- [Hetty] Hi.

- Hi.

So you were talking about cooking with restrictions.

- [Hetty] Mm hm.

- And I don't wanna start a huge argument, and that's for another time, but my doctor, plant-based, I'm 100% plant-based, but she's also no added oil.

- Oh, gosh.

- So that's a restriction that my husband, the cook, doesn't like.

- Yeah, I don't like it either.

- I know how to get around it.

But she will lecture you for half an hour about why.

That has to do with cellular bases, et cetera.

So do you have, are all your recipes, do they all have oil in them, or-- - I would say so.

- I mean, most do.

- Yeah, yeah.

- They do.

- The ones-- - I don't know why I'm looking at you, Evan.

I know they have oil in them.

(all laughing) - Because I've been through the book, I know, actually.

- I know they have, well, that's a tough restriction.

I mean, oil is, like particularly in plant-based cooking, to get really nice caramelization on vegetables, oil is something that's fairly important.

But I did have a conversation with a friend the other day, and we were talking about mushrooms.

And she's not a chef, but she did have some sort of, she did have some culinary training, and she was saying that they were taught to cook vegetables in water.

And then it still caramelizes.

Now, I've never tried it, 'cause-- - It sounds like punishment.

- That's right, (audience laughing) (indistinct) - You can use broth, soup, there's very flavored broths, and they caramelize beautifully, but it's a technique, and-- - With a broth?

- Broth and water.

- And water.

- I've done it with water, too, and they caramelize, they look gorgeous, and they taste great.

But it's an added restriction.

- It is, that's a tough one.

- It is, it is, but it's worthy.

(laughing) According to her, it's very healthy.

- [Evan] Thank you.

- Okay, thank you.

- On this subject, butter versus oil.

- Oil.

- Oil.

- Olive oil.

- Yeah.

- I like olive oil.

- You know, (coughing) in baking, I feel like olive oil is a better ingredient for cakes than butter in the end.

- Yeah, I mean it keeps them more moist.

- Yeah.

- And it even like some sort of vegetable oil or-- - Yeah.

- That works really well too.

- I'm not imagining that, that that's better sometimes.

- I prefer it, 'cause I'm very scared of dry cakes.

- There you go.

The Hetty Lui McKinnon endorsement.

Olive oil cake is the greatest.

- [Hetty] Olive oil cake, it's great, that's right.

- [Evan] Ma'am.

- I heard you being interviewed on NPR over the holidays.

- [Hetty] Oh yeah.

- And you were plugging your potato chip salad.

(Hetty laughing) - And the salad-- - Everybody loves the potato chip salad.

- I had to get-- - I had no idea this was gonna be what everyone talked about.

- It's viral, it's amazing.

- Well, unfortunately, I had to get out of the car and go into a party, and I didn't get to hear you talk about the potato chip salad.

- Oh no.

- So I'm dying of curiosity.

Could you please talk a little bit about your potato chip salad?

- Yeah, I mean, it's not as crazy as it sounds.

- No.

- You know, that particular Linger lunch that I cooked it for, it was with my children.

So I was like, I want to surprise them about what a salad can be.

But the origins of it is it's inspired by Indian chaat.

You know, it's a street food, it has crunchy bits with vegetables.

There's yogurt, there's tamarind.

So there's that creamy element.

- Some great chilies in there, it's got real bite to it, right?

- Yeah, I mean, this one, you can obviously you can add as many chilies as you want.

So that's the origins of the thinking of that dish.

It didn't just land from nowhere.

But I love that.

I love taking something that already exists in the world and transforming it into something that speaks to me or to the moment.

So yeah, hence the potato chip salad.

(laughing) - You didn't know you'd be talking about potato chip salad so much.

Give Hetty Lui McKinnon a big hand.

Thank you all for coming.

We'll see you soon.

Alright.

(indistinct) (audience applauding) - Oh, wonderful, so fun!