Bill Schindler has experienced firsthand how our ancestors survived the unknown. This week, he shares with us the perils of life 40,000 years ago—from confronting hyenas in the night to eating cold bone marrow. Plus, we chat with Ron Faiola about the nostalgic charm of Wisconsin supper clubs; Alex Aïnouz makes instant ramen noodles from scratch; and we travel to Italy to bake an authentic tomato and olive focaccia.

This episode is brought to you by Ferguson and Master Class.

Questions in this Episode

“Please recommend a substitution for bacon and anchovies in recipes. I know why they are used—the umami—but we don’t eat meat and my husband is allergic to anchovies.”

“I'm a stay-at-home dad who feeds his toddler banana and steel-cut oats every morning. I like to let the bananas get fully ripened before using them so they are at prime deliciousness. However, left on the bunch, I find that when I go to pull one off, sometimes the other incredibly ripe fruits will tear at the stem end meaning now I've got to consume that banana or else let it rot. To avoid this, I've taken to just pulling apart the bunches as soon as I get home from the store which leads to my question: Will bananas suffer from this treatment in any way? Why don't stores just sell individual bananas?”

“I just got married and we received an incredibly generous gift: a 7-piece All-Clad pots/pan set. I'm very partial to my set of cast iron pans. But, I do want to make good use of these beautiful new pans. How do you decide what to cook in which cookware?”

“How do you make mustard?”

“I live at 6500 elevation. I have tried to make panna cotta twice and it never forms a firm consistency. Can you give me some advice?”

“I recently found a treasure trove of shagbark hickory nuts on a wooded trail. I gathered a bagful, and now am trying to get the nutmeats out of the shells. Any hints? These are delicious little nuts, but difficult to harvest.”