56:25Pierce Abernathy:A little offset spatula. It's like a workhorse that can do so much. Your go-to breakfast? Oh, I have the same breakfast pretty much every day. Yogurt, granola. It's in some, yeah. Right now it's yogurt, granola, banana, peanut butter, almond butter. Sometimes it's oatmeal, peanut butter, almond butter, banana or other fruit. Final question. A fictional food scene like from a book or a movie or something made up that you wish you could magically eat in real life. First thing that comes to mind is in Hook where they start throwing all of the food. Robin Williams, I mean, come on. It's an iconic, watching that as a kid.

57:09Yeah.

57:10Pierce Abernathy:You're just like, I want to be at that table. You want to be there like mouth open trying to catch it? Yeah, but I don't even like frosting. So maybe, I don't know. Well, it's magical. So maybe. Yeah, maybe I would. In that moment, I would. Maybe it would taste like the best thing I've ever had. Maybe it would taste like rutabaga. Mmm. This has been such a fun conversation, Pierce. Thank you for coming on the show. Yeah, thanks for having me.

57:41This is Taste is hosted and produced by Matt Rodbard and me, Eliza Abarbanel. The show is edited by lead producer Clayton Gumbert and supervised by Pat Stango, director of media production and development at Penguin Random House. Thanks to Shalia Harris and the production team at Penguin Random House. Theme music by Steve Rydell. episode portraits by Louise Zergang Pomeroy logo design by Ellie Skurzat and Ian Dingham visit Taste Online at tastecooking.com and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated on all cool things in the world of taste

58:17class is now in session and the UPS store is here to help you ace arriving on campus our certified packing experts can pack everything you need from desktops to decor Plus, when you pack and ship with us, you get our exclusive pack and ship guarantee. Your items arrive safe or your money back. Restrictions and limitations apply. To get a 20 % off packing coupon and for full details, visit the upsstore.com slash packing. In the U.S., there's a break in every 26 seconds. But when intruders step near, SimpliSafe Home Security steps up. Stop. This is SimpliSafe. Police are on the way. Using AI alerts, U.S.-based live agents help deter break-ins.

59:01SimpliSafe, no long-term contracts. Save 50 % on your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com slash Spotify or with promo code Spotify. Outdoor deterrence requires a SimpliSafe Active Guard outdoor protection plan starting at$49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. Tennessee 2012.