Hayden Haas author of ”Simply Delishaas”

I am thrilled to bring you the latest episode of "Dishing with Stephanie's Dish," where we welcome the incredibly talented Hayden Haas, the creative mind behind "Simply Delishaas: Favorite Recipes from the Midwestern Kitchen." Discover Hayden’s unique path from being a dishwasher on the Food Network to becoming an assistant to Molly Yeh and, eventually, a renowned cookbook author and now Minneapolis resident! Follow Hayden on Instagram @haydendelishaas

Featured Recipes

This pickle soup recipe is from Hayden’s Food Blog where he has other delicious recipes including the Cranberry Tortellini recipe we talked about from the book.

Pickle Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:

* 3 russet potatoes or 3c (2-3pounds) diced (this also works with frozen potatoes) (300- 420g)

* 3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (13g)

* 2 carrots roughly chopped (130g)

* 2 stalks of celery roughly chopped (120g)

* 1 yellow onion, diced (150g)

* 6 cloves of garlic, minced (60g)

* 2 tbsp butter (14g)

* 4 tbsp ap flour (30g)

* Salt and pepper to preference 

* 4- 6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth (940-1410g)

* 1 heaping cup of dill pickles chopped (about 5-6 pickles)

* 1/2c pickle brine (127g)

* 1 bunch of fresh dill, divided (100g)

* 2 bay leaves (less than a gram) 

* 1 tsp fresh thyme (10g)

* 1c freshly grated havarti cheese (83-100g)

* 1/2c heavy cream (119g)

* For garnish

* Heavy cream for drizzling, sriracha for drizzling and remaining fresh dill  

If you’d like an addition I grew up eating  this with garlic bread! 

* In a large pot over high heat begin boiling about 6cups of salted water. Once boiling add in potatoes, boil and drain.  ( you can make this all in one pot or two separate ones!

* cook for 20 minutes and drain. If using a second, over medium heat add olive oil, onion, celery, carrot and garlic. 

* Cook until translucent about 8-10 minutes . Season with salt and pepper to preference (I use about 1tsp of each) 

* Once translucent, add in butter and melt then flour and mix until coated. Slowly start to incorporate the broth (you’ll see it change to a light creamy color) add in the potatoes, pickles, pickle brine, fresh herbs and simmer for 20-30 minutes over medium heat. Add in the cheese and heavy cream and mix until combined! 

You can enjoy from here or dress a bowl! To a bowl add your soup, a drizzle of heavy cream, sriracha and fresh dill! Enjoy!

Pickle Popcorn

This Pickle Popcorn recipe is from Hayden’s Food Blog He calls is Netflix and (Chi)Dill

Ingredients:

3 tbsp Oil of choice (see tips)

1/2c  Popcorn kernels (a heaping 1/2c)

5 tbsp (or more) Good quality butter (I like to use Kerrygold) 

½ bunch Dill fresh or dried, chopped

½ tsp Italian seasoning 

½ tsp Garlic powder 

½ tsp Onion powder 

1 tsp cheese powder (optional) 

3 tsp Pickle juice (brine) from a jar of pickles

Salt ( i would recommend fine salt for this)

-optional hot sauce for serving if youre Selena Gomez

Tips: you can use avocado oil, refined coconut oil, vegetable oil, or even olive oil! I would recommend using a dutch oven or your favorite soup pot for this recipe (something with a lid)

Instructions

To a large pot over medium to high heat, add the oil, when the oil is hot add 2 or 3 kernels to test to see if its ready, then add the rest of the kernels and cover, leave a little crack to let some steam escape if needed. Another helpful tip when making popcorn over the stove, is to gently wiggle the pot while holding the lid and handles to jiggle the kernels around. Listen to the kernels, when it has mostly stopped popping, removed from the heat then add to a large bowl.

In the meantime begin melting the butter on the stove or microwave in 15 second intervals. Add the seasonings to the butter along with the pickle juice, stir to combine, slowly incorporate over the popcorn and give it a light shake to distribute the pickley butter. Serve immediately! Store in an air tight container, Enjoy!

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:

Stephanie Hansen [00:00:16]:

Hello, everybody, and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's dish, the podcast where we talk to people in the food space, cookbook authors, people generally obsessed with food. I am holding in my hot little hands favorite recipes from the Midwestern Kitchen. Book is called simply Delicious by Hayden Haas. Delicious. I love the title. It's so funny.

Hayden Haas [00:00:39]:

Thank you so much, and thank you for having me on.

Stephanie Hansen [00:00:41]:

Oh, it's a blast. So let us talk about your cookbook and, like, use you somehow have not been on my radar. And then I, like, found your Instagram, and I was like, oh my gosh. This guy's from the Midwest. He has almost 500,000 followers. He's friends with Molly Yeh. I mean, how would how tell us about how you got started in the cookbook world because you must have been a food stylist. Your book is incredible.

Hayden Haas [00:01:06]:

Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Yes. I did have a little bit experience, with, food styling. I got my start on Food Network surprisingly as a dishwasher and sort of led me, on an unexpected path into the food world where I was then met with Molly and then, you know, the pandemic happened one thing or another. And then I was her personal assistant and then got to see all everything that's involved with that whole world. And Molly was such a joy and kinda taught me how to write my own recipes. And I'm so thankful for all the time that I did spend with her, learning behind the scenes.

Hayden Haas [00:01:51]:

The most important part was obviously the recipe development but also kind of, when I was working behind the scenes I kind of learned how to film and direct my own videos as well as, edit them at the same time too. So it was kind of just a full package deal. I still to this day don't even really realize that I'm doing so many people's jobs, and I'm so thankful that I had that opportunity.

Stephanie Hansen [00:02:18]:

Yeah. Your your book is well, it's beautifully shot, and you can tell, there's a lot of lifestyle to it and, yes, we're looking at recipes, but many times we're looking at, not completed recipes, like the ingredients of making it. There's a lot of color in the book. Whoever did the design, it has a real rainbow flare, which I think is really cute. Yes. I just loved it. I really got the book, and it feels really like, if I knew you, I feel like this is really a reflection of you.

Hayden Haas [00:02:54]:

Thank you so much. I that was something that was really important to me. I kind of think of this as, like, my debut album. And I it's so so special to me because one of my best friends actually took all of the photography for me, and there's so much, family and friends and everything tied into it. And my designer's name was Lindsey Dobbs from Penguin Random House. So I I really wanted to include a lot of color. That was something that was really important to me and kind of all seasons. Even though,You know, it is based mostly in the Midwest, and we have winter here maybe, like, 6 to 9 months of the year. So, trying to cover all of those bases and get pictures was probably the hardest part.

Stephanie Hansen [00:03:42]:

Yeah. And people I mean, just the shooting of a book and having the seasonality to it, it is hard. Like, I'm working on a book that's a sort of cozy winter cooking book, but we haven't had snow for over a year. So I'm trying to find snowy pictures.

Hayden Haas [00:04:01]:

Yes. Yes. You're also a published author, and I was just checking out your books as well.

Stephanie Hansen [00:04:07]:

I am a published author, but I think I'm in a different vein than you. Because while I do like developing recipes, my point of view is usually typically from, like, someone's inspired from a grandma or a friend or and then I kinda take it and make it my own. I am getting a little more confident in just being like, oh, I'm just gonna make this and kinda knowing how things come together.

Hayden Haas [00:04:33]:

Yeah. And that's, something that's super important in my cookbook too because that was inspired by all the important women in my life, like my mom and my grandmas and, you know, of course, like Molly, there's so many people who have contributed to me at this point that I couldn't not also include them and all these people who have motivated me and supported me, including all of my followers and stuff. Like, this wasn't originally my intended career path, but I am so thankful that it is.

Stephanie Hansen [00:05:04]:

What was your intended career path?

Hayden Haas [00:05:06]:

I went to school for architecture and drafting. I had dreams of becoming an architect, and then I decided that that wasn't really where my heart was, but it was a very good paying job.

Stephanie Hansen [00:05:18]:

And you live in North Dakota. Is that correct?

Hayden Haas [00:05:21]:

No. I actually recently just relocated to Minneapolis.

Stephanie Hansen [00:05:25]:

Oh, so you're probably like a neighbor somewhere.

Hayden Haas [00:05:28]:

Yeah. I'm freshly here for a couple of months, so I'm still kind of catching my bearings and, making my little space home, but Minneapolis has been so welcoming, and I have literally no complaints. It's a really great place to be.

Stephanie Hansen [00:05:45]:

Yeah. So now are you here for a short time? Or

Hayden Haas [00:05:49]:

No. I'm here to stay until further notice.

Stephanie Hansen [00:05:53]:

Okay. So I need to I'm gonna connect with you, and we'll have a cup of coffee, and maybe I could help because do you need do you need this sounds so weird. Do you need friends?

Hayden Haas [00:06:05]:

I do need friends. Yes. Been so actively looking for friends. I need more foodie friends. You know, I'm kind of like I don't wanna say I'm a shut in, but since I work from home, I just cook all this food, and I get to share it with all my friends and neighbors. So it's just a great little opportunity and kind of like a howdy neighbor to Minneapolis.

Stephanie Hansen [00:06:29]:

Yeah. I love it. And same. So I'm always cooking tons of food. I'm also, like, because of the radio show, we go out a lot, but I'm always looking for people to eat with. I know that seems weird, but, like, not everyone loves to go out.

Hayden Haas [00:06:46]:

I'm also in that category. I also love having people over because, you know, you make a ton of cozy recipes. So it's like when you provide that environment of home and, just being able to host somebody in your home is just so wonderful, and that really fills my cup.

Stephanie Hansen [00:07:04]:

Yeah. Alright. Well, we've got a mission to get you introduced because we're getting into what I think could be the long winter months. I don't know. It's 80 degrees out, and it's practically Halloween, so it's very weird.

Hayden Haas [00:07:17]:

Wow. So strange how that's happening. I always knew Minneapolis was slightly warmer than where I'm from in North Dakota by at least 20 degrees. So I'm like, oh, if this is really what it's like, I'm all on board.

Stephanie Hansen [00:07:29]:

No. It's not at all. It's usually cold as hell. Alright. So I first found out about you from my friend Paul Folger from channel 5.

Hayden Haas [00:07:41]:

Oh.

Stephanie Hansen [00:07:41]:

And he was telling me about when you were on Twin Cities Live with him and Elizabeth and that you brought this pickle popcorn.

Hayden Haas [00:07:52]:

Yes.

Stephanie Hansen [00:07:53]:

Okay. And I'm obsessed with popcorn so much so that I really am not supposed to eat it because I used to eat so much of it. I had, like, stomach problems.

Hayden Haas [00:08:03]:

Oh, no.

Stephanie Hansen [00:08:05]:

But he brings me in this ziplock bag full of this pickle popcorn, and pickles are like, I'm obsessed with pickles, and I love popcorn. How did you think of the pickle popcorn recipe? Because it's a great recipe.

Hayden Haas [00:08:19]:

Thank you. I am in the same category as you as popcorn was literally my favorite snack when I was growing up. I just made a video talking about this slightly. Like, I was such a little weirdo with my popcorn. I mean, after school, we lived pretty close to a movie theater, so you could, like, pop in and grab some movie theater popcorn as a great little snack. So popcorn's always been one of my favorite things, along with pickles. So combining the 2 just kind of felt great. I love using pickle brine as an ingredient, and any opportunity to use fresh dill.

Hayden Haas [00:08:55]:

And we all know and love butter, so I kinda just fell hand in hand.

Stephanie Hansen [00:09:00]:

This is funny because I really am obsessed with dill too just because I grow it and it's like it volunteers in your garden where you don't want it, and then you're like, oh, I have dill, and you just have so much of it. You just end up using it all over.

Hayden Haas [00:09:14]:

And I think that's such a great problem to have too. I I don't know. It's either dill either because I'm also a little bit of a gardener myself. You can either grow it, and then it'll have, like, a bunch of abundance, or you're just done for it and you're not gonna have dill that year.

Stephanie Hansen [00:09:28]:

Yeah. I've had those years too. And then, like, the years you have it, you're like, wow. What I thought was so fascinating about the popcorn recipe was that you used the brine with the butter and it it didn't completely sog out the popcorn. Like, it did have kind of a, day after taste a little bit, but I love that about popcorn.

Hayden Haas [00:09:50]:

Me too. I, not to go back to movie theater popcorn, but I always loved it more the second day.

Stephanie Hansen [00:09:58]:

Yeah.

Hayden Haas [00:09:58]:

So when when you kind of combine those together and you coat them kind of gradually, it, you know, you don't want it to be, like, soggy from all of the butter and whatnot. So kind of figuring out how that works is, you know, you kind of figure it out the more often you make popcorn.

Stephanie Hansen [00:10:14]:

Well, Paul said that you were considering putting it in your next book.

Hayden Haas [00:10:19]:

Yes. I haven't announced that I'm doing the next book or anything like that, but I am so happy to share it. And so that is one of the next, recipes that I do plan on sharing. But it is already available to share on my blog, and I would happily make a video for everyone to follow along with.

Stephanie Hansen [00:10:38]:

Yeah. I really loved, he brought it in. I am not supposed to eat popcorn. I ate a handful. I loved it. And he was like, oh, no. You can just keep the bag. I was like, Paul, I can't because I have no self control, and I will end up eating this entire bag either by the time the show's over or on the way home

Hayden Haas [00:10:58]:

in the car. Totally delightful.

Stephanie Hansen [00:10:59]:

We laughed about that. When you your book has everything. Like, you have desserts, you have cozy casseroles and hot dishes, you have drinks, which I also really enjoy. I have a lot of drinks in my book too. You've got a lot of soups. We're in the Midwest. Right? Soups are great. How did you decide? You have a lot of recipes in here too.

Stephanie Hansen [00:11:22]:

Like, they must have been cutting you off.

Hayden Haas [00:11:24]:

I we had kind of a tricky time deciding on we did originally have more recipes that we wanted to do, but we kind of decided on, you know, the photography that was really important to include and any, like, follow along steps. But there's over a 125 recipes. I tried to make it, kind of accessible, for everybody to be able to shop because I came from a really small town where, you know, some of the largest stores you had were probably like a Walmart or something along those lines, Target, Walmart. So you should be able to shop most of these ingredients from places like those wherever you are in the world. So I took a lot of thought into that. So you based on things that you have in your pantry and or fridge that are just like staples to always keep on hand. I it was really important to me to, share with the reader that you can make all these delicious things with things that you probably already have. A lot of my personal favorites, I'm a big breakfast and brunch kinda guy.

Hayden Haas [00:12:28]:

I also love, like, the meat and potatoes of things. I think that's kind of very Midwest. If you know my dad, he's, like, always more protein, always more protein. Just can't get enough of that meat. And soups are kind of like my favorite thing in the entire I think it should have its own food group because it's just the best, and I love just always

Stephanie Hansen [00:12:52]:

You and I are gonna be fast friends, dude. I can just tell.

Hayden Haas [00:12:55]:

No. We need to have you over for a fine bowl of soup. And then, of course, I'm not much of a sweet tooth, but I love making them for other people. And then same with, the adult beverages, there's mocktail options in there too. So I really wanted to cover all of the bases, things that I regularly enjoy or that were from my childhood and nostalgic, but slightly modernized and from foods of all kinds of cultures that I really wanted to share and also put my own little fusion or twist on.

Stephanie Hansen [00:13:24]:

You seem very excited about your food life. Do you ever feel, like, taxed by it? I mean, with so many followers, you gotta be spending a lot of time on social media. Does it ever feel like you're giving up too much or just like you're burned out?

Hayden Haas [00:13:39]:

I I that's a great question. Thank you so much for asking. I definitely experience burnout, on those days. I would say that I film maybe like 3 or 4 days of the week, and sometimes it can be 2 recipes, sometimes it can be 3. So it kind of just depends, weighing on my schedule and then other projects that I have going on, trying to make that all work. It's so much fun and stressful at the same time. I love it so much that it doesn't always feel like work, but that doesn't mean that I don't get emotionally or physically taxed from it. So sometimes where I'm like, today is not a filming day or, like, let's say I get, like, a zit or something like that.

Hayden Haas [00:14:20]:

You know? Because we all have everyday problems and stuff like that too. I, that's also really important where it's like, I don't, like, edit any of my videos where it's, like, lighting them different or even when I'm food styling, it's not like I'm doing anything crazy. So I want people to when they see a video or recipe of mine where it's like, how you see it is probably how it's gonna show up. That's, you know, how I intended it. And I tested that recipe 10 times or a 100 times. So it's like, I want you to have that result because I know the person at home, whether they're living on a budget or, you know, just trying to get more experience in the kitchen, that they have that confidence and they can pretty much jump into any recipe in the book that you know, it's anybody from any walk of life would be able to. So that was super important. And but sorry to get back to your original question, being taxed by the or tax or burnout.

Hayden Haas [00:15:19]:

I definitely experienced burnout, but those are the days where I'm like, it's more of a work on my computer type of day and Right. Let's order some takeout.

Stephanie Hansen [00:15:28]:

Yeah. I, when I looked at your book too, because I'm in the final like, I'm just in the final edits of my book. Yeah. That's due December 31st for my second one. We have a couple of, like, similar recipes. They're different, but they're similar. So it'll be fun to see when we when mine's out, we can kinda compare notes on some of the recipes.

Hayden Haas [00:15:53]:

I would love that. And that's something that I also value so much about the community and followers that I've built is a lot of these people do try the recipes, whether they post it or share it or whatever. People are making it for their families, and it's bringing so many people together, which is what makes me so happy. Or I love when somebody makes, like, a soup or a dessert recipe for, like, their friends and stuff because that's what I love to do. Yeah. It just feels full circle and it really makes my day.

Stephanie Hansen [00:16:24]:

So what is the first dish that you remember, like, making yourself? Can you remember? Did you cook as a kid?

Hayden Haas [00:16:32]:

There's so many things. My mom always had us in the kitchen. So we were always doing, like, baking and fun stuff like that. A recipe I guess this the one I can remember the most is not actually, like, an eating type recipe, but my mom and I used to make our own Play Doh.

Stephanie Hansen [00:16:49]:

Yes.

Hayden Haas [00:16:50]:

Yes. And, I mean, occasionally, I'm sure I you know, kids eat Play Doh, so I would taste it and be like, oh, that's salty. And so, like, not quite a recipe that's supposed to be edible, but that's the one that I think about and I wanna share all the time, but I don't have any kids to play Play Doh with.

Stephanie Hansen [00:17:05]:

That's funny. No. I think, yeah, we made that a lot as kids. And, also, I don't even know why we ever made this, but we used to make our own, like, homemade tootsie rolls.

Hayden Haas [00:17:15]:

Oh my gosh. I bet that was so special.

Stephanie Hansen [00:17:17]:

Yeah. And I don't know where we got the recipe or why we would make those, but I had sisters and so that's what we would do.

Hayden Haas [00:17:24]:

You have a mother's sweet little treat like that.

Stephanie Hansen [00:17:26]:

Yeah. Are you a freezer hoarder because you're cooking so much?

Hayden Haas [00:17:30]:

Oh, yeah. There's a lot of, disorganization that happens in but at the same time, I'm pretty good about, not having food waste. I kind of like auction things off to my neighbors and, you know, people that I meet that are kind of like within the vicinity where I'll say like, hey. For example, I just made, my breakfast pizza recipe and so I can kinda just auction it off to my friends who are all super busy and whatnot. And, oh, it's just great because I kinda get to feed my own little community and get their feedback at the same time where it's like, yeah. Don't add onions to this or that was too salty or something like that. So it's so helpful to get that here.

Stephanie Hansen [00:18:12]:

I'm creeping my neighbors out actually because I'm always like I just this morning, I did a TV segment. I had all these rice crispy bars. I didn't want them in the house because I'll eat them. So I just loaded up paper plates and kinda went door to door. And people are just like my neigh my next door neighbor, I know. She's just like because I this in this week alone, I've brought them a chicken pasta dish. I brought them apple muffins, and then I brought them rice crispy bars. And that's, like, within the last 3 days.

Hayden Haas [00:18:46]:

Yeah. I don't hear the problem in any of this. I think you're probably the favorite neighbor.

Stephanie Hansen [00:18:51]:

I hope.

Hayden Haas [00:18:52]:

I'm sure of it because I do the same thing. I was dropping off tiramisu, cheesecake, and some pizza and brownie. So we're in the same category. And if they don't want those leftovers, I'll take them.

Stephanie Hansen [00:19:05]:

That's so funny. Yeah. I need to I just I feel like, oh my gosh. These people probably think I'm so crazy because I'm always just

Hayden Haas [00:19:12]:

Oh.

Stephanie Hansen [00:19:13]:

Walking door to door with piles of food. And I have a brand new neighbor that's literally right next to me that I haven't met yet. And they looked like they moved in over the weekend and then maybe were are doing some painting. So I left some of the muffins on their, like, door. And I my friend said, she goes, do you real do these people realize who you are and, like, what a gift it's gonna be living next to you? I'm like, I don't know.

Hayden Haas [00:19:42]:

No. I, 100% support all of that. Spread the love. I always say it's like, Nesquik, don't come for me, like, legally, but I always say share the wealth. And if your wealth is baked goods, share them. People are gonna love it. Exactly.

Stephanie Hansen [00:19:55]:

And then

Hayden Haas [00:19:55]:

it's not like you're gonna give them anything terrible or anything. Yeah. We only weigh our best creations. Right?

Stephanie Hansen [00:20:01]:

Yes. Exactly. So when you were at Food Network, you did you directly work on Molly's show or did you work on some other shows too?

Hayden Haas [00:20:10]:

I worked on Molly did a couple of things with HGTV, so that was fun to see what that was like. But I did, I started off as a dishwasher and then moved up to a food stylist. And then, at the same time, I was also Molly's assistant. And I've also had my own little touch of reality television because I was on Food Network's Chopped.

Stephanie Hansen [00:20:35]:

Oh, you were.

Hayden Haas [00:20:37]:

It was love.

Stephanie Hansen [00:20:37]:

Hear about that.

Hayden Haas [00:20:39]:

It was really fun. I did a blind date episode where yeah. It was so much fun. I was matched with somebody that I had never met before. And so you kinda go on a blind date. And then, you know, you get the basket with all of the mystery ingredients. And I think my ingredients were, like, like a cranberry kiss cocktail and, like, a red tail snapper and some heart shaped ravioli. And we I my partner and I, when we went into it, we initially kind of had, like, a situation where I was like, do you wanna take the lead, or do you want me to be sous chef or whatever? And he decided he wanted to be the lead, then I was like, I'll support you whatever you wanna do through the way.

Hayden Haas [00:21:25]:

So I was happy to do that. I wouldn't have, necessarily made the dish that we ended up making. Spoiler alert, I didn't end up winning, but it is still a really great episode, and I'm still friends with all the women on that show. So

Stephanie Hansen [00:21:38]:

So what did you end up making? Because I was listening to your ingredients and thinking, oh, well, the cranberry's gotta be a sauce.

Hayden Haas [00:21:45]:

Sure. If you're familiar with, like, kind of like a pate situation, it was kinda like that but with fish. So not not always a big winner. If I could have made what I wanted to, you since you have the cookbook right there, I won I would have made or leaned in towards my cranberry tortellini recipe.

Stephanie Hansen [00:22:04]:

Yeah.

Hayden Haas [00:22:05]:

And I think that would have, like, surprising people. But it also might have been, like, kinda boring because it's, like, pasta and Alfredo cranberry sauce or whatever. You know?

Stephanie Hansen [00:22:15]:

No. Alfredo sauce is never boring. I don't care. I feel like I eat noodles 62 times a week.

Hayden Haas [00:22:22]:

Yeah. I'm always a huge advocate of pasta myself.

Stephanie Hansen [00:22:26]:

Yeah. That's I'm gonna just go to that recipe right now, and we're gonna talk about it. Because, I love pasta. I eat pasta all the time. And I made spaghetti for a friend this weekend, and she came over and she goes, no offense, but can we just order takeout? I really hate noodles. What? I was like, who are you?

Hayden Haas [00:22:48]:

Interesting.

Stephanie Hansen [00:22:49]:

Yeah. I thought it was. Okay. So for cranberry sauce, let's see what we have in there. Here we are. Yep. Oh, I went on the wrong page.

Hayden Haas [00:23:03]:

Puerto Rican Alfredo sauce that we make from scratch, and then I do have my grandma's cranberry recipe. It it is like a I like I guess I like my cranberry sauce a touch sweeter, but, you know, you can make it as bitter as you want to.

Stephanie Hansen [00:23:21]:

Okay. This looks really good. It's got it's the sauce is kinda pink. It's got a sun dried tomato, mushrooms, artichoke hearts. Looks delicious.

Hayden Haas [00:23:29]:

Yeah. Big fan. When I was in college, there was this little restaurant, not not Olive Garden. But when when I was waiting when I was waiting tables in college, that was one of the more popular dishes from that restaurant.

Stephanie Hansen [00:23:46]:

Let's talk about all the, like, plates and the dishes in your book. Are these all things you own, or did you guys rent things?

Hayden Haas [00:23:53]:

No. I did not rent things. All of those were things that I do own because I am kind of a mix match person. So none of my plates match. None of my cups match. I, maybe a bit of a maximalist, if you will. So I love selection. I also kind of display them in my dining room.

Hayden Haas [00:24:14]:

So then whenever I have somebody over, I'm, like, grab any glass. So then that person kind of gets to pick whatever fun glass or fork or plate, whatever they

Stephanie Hansen [00:24:23]:

Phew. I love that idea.

Hayden Haas [00:24:25]:

So much fun. And then, you know, you always get really fun pictures at the same time.

Stephanie Hansen [00:24:30]:

Yeah. For sure. And I am feeling a little bit like and and I'm getting to the end of this book, so I'm feeling a little horny at this point. And, like, oh, I need to, like, maybe get rid of some of this stuff or repurpose it to the next house. Goodwill is my friend, but sometimes the things go back to the Goodwill too. Right?

Hayden Haas [00:24:48]:

Hey. You just don't have to tell me. I'm a avid thrifter myself, so I love, finding, like, a plate or 2 every time you visit or something where you're like, I have a vision for this particular plate, and it's gonna have some delicious pasta on it. And or here's this old pillowcase that I could sew into a napkin or something. So it's like, repurpose those things, make them beautiful, and share them with everyone.

Stephanie Hansen [00:25:14]:

Okay. I love that you would actually repurpose a pillowcase into a napkin.

Hayden Haas [00:25:17]:

Oh, and I've turned an old tablecloth into something els Shoot. It's all mix-and-match. I tell you, I love it. I have a whole cabinet ’ whole cabinet just for my linens.

Stephanie Hansen [00:25:29]:

Can you think of something, like, where you got a real score at a thrift store? Like, do you have a favorite thing you thrifted?

Hayden Haas [00:25:37]:

Good question. I do, but I don't have, I really would love to provide, like, a image for you. But I since I am such an avid thrifter, I have a whole collection on my living room wall of mirrors. Cool. So it's kind of like you know how people have those, like, picture collages and stuff in

Stephanie Hansen [00:25:59]:

the house?

Hayden Haas [00:26:00]:

It's kinda like that, but for mirrors. So it's like the whole and they're all different kinds. Like, some are new and nice. Like, I'm sure some are from, like, a Target or whatever. Sure. Got a cute one. But they're all different kinds and, some have little stands on them. I've my favorite one is, like, this vintage cover girl mirror.

Hayden Haas [00:26:21]:

Oh, it's so it's, like, tiny and cute. I everybody loves it when they come and check it out.

Stephanie Hansen [00:26:26]:

Oh, that's fun.

Hayden Haas [00:26:27]:

Yeah. And I don't know if a mirror is probably the greatest example because I really don't even look at myself in the mirror that much, but it's just such a fun little, addition to home and calling it cozy, and it's always a conversation starter when somebody walks in the door. And I Yeah.

Stephanie Hansen [00:26:46]:

It sure sounds like it.

Hayden Haas [00:26:48]:

Say that they wanna copy it. I'm like, it's all yours. Please enjoy.

Stephanie Hansen [00:26:52]:

So when you think about, a cookbook that you wish you had written, can you think of 1?

Hayden Haas [00:27:02]:

A cookbook I wish I would have written.

Stephanie Hansen [00:27:04]:

Yeah. Like, you just find it so inspiring.

Hayden Haas [00:27:07]:

I there's so many people that I'm inspired by. That's so tough. I would say somebody who I am always inspired by what is Molly Ye, of course.

Stephanie Hansen [00:27:19]:

Yeah.

Hayden Haas [00:27:20]:

I learned so much from my time with her. There's a couple of other people who are kind of influential. So going back a little bit when I was kind of burnt out in between architecture and whatnot, also very Minnesota of me, I went to go work for Target, like, part time, but then they ended up wanting me as a manager, which is great. I loved my time with them. In that time shift, that's when I started cooking for myself, and I really didn't have, like, social media before that. So it, like, started out fresh at, like, the age of 27 and started posting, like, food, blogs, pictures, like, kind of starting out, my own little food photography or food journey. And I started my mom had gifted me Chrissy Teigen's cookbook. And I was, so thankful for that, and I cooked my way through it.

Hayden Haas [00:28:10]:

And I started sharing some recipes, and she started commenting and liking on some of my things. And that inspired me to do more, which kinda led me on my way to meet Molly Ye. But there's so many other people like Anthony Bourdain and, you know, most of the people on Food Network. So that was, like, so funny that in my small little town that I was given, like, an opportunity for something I didn't think I would ever have.

Stephanie Hansen [00:28:34]:

Yeah. So And Chrissy Teigen's cravings book, I thought that that was a good cookbook. She's got

Hayden Haas [00:28:41]:

about 3 or 4 in her series. I've haven't done as much investigating into the newer books, but the first couple were so great and, like, everything, you know, you can pretty much make from home.

Stephanie Hansen [00:28:55]:

Yeah. I really liked Pepper's book too, her mom.

Hayden Haas [00:28:58]:

Oh, yeah. I also have that one. She's so cute.

Stephanie Hansen [00:29:00]:

Cute. Do you have, like, a white Pyrenees? Or what's your dog?

Hayden Haas [00:29:03]:

This is Max. You'll see a ton of him in the cookbook also.

Stephanie Hansen [00:29:07]:

Cute.

Hayden Haas [00:29:08]:

He's an English cream retriever, and so Max makes a couple of, cameos in there as well.

Stephanie Hansen [00:29:14]:

Well, Stanley, my dog, I was

Hayden Haas [00:29:16]:

Listen.

Stephanie Hansen [00:29:17]:

Yeah. I was gonna say you you may have heard him. He was in a squeaky toy earlier, and I was like, shut the door.

Hayden Haas [00:29:23]:

I I wasn't sure if you heard Max earlier, but that was him.

Stephanie Hansen [00:29:27]:

That's funny. Well, this has been a real delight. Hayden Haas, Simply Delish Haas. I it is, recipes from the Midwestern Kitchen. It's a beautiful book. I am excited to connect with you. We will eat or do something fun. I feel like we're gonna be fast friends.

Hayden Haas [00:29:46]:

We're gonna warm up at some point.

Stephanie Hansen [00:29:48]:

I think so. Yes. But it was great to talk to you. Congratulations on the book. People can follow you at I'm sorry. I didn't write your Instagram down.

Hayden Haas [00:29:58]:

It's the same thing. I wanna tell you congratulations on your book, and I can't wait to get together sometime.

Stephanie Hansen [00:30:04]:

Thank you.

Hayden Haas [00:30:04]:

You can find me if you usually type in Hayden, h a y d e n, and then Delish Haws, d e l I s h a a s, because or if you just type in Hayden Haws Cook or something or other, it'll come up. I'm on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, all of the stuff.

Stephanie Hansen [00:30:26]:

Alright. I'm just I'm amazed and impressed with all the work that you're putting out, and your book is great. Thanks for being a guest today. I'm sure we'll get together soon.

Hayden Haas [00:30:35]:

Yes. Thank you again so much for having me.

Stephanie Hansen [00:30:36]:

Alright. Good to see you. Bye. Alright. Bye bye.

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