(clapping)
So good to see you virtually!
I know! It's as good as we're going
to get right now, and I'll take it!
(studio laughs)
Now, Jesse, we have a segment on the show
that's very near and dear to my heart.
It's called Cookbook Club,
because I'm an avid cookbook collector.
And I heard you are too?
Yes, that's actually how Julie and I bonded,
we both are massive cookbook collectors.
I have shelves and shelves of them,
and it's, it's always been my dream
to have a cookbook of my own.
So this has been really exciting
for, for me to actually see this through.
And Julie, is it true that you guys met at a dinner party?
You may or may not have been going to,
but kind of went to, and then...
It's true.
We did not want to go.
We both positioned ourselves by the exit sign
[Drew] (laughter)
And no one was going to sit by the celebrities,
so I had to take the heat.
(laughter)
And then you guys became best friends and collaborators!
I know, I know, it, the dinner party actually worked.
It was called the Spring Street Social Society.
And there was meant to, like, you know,
encourage people to to meet new people.
And I was just not in the mood, but then look what happened.
So they actually did their job to my chagrin.
I mean, it really, it's funny,
those kinds of moments can change your life.
There was a party I didn't want to go to
and my best friend dragged me to it.
Like, I really didn't want to go.
And I met my kids' father and
we ended up having two children.
So it's true.
Sometimes going out even when not in the mood
can change your life.
And like, what was the initial conversation?
How did you go from guests,
hesitant guests at a dinner party,
to true best friends, collaborators,
and making a baby of your own, if you will?
Wow. Well, I feel like Julie really charmed me
because she, I was asking her, you know,
what do you do for a living?
And she, you know,
she's talking about being a recipe developer
and she's, you know, gone to culinary school,
but then she said, and what do you do?
And I was like, Oh gosh, she, she's
never watched Modern Family
she has no idea that I'm an actor.
This is great.
Like I'm meeting someone with, to the purest of intentions.
And she later told me that she was lying,
she knew exactly who I was, so.
(studio laughs)
Deception!
I played it cool.
Is there anything more wonderful
beyond our children than food and friendship?
Yes. I mean, I, love my, I'm a new dad.
I love my son.
I read him. I actually read him my cookbook.
Because I realized you can read anything in a children,
If you read anything in a storybook way
like they they're just entranced.
It doesn't matter what you read.
You can read a West Elm Catalog.
So I read him my cookbook
One of my daughter's favorite books to read
is a cake cookbook. So I'm with you, Jesse.
Both of our kids love cookbooks to read.
And I have to say, they're going to have to pry this
out of my hands, but what was the catalyst for the book?
I mean, I am drooling over the recipes in this book.
How did you guys bring your culinary loves
and like geographical backgrounds to create
what is in the cookbook?
It was, that's exactly what it is.
I mean, it's, you know, I love meeting new people
and learning about the food that they grew up eating.
I, you know, introduced Julia to hatch green chilies
and that stuff that I loved eating in New Mexico.
And she introduced me to sorghum syrup and, you know
Julie puts butter in everything.
Like she has such a deep love of butter, which I'm
I sort of have like a love, hate relationship with it.
And I'm learning to love it even more.
I mean, that's not true.
I just, I, tell myself that I shouldn't love butter
as much as I do
You love it.
I know it's true.
But I think you guys bringing your like
geographical backgrounds together is what makes
for such compelling recipes.
Is this how you guys eat in your life?
Like, I mean.
Yes! Right.
I do.
I actually am.
I'm making the molasses pork chops tonight for dinner
Julie, I'm going to dive into that recipe tonight.
So it will be cooked from this book all the time.
I mean, Justin and I have recipes that are
in deep rotation and a lot
of the ones that we actually go to are the ones that
that Julie wrote for the book, because they're
they're new to me.
There's still feel really fresh.
So, I mean, they're all look
at Justin with his chicken fingers.
By the way your husband is just so lovely.
And it's so nice because I do think the kitchen
you know, honestly, is like the new bedroom.
If you will. It's like the most bonding, romantic
beautiful room in the house.
It's sort of where we display our love
and enthusiasm and passion for life.
And I have to say
this is the cookbook you want to eat out of.
It's just incredible.
Thank you so much, Drew.
Thank you.
(upbeat music)