Around the Table with Betty Williams

On the pantry staples that saved dinnertime with little ones, the apple pie that defines every holiday, and the meals her grown kids still request

If you like what we’re doing (and we hope you do!) give us a little ❤️! It’s a free way to both support our newsletter and to help others find it. If you’re feeling extra generous, you can also donate to our cookbook fund!

Welcome to this week’s Around the Table interview—grab a seat and join us. Our hope with this interview is to open up a tiny little window into someone else’s kitchen and get a peek into their world.

And today we’re speaking to Betty Williams! It’s clear from Betty’s inviting Substack (full of helpful tips and nutritious recipes!) that she knows what she’s doing in the kitchen, but what we can now confirm after speaking with her is that she’s an absolute ray of sunshine. Read on to learn about her upbringing (including the very unique after-school snack she and her brother enjoyed!), her adventure into making her own kimchi, and the way she was able to give into the all-encompassing job of mothering three (now adult!) children.

So grab a seat, and get cozy. This interview has some great recommendations, delicious food memories, and a very fun look at Betty’s approach to daily life and California cuisine.

Betty, it’s SO lovely to have you here! It’s always a delight coming across your posts, and I’m so inspired by your Substack full of recipes and easy-to-follow instructions. Could you tell us a bit about yourself? What’s your story? Help us understand what makes you you, and how you got to where you are today.
Thanks so much for inviting me to share! I’m a longtime writer who has worked in the food world for several decades. I’ve done everything from serving at a down-home Southern cuisine restaurant in Texas to copywriting at an international advertising agency in Hungary to conducting tours and tastings at a family-owned winery in California. Along the way, I’ve also run my own menu plan subscription business, written a newspaper food column for 10 years, and ghostwritten cookbooks and blog posts. During the pandemic, I thought, “I’m doing this for other people, why don’t I start writing for myself?” So, I started a food blog called Betty Eatz.

Wow! You’ve done so many different (fun! cool!) things. Looking back, which one was your favorite or stands out the most?
I don’t know if I have a favorite past job. That’s like choosing a favorite child, lol! What I do appreciate though is that all of them have contributed to what I do now. Something I’ve told my kids for years is, “Nothing you do is ever wasted,” meaning all the jobs and experiences will somehow add to a future job or experience. And what I didn’t know is that it also applies to my own life.

Ah, I love that—it’s so true. What inspired you to start a Substack? What has your experience been like since launching it? Anything surprising?
I listened to an interview that Dianne Jacob did with David Lebovitz where he talked about Substack. He said it is a great place for long-form writing, and there is less worrying about search engine optimization (which is not very fun but is important when writing for a blog). I checked out their Substack newsletters and fell in love. I immediately signed up for theirs and started my own!

Launching a newsletter sounds easy, and some parts of it are, but there is also a lot of thinking and deciding on newsletter topics, frequency, and overall vision. And then some more thinking and overthinking. I floundered around for the better part of a year until I found the FoodStack Library (now moved over to Vintage Home Baking) run by Lynn Hill, which became a wonderful place for me to connect with other food writers. It was like having fun co-workers! We’ve all helped and encouraged each other, and have even met up in real life. That has definitely been the surprising part!

Bring us into your kitchen

Describe your kitchen for us. Tell us your favorite part about it.
I have a smaller, galley-style kitchen. It’s not conducive to more than two people being in it, so it’s not somewhere that people gather when they come to our home, lol. My favorite part of a small kitchen is the efficiency. The sink, stove, and fridge form that perfect “work triangle” you hear about, and it really is great for me.

What’s your favorite kitchen utensil or tool?
You mean other than the Nespresso coffee machine? My favorite kitchen tool is my KitchenAid mixer. For a long time, I’d refused to get one because I just could not justify the hefty price tag. A few years ago, my neighbor was moving and had a yard sale. I was overjoyed to find that she was getting rid of her stand mixer. When I asked why, she said that she just didn’t use it as much now that she was retired from teaching her cooking classes. I didn’t even know she taught cooking classes! She sold me the mixer for $20. I use it several times a week and think of her almost every time. Thanks, Frann!

That’s an epic deal! What’s your favorite way to cook?
The outdoor grill! I have a gas grill and cook on it year-round. Grilled meats and veggies are my favorite. I’ve even grilled a whole turkey on it.

Wow, a whole turkey! Can you tell us about some of your favorite cookbooks, and what it is that brings you back to them time and time again?
The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer is one of my favorites because it, along with a couple of others, taught me the basics of cooking and helped me build my skills. The recipes I’ve cooked from JoC are reliable and adaptable for today, even though it was written nearly 90 years ago. Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh is one that I return to frequently when making dessert. I love their flavor combinations! And I can’t forget Maangchi’s Big Book of Korean Cooking. My mom and auntie do not write down recipes, so Maangchi’s cookbook has been the biggest help in replicating the Korean dishes I grew up eating.

Oh, that’s so lovely! What’s a recipe you go back to time and time again from the Big Book of Korean Cooking?
I love her Sundubu-jjigae, which is a tofu stew that is bubbly and delicious. And all her sauces. And meat dishes! Plus, she outlines all the different ingredients needed in Korean cooking, so if you are new to it, you know what you are looking for when shopping.

How do you organize your favorite recipes?
Oh dear. I’m not very organized when it comes to this. That is part of why I started a food blog and a Substack newsletter: so I could have my favorite recipes all in one place! For many years, I clipped out or handcopied my favorites and put them in an old Bahlsen cookie tin (which I still have and which still contains some favorite recipes!).

We love recipes here. Will you share one that means something to you? (And if you’re up for it, can you tell us why it’s so important?)
This easy homemade kimchi recipe is one that is dear to my heart. My mom is Korean, so I grew up eating kimchi. Once I moved out and on my own, I would buy kimchi from the store, but never made it myself. A few years ago, I decided to learn how to do it.

With a solid recipe and a few tips from my mom, I was thrilled at how easy it was! Now, I always have a jar in the fridge.

Oh how lovely. I’ll definitely be trying this recipe. I love that you learned to make it yourself! Could you speak a bit more about how having a Korean mom has influenced the way you cook/eat/approach food? Anything notable?
Growing up, I ate a lot of foods that my friends thought were weird. We had homemade kimchi in the fridge. My brother and I ate dried squid (with a Coca-Cola! That was a gnarly burp afterwards, lol!) as an after-school snack.

My mom, who is originally from North Korea, immigrated to the U.S. as an adult in the 1960s. Her taste memories and love of traditional Korean foods were adapted to fit the ingredients that she could find here in the U.S. at that time. Fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats, and spicy condiments were always at the forefront of her cooking.

When I moved to Southern California a few decades ago, I immediately connected with the interweaving of cultures, foods, and flavors. I realized that I had been eating a version of California cuisine all my life!

The cook once/eat thrice recipes (like this one!) are so brilliant. What inspired you to create these?
Aww, thank you! I thought the cook once, eat three times concept would help people have options for dinnertime. I like to start my week with several things prepped and ready to eat because things go a little smoother when I do. Batch-cooking some type of protein and using it in different ways throughout the week is such a lifesaver. It was really fun to put this series together, and I’m thinking of doing a follow-up series in the spring! (Katie: 🙏🙏🙏🙏)

On cooking

Why is cooking important to you? And when did you realize that?
I don’t think I realized cooking and the tangential things related to it were all that important until I got married and had kids. As a single person, it’s easy to just eat whatever and whenever. But when other people are depending on you for a nourishing meal, suddenly it becomes essential to get that part figured out. So, yes, it’s the cooking, but also the budgeting, the shopping, the stocking of the pantry and fridge, the right cookware and tools, the recipes, and the prep. When you look at all of it, cooking is now the easy part!

YES!! What’s your favorite food-related memory from when you were growing up?
The birthday cakes my mom made! Even though my mom is a good cook, she didn’t really enjoy cooking. She considered it a necessity but it wasn’t fun for her. However, she took a Wilton cake decorating class when I was in elementary school and she loved it so much. She baked my brother and me the most beautiful cakes for birthdays, graduations, and parties. I think it allowed her to be creative and artistic in ways she hadn’t been before.

That is such a sweet memory! Can you remember anything else about the cake? The way it was decorated or the flavor/frosting situation?
It wasn’t so much about the flavor of the cakes she made (they seemed to be either vanilla or chocolate cake and come to think of it, they may have even been from a cake mix). But it was always about the decoration! She loved piping flowers, leaves, shell borders, rosettes, and intricate lattice. We lived in Hawaii at the time and she managed to create a flower lei made from buttercream frosting!

Oh wow, that sounds beautiful! What’s your go-to breakfast? And when you’re feeling fancy/have more time?
During the week, it’s almost always Fage plain yogurt with either a fruit and chia/flax/hemp topping (a recipe from Beth Bollinger of Nest Wellness). Or I will have the yogurt with some grape tomatoes and homemade chili crunch oil. If I’m feeling fancy, I love a good Eggs Benedict!

What’s your go-to meal when you don’t have time to cook?
A mini charcuterie board: deli meat, hard cheese, pickles, and salted nuts.

What are your pantry staples–the things you’re never without?
I actually wrote a newsletter post about this that breaks down the dry items, freezer items, and fresh items I like to have on hand. Because I live in Southern California earthquake country, keeping a stocked pantry is important to me in case disaster strikes. I’ve removed the paywall on this post so it’s available for everyone to read!

Thank you! You’re hosting dinner this weekend for a group of good friends. What’s on the menu?
Quesabirria tacos! (Meredith: I’m on my way!) Since the weather is cooler right now, it’s the perfect time for these melt-in-your-mouth beef and cheese tacos dipped in consommé. And margaritas, of course!

On family & motherhood

What do you love to cook for your family?
Dinners are my favorite meal to cook. My husband is the breakfast guy. When my daughter was younger and had friends sleep over, he was the one making breakfast for them. They called him “Mr. Breakfast.” Lunch is the “figure it out for yourself” meal.

How old are your kids? Do they like cooking now, and did they when they were little? (And did you let them in the kitchen to help?)
My kids are 27, 25, and 23! When they were younger, they helped in the kitchen with age-appropriate tasks. Everything from unloading the dishwasher to mixing together a salad dressing to browning ground beef. I was terrified of them cutting up veggies, but my youngest surprised me by being so adept with a knife that he became my chopper. As young adults, they all have an interest in cooking. And since my older two got married last year, they’ve discovered they are cooking a lot more now! As my daughter says, “No one told me I’d have to figure out dinner every night for the rest of my life.” Hahaha!

I remember being surprised by this fact of life, too!
The struggle is real!

Since your kids are now adults…any advice or reflections on the early days (which Meredith and I are still very much in!)?
Enjoy them at every age! As the saying goes, the days are long but the years are short. Once they hit the teen years, time seems to speed up exponentially, and then they’re moving out. When it comes to food, I think a good thing I did when my kids were young was to have some type of assemble-your-own meal every week. They got to choose what and how much was going on their plate. Meals like Cobb salad, baked potato bar, tacos, make-your-own personal pizza, or chicken and rice bowls. All the ingredients were laid out buffet style, and they would build their own meal. Choices and autonomy in measured ways.

How often do your kids come back to visit? Are there any dishes they request?
Our youngest has moved back in while applying to firefighter academy, so he lives with us again for now and it’s nice to have him around. Our daughter lives about an hour away, and we see her and her husband every other weekend. And our eldest son and his wife moved to Portugal last year so we only see them on FaceTime. The dishes that everyone wants when they visit: Korean kalbi ribs with rice and kimchi, or build-your-own pizza (those childhood memories are strong!)

What’s something that surprised you about motherhood?
Motherhood came with lots of surprises for me. I was taken aback at how much I could love my little people. And I did not realize how all-encompassing it is to raise children. But once I understood and accepted it, my attitude became “Ok, bring it. Let’s do it and get really good at it.” I always tell my kids now that I would gladly do it all again.

I love that. Does anyone else in your family enjoy cooking like you do? Is that where you got it from?
Honestly, I don’t know. My mom didn’t really enjoy cooking. I did not know any of my grandparents, unfortunately, so I’m not sure if they did. My aunties cooked out of necessity, much like my mom did, but I don’t know if they enjoyed it. Relatives on both my mom’s and dad’s sides of the family lived through wars and hard times, so they didn’t have the luxury of enjoying the process. While I do enjoy cooking, I’m also privileged to have a life where I am able to enjoy it!

Do you have any infamous dishes in your family? Ones that simply can’t be skipped each year or that somehow make it onto every holiday spread?
Not sure if I have any infamous dishes! But a holiday isn’t a holiday in our family without an apple pie for dessert.

Oh, I’ve recently become obsessed with making pie. I loved your and Rebecca’s video on it! Any tips/tricks for a good apple pie?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the video! The best tip I learned for a good apple pie is to partially cook the apples before filling the pie with them. I sauté them with a little butter in a skillet. Once they release their juices, then I add sugar, cinnamon and other spices plus a little cornstarch so the juices thicken. I let the mixture cool, then fill the pie. The apples finish cooking in the oven as the pie bakes. I find by pre-cooking the fruit, there is less shrinkage (meaning there is no gap between the top crust and the fruit when the pie is done baking). And I only use Golden Delicious apples because they actually become tender AND still hold their shape without getting mushy. With other apple varieties, it seems you trade off one for the other (they’ll get tender but fall apart or they’ll keep their shape but remain slightly crunchy).

Are there any food traditions that you’ve established now with your own family?
I’ve carried on the homemade birthday cake tradition that my mom started. I am not as talented a cake decorator as she is, but I certainly have fun trying. My kids all have summer birthdays, so I start pelting them with questions on what flavor, what icing, and what decoration starting in May.

Any memorable cakes over the years? What a sweet tradition!
I mentioned a few in a past newsletter, including the Drunk Barbie cake! I will unlock the post!

What’s a kitchen shortcut you’ve learned since becoming a mom?
I learned to always have a sleeve of spaghetti and a jar of pasta sauce in the pantry at all times. It was my shortcut meal on those nights that we got home late from a soccer practice that went long or a surprise trip to the hospital emergency room. I knew not to roll through a fast-food drive-thru because I could always make a quick pasta dish once we got home.

Just for fun

What are you loving reading/ listening to / watching right now?
I’ve been in a book club with a group of friends for 20 years (we celebrated earlier this summer!). We are currently reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, and even though I read it in high school, it is like I’m reading it for the first time. Books are considered classics for a reason!

Where else can we find you on the internet?
My recipe website is BettyEatz.com and my Instagram is @betty_eatz.

What’s your favorite place to go out to eat near you?
When I go out to eat, I like to have things that I wouldn’t normally make at home. So, I love the authentic Chinese dumplings at Ja Jiaozi in Irvine. They are hand-made to order and are the most delicious dumplings I’ve ever had!

What’s something sparking joy for you at the moment? (Can be anything—a new moisturizer, a book, a conversation with a friend, etc.!)
I am really enjoying meeting new foodie “co-workers” and friends on Substack! As a middle-aged adult, you don’t really want or need new friends because you already have so many, right? But interacting with food writers and being in chats and forums with them has brought so many new acquaintances and friends that I did not expect to find in this season of life. I love it! And to paraphrase Julia Child, people who love food are the best kind of people.

Agreed! Where would you like to take a trip to next?
It would be wonderful to visit my eldest son and his wife in Portugal!