Taste Buds with Stephanie Hansen

In the first episode, I head to the Burnsville Farmers’ Market to find the perfect ingredients for some tasty recipes. I’m joined by a precocious new friend, and together we find award-winning Shepherd’s Way Big Woods Blue Cheese, Utechts Home Grown thick-cut bacon, juicy tomatoes, and more. Watch me bring my bounty home to whip up three tasty salads!

It was an absolute joy to be joined by Melissa Peterman in this special State Fair Episode! Melissa is best known for her role on Reba, and she was even more hilarious than I could’ve dreamed during our trip around the fair. We sampled all kinds of fair food. This is a can’t miss episode on the Great Minnesota Get Together that features favorites like the Hamlin Church Diner, The Giant Slide, Quenched, The Gizmo, Roasted Corn, The St Paul Fire Fighters Union.

In this episode, I learned the science behind small-batch ice cream with Ashlee Olds, owner of Sweet Science Ice Cream. Somewhere between tempering egg yolks and mixing the perfect bite of cookies and cream, she learns an important lesson: handcrafted ice cream is a lot of work – but it is so worth it. Join Stephanie back in her kitchen afterward for an ice cream pie recipe that’ll give your muscles a rest.

It is fall harvest season and to mark the occasion, Stephanie invited her Weekly Dish radio partner, Stephanie March, over for a fall dessert faceoff. March is also the senior editor for food and dining at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, so she’s a bit of a foodie and dazzled us with her family’s beloved Oma’s Pound Cake recipe. Stephanie, a self-described “eater,” opted for an infamous favorite from the Weekly Dish archives: Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings. Eye rolls aside, it’s still the #1 requested recipe from Weekly Dish listeners.

The chill in the air can only mean one thing: apple season! Stephanie visits Sweetland Orchard to taste their apples and popular hard ciders, including Cherry Rhubarb, Northern Spy, and Scrumpy Original. Sweetland also creates iced ciders through a freeze/thaw process during winter. We tried a variety of Borealis Winter Reserve, as well as Pommeau, a newer item for the orchard. The donuts, chickens, and pigs were quite a bonus, too.

Stephanie preps for a Halloween party with Vanessa Drews, owner of Cheesecake Funk. Vanessa’s made-from-scratch cheesecakes feature mounds of whipped cream and memorable flavors that captured the attention of Prince at Paisley Park. In this episode, she whips up a pumpkin cheesecake that is scary and delicious. Create your own killer Halloween party with one of Vanessa’s cheesecakes, Stephanie’s savory stuffed pumpkin, and boozy crockpot apple cider!

Stephanie visits James Beard Award Winning Chef Sean Sherman at his Indigenous Food Lab in the Midtown Global Market. Sean is also on the TIME 100 Most Influential People of 2023 list and recently won the Julia Child Award. He shares his knowledge of indigenous foods with Stephanie while cooking bison tacos and offers his advice for families looking to honor Indigenous communities during the holidays. While at the market, Stephanie purchases Red Lake Nation Wild Rice and heads home to create a wild rice stuffing made entirely of Indigenous ingredients.

In all her years of home cooking, Stephanie has somehow avoided roasting a Turkey. The job usually falls on her husband, Kurt, but that’s all about to change because Stephanie is hosting her first Friendsgiving. Wielding a 16-pound bird and several ounces of ambition, Stephanie prepares her first-ever turkey, whips up macaroni and cheese, and makes orange cranberry sauce for her foodie friends, Joy Altmann and Jason Matheson and Jeff Orcutt from The Jason Show.

It’s holiday cookie season, and Stephanie is learning from the ultimate cookie queen, Sarah Kieffer. With four cookbooks under her belt and a massive social media following, Sarah has become a go-to resource for foolproof recipes. In this episode of Taste Buds, she shares a simple way to make three kinds of cookies from two batches of dough. She also has a few tips and tricks for achieving crispy edges and fudgy centers in your cookies.

The Red Nose Room at Red Cow Uptown is decked out for Christmas and cocktails (or mocktails!), and Stephanie gets a taste with Ian Lowther. Visit the Red Nose Room through January 7th and grab Hangover Brunch on New Year’s Day!. Stephanie also serves up a creative holiday gift – homemade Irish Cream and cheesy appetizers to please hungry party guests. Find recipes for her Gruyère Cheese Puff and Goat Cheese Log below.

Who says Dry January can’t be filled with fun? Stephanie explores the massive mocktail selection at Minnesota’s first non-alcoholic bottleshop, Marigold, and samples vibrant and festive food pairings with Chowgirls Catering.

New year = new goals! Stephanie is doubling down on her nutrition and learning about protein with Stephanie Meyer — coach, personal chef, instructor, and author at Project Vibrancy.

The big game is right around the corner in Las Vegas and if you’re hosting a party (or want to eat some amazing appetizers), this episode of Taste Buds is for you.

Stephanie explores the tropical flavors of Sri Lanka with Chef Heather Jansz, also known as The Curry Diva. Heather runs a pop-up restaurant every Saturday night at Butter Bakery Cafe in Minneapolis and hosts cooking classes and private events across the Twin Cities. Join Stephanie and Heather on a deep dive into eastern ingredients and spices as they make Coconut Basmati Rice, Curry Lentils (Dahl), and Kale Mallung with Toasted Coconut.

Stephanie Hansen’s love of Korean food takes her on a whirlwind adventure of flavors in the latest episode of Taste Buds. First up: kimchi fried rice with James Beard Award-winning chef Ann Kim. Ann welcomes Stephanie into her new restaurant, Kim’s, which features Korean American cuisine that is close to Ann’s heart. Her kimchi fried rice is made with “Ann’s ham,” which is Ann’s in-house twist on Spam. Inspired by Ann’s kimchi fried rice, Stephanie heads to United Noodles to shop for Korean ingredients with KC Kye. KC makes social media videos touring Asian grocery stores and explaining products to viewers, so he was a perfect guide. KC is also the creator of K-Mama Sauce, which he calls the “Korean ketchup.” Home from the store with her ingredients in tow (and her handy Souper Cubes), Stephanie makes Spam and kimchi fried rice and Korean pancakes (with some help from her husband, Kurt, a pancake-flipping pro).

Stephanie explores a world of Irish delights for St. Patrick’s Day, starting with Red Locks Irish Whiskey. Kieran Folliard and his team mix up an Irish Mule and Irish Coffee with their signature, award-winning whiskey. After sampling Irish drinks, Stephanie heads to Shelagh Mullen’s house to make Seedy Brown Bread, Colcannon, and Garlicky Guinness Mussels. Shelagh runs SheCooks.Design, and is a culinary instructor and recipe designer who studied in Ireland. She also hosts guided trips to the Emerald Isle to share the history, culture, and food of Ireland with travelers.

Stephanie Hansen’s love of focaccia, sourdough, and croissants leads her on an epic Minneapolis bread journey in this episode of Taste Buds. First up: Laune Bread, where Tiff Singh uses more than 65% whole grain flour to create a variety of sourdough loaves, pretzels, croissants and pastries. Tiff uses ingredients from Minnesota and Upper Midwest farmers and producers to bridge the gap between farm and city. Filled with quality carbs and fresh knowledge, Stephanie heads to Marty’s Deli, where Martha Polacek and her team serve up made-from-scratch breakfast and lunch sandwiches on fresh focaccia. Martha also turns to local farms like Peterson Craft Meats for key ingredients. Some home cooks find all that pouring, shaping, and baking too much, so Stephanie also has a simple focaccia recipe that is perfect for busy families.

Stephanie Hansen’s good friend, Jack Leius, has a new girlfriend – and she’s no stranger to TV. Michelle Young captured hearts as the runner-up on season 25 of The Bachelor, and as The Bachelorette in 2021. And while Michelle’s love story took a few unexpected turns, she and Jack are thrilled that their paths finally crossed. Anxious to meet Michelle and celebrate their relationship, Stephanie cooks up a romantic dinner plan with Jack. They head to Kowalski’s grocery store for ingredients, then get to work making shrimp fettucine with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, strawberry salad with honeyed almonds, a signature tequila cocktail, and 2019 Napa Valley red wine from Magna Carta.

Stephanie Hansen dives deep into the art of the sushi roll with nationally renowned chef Billy Tserenbat, founder of Billy Sushi in Minneapolis, on the latest episode of Taste Buds. Billy takes the Taste Buds crew behind the scenes of his beloved restaurant for an incredible breakdown of a fresh-caught 250-pound tuna, serving as the star of his popular George Clooney Roll. Stephanie tries rolling sushi alongside Billy, which is one of her more humbling experiences. Fresh from Billy’s Sushi (cashmere beanies in-hand), Stephanie invites another sushi enthusiast into her kitchen – her daughter Ellie. Ellie demonstrates her own strategy for rolls at home, while Stephanie hits a few speed bumps on her way to sushi roll precision. Stephanie also offers a simpler step into the world of sushi with recipes for a tuna poke bowl and a crispy salmon bowl.

Stephanie Hansen celebrates Mother’s Day with two of her favorite moms: Laurie Crowell from Golden Fig Fine Foods and Zoë François of Zoë Bakes in the latest episode of Taste Buds. Follow Cocoa Flake Chocolates.

Midwest forests are filled with spring blooms and fresh greens this time of year, and for Chef Alan Bergo, it's time to feast. Alan has a wealth of knowledge and skill in all facets of foraging, and that made him the perfect companion on Stephanie Hansen's quest to harvest nutrients from the great outdoors in the latest episode of Taste Buds.

The lure of sizzling smash burgers and hungry fish brings Stephanie Hansen and the Taste Buds crew to the shores of the Mississippi River in Minneapolis for an epic adventure with Nate P., host of “Shore Lunch with Nate P." on YouTube.

Summer is here and backyard grills are taking center stage, but a smokehouse in Wisconsin is raising the bar in barbecue, and catching Stephanie Hansen’s eye. Big Guy’s BBQ Roadhouse in Hudson, Wisconsin, is serving up smoked prime rib, candied bacon, and other specialty items that have customers hooked.