Comedian and “Nailed It!” host Nicole Byer breaks down the art of improv, making it in the world of comedy and how to host a baking competition show when you know nothing about baking. Plus, we chat with Karl De Smedt, manager of the world’s only international sourdough library; J. Kenji López-Alt gives us a crash course on the best homemade fried rice; and we learn how to get a good char on Catalonian-inspired grilled vegetables.

Questions in this Episode:

“What does ‘over-rested’ mean? I first heard the term on Top Chef season 1. What does over-rested meat look like?”

“Usually when I am cooking dried beans the recipe will say to soak them in plain or salted water, and then to drain and rinse the beans before cooking them in the recipe. What I have noticed is that once the beans are done soaking in the first step, the water is always cloudy and I am thinking that whatever is now clouding the water surely came out of the beans. If I am tossing this liquid down the drain, am I losing nutrition or flavor that used to be in the beans?”

“I made crinkle cookies a few weeks ago and they didn’t crinkle. Do you know why this might be?”

“What temperature am I supposed to cook pork shoulder to? I have seen as low as 145 F and as high as 195 F.”

“I run a mac and cheese business and a couple of my recipes would be enhanced by some brown butter. Could you give me tips on how to get the perfect brown butter?”

“Why do chefs so adamantly prefer Y Peelers over Swivel Peelers?”