848: Let’s Party with Dan Pelosi and Caribbean Cooking with Rawlston Williams
4/24/202651 min
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This week, we’re excited to get cooking! First, two-time New York Times bestselling cookbook author and the internet’s favorite Italian, Dan Pelosi, joins us to staff the phone and answer your cooking questions. We get into his top hosting tips, the how-tos of building menus for all kinds of gatherings, and his favorite springtime recipe, Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan Sauce. Then, Francis and Dan jump into your cooking questions. Dan Pelosi is the author of Let's Eat: 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart & Home - A Cookbook, and his latest book is Let's Party: Recipes and Menus for Celebrating Every Day. Then, we dive into Caribbean cooking with Brooklyn-based chef Rawlston Williams. Rawlston talks about growing up in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and his introduction to that island’s foodways. He talks about the diverse and delicious culinary traditions of the Caribbean, and we take an in-depth look at the different seasonings and marinades that are the foundation of Caribbean cooking. Ralwston Williams is the author of The Caribbean Cookbook, and he left us with recipes for Green Seasoning, Jerk Marinade, and Sofrito from Puerto Rico.
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Broadcast dates for this episode:
April 24, 2026 (originally aired)
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsFrancis Lam· Host0:00
[upbeat music] I'm Francis Lam, and this is The Splendid Table from APM. [upbeat music] So it was seemingly only moments ago when it was 45 degrees and chilly here where I live, and right now it is 85 and humid. [laughs] You know, maybe that's just the weather changing, or maybe it's because you're gonna hear me talk in a few minutes with the chef Ralston Williams, author of "The Caribbean Cookbook," whose voice and philosophy of food are so grounding you'll feel as rooted and refreshed as if you've just spent an hour in the sun with him. But before we hear from him, we're gonna hear from you. It's been a minute, so we wanted to catch up on some of your cooking questions. And to help me staff the phone, we invited the Internet's favorite meatball, Dan Pelosi, also known as Grossy Pelosi, which is really just a joke. He's very well-kempt. Dan is a two-time New York Times bestselling cookbook author, and his latest book is "Let's Party!" [upbeat music] Dan Pelosi, thank you for coming into the studio.
Dan Pelosi· Guest1:09
Thank you for having me.
Francis Lam· Host1:10
It is great to see you.
Dan Pelosi· Guest1:11
You, too.
Francis Lam· Host1:12
So your latest book is "Let's Party!"
Dan Pelosi· Guest1:15
Yes.
Francis Lam· Host1:16
It's funny because you always look like you're ready to party.
Dan Pelosi· Guest1:18
I am.
Francis Lam· Host1:19
[laughs] Even though you're like- [laughs] ... your, like, standard condition is, like, I wanna be at home in my bathrobe.
Dan Pelosi· Guest1:24
But that's a party. [laughs] That's the whole point of my book- Yeah ... is let's talk about what my kind of party is.
Unknown speaker1:28
[laughs] [laughs]