Mom Gossip #1: My mother, Janet
Painter, empath, dinner party connoisseur
Welcome to Mom Gossip, a new series highlighting the women who shape us. Today’s guest: my mom, home stylist + curator Janet Joseph. This conversation took place over the phone on December 13, 2024. For the sake of simplicity, we kept our focus on the kitchen.
Hi! I’m so excited to talk with you. This has been a long time coming.
I’ve been listening to the Wiser Than Me podcast — she interviews older women, Ina Garten, Jane Fonda… and every time, after interviewing them, she calls her mom and they chat for a few minutes on-air. It’s really sweet.
How did you first get interested in cooking?
I remember having my first dinner party before I was married, and there were only four of us. I made a turkey scallopini dish with risotto, and after I made that and had a dinner party, I was like, “Oh, I can do this. It’s not that hard to entertain.” Once I got a few dinner parties under my belt, I had more confidence to continue.
But really, I was cooking to save money. We had a pretty strict food budget. We would put money in envelopes and budget it for food and other things we wanted to do.
And when you were born, I really wanted to make sure you were eating healthy. When you were really little, I would purée vegetables and fruit and freeze in portions for you. I wanted to find recipes that I could make and feed you… I think that played an important role in why you love vegetables and cook a lot yourself.
That sets the tone for everything.
I didn’t entertain much when you were young, but I started having people over with the grade school gang. I probably didn’t develop a real love for cooking until about 5 years ago.
What’s really interesting is I had energy work done recently from a woman who I hadn’t seen in a while, and she said, “There’s something that you’re doing that’s very zen. Keep doing it.” And I was like, “Well, I’m a painter.” But when I thought about it more, it’s really my cooking. It’s the first thing I do in the morning most days, just to get something in the fridge. Like painting, it’s very relaxing for me. I can put on a podcast or music and just be by myself.
I had energy work done recently from a woman who I hadn’t seen in a while, and she said, ‘There’s something that you’re doing that’s very zen. Keep doing it.’
And with entertaining — I want a beautiful environment, I want a low-stress environment, which is why I prep ahead of time. When you have a dinner party, there’s nothing worse than a stressed-out host.
A few days ago, I had Ceci and her boyfriend over and I made a Shepherd’s pie. It’s something that I baked ahead and served with a salad. And you know, the house was all decorated for Christmas… Ceci was like, “Oh my goodness.” And just a really simple place setting that’s elegant and beautiful, using cloth napkins, nice dinnerware; having the appetizers out before people come over, having the wine glasses out… It doesn’t have to be anything fancy.
How does your art-making practice coincide with cooking?
I think that people who are creative tend to be really good cooks. The visualization is really important, too; I can read a recipe and instantly know if it’s going to be good or not.
What, to you, makes a good recipe?
I have a few very reputable sources that are fabulous. Martha Stewart recipes aren’t great, they’re always missing something. My go-to place is the NYT Cooking app — you can’t go wrong. And I love reading the comments of people who try the recipes; they give you hints about ways to tweak it.
If I have a night where I know I’m going to cook chicken but am sick of the ways I’ve been cooking it, I’ll just check NYT. I found a chicken recipe with harissa last week, and it was so simple and so good.
When I first started cooking, my go-to was always Epicurious.com, but I really haven’t gone to them too much lately. And then I find stuff on social media, TikTok…
I love America’s Test Kitchen. Every year, they do a compilation of their recipes. I used to get those annually, but I tend not to buy cookbooks anymore; they just take up space.
And you have your binders.
If there’s a new recipe that I like, I’ll print it out, put it in a plastic sleeve, and put it in my binder. As you know, my original binder was getting too big, so I separated it into different ones. It’s a lot more streamlined, it’s so much better. If I’m making fish, I’ll grab the fish binder.
And it was a tag-team effort. Paul was like, “Don’t buy them, I have so many at work.” So he brought some home for me to use.
What are some of your go-to recipes?
In terms of everyday recipes, I love Ina Garten’s seared salmon. You cook it on the stovetop then put it in the oven. I always have salmon in my freezer or fridge.
We do chicken twice a week. What I have in my fridge is my chicken salad, which is more of a chicken paté. I can have that for breakfast, lunch, even dinner. I usually make a few salads every week. We love the Fred’s chicken salad, and also that one that you like, with the dates… I probably have five salads in rotation.
We do cod once a week. I’ll either do an Asian flair with it, or I’ll wrap it up in aluminum foil with butter, wine, leeks and carrots and kind of poach it.
I’m not eating too much red meat right now, but the marinated skirt steak is great.
For entertaining in the winter, I love doing a pot roast, shepherd’s pie…
What about appetizers?
It depends on who’s coming. My girlfriends tend to eat lighter and don’t like a lot of appetizers. Generally, gluten-free crackers, regular crackers, hard cheese (a sharp cheddar), soft cheese (I love the brie with mushrooms from Trader Joe’s), nuts, olives, salami. Pureed cauliflower dip, carrot dip… I tailor it to the crowd.
In terms of the crackers, I like dimension: basic crackers but also really pretty ones, swirly pastry puffs… I make my own flax crackers.
Who are your favorite kinds of people to host?
I have a group of young clients that I have over once a year, and they’re so much fun. I usually have a craft project that we’ll do — last time, it was terrariums with sedums.
I love having Ceci over solo during the week so we can just have a casual dinner together and catch up. I love having other couples over, too — three couples, including Paul and me. It fills the table nicely.
What are your dinner party etiquette musts?
As a host: it’s important to not be stressed out, don’t be frazzled. The way you greet your guests is so important. Don’t clean up until everyone is gone.
As a guest: be on time. If you’re bringing someone, let the hostess know; and if you’re bringing flowers, bring a vase. There’s nothing worse than having to scramble to find a vase. I think it is important to bring a small hostess gift.
If someone’s a cook and I have a favorite utensil, I’ll put a bow around it and give it to them.
What do you like to bring?
I bring really unique gifts. I’ve actually had people comment how much they love my gifts. I usually don’t bring flowers, sometimes I’ll bring wine… This year, I bought some beautiful things from the Jayson warehouse sale that will be my gifts for 2025. Sometimes I’ll bring a beautiful deck of playing cards — Misc. Goods has the most beautiful cards. If someone’s a cook and I have a favorite utensil, I’ll put a bow around it and give it to them.
What are some of your favorite utensils?
I don’t cook with any plastic. I use my wooden utensils a lot, and I have my favorite spoon and my favorite spatula, which is over 30 years old, probably. I don’t even remember where I got it from.
Cooking spatulas — Di Oro brand, BPA-free silicone. The spoonula is my favorite tool. I also love my Staub multi-function spoon. And these 9-inch tongs from Williams Sonoma.
What makes a well-stocked kitchen? What are your essentials for first-time cooks?
It’s important to have glass containers when you’re measuring out ingredients. And when you’re cooking, read the recipe twice, especially if it’s a new one, and have all the ingredients ready before you start.
I always have fresh lemon and lime juice in the fridge. It’s a pain to have to juice something, so it’s nice to have it in there. If I can cut up my veggies prior, I do — parsley, things that make sense to do ahead… I also make my own chicken and veggie stock and keep my veggie scraps in the freezer.
For measuring spoons — get a few sets, and don’t have them attached to each other. Put them in a sturdy upright container. During the course of a recipe, you’ll need a teaspoon a few times, and it’s nice to have multiple. I think I have three of everything, actually.
Get regular measuring cups, but also the OXO measuring cups. I like them because they’re angled, so you can see the measurement while you pour the liquid in. I recommend these four sizes: mini, 1C, 2C and 4C.
Sharp knives, a good cutting board, a bench scraper… I use that a lot. I keep my salt on the counter. I love my Beata Heuman Monster Pinch — a true splurge because of the shipping costs from England.
Have your spices organized so you can readily find them, and take a look to see if you need to restock something. I get all my spices at Spicehouse in Chicago. When I first bought them, I had the glass containers, and now what I do is buy the flat packages, which ship free.
What are some systems that you’ve put into place to keep your kitchen organized?
One of my favorite things to do is go thrifting, and I always go to the home goods section because I love buying older cooking materials. They were made so well, the heft is there... I bought a beautiful old pepper mill recently, I don’t think you’ve seen it yet — it’s wooden and small. It’s perfect.
I am very much opposed to plastic, so everything is glass. And I’m able to find these beautiful glass containers with flat lids that I can stack. No specific brand, but they’re made in the US, and they just work out so beautifully. They’re easy to clean, but you have to store them carefully.
I go through my fridge a lot; it’s very rare that there’s something rotting in the back. And before guests come over, I always organize everything and make it pretty because people love to look inside.
I keep my fruit separately in a drawer, and then I have my cheeses and appetizer-type things in the other drawer. I have all the condiments that I need, various vinegars… I keep my parsley and cilantro in the fridge, in water, because they’re just like fresh flowers. And when I get asparagus, I’ll do that, too, and put a bag over it.
I keep my parsley and cilantro in the fridge, in water, because they’re just like fresh flowers. And when I get asparagus, I’ll do that, too.
I have these wonderful cloth bags [discontinued, but similar here] that I use to store my veggies. You wet them, you don’t want to get them soaked, but you want them to be slightly wet — with the exception of mushrooms. And it really does make a difference, they last a lot longer.
On my counter, I always have my onions, garlic, shallots, and squash.
How do you like to organize your pantry?
In my pantry, I store my cookbooks, I store my wine, I store my larger serving pieces… I have extra spices in there, different nut butters. I have flour — I’m gluten-free, so I have a gluten-free flour. If I’m at Whole Foods and something I use all the time is on sale, I’ll buy a few of them so I have it. I always have coconut milk, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and pasta.
The things that I buy in bulk are the seeds that I use to make the crackers. I like to store everything in my Ball canning jars (wide mouth), and I have these really great lids that I use. They’re all different sizes, so I’ll actually store my rice in those containers, lentils, beans… For the seed crackers, I pre-mix about five different servings so they’re ready to go. Very rarely am I out of something.
What advice would you give to a new cook or host?
Start small, just have a friend or two over. It shouldn’t be a stressful event. Make it fun — and the way I make it fun is to make it beautiful. And pick really great recipes.
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Janet lives in Chicago with her boyfriend, Paul, and dog, Kayo. An avid outsider art collector, she appeared on Antique’s Roadshow last spring and continues to post her finds and creations on Instagram.