From WHY in Philadelphia, this is Fresh Air Weekend.

I'm Dave Davies and for Terry Gross.

Today, food writer Melissa Clark, her tasty recipes are favorites on the New York Times

cooking website.

She'll tell us how she gets inspired to try new food combinations and how she tweaks

and tests a recipe in her home kitchen until she sure it's good enough to publish.

Her latest cookbook is Dinner in One, Exceptional and Easy One Pan Meals.

Also we'll hear some amazing things you never knew about the early history of money in

the United States from Jacob Goldstein, former co-host of NPR's Planet Money and author of

the book Money, The True Story of a Made Up Thing.

And John Powers Reviews RRR, an epic action movie from India that's become a phenomenon

with the kind of audience participation he hasn't seen since the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Like a lot of families, we've gotten in the habit at my house in recent years of trying

recipes from the New York Times cooking website.

And we've noticed that many of our favorites are written by Melissa Clark.

Over time, many other friends have said the same thing.

Hers are just reliably good.

This shouldn't be a big surprise really.

Clark is the author of more than 40 cookbooks and winner of multiple James Beard and International

Association of Culinary Professionals awards.

She writes a weekly column for the Times called A Good Appetite and she regularly produces

cooking videos.

...