Twenty Questions with Thin Crust Deep Dish
One of our favorite things about the opportunity to run Refrigerator Soup is the chance to make acquaintances with so many fantastic food bloggers. For us, Thin Crust, Deep Dish is one of those special places that feels like slipping on an old pair of shoes…the moment you visit them you’ll feel warm and welcome. Awesome photography, recipes and great writing – and their monthly food obsessions – have kept us coming back for more!
How long have you had a food blog (or other foodie type site)?
We started Thin Crust Deep Dish back in October of 2008, so it’s been just over a year. We’re proud parents of a one-year-old blog!
How would you describe your site to new readers?
Thin Crust Deep Dish is part cooking, part life. It’s a chronicle of how we eat and, often, how life mimics our food experiences (or vice versa). We talk a lot about our own humanity—the disasters we encounter in the kitchen and what they teach us.
What made you decide to start your site?
Back when we started the blog, we were both unsure of how to manifest our passions. We knew we loved to cook, and we loved reading food blogs, so we decided that we could take a crack at creating one of our own. The blog has also served as a way for us to keep in touch with each other, despite the fact that we live hundreds of miles apart.
Is there any personal meaning behind the name?
Absolutely! The “Thin Crust” represents Kylie’s side of the blog, since she’s based in New York. New Yorkers are crazy for thin crust pizza. And the “Deep Dish” is for Adriana, representing Chicago. However, this doesn’t mean that we prefer one style of pizza over another. We don’t discriminate when it comes to pizza.
What advice do you have for new bloggers?
Comment on other people’s blogs and get involved in conversations on Twitter and in person. Some of our most rewarding experiences since starting the blog have occurred through our interactions with other bloggers. Blogging is a unique medium, one that can really create community. We believe in taking advantage of that.
What’s the best thing about being a food blogger?
Again, the connections with other bloggers and between the two of us. Blogging is also a wonderful way to challenge yourself. Since starting to blog, we’ve learned tons about not only cooking, but also about photography, social media, marketing, blogging platforms, and even web design. Much of our best learning has been completely unexpected.
What the worst?
Oh, the dishes. So many dishes.
What food blog inspires you the most?
How could we pick just one? We love blogs with genuine writing, great design and good visuals. Kylie’s favorites are Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef, Orangette, and 101 Cookbooks. Adriana’s favorites are Lottie + Doof, Baking and Books, and Joy the Baker.
What camera do you use?
We both use digital Canon Rebels with kit lenses.
Do you have any formal training in the field of cooking?
Kylie doesn’t, but Adriana does! She’s about to receive a culinary certificate from a North American Le Cordon Bleu school in March, after nearly a year of attending 5-hour classes each night after work.
Do you watch a lot of cooking on TV?
Kylie used to. She actually learned a lot from watching cooking on television. But these days, she would rather be in the kitchen or blogging than watching someone else. Adriana, on the other hand, likes nothing better than to arrive at her boyfriend’s apartment after class (exhausted and covered in flour, of course) and switch on Iron Chef. “Battle Pineapple” may or may not have been her favorite episode thus far.
Do you have a favorite chef, celebrity or otherwise?
We often find that we’re most inspired by the not-quite-so-famous cooks in our own lives. Adriana’s all-time favorite chef would be her mom, who used to run her own cooking school in Princeton, NJ.
How challenging has it been to find a loyal reader base?
We haven’t found it difficult, though we’re not sure exactly what the measure of a loyal reader base is. It has built slowly and steadily since the beginning, and we have really enjoyed getting to talk with readers in comments, over e-mail and on Twitter.
What types of food do you enjoy preparing most?
Kylie loves to make vegetables, especially Brussels sprouts. She also likes making hearty, healthful food like soups and braises. Adriana, on the other hand, has recently discovered the joys of making a perfectly browned croissant or a crusty baguette.
Do you have a signature dish or two?
Kylie’s signature dish is probably her Spaghetti Carbonara. Adriana’s are Green Soup and Apple Pie (not served together, of course).
Favorite kitchen gadget?
Kylie is obsessed with her cast iron skillet. So obsessed that she wrote an entire post about it. Adriana is pretty darn enamored with her Kitchen Aid grain grinder attachment.
If you could choose to be any food, what would it be?
Kylie: I would SO be a Brussels sprout! Or maybe a kiwi. Something spunky, most definitely.
Adriana: I would be a pat of good butter. An excellent addition to almost any dish!
If you could banish just one food from the earth, what would it be?
Kylie might banish diet soda. But that’s not really a food. I don’t think I could banish any food. No matter what it is, there’s always someone, somewhere, who gets great joy from eating it.
Adriana would banish bouillon cubes. You deserve better tasting soup! Yes, I mean you!
What’s the one super power you wish you had?
The power to clean dishes with the snap of our fingers. That would be so lovely. One can dream.
What’s your favorite thing about “Refrigerator Soup”?
We love how you all just love food, and love to support food-obsessed food bloggers. Your enthusiasm is genuine, and it shows that there are great people behind the site. Thanks for being so totally terrific!
To see more of Kylie and Adriana’s fabulous food photography, delicious recipes and to subscribe to their blog, please visit them at Thin Crust, Deep Dish.
To learn about how you can get Featured, please email us at twentyquestions [at] refrigeratorsoup [dot] com. Note: Priority is given to those bloggers who consistently submit photographs, so please keep that in mind before inquiring. We are not adding to the schedule at this time as we are currently booked through mid-March, 2010, but welcome inquiries from those interested in being featured (we will respond to those inquiries sometime in February).
Featured bloggers from weeks past…
Twenty Questions with Guilty Kitchen
Twenty Questions with A Good Appetite
Twenty Questions with Sunita’s World
Twenty Questions with Spicie Foodie
Twenty Questions with Greedy Gourmet
Twenty Questions with Sweetopia
Twenty Questions with Real Mom Kitchen
Twenty Questions with Inspired Taste
