BORDERLINE SALTY

On this episode, hosts Rick Martinez and Carla Lalli Music share how they keep their kitchens pristine, break down the variables to keep your cream sauces from splitting, and discuss what it takes to plan the perfect party menu. 

Also, the first live Rad Fad/Bad Fad tasting! Rick soldiers through a bite of the latest trend that is under review: fresh watermelon topped with mustard. 

This week’s recipe book:

As always, we’d love to hear about your cooking conundrums at 833-433-FOOD (3663). 

Find us on Instagram @borderlinesalty

Find full episode transcripts and more about the podcast on our website borderlinesalty.fm. 

If you can’t get enough of our hosts – we don’t blame you! Subscribe to Carla's newsletters here and find links to her Instagram and YouTube channel at www.carlalallimusic.com. 

You can order Rick’s cookbook “Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from My Kitchen in Mexico here, watch the companion Mi Cocina video series here, and find all of his socials at www.rick-martinez.com

EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION

Rick Martinez: Hi. I'm Rick Martinez. I'm a cookbook author, video host, and I am a summer baby that loves hot weather. 

Carla Lalli Music: You sure are. And I'm Carla Lalli Music. I'm also a cookbook author, video host, and I'm excited to start cooking in my bathing suit again. 

Rick Martinez: And this is Borderline Salty, the show where we take your calls, boost your confidence, and make you a better, smarter, happier cook. 

Carla Lalli Music: Today we'll discuss keeping your kitchen clean, how to make cream sauces that don't split and the right number of dishes to serve when entertaining. 

Rick Martinez: There is a right number. 

Carla Lalli Music: That's right. But before we get into all that, Rick, tell me something good. 

Rick Martinez: So, Carla, you may recall from our last episode when we were talking about fishiness and how to combat those little tin fishes. So last night I went to Ernesto's for dinner and there was an app that we ordered and it landed. And I have to admit that I was slightly suspicious because it was basically anchovies, two ways. 

Carla Lalli Music: Okay. Not one, but two. 

Rick Martinez: But two. And so, you know, there's a very large piece of silvery brined anchovy on one side of the app. And on the other there is oil cured, kind of traditional, but very large also anchovy on top of a buttery, flaky puff pastry, then topped with a beautiful, like, kind of vinegary salsa [unclear]. 

Carla Lalli Music: Hmm. 

Rick Martinez: And I thought to myself, I'm going to eat this, obviously, but I'm probably it's probably going to be a little bit too intensely fishy flavored. To my surprise, however, the acid and the intense, buttery flavor of the puff pastry made it ridiculously delicious with like, literally no hint of fishy flavor to the point where, like, we'd ordered one of them and we cut them in half -- there were four of us -- and we were like going to split the two. It was, I think, our favorite dish of the evening. So we just kept ordering more and more like I think we ordered four of these things in total.. 

Carla Lalli Music: Wow. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah. 

Carla Lalli Music: This is like basically a No thank you, please turn it into a What's Good. 

Rick Martinez: Like and turned into I can't stop eating these. 

Carla Lalli Music: This is just a reminder to everyone. If you think you don't like something, try try again. 

Rick Martinez: Praise, yes. 

Carla Lalli Music: And like just as we said last week, acid and butter helps the medicine go down. 

Rick Martinez: I mean, when did butter not help the medicine go down? 

Carla Lalli Music: I love that like even the threat of an oily fish could not deter you away from buttery pastry flakey. 

Rick Martinez: I mean, I was going to eat that hot put puff pastry regardless. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah, whatever.

Rick Martinez: Yeah, exactly. 

Carla Lalli Music: Love this for you. It's a whole new world. 

Rick Martinez: I'm just going to go, but I'm sorry. Can I have 18 of that, please? 

Carla Lalli Music: Now I know if I go order two per person. 

Rick Martinez: Obviously, yeah, yeah. 

Carla Lalli Music: Love it. 

Rick Martinez: So, Carla, why don't you tell me something good? 

Carla Lalli Music: Well, I have just returned to, really, my favorite cooking activity and my favorite way to cook, which is cooking over a live fire. And I know we share the love of the grill. We share the love of, like, the just the primal connection with the fire and the grilling and the smoke. And I just shot a couple of upcoming YouTube videos that are going to be grilling videos. And I was shooting a recipe for the spice crusted pork ribs, and it reminded me of how much I love grilling over medium heat. And I feel like people, when they start grilling, they think like, oh, my God, it's going to be so hot, it's gonna fire. It's going to be flare ups. It's going to be all this stuff. And as a person who's been grilling for a long time, medium heat is the way to go. A fatty cut like spare ribs, you have time for the fat to render and slowly building up a crust and there's spices that aren't getting burned. And then you have all of the aromas and the listening to the fat sizzle on the coals and the smoke in my hair. And it's why I love cooking over medium because it's active cooking, but it's not stressful and it's actually you're outdoors and the birds were chirping and like it was so. 

Rick Martinez: So the caftan was flowing. 

Carla Lalli Music: The caftan was flowing, the microphone was connected, but it was just like that. I just love that beginning of the season, getting back outside. I know for you it's a year-round. 

Rick Martinez: I mean, I started my season in January, but whatever. Meanwhile, my camera's on the back, the backyard grill, like burn out after about 60 seconds. But that's fine. 

Carla Lalli Music: That's fine. Yeah. And birds didn't, no birds pooped. 

Rick Martinez: Oh, my God. Amazing. It was a great day. 

Carla Lalli Music: And my producer very nicely got the construction crew across the `way to stop sanding the outside of the building. It was -- 

Rick Martinez: How? 

Carla Lalli Music: I don't know. New Yorkers are actually wonderful people. 

Rick Martinez: Oh, I heart New York. 

Carla Lalli Music: I think I hear the phone ringing. 

Rick Martinez: Ring, ding, ding. 

Caller 1: All right. My name is Annie. My biggest thing, I think that scares me and also low key bugs me with cooking and baking, which I tend to do a lot of, is keeping my kitchen clean. And like, I don't know, I get super scared afterwards that I didn't do a good job and I feel like I don't have the perfect post cleaning routine yet, what supplies, what spray. And I just want to know, like a professional chef. And people have worked in test kitchens with people who help clean up. What do you guys prefer to keep in your kitchen to help when it comes to either raw food or just lots of flour or who knows what all around your kitchen? 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah. There's just something very satisfying about having the right things and being able to take care of the right kind of mess. I love, love this question. 

Rick Martinez: This is a great question. And I think the first absolute golden rule of the kitchen is the cook never cleans. 

Carla Lalli Music: Correct. If I have made you dinner, then someone else is on cleanup. And I think this also applies to a household. Or if you go away for the weekend and there's people who are the cooks and then those cooks swap out. And if you want to contribute to the meals, but you're not a cook, you're on cleaning. 

Rick Martinez: Also, can we just talk about for a second if I invite you over to my house as a date? 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah. 

Rick Martinez: And I cook you dinner, you better damn well get up off your ass and clean my kitchen before you leave, because that just sucks. 

Carla Lalli Music: Totally. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah. So there's my dating PSA. 

Carla Lalli Music: That's like picking up the check, it's like, let me take care of this. 

Rick Martinez: Right. And then you offer, you get tip and then if they say no, then that's fine. Then you get the Uber home. Or like you, I don't know, you, something. 

Carla Lalli Music: Work it out! I have a pretty tight cleaning rig that I keep under the sink. There are some things that are just over the years have become favorite products. So I know this may be controversial, but I love Dawn. I'm sorry, Dawn. 

Rick Martinez: Preach!

Carla Lalli Music: Dawn gets grease out of the way. I love the sudsies, I love how it cleans. I love to use Dawn. 

Rick Martinez: The contentious issue is the fact that it has petroleum as one of the ingredients, but that petroleum is the reason why it is able to molecularly attract grease and literally take it out of your way. And it's also the reason why it's used for cleanup during oil spills. And like, you know, I don't want to sound like I'm I'm not sponsored by Dawn. I just know that, you know, if I cook something that is really greasy, that that is one of the only cleaning liquids that will remove all of the grease the first go-around. And the reason why I don't like other brands is because you end up having to wash it like three or four times. 

Carla Lalli Music: Right. But having the right tools is important, and I don't have a lot of them. I have a scrubby sponge that I really like. I have a natural bristle sort of handheld thing for like if there's anything stuck to my cast iron skillet or my sheet trays, I'll go in with that and then I have a bottle brush. Super important. There's no way to clean inside bottles. In addition to Dawn, I am obsessed with Bar Keeper's friend, which is a powder that is amazing for sheet trays and especially cast iron your enameled cast iron, Dutch ovens where they. 

Rick Martinez: They get that, yeah yeah yeah.

Carla Lalli Music: That brown and exactly it doesn't take a lot of elbow grease and it will lift all of that stuff off. It's very pleasing. 

Rick Martinez: I agree with all of that. You know, a few years back, I was obsessed with Marie Kondo and I was Kondoing my apartment and I was voraciously watching her show and reading the book. And when I got to the section on kitchens, her number one rule is design your kitchen to make cleaning most efficient. And at first I was like, No, no, no, no. My kitchen needs to be designed for the the output of the most amazing food. Why would I ever design a kitchen to, like, be the most clean kitchen in the world? 

Carla Lalli Music: Right. You're an artist. You need to create. 

Rick Martinez: Exactly, I don't care about the cleanliness. No. And so her point is, if you create a cleaning situation in your home kitchen where it is super easy to clean and not only easy, but also you create your cleaning environment with things that spark joy. And then it doesn't seem so much like a chore. 

Carla Lalli Music: There's a flow to it. There's there's a flow, yeah, flow. 

Rick Martinez: There's a complete flow, and you crank up the music. For me, it's like Broadway show tunes and it's like me [unclear], Broadway show tunes. A lot more, dare I say, enjoyable. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah, music is super important. And I would also add to that trying to find moments during your cooking to jump in and cycle a few things through the sink. So if there's something that needs a few minutes to sear and you've got a pork chop that's cooking while that's going. Sort of turn around and jump through a couple of things, get them out of the sink so that at the end of the night, it's just not as overwhelming. 

Rick Martinez: I am notoriously bad about that. But what I have found, I'm not a clean everything as you go kind of guy. I'm going to clean the things that I hate. 

Carla Lalli Music: Oh, earlier?

Rick Martinez: Yeah. To me, the things that are least offensive are like plates and balls. Sure. So if I clean, you know, the knives or any of, like, the boards, just things that are big and bulky and just take a few more minutes. If I clean all those things, and then I have, like, the easy stuff at the end, I am going to do my future self a big favor and my future self is going to be really happy with my past self. And that's all I want. I want my future self to be happy with one another. Hello caller, you're on the line.

Caller 2: Hi, Carla and Rick. My name is Ellen. I'm calling from New York. What scares me is mushrooms. I am so scared of not washing them. And I've heard that people say you should not wash them. You should just brush them with a paper towel. But how could it be that that is not carrying bacteria and dirt and things that I should not be putting in my body? And then I've also heard that it makes it worse if you wash it, it puts the dirt further into the mushrooms. I'm just really confused, so if you could end this for me once and for all, let me know how to deal with my mushrooms, that would be great. 

Carla Lalli Music: A classic fear of fungus right here. Classic. 

Rick Martinez: Classic. Classic. 

Carla Lalli Music: I mean, first thing I want to say is it's a wonderful time to love mushrooms, because mushrooms that used to be really hard to get are now being cultivated. So [undlear] of the woods and the different kinds of oyster mushrooms and the clustered mushrooms like you can get those now in the supermarket. And it used to just be shitakes and baby bellas and Portobello. So this is, it's a great time to be a mushroom lover. In the past, I remember working in restaurants and we would get cases of wild mushrooms that were covered in dirt and had twigs and pine needles. And like, most of the mushrooms that you bring home today are very clean straight out of the gate. So you just don't have to worry about it as much. 

Rick Martinez: Pristine like it's, it looks like they were grown in, like, you know, hermetically sealed chamber with no dirt at all. So I think the reality is it's okay to use water, it's okay to use a brush, it's okay to use a cloth and just like, you know, dab it so that dirt comes off. That's normally what I do. But there are occasions where, you know, you get a really dirty portobello or crimini or trumpet mushroom and you need to run it under the water. I think the trick is whatever your preferred method of cleaning, whether it is a little brush, a little wipe or a little dip and a water bath, you want to make sure that it's dry before it goes into the pan. So if you need to like dry it off or just put it on a clean kitchen towel and let it sit on the counter for a bit til it like dries off. And if there's any residual moisture in there, you might have to adjust your cook time. But it's going to be fine. It's going to be delicious. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah. If there's like lots of sizzling and crackling when the mushroom hits the pan, that means that there's water that's evaporating, boiling, and it'll cook off. 

Rick Martinez: And it'll be fun to watch. 

Carla Lalli Music: And then they'll be great. So have a great pasta with mushrooms. 

Rick Martinez: Yes. Oh, now I want mushrooms, dammit. Caller three, Go ahead. 

Caller 3: Hi there. My name is Renault. I am terrified of making cream-based sauces for pasta, which seems like a simple thing, but I always want to balance it out with some acidity because then it's just too rich if it's just cream and butter or, you know, just like a  roux or whatever. So I'll put a little lemon juice in and then the sauce will split because obviously it will. So I'll do lemon zest instead, but the little biscuits in there, then the whole thing's bitter and I just always have a hard time with it. So how do you guys handle that other than, I don't know, pairing it with a dry wine or something like that? 

Rick Martinez: I love a creamy lemony sauce. That sounds really good. I'm sorry that it's splitting Renault.

Carla Lalli Music: I love dry white wine. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah. Oh, wait. In a sauce or just. Just in general or both? 

Carla Lalli Music: Just both. She was like. It was smart to think of, like, pairing something rich with something bright. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah, yeah, totally. There are some pretty simple things that you can do. Little techniques from the cooking process that will help this sauce not to split. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah, for me, the first thing I would make sure is not to over-reduce the mixture. So if you over-reduce your cream mixture, that's essentially cooking off all of the available liquid, so you're just left with fat. And that is a mixture that's just more likely to split. So making sure that it's not over-reduced and then always add the acidic ingredient when you're no longer over high heat, the mixture should not be at a boil. So really you're taking that off the heat at the right reduction and then adding and balancing with your acidic ingredient. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah, definitely. There's a product called ultra pasteurized cream and that is far more stable than normal pasteurized cream. I believe it's just held at a higher temperature for longer, so it's more stable. So if you use that, I mean, it's kind of indestructible, so you shouldn't have any problems. The other thing you can do is add a little bit of cornstarch or flour when you're sauteeing your vegetables at the beginning with a little fat and then add your cream to that and then it'll all bind and it won't break. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah. Renault did mention a roux at one point, so if he's starting with a roux, that is. That's exactly where you're talking about. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah. 

Carla Lalli Music: And I think if you're still having trouble with a straight acid like vinegar or the lemon juice, try finishing with, like, a tangy cream. Like creme fresh, sour cream, even plain yogurt will give, like, you know, some of the acidity without really risking it. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah. And one other thing that he said is that when he adds the zest, he gets the pith in there. 

Carla Lalli Music: Right. 

Rick Martinez: What I would say is you should probably invest in a microplane or like a really fine grater that'll just take off the top part of the zest without any of the pith, and that'll remove any bitter notes you get in your sauce. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah. And if he can still detect those, then he can feel the pea under the mattress, and then it's just a whole bunch of bigger problems. 

Rick Martinez: Call us back, Renault, if you got the bigger problem? 

Carla Lalli Music: You know, you know, the Princess and the Pea, you know what I'm talking about? 

Rick Martinez: No, what does that mean? 

Carla Lalli Music: Oh. It's a it's a fairy tale, like the Princess and the Pea, and it's this princess, and she can feel the tiny pea under the mattress because she's a real prima donna. And so they keep, like, putting, I guess it's her, like, beloved keeps putting more mattresses on top of the other mattress so she can feel the pea and then she can still feel the pea. And it's supposed to be about like she's got to chill out and, like, stop obsessing over this tiny pea. But when I read the story as a little kid, I was like, listen, if you can feel the pea like you have a problem. 

Rick Martinez: Okay? So just to clarify, the pea that we're speaking of is a garden green pea and not urine. 

Carla Lalli Music: Oh, yes. No, no, a green pea. 

Rick Martinez: Because when you when you initially said feel the pea, I was like, are we really talking about bedwetting? Like, is that where we are? 

Carla Lalli Music: You said acidic ingredients. 

Rick Martinez: I mean, yeah, that is that would be a larger problem, Renault, sorry.

Carla Lalli Music: The Princess and the Pea. I think there's time to take one more call. 

Caller 4: Hey, Rick and Carla. My name's Michelle. So my family loves the third parties that I love to cook for, but I sometimes spend too much time trying to finish everything I want to do. So what are your tips for making delicious food and love for a crowd without compromising quality? I'd even love to hear your favorite recipes recommended for summer parties. 

Rick Martinez: I love a good party plan. 

Carla Lalli Music: Totally. I used to be coming up with seven different dishes and wanted to impress everyone. And then of course, I would have a note about all the things I could do in advance, but then I would never do them in advance. And then there I would be at two in the morning, like piping out [unclear]. You know, and it's just like, not worth it. If you can't have fun at your own party, nobody else is going to have fun either. You as a host, you set the tone. So if you're stressed out and exhausted, people are going to feel bad. 

Rick Martinez: Exactly. Exactly. God, since probably I turned 21, I have been throwing huge birthday parties. And so I've gotten really good at really overdoing the food, but planning so it doesn't overwhelming at the end. 

Carla Lalli Music: Okay. Yeah. What are the secrets? 

Rick Martinez: To me, like the key is a good plan. I think about what can I make ahead? Like, are there things that can be made that can be frozen? I do the exact same thing when Thanksgiving or the holidays roll around. What can be done a week ahead, three, four days ahead, and then day before, day of? And if you make a really, really tight plan where all of your prep, all of the big things are done ahead of the day of, then day-of, it's just about assembly. And maybe you make the one thing, but if you plan it right, you should be well rested. You should have a good half hour for your disco nap because being able to enjoy the party and look amazing and have energy to keep going all night long, you gotta be well rested. 

Carla Lalli Music: Well, as the person who usually if you ring my doorbell, I am going to be in the bathroom with wet hair still putting on mascara, you're going to be greeted by a child who I have told has to be ready when the doorbell rings because I'm in a towel. So I'm getting better at building in time for the disco nap or leaving. Leaving the smallest things like making the vinaigrette or the dressing or cutting the lemons for the bar or whatever those little things are. Those are things you can do after people show up. So sort of stopping the prep at a moment to be, get out of the you're in it, you're still running through your checklist and you can come back and cut the lemons when people show up, it's totally fine. So what I really try to do to keep a balanced on the day of is you don't want to have everything having to be made on the stovetop at the same time, you don't want the oven being used for four different things. So something that reheats really easily on the stovetop. Maybe [phonetic apres] is that could be made ahead and is gently coming back up to temperature and then having a raw dish that doesn't require any part of your stove at all. So delicious braise, combined with a delicious big salad combined with maybe a quickly sauteed something that's going to be served on the side, or as a fellow lover of the grill. If you want to be grilling at your party, make sure everything else is served room temp because otherwise you're going to be running back and forth between the kitchen and the outdoors and that's never any fun. So I would just mix up the preparations and be sure that you've got your room temp, your has-to-be-hot and the thing that you want to do when people are there. 

Rick Martinez: And I think it's okay to recruit your friends to help. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah. 

Rick Martinez: No one is going to leave your house after a really amazing party. Lots of amazing food, lots of great drinks and think. I cannot believe that Carla asked me to buy a bag of ice. No one is going to think that. And so I know when I have my parties, if I need to move some folding chairs or I need to put some tablecloths out or light some candles or chop some veg, people are more than willing to do that. 

Carla Lalli Music: People want to help actually. They want to feel like they are participating and they're part of it. 

Rick Martinez: Exactly. And so save some tasks. Save the things that you don't like doing. So if you hate buying ice, if you hate making desserts, whatever, just like save that for the guests. They'll feel more invested in your party. They'll feel like a co-host. They'll help you usher in people. And that's totally fine. You want people to have a good time. And if if it means that someone is going to have to, like, you know, do little bathroom trips, they're going to have fun, they're going to be like the little tour guide. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah. People are going to be like, I cut the lemons. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah. Aren't they beautiful? 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah. Outsource the dessert. My friend Fran has this amazing family saying, and I'm sure it's not just her family, but it's an actual saying, which is, I gonna butcher it, but some variation of when you show up at the front door of a friend's house, you should only be able to ring the doorbell with your elbow. So the idea being your hands are so filled. Yeah, isn't that awesome? Your hands are so filled with the things that you're bringing to somebody's house that you have to, you know, ring the doorbell with the tip of your nose or something. And, you know, I've never thrown a dinner party or an afternoon party or grilling party where people weren't texting me that morning saying, what can we bring? 

Rick Martinez: What can I do? What can I bring exactly? Yeah. And those are the kind of friends that you want anyway. So. 

Carla Lalli Music: Before we go it's time for you, you guessed it, Rad Fad or Bad Fad. So Rick, for this one, I am going to take you back to one of the first Tik Tok trends that I ever really got attached to. It is a retro summer food fiesta. Are you ready? 

Rick Martinez: I think so. Oh, my God. Wait, and it's edible, right? 

Carla Lalli Music: Oh, it's edible. 

Rick Martinez: Can I. Can can we just say that this is our first live Rad Fad experience? 

Carla Lalli Music: Wow, you don't even know. 

Rick Martinez: Grab it. 

Carla Lalli Music: Grab it. Here we go. 

Rick Martinez: And it's in the bag. She's opening the bag, ladies and gentlemen. She's getting out a plate. Here comes the plate is now down. Napkins are being put down as well. A fork! I can eat it with a fork. Maybe a knife, too. No, there it is. Oh! Oh, fuck. Oh, my God. No, there's watermelon. It just hit the plate. I know what's about to come out. God damn it! Fuck! Ugh! 

Carla Lalli Music: You know, baby. 

Rick Martinez: Ugh. Let me have some coffee before I do this. Can I just tell you? She just pulled out French's mustard. Okay. I have a mustard story. When I was in first grade and I that, like, by first grade, I was very well aware of the fact that I hated yellow mustard. I had not yet been introduced to Dijon. I, on hamburger day, in the lunch line. I am scowling at the little paper containers filled with yellow mustard next to the ketchup, which I love, so I'm grabbing the ketchup. I'm, like, shunning and looking askance at the yellow mustard. This little girl named Tina Linder.

Carla Lalli Music: I cannot, your childhood memories blow my mind. 

Rick Martinez: Tina Linder looks at me and is like, How can you eat a hamburger without mustard? And I'm like, Because it's disgusting. And she's like, No mustard is delicious. And I'm like, No, it's gross. Get away from me, you gross little [phonetic Tina Linder person.] She proceeds to get the mustard and then starts taunting me. 

Carla Lalli Music: Oh my God. 

Rick Martinez: And then she's squishing the little paper cup and, like, dribbling it all over her hamburger. 

Carla Lalli Music: Oh, my God. 

Rick Martinez: And I was like, I am going to vomit. 

Carla Lalli Music: Tina. 

Rick Martinez: Tina. And she's like, I don't believe you. And I'm like, Don't test me. Tina. 

Carla Lalli Music: Tina Wow. 

Rick Martinez: She continued to do it. She smeared it on her finger and then put her finger in my nose. 

Carla Lalli Music: Shut up! 

Rick Martinez: I'm like, bitch. Get ready. Projectile vomited all over her. My chocolate milk and probably my French toast from hours before, all over her. es. 

Carla Lalli Music: That's all it takes. 

Rick Martinez: That's all it took. And I was like, note to the rest of you. If you ever try and put yellow mustard in front of me again, this is your fate. 

Carla Lalli Music: Uh oh! 

Rick Martinez: No, no, no. I mean, like I can. I'm going do it.

Carla Lalli Music: I'll let you self-administer. I'm definitely not gonna stick it up your nose. 

Rick Martinez: OK. Thank you. 

Carla Lalli Music: What we have here, people, is some fresh, juicy bodega watermelon and just a it's an even it's an off brand. It's just a generic bottle. It's not even -- 

Rick Martinez: I didn't even get French's? Oh god. 

Carla Lalli Music: No, just a generic. Wow. And I'm going to, I'm gonna dollop, but I'll do it over to the side. 

Rick Martinez: Oh, God. Oh, wow. I, you know, like I was imagining, did she bring pastries, a cake? It was like, okay, here we go. 

Carla Lalli Music: Here we go. Okay. There's been a dip. One side has been dipped. 

Rick Martinez: It's like a decent amount. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah, it's. It's coated. 

Rick Martinez: Okay. Okay. Here's to you, [phonetic Tina Linder]. Goddammit. I mean, I'm not going to say I like it because I don't. I do also understand it, I do think that watermelon likes acid. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yes. 

Rick Martinez: It probably does. Also like ground mustard. Yes. It's just like all of the other things that are in yellow mustard that I just object to. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yes, I think the reason it works on a flavor level is because the same reason why I like a watermelon feta salad with like thinly sliced onion and some lime juice, is delicious because it's cold and refreshing. And then you have these bright things and. 

Rick Martinez: It's like a little roller coaster, right? 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah, and because watermelon is a little bit savory, like being in the gourd family. So that cucumber-ness, there's a little vegetal-ness, right? What this doesn't have is, like, a great maybe texturural. 

Rick Martinez: All right, you need a little more crunch. 

Carla Lalli Music: A little more crunch. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah, but I get it. 

Carla Lalli Music: Yeah, you do get it. 

Rick Martinez: I get it. 

Carla Lalli Music: And I think what made this a trend was that people would think it would be so much grosser than it really is. Right? 

Rick Martinez: Right. It does seem really gross. But actually, it's like I mean, actually, like I would legit make a watermelon salad with a Dijon vinaigrette like that is delicious sounding to me. 

Carla Lalli Music: Incredible. Yeah. Okay, so on this, though, we need to know Rad Fad, or Bad Fad? 

Rick Martinez: Oh, my God. I mean, I have to go Bad Fad just because I still think it's disgusting, the idea of it. And I do remember seeing all the Tik Toks and like the hype that was around it, and it's like, gross, you know, watermelon doesn't deserve to have yellow mustard, like, splatherd all over it. 

Carla Lalli Music: Fair enough. It's a bad fad. 

Rick Martinez: It's a bad fad. 

Carla Lalli Music: That's fine. Yeah. 

Rick Martinez: Yeah, but it's not quite as bad as I thought. 

Carla Lalli Music: Good job. 

Rick Martinez: I've grown. And that's it for this week's episode of Borderline Salty. 

Carla Lalli Music: You can find recipes and recommendations from this week's episode in our show notes. 

Rick Martinez: If you have a question or a fear you want us to help you through, you can always leave us a voicemail at eight three, three, four, three, three-FOOD.

Carla Lalli Music: That number is 833-433-3663.

Rick Martinez: Borderline Salty is an original production by Pineapple Street Studios. We're your hosts. I'm Rick Martinez. 

Carla Lalli Music: I'm Carla Lalli Music. You can find links to our work in the show notes for this episode. 

Rick Martinez: Natalie Brennan is our lead producer. 

Carla Lalli Music: Janelle Anderson is our producer. 

Rick Martinez: Our managing producer is Agerenesh Ashagre.

Carla Lalli Music: Our assistant producer is Mari Orozco. 

Rick Martinez: Our head of sound engineering is Raj Makhija. 

Carla Lalli Music: Mixing and Engineering by Davy Sumner and Jason Richards. 

Rick Martinez: Our assistant engineers are Sharon Bardales and Jade Brooks. 

Carla Lalli Music: Our original music from our very own Raj Makhija. 

Rick Martinez: Additional music from [phonetic Vincent Vega, Spring Gang and Glovebox courtesy of Epidemic Sound. 

Carla Lalli Music: Legal Services for Pineapple Street are provided by Bianca Grimshaw at Granderson des Rochers. 

Rick Martinez: Our executive producers are Max Linsky and Jenna Weiss-Berman. 

Carla Lalli Music: We appreciate Annie, Ellen, Renault and Michelle for calling in this week. 

Rick Martinez: And thanks to you for listening. Talk to you next week. 

Carla Lalli Music: Talk to you next week. 

Rick Martinez: Besitos! 

Carla Lalli Music: Adios amigos, ciao for now. 

Rick Martinez: Adios.