Breaking Bread with Tom Papa - Episode 70 - Sarah Tiana

Episode Date: September 7, 2021

Tom breaks bread and drinks Chianti with the brilliant Sarah Tiana who has a surprising Italian center. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Don't you know. Hey, it's how we go. Hey, it's time for Breaking Bread with Papa. Hey, don't you know? Hey, it's also a show. Hey. Hey, everybody, welcome to another edition of Breaking Bread with Tom Papa. I'm Tom Papa.

Thank you so much for being here. We have an amazing podcast for you today with the great Sarah Tiana. Such a funny comedian. I love her so much. We follow each other at the comedy store almost nightly. because she is a positive force. She is a great joke teller, an amazing writer. And neither of us are really going to do comedy that is going to make you cringe in the early parts of a show.

By that, I mean, we work pretty clean, so we always end up next to each other, which may add how much I love her for sure, but it really comes out of respect and just joy from being around her. She's amazing. We have an amazing conversation today. I find out things about her family history that I had no idea, which warmed my heart, and you'll see why. We break open a beautiful bottle of Kianti, which turned out much better than I thought. I was a little nervous about it and give her some chocolate, and I'll tell you the reason why when we get into it. She's just one of my favorite people. Thank you so much for being here.

Make sure you like and subscribe and give us lots of love. The community keeps growing, and we really appreciate it. We love doing this and want to continue. Also, go to my YouTube channel because my Getting Baked series, Getting Baked with Tom Papa. It's on the Tompapa YouTube channel, which also has a bunch of other stuff, but the getting baked stuff, we just released a new video in how to make scones, how to make olive bread. I'm trying to walk you through in a fun way, not just a typical food. Here's the recipe way.

Hopefully it's funnier than most. But really cool videos that you actually will come away and be able to create the bread that you'll see in this episode that I give to Sarah, which is pretty damn good. We're at the end of the summer, everybody. it's officially over. Well, not according to nature, but according to our capitalist system, it is now time to hunker down and get into the upcoming fall months. Still some remnants, of course, of your summertime fun. But it is time. I love this time of year because you really are like, okay, we've done the grill.

We went through our hot dogs. We figured out cool ways to do grilled corn. we did all the seafood stuff. It's enough. And it'll rekindle again next year and we'll come at it again with this newfound love and joy and excitement. But for now, we've run the course of the season. Don't you feel it? I certainly do.

It's time now to start thinking quietly, not urgently, about where we're going to head into the fall. A little heavier pastas, maybe some soups, definitely some breads. And it's time to think about, Kasha. It's time to think about deep, heavier red wines. It's time to think about, dare I say, Thanksgiving. How are we going to do it? Who's coming over? I know the, we thought we were going to be further ahead and it would be full open joyousness, but it seems for the love of God that it's going to be a little interrupted once again by this dumbass virus. It's just got to run its course, I suppose. But I think we, whether or not we travel a bunch, maybe happen, I don't know, but it's time to start

thinking about the menu, you're going to eat it, you're going to have your time. I love just kind of like poking out, taking a look at certain things. Should we maybe practice making a pie this early? Why not? Nothing wrong with having a pie in the middle of September. And you're going to realize that when you come up on Thanksgiving, this isn't the first one you've made all year. Maybe if you don't cook, maybe it's just about finding someone who does. Hey, say to your partner, hey, you're going to try that apple pie again next Thanksgiving? You might want to practice, and I'll practice eating it. This is a new season.

We're coming into another thing. We're coming into fall. We're coming into another part of the land. The kids are back in school. You're back dialing in on your work. So explore a little bit. Get the finer things. Leave the summer behind.

Put on some shoes. Put the flip-flops away and enjoy your life. Make sure you share with me as well online. Give us feedback. And let me know if there's anything that you want us to explore. If you want me to get baked on some other thing that maybe I've talked about that I haven't shown you how to make, that's always encouraging also. All right.

Let's get to Sarah. because we have a good lengthy conversation with her. We get into so much. I could have talked to her for hours. Actually, once the mics were off, I kept on going. She's just a delight. She has a podcast that she's producing called Rick Ingram talks to strangers. So make sure you check that out.

She's just a talent. You're going to hear so much more of her. I love her. She's hilarious and heartwarming. Please enjoy my conversation with Sarah Tiana. Do I get to drink this yet? Yes, cheers. Thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me. Yeah. Kianti is not something I buy that often. I know. You know? You follow me around the grocery store? I do. I know you're not buying Kianti.

You buy it. I buy it. There's this great Italian deli down the street called Monte Carlo. And they've got all these Italian wines in there. And Kianti, my sister always buys Kianti because it's like a fun, affordable bottle. It's like you're not putting on airs. You're just grabbing something that's going to be good. It's going to be quality, but it's not going to blow your mind.

This is really good. This is pretty good. It might be blowing my mind. Oh, really? It might turn me into a Kianti person. Oh, interesting. What do you buy? I normally just drink a cabernet, and I started drinking wine.

I learned to drink wine in France, so I tend to buy French. wines are like Bordeaux But I've Yeah I don't know Why did you start with French wines? I was studying in Paris In college and I had never Drink wine because I'm from Georgia and it's like

You know we had like Boones Farm You know that we drink in high school And stuff like that And like Zinfeld Which my dad still loves white Zinfandel A white Zinfandel This was a really good one

You're like, no, it's not. And so I just had never had it. And like, it was cheaper than water. So you always just drink wine. And it came with like your meal plan at college at the college. So like, it was like, so great. Yeah. So then you just buy a bottle and some cheese and you'd go sit on the lawn at the Eiffel Tower and like do your homework.

Oh my God. It was a really rough life. What a heavenly scenario that is. Yeah, to go from Calhoun, George, like a small town. And like now I'm like eating cheese. wine in France was definitely not the thing that I, that's so why you should do it. Why did you pick going to France?

My theater professor in college offered a course out there, and it was just like a whole study abroad program, and I could get all these extra credits, and I was like, sure, like I'd never been anywhere. Right. And I just said, yeah, I'm going to do it. My senior year. Senior year.

Right before my senior year. So between my junior and senior year, that whole summer. Oh my God. Yeah. It was incredible. That sounds like heaven. Yeah.

And I've been back a couple times since to see it as an adult because I was 21 when I went. Yeah. And like seeing France at 21 and seeing France at like 35 was like a completely different experience. Because you have more than $10 in your pocket? Yeah. And I care more about the history. Like at that time I cared more about going to the dance clubs on the Champsillaise to like four in the morning, you know?

Right. Yeah. And just eating croissons every day, you know? Which I still care about the food part, but I wasn't really aware of like how cool it was. It was just so cool to be in another city. Right. But I had no idea. It could have been Des Moines.

For me, it was like I had only lived in Georgia. I had been to California because I was born in Northern California. We moved to Georgia and I was little. Right. So like I had gone back and forth. So I had seen at least big cities, but I had never been to another. Were your parents hesitant to let you go? No, actually they weren't.

My parents have always been like a little too supportive. What do you mean? You know where they should have, like there were several times and they should have been like, don't do that. They were like, well, you make your choices, you know. You're a grown up. Did you? I'm asking because I'm going through that now because I've got 19 and 16 daughters. And I'm trying to figure that out.

Like do you, how much do you step in? how much do you just let it rip? Well, especially with boyfriends. Like, they were clearly, like, boyfriends where I was like, like, I wish they had been, like, he's a jerk and we don't like him. But they knew that if they probably said that, I would probably like him more. They've always known me better than me. Right.

And then there was also, like, religion, like, they would never tell me what religion they were because they were like, you're smart enough to figure it out on your own. They wouldn't tell you what they were? Mm-mm. And then I found out later that my mom, you know, I found out later. Because they weren't going to church on Sunday. No. So you knew that.

I knew that. And there was no goat blood in the basement. We didn't have a basement. In the carport. No. So what religion was it? Well, my mom was raised Catholics and my mom's Italian. Fiore was our name.

Oh, no way. immigrated to Chicago, my grandmother, and like all from Campbell Bus in Italy. Oh, wow. from the country, like the real redneck part. So it's kind of makes sense that that's what I grew up to be. And then my dad was just, is like a, like a Tennessee redneck that grew up in Michigan. So you're saying it's an Italian redneck and a Tennessee redneck? Yes, yes, yes.

And there's more similarities than you would probably think. Yes, yes. That's hilarious. Yes, all heavy drinkers. Yeah. But no, not my mom actually. But yeah, so anyway, they just didn't want to tell me because I think it had been such a big part of their lives growing up. So they didn't want to influence me.

And I think my dad grew up like Presbyterian. So like they just didn't want to, I think they probably disagreed. Right. And they didn't want to make me choose. Was she still a Catholic, you think? No, my mom, so my grandmother ended up leaving the church. Well, the church kind of forced her out when her husband left. So my grandfather

Yeah, he was a real POS And he had my mom drive him to the airport For And then he never came back What? Because she had just started to drive She had just learned to drive I know

Mm-hmm Yeah, so I never met him He had her drive Him to the airport And she had no idea No idea She was just dropping him off for a trip So long, honey

Yeah, cool, I get to drive And he just took off Does anyone know where he went? Florida Yeah, they found out later you know, like he told them, you know, eventually. Oh, my God. But I don't think he actually told, like, my mom.

He told my grandma, you know. So. So then the church was like, you're divorced. Like, we don't respect that. That's so crazy. Yeah, it's like not her fault. Yeah. She goes to church to like, oh, well, at least I've got this.

And they're like, you know, you are a fallen woman. Yeah. You're the problem, obviously. You're the reason he left. I was raised Catholic. And they just throw up. so many roadblocks for just wanting to be spiritual and say hi to God. You're like, you're like, come on, I just want to just, I just like the stained glass windows.

Oh, man. And they're like, yeah, but we do this with children and move these people around. Ah, geez, all right. How about this stained glass window over here? No, you were married once, so you can't be. Yeah. Although now I think they've gotten a lot, but I think this new pope is really cool and progressive. Yeah.

And like, is it Francis? He's trying, yeah. He's like, yeah, the one from like South America. So he's just like, he's definitely made a huge impact, I think. And like I've always loved going into the churches because I feel so small. So my problems feel smaller when I go in there. Right, yeah. And like I could remember like going, my first church, the first Catholic church I ever went to was in Chicago

because we were there for a family reunion. And so we went to like the church that my parents, like my mom and grandma grew up in. Right. And I was like, I was just blown away. Like, I'd never seen a church like that. Because I did start going to church in eighth grade because all my friends went. Right.

And I was like, I want to go to church. And my parents were like, okay, we'll drive you. And they would just like drive me and drop me off. To like a little church. Yeah, they never came in or anything. Oh, really? They didn't go like, hey, is everything okay here? Yeah, yeah.

Just dropped you. No. Came back three hours later. Have a good time? Yeah. Okay. No other questions. It's interesting.

My daughter at that same age, was all of a sudden, I want to go to church. And my wife and I were raised Catholic, and I would kind of still hang around the neighborhood, but my wife was like, no, I'm not going near that. And my older daughter caught that bug. But my youngest at that age was just like, I want to go, what is it? I'm going to go check it out.

And she started like visiting different churches and kind of, there's, it's weird how some kids will have just an innate thing. Maybe some of their friends is a bit of an influence. But there is like that thing just in your psyche that's like, eh, I gotta go. There's probably something more. It's a lot of curiosity. And then also, you really start reading a lot at that time.

And there are all these biblical references and like those classic books. Right, right. And so I think a part of it for me too is just like I didn't understand a lot of the, I didn't even, I had never even heard of Adam and Eve or anything. Right. So we'd never. So, you know, when I'm like, I got kicked out of church, by the way, like twice. Because obviously I'm curious. I'm a comic and I'm 13.

I'm not, I'm a comic now, I wasn't then, but like, that's where the brain, that's where the comic brain comes from. Like, you just, you're cynical, you ask a lot of questions. You don't believe everything you hear. Right. And so they're like trying to tell me the story and I'm like, why is he alone in a garden? You know, like, I just like can't even put it together. And you got kicked out.

They literally said, no, I had a lot more questions than that. Full disclosure, I do have a bit about it. But I did, like, have a lot of questions about. Jesus being a carpenter because my dad was also a carpenter and I was just like, it doesn't seem like there was any proof of work. And like, they're like, well, sometimes he just like had other people build stuff. And I'm like, but that's a contractor. That's not. You know what I mean? So I just like, my brain just worked like that and they were not. They were like, they didn't kick me out. They just kept telling me to try another church. So every, every church would tell me to try a different one

until finally I was like, this is a, you guys just don't have. the answers. Yeah, that's it. Right. Try every church. Try another church means I don't know. No. And I just didn't have the patience to answer the question. Like a five year old's questions are way different than the 13. Yeah. Oh man. That is the thing though. Like you literally have to block out the questions. Right. I remember my sister who was the same way and she was like, we went back for like a christening. And I was like, and she was just like, team. She was like, you're a seething in there. She was like, I hate it here. And I was like, well, it's nice.

It gets into it. And where else do you like get out of life and just kind of like, just tend to that spiritual part of you? She goes, these people are hypocrites. They hate women. And I'm like, don't listen to that part. Just go to the other. And she's like, no, if I'm going to be here, I'm going to hear it. I'm going to listen.

I know what they're up to. I can't block it out. And I guess it's probably easier for a man to do, especially in the Catholic Church, you know, because they're, In a power position. Yeah. And so, but I was like, ah, that stuff. But they really made it difficult to say, ah, that stuff. Yeah.

Especially for a while there. I think, I think the Catholic Church has gotten a lot better. I don't know. I'm not a part of it. So, like, but I've always enjoyed going to services. And, like, I remember when my Uncle Dominic from Chicago, Uncle Dom, like super hardcore Catholic and my cousin got married

and that was like the first time I realized that Catholic weddings took a long time because my cousin got married in like 30 minutes and he was just like he's like 90 he's like who's that guy talking up there on the microphone and I go that's their friend he's the priest no

is this all legal I'm like you had like he was like clearly part of the mafia like in Chicago so I'm like you describe things as hot and fell off a truck my whole life. Like, I don't think you should worry about the legality of, like... Who's paying? Yeah.

Like, just very... And then, you know, Al Madrigal's kids are my God kids, and so... Oh, really? Yes. So... I didn't know that. Yes. So I would have to go, like, you know, through the church process.

The christening. Yes. You know, answer all these questions about becoming a God parent, whatever. It's really technically just Louisa, but... Right. But I just remember, like, taking them to places and they'd be like, how long is it going to take? And I'd be like, I don't know. And they're like, is it longer than a wedding?

And I'd be like, why are they asking that? And then I realized what they meant because they were going to Catholic weddings and, like, those are four hours. Yeah, the mass. You have a whole mass. You have a whole mass. You have a wedding plus a mass in the middle of it. So did you take the God parenting thing seriously? Like, you were going to really be their spiritual. Like, I've been made a God parent a couple times and it was just.

I sent a card for a couple of years and then it just kind of stopped. Oh, yeah. No, I mean, I'm just a part of their lives. I don't know. I like, but I mean, I definitely feel like I'm a strong part of their lives and I'm an invested part of their lives, but not a spiritual part of their lives. Right. You're not like, let me tell you about Matthew 12.

No, they go to Catholic school. They know way more about it than I do. I definitely don't know enough. But I'll take them to get Boba tea or whatever. Yeah. Amen. It's fine. I'll take them to the fair, like whatever.

A fun god parent. Yeah, whatever their parents don't want to do, I usually do. That's good. Yeah. That's really good. My godfather didn't do anything. No. No.

And I still see him. I still see him. He's great. But he's my uncle, so he's still in the picture. And I'll be like, you didn't, what do we do? Did you take me anywhere? He was like, ah, no. It wasn't really my thing.

Yeah, I don't remember if there was anything in like, Baptist Church or anything because I've never been a godparent to anybody other than the Catholic Church. So is that only a Catholic church thing? Yeah, maybe. Probably. Probably. Another weird kind of thing. I had no idea you had Italian background. Yeah. I know. I guess we've never really talked about it. Yeah. It's like it's not like yeah, I guess it doesn't always come up. But yeah, we had a family restaurant in Chicago called Ofa May that was across from DePaul University. And, like, yeah, they, like, they're really good cooks on that side. Really?

And my nana, but, like, she stopped cooking, like, 65, like, probably, like, 30 years ago. She passed away two years ago. She was 94. Wow. Yeah, skateboarding. It was a really rough day. No. She just, like, she was ready to go, though.

So it was, like, pre-COVID, so that was good. And, like, be with the family. She just, like, I guess old people get to a point in their life where they're, like, I'm done. So I don't know why we have to keep. this charade going. Yeah, I know. There really is that thing. Yeah.

Which is so, can you wrap your head around that mindset? I can't imagine just being ready to go. I know. But if you, if, but my grandmother, like, was very active her whole life. Like, she worked four miles a day.

She played, she was in a bowling league. She played softball, like up until her late 80s. Whoa. And I say softball, but it was really practiced. Like, if you hit it out of the infield,

you were out. You were out. 10 people on the team. You know what I mean? So it's like they weren't playing other. Yeah. But they were holding a bat. Yes,

they were just like getting out there for exercise. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So she was very, and I think when your body stops allowing you to do the things that you want to do, then you're like, this isn't fun. You know? I don't just want to be one of those people that sits in a house all day.

Yeah. And she had always been hard of hearing. So like, you know, that just also degrades. And then she couldn't come to my comedy shows anymore because she couldn't really hear. hear or understand.

I think that just kind of bummed her out. And then she was also a huge Oakland A's fan. I think they eventually killed her honestly. Yeah, they really, they haven't been kind of their fans. No. She gave away like the stuff at the gate for like 25 years. She worked for them for a really long time.

She taught me to keep score and baseball. That's my, that is kind of my dream scenario. What? I was in, once in the Yankee Stadium, once in Wrigley. And the guy walking in here, seat and wiping the seat down and giving your ticket back and saying have a great game was like 88 years old and I was both times I really was like that's a good gig like when you're that age

to be at the ballpark all the time seeing people seating them that's like yep you've done it right she would give out the stuff at the gate and then she had season tickets so then she'd go sit in her seat watch the rest of the game keep score that's how I learned to keep score she taught me Really? And then, yeah. That's amazing. She finally, like, stopped working for them probably seven, eight years ago when she just, like, couldn't do it anymore and, like, was like, this isn't fun. I know.

She'd be right up to the end. That's amazing. Oh, yeah. She would be out there, like, pitch, you know, when they would have little softball teams or tee ball teams in the fields, she would be out there fielding for all the kids. You know, one time she left her jacket in the dugout and, like, lost it, and the team replaced it for her. It was like, it was really nice. What was her name? Her name is Eleanor Matthias.

Eleanor Matthias. That was her married name. Fiore was her Italian. Yeah. Wow, that's so great. And she could cook? Yeah. Yeah.

A long time ago, but then she just stopped. She started getting like stoffers lasagna and we were like, oh my God, man. I know. I can't handle it. I know you know how to make sauce. And she's like, I'm not. I've made thousands and thousands of pots of sauce. I can't do it.

Yeah. My grandmother, the same thing. Yeah. Just at the end, it was like, she just boy. boiled it down to just making escarole, which is just like this leafy, like simple dish with beans. And it was just down to that. And it was like, all right, we're wrapping things up.

She would still make those, like, fried cookie or donut things with the, what was it, the florets or something like that. It's like fried dough that looked like a snowflake that you would cut out of paper when you're a kid. Oh, yeah, yeah. Powdered sugar on it. She would do those for Christmas. Right, yeah.

And that was it. Oh, wow. And she'd still complain about it the whole time. She would? Yes. Did you catch any of it? Can you cook? Oh, yeah.

Yeah? Yeah. Because you said last night. Yeah, so I have a good meatball recipe that I want to share with you. Ah. I remember I was telling you that. That's right. That's right.

Yeah. You don't cook it before. I totally forgot about that conversation. No, that's okay. No, because I didn't forget about the conversation. We had this great conversation with Steve Simone in the parking lot of the comedy store. And we were talking about meatballs and all of our troubles with the meatballs, which was so great because nobody else would understand what we're talking about. I know.

And I since made meatballs like it was like a month after that conversation. And my family is not really meat eater. So when I guess over, that's when I make them. And they were so blown away by the meatballs. Like they're still talking. Like it was one of those times where you just nail it. And truth be told. I don't remember the pork that I used in it.

And I've tried to get back and it's, I don't, I haven't done it. Oh, it's not the same. No, it's slightly different. Where do you get your meat normally? Do you go to? This was, when I nailed it, was Gelson's, which they have, you know, pretty good stuff. They have good stuff, yeah. I see, I get butcher box.

Do you ever use butcher box? No. So butcher box is all like grass-fed meats. Uh-huh. And it comes once a month and you make your meat selections. Right. And so I always feel like their cuts are really good, but they always have ground pork and ground beef.

And then they also have breakfast sausage, which I really enjoy. You need consistency. Yeah. That's the thing. It's like, because now those people come back and they're going to be like, yeah, these are good. I know. You're right.

Yeah. You know what I mean? You know what I mean? Yeah. So you're like, you're right. I have to. But for me, I think the thing that people always do in cooking is that they're going to over ingredient and I'm a big under ingredient.

Right. I'm a big fan of letting the vegetable or the meat do the talking. Right. It's like guacamole. Like I think guacamole should just be avocado and lime and salt. Right. Because the avocado is the star. You don't need to add all this other stuff.

And so with a sauce, it's like, you know, to me it should just be like tomatoes and onion and salt and pepper. Right. And then I put butter in mine, so then that makes it a little bit fattier. That is the sauce that I've been making this year. Yeah. Because I got it from Marcella Hazan's cookbook. And it was just that, just a sauce pan with half an onion, a stick of butter, and a can of sauce of tomatoes, whole tomatoes.

And man, is that so simple and so much better than chopping up all this other stuff? It's too much. It's too much. Yeah, and I think what happens is when you over-ingredient, you lose the flavor of the tomato. I mean, butter and tomato. And then for my sauce, you take out the onion once it's boiled in there for a really long time. Right, yeah. And then I just, like, use the, what's that hand mixer thing?

The one that you plug in. That goes whizze, the whizze, the whizs one, right? Yes, emulsifier. Just that emulsifier, yeah. Yeah. So I just use that. And then it almost has like a creamy. It's like a creamy tomato sauce.

But not too milky because of the butter. I think the butter makes it creamy. Right, right. It's really just butter. Why do you have to multiply because the tomatoes are whole? I just like to make it thin. I just like my sauce that way. I don't like it chunky.

Right. That's just me. I take the tomatoes, the whole tomatoes. Mm-hmm. And then squeeze them by hand first. Me too. Get them as small as I can and then put it in. But like after 45 minutes, it's cooked.

it's not really that chunky at that point. Yeah. It's just whatever your taste is. Yeah. Yeah. I think for me, it's like when I see something that doesn't have a lot of ingredients or if it's just like one of the ingredients of the ingredients of sour cream, I'm like, this is going to be good. Right.

Right. I'm like, sour cream does make everything pretty good. It's so funny because, I mean, we've talked a little bit about cooking before, but not much. Mm-mm. And watching your act. and in hearing you talk. Like I wasn't thinking like the world of Italian. Right.

Right? No. And when I was thinking about coming over and seeing you, first of all, I baked you bread. I see it. You want to see what it looks like? Yes, I would love to. I would.

Sometimes I don't tell people what I'm like just and that's your bread and they take it home. But this one looks so nice. Oh. And you can feel it because it's still warm. Oh my God. It is still warm. It's still warm. It just came out.

Well, what is that? This is a country brown, overnight country brown sourdough. Country, I love it. And sourdough is my favorite. It's, and this is, the reason it's overnight is that it ferments for like 15 hours. So like a lot of times you'll do it, you'll make it and it'll ferment and you're shaping within like four hours. And this went like 15 hours. So it's going to have a deeper flavor.

It's going to have a little bit of like an afternoon. after taste. Yeah, you're going to love it. I think you're going to be very hot. I know I'm going to love it. And the cool thing is, like a lot of times you're like, well, I want to, I want to cut into this bread immediately when it comes out of the oven, that fresh baked bread. Yes, but really almost the, like later in the day or the next day, it's like it's still working right now. Like it's still like crackling and it's still kind of coming into its own, almost like a soup, you know, like it kind of settles. And this is going to be great tonight, but even better tomorrow morning. So it's like a steak, you have to let it rest. Exactly. Got it. That's interesting. There is a temptation like fresh baked bread and you're smelling it.

Hot. You're like just let me add it. Well, like Bodine's in San Francisco, you know, when it's like warm and you can smell it and you're like, I need that right now. But you're right. I didn't even think that that's how a bread would be, but that's cool. Yeah. I mean, I think with everything, like with a wine, you have to let it breathe and like.

Yeah. Yeah. Right. Exactly. You don't rush it. So this was, so I had to like time it all out. Everything about this bread baking is timing. Yeah.

And if you rush any part of it, you just, you fall apart. Now do you have, do you do this in the oven or do you do it in a machine? In a Dutch oven. In a Dutch oven. Yeah, in a Dutch oven. Wow. Yeah, yeah. I wouldn't even think of using it in it.

I mean, obviously, I've never made bread. You want to create steam. Oh. So you put this as once it's shaped and you put it into the Dutch oven. And like you heat that up at 500 degrees and then you put it in quickly spray water in it and close the lid. Wow. Now it's got steam. And then that's why you see how it's like it's split apart because it when it rises when it hits that steam and the thing goes, it gives you that crust.

See like the little bubbles. That's from the added water. It's so beautiful. Yeah. I know you're going to like it. I, America's Funniest videos is my favorite television show of all time. I still watch it every Sunday. Is it still on?

Oh, yes. Who's hosting? Now it's Alfonso Ribero, and he's very good. I wanted that gig. You did? I did. Like after Sagat left? After.

You're too young to have had it originally. No, yeah. It was after Saget and then somebody. Like the Daisy Fuentes years? After Daisy Fuentes. And with, what's his name? Was it the other guy from American Idol? Was it that guy that John?

No, I don't remember. But then there was one other host and then they left. was it not Lovar Burton Mm-mm. Who? Tom Bergeron. Tom Bergeron. So stupid.

Aaron just yells from the back. Yeah, for like 20 years. Bergeron was great. He's an amazing host. And when he left, there's a fly. I know. It's a bread. And he left.

Yeah. Let's wrap that up. And then he left. Thank you. And I was like, oh. Yeah. I can do that. You would be great as the host.

I would have loved it. And I actually ran into the creator of it in Florida. It's some TV thing I was doing, like some kind of event. And I was like, hey, just so you know. And it was like this last round. It lost its vitality because of online shows.

And you know what I mean? It kind of lost its place a little bit. Right. But now because of ring cameras and cell phones, there are so many more videos. Like people are just taking more videos. Right, right, right. And the ring captures, like the ring video ones.

are my favorite because like so much stuff happens inside and outside your house when you don't think anybody's the best mine's actually broken oh and uh good to know if you want to I'm so angry just because I like seeing like a raccoon walk around yeah but I love that show completely I really wanted that gig well you never I mean I guarantee it's still gonna it's not going to go away it's like I think also their videos are they have have like Instagram and stories and reels and stuff. So I think those videos always live online. I think they probably have a TikTok account too.

So it's like they can kind of and now people can just upload directly their videos to an app. Like they don't even have to like mail in a tape. Right. Do people still win money? Oh yeah. They still have the same format. Yeah. My son loves it.

He's 18 months old. He like loves it. It's so funny. It's a really good show for kids. Yeah. And the best thing about America's funniest videos is that it's a Disney own show. so you know that when people fall, they're not dead. Right.

It's not like, No. And that's why I tell, because Tosh is one of my favorite human beings in the world. Me too. But I'm just like, I can't because I'm, I think people are dead.

And they are. Yeah, yeah, I think they're probably, yeah. And then Tosh says something hilarious and grins at the camera. Oh, I know.

You know, I've been opening for him for like two years. Yeah, you told me that. Yeah. I was so happy to hear that because he's one of my favorite people of all time. He's incredible. Yeah.

And like, like, but he does like really like funny like, like awful stuff too. I'm just like. But now that he's a father, it's like a little bit different. Did I tell you I have a funny dream about, no, I think I told my wife. It was it was this bizarre dream. You know when you're on vacation like the start of vacations you have like very lucid dreams in the beginning. Your brain's kind of like. Because you're relaxed for the first time in a while.

Yeah. And I had this weird dream that Daniel and I were standing on the beach. And he's like, I know, I can't believe this makes money. It's just so, it's so crazy that this makes money. And we look over and there's his son playing around in the sand and a whole little crowd like amphitheater crowd in the sand watching him. And they're like, can you believe people will pay for this? And his son's just like playing in the thing.

Such a weird dream. It doesn't make sense. Like, I don't know if Daniel would ever. let his son be filmed, but he would be making money off of something that made no sense. Right. He's the kind of person that just draws that kind of... I know. Where he just like...

He's like, yeah, that'll be fun. And then it turns into like something in... Gigantic. Gigantic. Effortless. Yeah. Why do we bring up America's Funniest videos? We loved it.

Yeah. No, I was talking. Oh, I was bringing it up because of bread. Right. Because I watched one of the videos and somebody cut into their red and it was evaporated on the inside. Like they had cooked it. Yeah.

They were like all excited and then they cut it. And it was like that turkey on Christmas vacation when they cut into it and like steam just came out. And it was empty. And I was going to ask you if that had ever happened to you. Yes. Really? Yes. You can overproof it.

Okay. And it will seem like it's okay. And then inside it's just air. Yeah. What does overproofing mean? That means if you, so you shape it and you, and then you let it proof. You let it rest basically.

It's now in the shape and it's doing like its second round of fermentation. And if you let that go too long, it kind of expands in the structure, the gluten that has, that you've built up from kneading it and everything and shaping it. It's like a tight structure.

And if you let it go too long, it starts to get like a spiderwebby, like a light spiderwebby, loosey thing. And then it falls apart. Is that why like sometimes when you cut into bread there's like a giant hole? Yes, same thing. Oh, interesting.

Same thing. Now I'm nervous about you cutting into this. No. It's going to be wonderful. But back to what I was saying before. I didn't know that you were Italian. Right. So I, yeah.

And I, you know, just your, the slight background I have and I figure, you know, just Southern and fried chicken and stuff like that. But I was thinking today when I came over to host you, not only was at the bread, but I was thinking, I don't, I didn't know why, but I was like red wine and chocolate. There's something elegant about you. There is. With me? There is.

And I know that was going to be your response. But there's something very down to earth and, you know, very real about you. But they're also, because I follow you a lot at the comedy store. We're always, because we're nice and I have good joke tellers, we're always going first. Yes. Before the night gets ugly and you need someone to take their. shirt off. Well, also I'm not dirty.

Right. Like, I don't, I'm not like a dirty, sexual comedian, girl. Right. Exactly. Exactly. And there is an elegance to your comedy. Oh, that's very nice.

Because you're, because you're not, and you're not going for cheap laps, you're a great writer, you're very personable. And there's an, and really the word is elegance. There's an elegance to your comedy. Even though you're talking about jet skis and that they should be cheaper and everyone would be happier. There is like southern roots and stuff, but there's this, that's not to say that there can't be elegance in,

in that style or that content. Yes. And you are. So anyway, I brought you, also brought you dark chocolate. And I think we should eat that now because it goes good with the red wine. I will absolutely eat it now. And that's from France.

That's not an Italian thing, yeah. So where do you get your chocolate? That chocolate I got, there's a place off Sherman Way called the, oh, geez, the something, gourmet, something, I'm blanking on the name, but they import all these hard to find little items, yes, please. All these little hard to find items. And that's where I got this chocolate.

It's like Alcove, did you ever go to eat at Alcove Cafe in Los Belas? No, good. Mm-hmm. But, like, it was like two husbands that owned it, and they were just, like, very particular about flowers. wine, cocktails. Right. And they always had chocolate from all these places I'd never heard of.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. That is wonderful. Chocolate and red wine is such a powerful combination. I mean, cheese and red wine is the ultimate. I think you forget about the chocolate and red wine because it's such a natural combination. Mm-hmm. Just, like, richness.

But, you know, I think it, like, creates a different balance in your mouth. and you, I don't know, I just forget. Yeah. I think a lot of times I just pour a glass of whatever's open. Yeah. Because I'm watching The Bachelor. And open the bag of whatever's in the pantry. Uh-huh.

Well, we make popcorn a lot. Do you? Yeah, my boyfriend loves popcorn on the stove. Yeah. Yes. Do you have the cranky crank? We have just a popcorn pot that's designated that never gets washed. Oh, it never gets washed, which is kind of impossible to wash it anyway.

It's impossible. and like you already like just to have like the kind of oil like you just build up a film kind of yeah and then you just like add oil and um like he does it this way i don't know he's like where's he from we have different seasonings he's from well he's kind of from all over because his dad was in the coast card but primarily main that seems Maine that sounds right i could see i could see i could see me Maine or Alaska having a popcorn pot filled with 10 year old oil. Because I have the crank one, you know, that one with the lid.

Yep. And there's no cleaning it. No. You can wipe it down. You can wipe it. You can, you know, on those nights where you mess up and it's a little nasty, but you're not cleaning it. Yeah, no, we, like, we wash the bowl, like, every few times.

You're right? But it's more just like, yeah. So we're right now, like, on a little break from it because we, like, you're eating it so late and then it's like, it's like. What do you do with it, though? It's just salt? No, well, we have like either a ranch seasoning or a truffle salt seasoning or just salt. So like we just kind of vary between the three.

Really? Mm-hmm. I haven't had two out of those three. Which ones? The ranch or the truffle salt? I've never had the ranch or the truffle salt. I'm a big fan of the ranch popcorn seasoning. Really?

It's kind of a game change. Yeah. That is the redneck and make. The southern half of the country, you can put ranch on anything. Yeah, it's the new ketchup. It really is. Yeah. It is.

It is. It's so powerful. And I actually make it at home now, which is way different. So now I make it from the, like, Costco sells like the Hidden Valley seasoning. And so you can mix it with sour cream to make your dip, or you can mix it in a container to make your own dressing. What do you mix for the dressing? It's milk and mayo. Milk and mayo.

And ranch seasoning. Oh, of course, though. No wonder everyone loves it. Yeah. That's what it is. Milk and mayo. And then for the dip, it's just sour cream in, which is so funny because he won't eat sour cream. Oh, no. But I'll say, do you want ranch dip? And he's like, yes. It's like, he doesn't like to try any things. He's just like my dad in that way.

Like my dad would never eat hummus. And then one day I was like, do you want some bean dip? And he was like, I love bean dip. And I'm like, you like, that's kind. It's different. It's garlicky. and then he's like, well, this is good. I'm like, yeah. So I still haven't told him it's hummus. That's hilarious. He doesn't like hummus. That's so perfect.

You just have to change the wording around and then sometimes you can get. And where do you get the truffle salt? Oh, you can just get that at the grocery store. Yeah. I mean, I technically like, I mean, I prefer to get it like a nicer. There's a place that we, there's a Savannah. In Savannah, they have like a bunch of seasoning stores. So we would load up whenever we were.

were down there visiting. Nice. And you can order them online, but then like William Sonoma makes a good one too. Oh, yeah? Yeah. All right. And then like sometimes the farmer's market has good ones, like flavored salts. Like a smoky salt can be good sometimes, you know.

You ever put old bay on it? I'm not a big old bay fan. No? I know. Yeah. I'm the only one in my house that is too. Yeah. I mean.

And yeah, no one wants it. No, it's a, that's a distinct flavor, you know? Yeah. I love it. What about Tabasco? You ever put Tabasco on popcorn? No. That's fun.

Is it? Mm-hmm. Why is that fun? Like it's just like a spicy and sweet maybe. Spicy sweet and a little weird. Who puts tobacco? Tabasco on popcorn? You're like, I just want to be weird.

Yeah. It's kind of strange, but it works. I had a girlfriend that did it once and I was like, that makes perfect sense. Well, yeah. Do you ever have to split up your popcorn bowls when you're like, I'm going truffle tonight? I'm going, or do you? Join forces. No, I just kind of let him choose.

Like dealer's choice, he's the one making it. So I just let him choose. Right. It's also like usually the only time we really sit together on the couch, like he's either in the recliner. Right. I'm on the couch or vice versa. We didn't really have assigned seats.

Yeah. But, yeah, but we're both, it's like, oh, we're going to have popcorn and watch a show together. So now, you know, when we are not watching a show, we just, like, have family feud on or something. Right. Just both on our phones. Another classic, by the way.

The best. I got wrapped up in a Steve Harvey montage on Instagram of great family feud moments. So many. So many. Still so funny. Such a great. Do you have a favorite one? Anything that's like in the butt or sex or my wife or.

My favorite one was like there was something that was like complete. this phrase like pork blank and like people like like pork butt pork rinds and then this guy goes you pine and it took Steve a second to figure out what he was talking about and then he put the word together and he was like oh my you know and it was just like that like you know when Steve really milk something for a while yeah yeah yeah and that's what he does so great is that he will like let things really breathe yes he's really good at that and he's really good at that and he's really really good at criticizing the dumb husband who just made a horrible mistake. Mm-hmm. Oh, it ain't up there.

I told you. It's up there, Steve. No, it ain't. No, it ain't. And if it is, you still shouldn't have said it. He's so good. But I think what makes him so great is that he genuinely wants them to win money. Uh-huh.

Whereas I think a lot of hosts are just there. Right. And, like, thinking about, you know, being funny or charming, but he really wants them to win. Right. And so you feel like he's part of the family all the time. Yeah. Because he really wants everybody to win. And it's filmed in Atlanta, so I love that.

Oh, really? Yeah. Oh. And he must crank out like 202 weeks and then good night. When I first moved to L.A., I was on Wheel of Fortune. That was like my favorite show of all time. And you not on it? Yes.

I sent in a letter because it was something I grew up watching my whole life. Yeah. I sent in a letter. They drew it out of a. bag of letters and I got an audition. No way. Then at the audition you have to like pretend like you're spinning the wheel and like cheer and like take a test. It's this whole thing. Yeah. And I got picked and then yeah, you had to be an alternate and like all this stuff and then ended up getting on the show. But they filmed five that day and they would film like two weeks out of the month,

like three months a year. That's it. I'm like this is a great gig. great gig. Yeah. Whenever anyone's like, why did Drew Carey take the prices right? It's like because it's the greatest gig in the world. You work three months. Yeah, everyone pictures him pulling in. And not even the whole month.

Yeah, everyone pictures him pulling into the lot every day. Got to do another one. No. He's not there at 11 a.m. every morning. He's hardly there at all. No. Not at all. And it's so much fun and people go crazy.

It's the best day of their life. Yeah. And you get to be funny. It was a tension. I remember practicing like on a Sony PlayStation. They had a Will Fortune game. And I practiced every day. And I realized like, oh, N's the best letter to pick first.

Like all this stuff. I ended up winning like $13,000 in the show. Yeah, which is the most money I had ever seen in my life. That's amazing. Yeah, it was like 25 years old or something. And then like it aired. Can you find this on YouTube? Yes, I think it's like, well, there's like parts of it or I think there's.

Right. Was somebody put it on Facebook once. Somebody found it. But like, it aired at Christmas. when I was home visiting my family. Oh, that's so perfect. So cool. That's the coolest.

I didn't make it to the final round, but I still won. That's amazing. Yeah. I love those stories. There was a kid in New York who my wife knew. I don't know if he was a comic. He was somewhere in our orbit. Maybe he was an actor.

And he wanted this apartment. We saw him on the street in Chelsea, in New York. And he was like, I just saw this apartment and like a week ago and it's got to be gutted, but I want it and I don't have the money for it. So I'm going to go to California and get on the prices right and win it. And that was his plan. He had nothing going on. Oh my God.

He had nothing to do. Uh-huh. And he went out to California and won, got on the show, kicked ass, won it, got the down payment, and he's probably in that apartment to this day. Oh, my. And it's probably worth like 90 times as much as what he paid for it. Exactly. Unbelievable. Amazing.

Amazing. Yeah, I love that. I love that that's the plan when you're young and poor. I'm just going to go and win, they're giving away money on that TV. I did not pay taxes on that because that is the only money I made that year. Wow. So if you make $13,000 a year. Even the government's like, you keep it.

No, you can have that, you know. And I remember thinking like, oh, because they give it to you in one lump sum. And then they give it to you three months after it airs. So it's almost six months from when you tape it. Right. It airs three months after you tape it. And then another, and you're like, oh, my God, I really need this money. And like, but I like never.

That's amazing. It was like. Were you doing comedy at the time? Mm-mm. No. I was just, I had moved out here to be an actress. Right. That's why I went to theater school and or like, I went to film school and minored in

theater so that I didn't have to take like lighting class. Right. All the production. I could just take all the acting classes. And then I moved out here and I was DJing like weddings and bar mitzvahs. Oh, yeah? Forever. And, you know, extra work, all this stuff, like trying to do acting.

And then one of the guys that I DJed with was like, you're really, really funny. You have to do stand-up. And I was like, I didn't even know anybody could just do that. Right. I didn't know what it was. You weren't even thinking about it. No one had ever told me I was funny. Like, people always laughed at me.

Uh-huh. But I was really sarcastic. and like the South doesn't understand sarcasm. So like even my dad has like no. It's so true. It's so weird. It's so weird. But he just like, because I mean I hosted a podcast with Riggle forever.

Oh really? Yes. And Riggle always talks about being like a karate professional, you know? Like he's like high performance karate. He's the master of low kicks. And my dad is like a third degree brown belt. And he used to teach karate. And so when he meets Rob,

he like does some karate move on and Rob's like cool and so my dad's like confused and then he does it again and Rob's like uh-huh that's good good job you know oh no my dad's like later he's like he's like rob didn't know as much about karate as I thought and I go dad he doesn't know anything about karate no he talks about it I go he's joking no he's not he talks about it I'm like how do you not like we invented sarcasm like bless your heart is the most sarcastic thing ever Yeah, exactly. But he does not. Like, so I think, like, people were always laughing at me, but they'd be saying, like,

that's not funny, that's not funny. And I just heard, that's not funny. And then I saw Mitch Hedberg when I was in college because I was, like, hosting my college radio station, like a show on my college radio station. And we were a really big student-run college radio station. So everybody that came through the punchline came and did, like, like, the student station. because it was mostly listened to in Atlanta. It was like 100,000 watts.

Like, he was huge. Right. And so. You were a DJ? Yeah, I was a DJ on there. And then we had like a little Friday night, Friday afternoon like talk show. Cool. That a bunch of people listened to.

And so he was the first comic that ever gave me tickets to a show. And people were like, is that when you decided to be a comedian? And I'm like, well, you don't watch Mitch Hedberg and then go, oh, I can do that. Right. I was just like, that's a bit. I have no idea how that works. And I just moved on. I didn't think about it again.

Sure. I moved out here. And then that was the first time I'd ever heard that I was funny at all. And then I was just sitting in my apartment one night and like a news story came on and I wrote a joke about it. And then I was like, okay, I'm going to go try it. And then it worked. Where did you go try it? I tried it at the hot wired cafe on Riverside and Laurel Canyon.

Nice. Yeah, it was like a little open mic joint. that Nick Yusef ran. Oh, really? He was doing comedy before me. Right. Right before me. He had started right before me.

And his 21st birthday was actually like the second or third time I ever did comedy. That's how I like know how many years I've been doing it. How many years? I don't know how old he did it. But I've been doing it for, see, I've been here 20 years, so 17 years. Wow. Okay. Wow.

It's crazy. I didn't realize someone brought your name up today. I did his podcast. Josh, Adam Myers. Myers. Uh-huh. Thank you. Which I never, I didn't really, I guess I was in New York a lot when he was here,

but he brought up your show that you hosted forever. That was so important to him when he was coming up. Yeah, because that was like, we used to, I ran a show. So that's how, you know, once you graduate from open mics, you go to bring her shows and then you start running your own room. Right. And so I ran a room at this place called the Unnone. theater that was like this old theater warehouse right it was five dollars to get in and you got free

bud and bud and bud light all night and we would charge the comics too but everybody hung out there right and that's where the comedy jam started because we were all just there was tons of comics hanging out right and the owner of the theater was like a musician so he liked to just jam and all these comics like they're all in band because they're like they don't grow up like the popular kids in school right and so like yeah so then the jam just started we would all hang out to like two in the morning. Yeah. Josh was always there and like always wanting to go up.

And I'd be like, ah, I can't put you up every week. You know, I'm not even putting Neil Brennan up every week. I'm not putting Jeff Ross up every week, you know? Like, I'm not putting you up every week. So, but yeah, that room ended up being, yeah, we, that's how everything in my career started was basically from that room because that's where I met Jeff Ross. And like, that's where I got into writing.

Right. Yeah, that's what he was saying too, like that it was so. important to him because that's where he met all these great comedians and it just became like this really a important place for his life and just like kind of dropping into this new scene and learning who all the people were and becoming friends and you know all the rest of it yeah yeah you find your family yeah you create a family out here I think whenever you move to a new city it's so difficult like even when I was starting stand up I was getting ready to move yeah I was like this isn't working I was going to move to Wilmington, North Carolina,

because I was like, I can be an actress there. That's where they filmed Dawson's Creek. Like, that's where I'll go. It's not technically moving home. You know, I'm not quitting. Right. And I remember I packed up all my stuff. Right.

And I was tired, and I went to go see a movie at the Arklight at the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Right. And the movie I wanted to watch was either sold out or it wasn't playing. But Jerry Seinfeld's movie comedian was playing. And I was like, oh, I've done comedy a couple times. Like, I'll go watch that. Right.

And so I go in and I start watching it and everyone in the theater is laughing. And I am crying. And I'm like, I think this is a sign. Like, I think I'm supposed to stay. Wow. I think I'm supposed to do this. Whoa. And the next day I was, I called my mom when I got home and I was like, I'm going to stay.

I'm going to stay a little bit longer. Wow. And the next day I started doing comedy every day. How did you walk out of that theater? Were you wrecked or were you like, made up your mind? I was just like, this is what I need to do. Now I have an idea of what it's supposed to be like. I think that's what that movie was good for.

Yeah, because I knew, like, I loved his comedy. Also, when I started stand-up, I didn't realize that, like, I thought you had to have a sitcom and then you could do stand-up comedy. Right. I didn't know it was the other way around. Yeah. So I was like, how am I going to get on a sitcom if I want to do stand-up, you know? Right.

I just didn't understand any of how it worked. Yeah, yeah. And so that movie explains so much to me about how it even worked. And then I was like, oh, if it's just writing and going up, I can do that. Right. And I'm in control. At least I have an outlet. And because I grew up in theater, like being on stage was not anything I was afraid of. So that was the easy part.

Did you have any part of you that because you started in theater? This flies. I'm so sorry that he likes you and not me. He really likes my head. I wish he was just attacking me and not you. He isn't come after you once. Thank you. I'm really starting to think there's something wrong with me.

Do you want some more chocolate? Maybe he'll go away. Maybe. This one fly. He's just all over me. I literally was writing about that for this other thing, not really for stand-up that whenever I think, I'm always amazed that people from like the 14-100s

were dealing with the same things that we're dealing with. Like technology has changed, but the human being really hasn't changed. change that much. And that there is, in the 1400s, there was two people talking and a fly was buzzing around this one guy's head. And for some reason, I locked into the house flies, like, as the major annoyance because they're all over the planet. They're annoying as shit. Imagine how many more there were. Yeah. With the cows and fertilizer and everything. No toilets. Oh, my God. Yeah. Think about how many more.

There's so many more. So I guess I should be happy that this one's here. Imagine how that fly feels. He's like, I just want to be my friends outside. And clearly I'm in the wrong place. He's like, I bet there was a fly in the 1400s that couldn't get out of a building. Just trapped in an outhouse and he's like, but I just want to be with my friends. I only have a week to live. Right.

I'm running out of time. So much I want to do. Somebody just open the door. Please. It is interesting to think about what comedy you would have done back in those. ages. Oh, yeah. Like in the dark ages or like.

That gangis Kong, huh? Well, you think about like us being in a pandemic now. Even like in the 20s, like when they're going or the 30s when they were going through or I'm sorry, it would have been 1910s like because it was 1919, I think the last pandemic. And that's what started the roaring 20s because everyone was like so excited to get out of the house. So yeah, I guess I just think about what I would have written about.

I mean, I wouldn't have been allowed to write back then. No, you keep your mouth shut. I'm glad. At least they would have been a good cook. You could whisper it to your baby, but no one else wants to hear it. Oh, my God. Yeah, I know. I started writing a movie, actually, about moonshine runners back in the early, back, you know, during the...

Prohibition? Yeah. Oh, yeah? I met a lot of Kianti. Yes, because that's also what turned, that's how NASCAR formed was through moonshine runners. And like making your cars as fast as possible and they were the best racers. Right. And so I often write movies about women who do a man's job.

I think that's always really fun. Right. Because I mean, I guess that's kind of what you feel like as a comic. Like I never feel like stand up comedy is a man's job and like, but I think it's always impressed upon you that that it's like harder as a woman. Whereas I feel, I think I've always felt like. It's not that hot. Like, people make it out to be harder. Yeah.

I think it's harder to laugh at a woman. I think we're just trained in society to be respectful to women. And so laughing at a woman is like, it takes a second for you to, like, be okay with it as just a human being. And, like, I allow an audience to do that. So, if usually, it used to be that before, you know, I made a name for myself, like, the first five minutes of my act were always the same. it was a joke every 15 seconds. And I was just trying to get you into a rhythm so that you stopped thinking about it and that you could just relax and just know like, okay, she's funny.

I don't have to worry. I don't have to pretend. I don't have to question or think about anything else. I'm just like, oh, I'm just like now all of a sudden I'm in a rhythm and I can go anywhere. Right. But I, so anyway. Right, which is kind of what everybody needs in a way. But there's definitely an assumption for men.

I think it's changing. I think even in the beginning of my career, like there seemed like there seemed like there were bigger obstacle. Like they just weren't just they weren't being put on shows. They weren't. Of course. It just wasn't the number. Yeah.

Right? Like don't you feel like this next generation of audience members have been taught that. Well, yeah. Now I think being a woman in comedy is an advantage. Right. Yeah. I mean, they always need. I mean, as a writer in like L.A., like I feel like I get so many jobs because

they need a woman. And I write a lot of sports shows. Right. So now I'm a woman in sports. Right. Right. Like I just hit like three check marks. Yeah.

How many other of those are there? No. And that was like in a decision I started making years ago in my career. I was just like how can I work? What situations can I be the first call? What do I know the most about? Right. And I'm like, I know sports, country music and the military.

Right. So like any meeting that I go into, I go, these are what I know. If you need that, I'm your girl. Anything else? I could help you with, but I might not be the best choice. Oh, that's interesting. Like, this is what I'm good at. Yeah, yeah.

So this is what I know I can make the best parallel jokes to because every joke is just a great callback or a reference point. Right, right. These are the references I know the most. So when you are doing the moonshine thing, do you think, are you putting it as a female runners? Yeah. A woman disguised as a man.

Oh, that's great. Yeah, like took over the family business because something happened to her dad or her brother. That's great. She has to disguise herself. And then they're like, you should get into NASCAR. And she's like, a woman in NASCAR, that'll never happen. Ha, ha, ha, foreshadowing. Right, right.

Danica Patrick. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, movies is like, I mean, I tend to write a lot of TV now. I just sold my first movie. Oh, yeah. Congratulations. Through all things.

Comedy, actually. Ah, cheers. Thank you. That's great. It's a Christmas movie. Did you write it? or did you pitch it? No, I wrote it.

Oh, wow. So I have a writing partner who's from New Orleans, and he's the one that took all the classes. Good. So he knows what font to use. He knows what's on a cover page. Yes, but we're very good friends. And like, so I have, it's usually my idea.

And then, like, he amps up the idea. And then he knows, like, oh, by this page. So we write very fast. Oh, that's great. Which is very helpful. That is helpful. And how fast did it, how fast did you? write this one that's solved? This one, well, once you write the outline, sometimes the outline

takes about two months, if we're meeting twice a week. And then we wrote the screenplay in six weeks. Oh, that's good? Yeah, that's healthy. Yeah, it is pretty fast. So you're talking about eight weeks plus a 14 weeks. Right, right. And you solved it. That's great. Yeah, it's great. It's a really fun movie. And then, so now we're working on a new one. Like, we've written a few. We've written four, I think. Oh, yeah? Yeah. So now, This is making a little sense to what you were saying. You also have a baby. So your life has changed from when you were out here at 21 doing whatever you were doing.

But you would mention that you've been on the road with Tosh, but you're not, you've kind of dialed back the road yourself. Yeah. Was what came first becoming successful as a writer? Or was it? Yeah. Yeah. And you're like, okay, now I've got this thing.

And I can dial that back? Yeah, because, I mean, I think just the older I got, the more I realized, like, I really loved being behind the camera. I wasn't, like, I enjoy being on stage. It's the other 23 hours of the day I don't like. Right. I don't like getting there, sitting in the green room, waiting to go up forever, trying to sell my cat bandanas after the show, you know, that my mom makes, like, which I love. I mean, I love all of that, but it's not, it's not the same as just, like, you know, And it's not nearly as much money as I make as a writer.

And there's no pension and there's no union and there's no health insurance. And like you just get into this place. And like for me, getting into the mind of someone else was like such a huge challenge. It was a more fulfilling challenge than writing a joke for myself. Right. Like I just really enjoyed that. Yeah. That's the actor in you.

Maybe. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know where it comes from. It's the actor. That is. because I started, and I was going to ask before, I started in school acting as well.

I wanted to be a comedian since I was a kid, but I went and acted first. And there is a different gear. There's a, when you, like, did you ever have people say, like, you could tell you were an actor when you started stand-up? I would have people say, did you start acting? Because I was more performative on stage. Definitely, like, like loud, theatrical, like performance-based,

like, not. not as much joke-based as I needed to be. Smoking a cigarette, just not moving. Well, I used to draw a line on my stomach because I had this joke about my dad said I couldn't get a tattoo unless it was a dotted line above my navel. He was going to call the Mason-Dixon line

and anybody from the north that tried to invade the south there was going to be a war. And I would draw it on my stomach and I would lift it. And finally, Bobby Lee was like, you don't have to do it. Like, you can just say it. Like, people will believe you.

And I was like, what? But in a theater, you need a prop and you need to. So, yes, I think I was very. Yeah. But I think, yeah, I had the same thing. I was very big and broad. And Greg Gerardo would say to me, you know, you don't have to lean and run around like that. I was like, really?

He's like, you have good jokes. Just say the jokes. Right. I was like, oh, okay. Even now when I see people talking too loud into the, I'm like, it's a microphone. Right. I know. We can hear you.

Which is funny because we're both pretty stationary. We both are moving less than most people, even like the cool guy's just leaning around. But inhabiting other people's personas and that kind of thing, that's very much an actor trait. And I think that that is something that we have when we're younger and that's why you were drawn to acting. Like there's definitely, I remember as a teenager identifying, like seeing things in other people more than seeing it in myself. And I think that that is definitely where the ability to inhabit another person's mind and personality and really understand like how they walk, how they talk, what that would be. That's what gives you the ability or maybe is the attraction to acting in the first place. Yeah.

I mean, if I could just write jokes for hugely famous comics forever, I would do that. I would prefer to do that. To me, like seeing something I wrote come alive, through another person. Because like Spade can deliver something. Like he doesn't ever, he hasn't ever done anything I wrote for him stand-up-wise. But like even when I was writing his monologue

or like sketches and stuff, like seeing him bring it to light, like you're like, that's so much better than I would have ever said it. And like adding his own little quirks and like, and like then you just get into a personality. It's so fun to see that. It is.

Develop because I, yeah. It's just, it wouldn't be the same coming from me. Right. Which is so funny on the other side of it because you, your voice is so distinct. Very distinct. Very distinct. I know. I know.

Like I could watch you and be like, oh, I could, I could write a couple of those jokes. I could write jokes in that voice because you need the voice to be that dominant. Yes. For you to be, to hear it and be like, oh, I could get rhythm for that. I think also my accent comes out so much more in stand up because I'm reminding myself that I am that person. Right. Because I think throughout the day, like my normal day, I'm a mother, I'm a businesswoman. Like, I'm like making deals.

I'm producing podcast. Like, I'm doing all this other stuff. And then I get on stage and for the first time, no one's talking to me. So I'm much more relaxed. Right. So I'm not mimicking anybody else's accent. And then I'm just like honing back into how I grew up, where I'm from. Like, I'm getting more back into, because I don't know about you, but when I'm

I'm on stage, I go back to those moments that I'm talking about. Right. Oh, you see them. I see them. Like, I'm visualizing, you know, going to Scotland and, like, them asking for my passport and me saying, let me dig it out of my fanny, not knowing my fanny pack is a word, something completely different in the UK, you know? Yeah. And I'm just like, I'm back in that moment. Yeah. Or I have this bit about going to clubs, you know, when you're 40. And like, all you want to do is. sit down, but that costs $1,000. And now you can afford it, but you're like, but what am I paying for? You know, you're like, what do I get? So it's just like, you know, I'm back there at the, in those places. So I think like, I think when I'm on stage, my personality, to me, I feel like, it almost

feels like an out of body experience a lot of times to where I'm like, is this really me? Like, even And I don't know about you, but like if I question even a little bit whether or not the audience is going to believe me, I am toast. Right. You mean in general or on a specific joke? Specific joke, specific. I used to do a joke about how I'd be like when you're when you get old, like you don't want to do anything. Like I'm like, I don't want to leave my house. Right.

And I go, I don't want to be here. Right. And I, if for one second, if I go, I hope they don't think. I think I don't really want to be here. Right. They don't laugh. But if I go, if I commit to it, because I'm like, I don't want to be here right now. Right.

I'm tired. They go nuts. Right. It is so weird how like, because I feel like comedians and actors, like all of us, like are highly sensitive people. And I don't know about you, but like when I'm on stage, if I get into the audience at all, I get confused because now their emotions are a part of me. If you get into them and that, if you're analyzing what they're thinking.

If I look too closely at them. Right, right, right. I get distracted because I'm like, oh, they're a couple, they're brother and sister, they're from another country, that's a mom and her daughter. Like, I immediately know, and then I get distracted and then I'm not focused. And I haven't quite figured out as a comedian how to compensate for all of that. Right. So I think writing for other people takes all of that away and I can just write jokes.

Interesting. I do the same thing. Do you? That makes me feel so much. I do the same thing. And it's almost, because I know some comics that just look like at the top of the room,

they don't want to look, they don't want to make eye contact, they don't know anything. And I'm the opposite. If there's any light on anybody, I'm looking at them and checking them out. And then I start communicating with them. I almost start,

it kind of, it kind of is confusing because you're like, what's wrong with that person or whatever? But the more I've, done it like the years in I just make it I don't care like what their analysis is anymore but I can't I'm a people pleaser so I can't I see them I'm going to address him and just keep it last night and I went to the original room after the main room there was a I was thinking about this morning I was literally he was on the right side of the stage you know that seat I was turning and talking to this guy

and there's a whole room that I should be addressing but I was just like that. like, right? Like I became involved in a conversation with him. I feel like I can't get too involved because then I get distracted and then I feel like everybody else suffers. Right. And maybe I'm sure that's only in my head. It is. And as soon as you think it's in your head, then when I'm thinking about something else, I'm not thinking about the moment. I'm supposed to be in the moment. Right, right. And then if I get distracted, then I feel like people can see through me and then that's the moment they start doing it because they can tell. Oh yeah. They can tell like, I'm supposed to be. You, You're communicating.

When you're lying. Yeah, because you're communicating in ways other than telling the joke. Right. So when I'm fully committed because I'm emotional because this is true, so about 10 years ago, I stopped talking. Well, I wouldn't say 10. It was probably like eight. I really, that's when I really stopped talking about sex and like vulgarity and stuff

because I'm like, this is not who. I mean, I'm just pretending. I'm doing what all the other girl comics I see do. Right. Because I go, this is what you're supposed to do. Yeah. And then when I just started. being honest, you know, about being a prude and like just like, like, I didn't say any words that

were nasty. I do say the F word because I just love that word. But like if I didn't say that word, I would be a clean comment. Right. If I could just take that word out of my act. Yeah, oh, 100%. But it's, it's like that Southern fire, like Jack Daniels and me side that is like, fuck that. So like, that's the only thing in my act. That is dirty. Oh, that's interesting. If I took that out, I would have a cruise ship set. But it's interesting because the reason that you were clean is that you were being honest and truthful. Yeah.

And so it's using the F word because you love it. That's truthful too. Right. It just happens in the parameters to be not considered clean. And when I try to take it out, it feels awkward. Interesting. Like it feels like I can't punctue. I can't tell you enough how angry I am.

Right. Yeah, because it's so powerful. Not being a cracker barrel here. Yeah. So it's like, but as soon as I stopped, as soon as I started just being 100% honest, the audiences loved me. My comedy went through the roof. Like I got, to me, I got a lot funnier because I was just being myself for the first time in my life where I was like,

and they read that. They can tell. They can tell when you're lying. Yep. And so whenever I'm not connecting to someone on stage, I always think that they're lying. Right. Because I like everything. I'm like, I'm a fan.

Yeah. I just, I think so many things are funny. And when I don't, I'm like, hmm. Yeah. I had that the other night. I was watching someone and they were up there. And they were, it wasn't, it wasn't from, I don't know if it was truthful or not, but it just, it was definitely, they were just reciting the line.

They were reciting the clever joke that was written. And it was okay. but it missed something and it missed that they didn't care about it. And that could be because it was not true because they're just relying on it being whatever. Maybe they're sick of it, whatever. But just spitting out the lines is not enough.

Yeah. You don't realize that your face is doing things, your soul's doing things. There's like your subconscious is also up there. Well, I think also when I write for comics, if I'm going to write a joke for you, has to be based on something that you did. It can't be my life that I'm giving to you.

It has to be your experience that we're amplifying. So what I've always been really good at at writing is asking the right questions to get the comedy out of you. It's not necessarily me writing the jokes. It's me steering you in the direction of finding the comedy and what you already have. Right. Do you write for a lot of comics? Stand-up-wise?

I mean, I used to, but like I, I mean, and I want to write for more. But like, even when I'm just helping friends, like in a jam, yeah, yeah. My goal is like, because like over the summer, remember we would go to Whitney's house over the summer during the pandemic? And we were just like trying stuff out. And you would always leave, but like people, I don't blame you because you had shit to do. And I wanted to leave, but I was also so happy to be out of the house. Yeah. And so when comics would go up to workshop stuff, we had a couple just like workshop nights.

And that was my favorite thing because I'd be like, wait, wait, wait, wait, go back. Like, what are you, what do you mean? Right, right, right. What happened when you walked into the hospital and you hadn't seen your dad? Like, who greeted you? Who's sitting, who else is he wearing?

Like, what's the sheets? Like, let's paint the picture and really get to the meat of like, where the, because the comedy might not just be in what he says to you. It might be that he's wearing a Darth Vader shirt. Like, you don't know. Yeah. Yeah, 100%.

You have to find the comedy in like the subtleties of the room and painting the picture for the audience. So I've always been very good at asking the right questions to just get the comedy out of you. Right. I think like... The humanity, the truth of it. Yeah.

So when I say that I write for, I would just say that like a lot of times my friends come to me when they're stuck. Right. And they go, I don't know how to what to do here. Well, I hate to use your achievements to compliment myself. No, no. Please, it makes me. But the idea that I broke out red wine and chocolate, because I see you as elegant,

is so on the money. Really? You think that's elegant? It is elegant. There's not a brashness. There's not a wasted energy. There's not fake energy in disguise of the jokes. There is a real thoughtfulness and elegance.

to you as a person and you as a comic. That's very nice. That means a lot coming from you. No, I'm saying it because I want to say that so am I getting chocolate was really great. It was really great and it's very good chocolate. I'm like holding myself back because I don't want to smack on the microphone because I am a redneck in that way. People love when I ring something crunchy. The comments, just joy from people listening to us, too.

Well, thank you so much for doing this. Now the flies in between us. He's on the cutting board. He can come home with me. Please let me know how you like the bread. Oh, I will. All right. Do good things with it.

I will. Thank you for having me on. It's like, it's lovely to have longer than a 10-minute conversation with you. Yeah, 100%. You've always been a real pleasure just like, not just to watch, but just to be around. And you're always, you just have like this really healthy attitude that like, I think when you go to the comedy store, like there's like this aura of the comedy store that's like, it's like super bro-y, but I think when you're a member of the comedy store, you know that it's

like a family and it's a very specific family. Yeah. And you've always felt like family and you've always made me feel like family. Likewise. I thank you. Likewise. Maybe a part of your family. You're the best. We'll do it again. Yeah. Thanks. We got it, Aaron. All right, everybody, that's the big show. Thank you so much to Sarah. Thank you all for listening. Enjoy your life and we'll see you next time.