Helen Rosner Takes the Office-Fridge Challenge

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

Politics, Arts, News, Wnyc, Books, David, Storytelling, Society & Culture, Yorker, New, Remnick

4.2 • 6.2K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2019

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Helen Rosner is known for her high degree of resourcefulness in the kitchen: she once broke the Internet with an article about the ingenious use of a hair dryer to help roast a chicken. So the staff of Radio Hour threw down a challenge: we asked Helen to make a meal out of whatever food she could find in The New Yorker’s communal fridge, with whatever cooking equipment she could scare up around the office. The result (spoiler alert): a marinated-vegetable salad with sardines, a whole-grain risotto topped with charred broccoli and chimichurri, a bread pudding with whiskey sauce and ice cream, and a rather unique cocktail—a Bloody Mary made with John McPhee’s vodka and a rim of crushed caterpillar.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a special episode of the New Yorker Radio Hour.
0:11.5	A pretty special episode, as a matter of fact, something we've never tried before,
0:15.8	and I'm not really going to bet my paycheck that it works.
0:19.1	It's the New Yorker Radio Hour Office Fridge
0:21.3	Challenge, and our contestant is Helen Rosner, food correspondent from the New Yorker. And we gave
0:26.2	Helen a challenge, make a meal from whatever she could find in there. Fearless and resourceful
0:31.0	writer that she is, Helen accepted. I feel like I should clarify that I don't come into the office
0:36.2	that often. Like, this is not my home turf. So I'm learning about this kitchen as I, like I should clarify that I don't come into the office that often. Like, this is not my home turf.
0:39.8	So I'm learning about this kitchen as I go.
0:42.2	And our producer, Rianne and Corby, was there both to assist and to enforce the rules.
0:48.2	This thing that's off limits is that fridge over there.
0:50.5	Okay.
0:50.7	This fridge, this fridge, this freezer, anything on the counters.
0:53.2	Yep, exactly.
0:54.1	Great. You have one This fridge, this freezer, anything on the counters. Yep, exactly. Great.
0:55.5	You have one lifeline, which means we have a producer stationed at Target, ready to receive a phone call from you.
1:04.3	Appliances or ingredients is, but only one thing. Yes. You're sure. The people know I'm using their food.
1:09.8	People know. People know.
1:11.6	Okay, so we have our dairy section.
1:16.6	I've got half and half fat-free milk.
1:20.6	That's going to be useless.
1:23.6	Four single serving packets of Smuckers Concord grape jelly. What I think is the remnants of a chocolate milkshake.
	...

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