In sports stadiums in Los Angeles, concession stands may sell fancy items, like sushi and prime rib, but it’s the warm, soft pretzels that Kate Hudson and Brenda Song really crave.
Avid basketball fans in real life, the two women star in “Running Point,” the Netflix sports comedy series about a dysfunctional family that owns a fictional Los Angeles basketball team. They’re also both dedicated home cooks who love to throw dinner parties, and cook Thanksgiving dinner — complete with butter-soaked bread pudding (Ms. Song) and banana cream pie (Ms. Hudson).
(Watch the full video below or on YouTube.)
Kate Hudson and Brenda Song make soft pretzels with Melissa Clark.Credit…Victoria Chen
We invited them into the kitchen studio at New York Times Cooking to chat about their love of food, acting and pretzel-eating while they try out our new recipe for easy soft pretzels.
The results are hot, chewy and salty — and you can watch right along.
Have you ever made pretzels before?
KATE HUDSON Never.
BRENDA SONG I’ve attempted.
HUDSON [gasps] You have?
SONG They were not soft and fluffy like I wanted. I’ve also tried bagels. Not great at it.
Credit…Andrew Bui for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Did you grow up in foodie households?
HUDSON Yep.
SONG Oh yeah. In an Asian household, there’s no breakfast. You’re having a full fish for breakfast.
So three big meals a day?
SONG Yeah. Chicken wings that were stuffed with glass noodles and vegetables, like for breakfast.
HUDSON My grandma was Jewish, so I grew up on the best matzo balls in the world, pot roast, brisket. My second mom I call her, Celia. Mexican. I grew up cooking all kinds of Mexican food.
Is that where you learned the taco trick [stuffing tacos before frying them, empanada style]? The beef tacos?
HUDSON Yeah, the Celia taco. And my mom, of course. My mom’s the queen of a one-pot. Doesn’t need a recipe. Whatever’s in the fridge. Whatever’s in the cupboard.
In your household, who’s the alpha cook?
HUDSON Me.
SONG Mac [Macaulay Culkin] is the alpha cook. I love cooking, but he loves cooking on another level. It relaxes him on another level. I was like, “You can have this one, honey.”
Who from the cast is the most likely to throw a dinner party for everybody?
SONG Kate. Hands down.
You’re the one? Have you done it yet?
SONG Yes! She has.
HUDSON I did a crawfish boil, and then I did it again for my birthday. I love a dinner party. I just believe that phones need to go off and people need to sit around a table more. It’s my favorite thing in the world. To open a bottle of wine and have people laughing and eating and cooking together.
When people come over, do you give them tasks?
HUDSON No, I mean, I like when people are like, What can I do?” But I just want people to just enjoy themselves.
SONG Kate is such a good entertainer.
What about you, Brenda? Are you a delegator?
SONG Now because Mac has taken a lot of the cooking duties, I do more of the baking, and I’m kind of like, “where do you need me?” Because my brother is also a chef so when he comes over, our Thanksgiving dinners are incredible because you have three people who love to cook.
Can you guys come back and do Thanksgiving with us?
HUDSON Yes, I love Thanksgiving.
SONG Please! That’d be so much fun.
What’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
SONG A bread pudding that I make. It’s something that I do every single year. Day-old challah, eggs, milk, cinnamon, melted butter. I let the melted butter soak into the challah after I chop it up. And then I let it sit, I press it in there because I want every piece to be custardy.
HUDSON Before I got really into cooking, when I was younger I loved to bake. And pies were always my thing.
What kind of pie do you like to make?
HUDSON Well, my banana cream is always the one that everybody loves. And that’s what I had at my birthday.
Favorite concession stand snacks at the games?
SONG I mean, pretzels.
HUDSON I mean, I really love a hot dog though. The Lakers, they have like, sushi.
SONG It’s so L.A.
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