It’s the finale of Meat-Optional Week in the Chewed Up kitchen, and Carla Hall is serving up serious comfort food with a hearty Butternut Squash & Black Bean Chili with Polenta Rounds. Using pantry staples, warming spices, and clever cooking techniques, Carla shows how vegetables can deliver deep, satisfying flavor without relying on meat.

Michael Symon, Clinton Kelly, and Carla dive into everything from chili science and cooking tips to gardening dreams, winter survival strategies, Instagram impulse buys, cold plunges, golf ambitions, and dream food destinations around the world.

Along the way, Carla shares smart kitchen techniques — like seasoning vegetables before roasting, why bean “pot liquor” adds flavor, and when to add herbs for maximum impact. The result is a cozy, nourishing dish perfect for cold weather cooking.

Equal parts cooking show and hangout session, this episode delivers laughs, practical cooking knowledge, and a reminder that comfort food doesn’t need meat to feel indulgent.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome to Meat-Optional Week

01:20 – Carla introduces the butternut squash chili

03:50 – Pro tip: oil vegetables before roasting

04:30 – Toasting spices for deeper flavor

05:00 – Why Carla keeps the bean “pot liquor”

06:30 – When to add herbs for maximum flavor

08:00 – Winter gardening talk & seasonal debates

10:00 – Cold plunges and Instagram purchases

12:00 – Crafting hobbies and Bird Buddy stories

13:30 – Fan mail & kitchen chaos

15:00 – Learning golf (and failing at golf)

18:00 – Dream food travel destinations

20:00 – Road trip vs bus trip debate

24:00 – Frontgate sponsor moment

24:45 – Plating the chili & polenta rounds

25:30 – Final tasting and wrap-up

🙌 Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

FreshDirect → Fresh groceries delivered straight to your door.

https://www.freshdirect.com

Frontgate → Premium home, kitchen, and entertaining essentials — including Michael Symon’s collection featured on the show.

https://frontgate.com

Produced by Simple Alien → https://www.simplealien.com/

Camera, Audio and Crew provided by TV Boy → https://tvboynyc.com/

🍽️ About Chewed Up

Three lifestyle icons reunite with zero filter, strong opinions, and even stronger flavors. Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall, and Michael Symon are back in the kitchen with comedy, comfort food, and unfiltered conversation — served loud.

Episodes drop 3x a week:

Monday – Appetizers

Wednesday – Mains

Friday – Desserts

👉 Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss a bite.

Want to Watch?

→⁠Spotify⁠⁠ (https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z9NDuHH7XP03FXQIhHlQ3)

→⁠YouTube⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/@ChewedUpShow)

Want to Listen?

→ ⁠Spotify⁠ (https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z9NDuHH7XP03FXQIhHlQ3)

→ ⁠Apple⁠ (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chewed-up/id1840993910)

→ ⁠Amazon⁠ (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1fc5d229-459b-4334-8970-ce0d6f925982/chewed-up)

→ ⁠RedCircle (https://redcircle.com/shows/c42dbec1-e576-4927-acc7-f22e988c1a81)

🎁 Fan Giveaway

Every episode we pick one lucky subscriber for a fan giveaway.

This week’s Giveaway: Caraway kitchen towels and potholders.

Want in?

👉 Subscribe and sign up here: https://chewedupshow.com/fangiveaway

Chef Esther Choi joins Clinton Kelly and Michael Symon in the kitchen to make a cozy, umami-packed Mushroom Udon Soup that proves comfort food can be both simple and deeply flavorful.

In this episode of Chewed Up, Esther shares her approach to building rich broth from vegetable scraps, along with practical cooking habits that make weeknight meals easier and more satisfying. Together, the hosts explore comfort food nostalgia, kitchen shortcuts worth adopting, and why homemade soup might be the ultimate upgrade from instant ramen.

Expect big laughs, smart cooking tips, and a noodle bowl you’ll want to make immediately.

👩‍🍳 Guest

Esther Choi — Chef & Restaurateur

Follow → https://www.instagram.com/choibites (@choibites)

👇 FULL RECIPE + MORE

https://www.chewedupshow.com/recipes

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Welcome & introducing Esther Choi

02:10 Comfort food memories

06:45 Saving vegetable scraps

10:30 Building the veggie broth

16:20 Mushroom umami secrets

21:05 Cooking the udon

24:40 Taste test & reactions

28:10 Kitchen shortcuts discussion

32:45 Final thoughts

🙌 Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

FreshDirect → Fresh groceries delivered straight to your door

https://www.freshdirect.com

Frontgate → Premium home, kitchen, and entertaining essentials — including Michael Symon’s collection featured on the show

https://frontgate.com

Produced by Simple Alien → https://www.simplealien.com/

Camera, Audio and Crew provided by TV Boy → https://tvboynyc.com/

🍽️ About Chewed Up

Three lifestyle icons reunite with zero filter, strong opinions, and even stronger flavors. Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall, and Michael Symon are back in the kitchen with comedy, comfort food, and unfiltered conversation — served loud.

Episodes drop 3x a week:

Monday – Appetizers

Wednesday – Mains

Friday – Desserts

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss a bite.

📺 Watch & Listen

Spotify → https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z9NDuHH7XP03FXQIhHlQ3

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@ChewedUpShow

Apple → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chewed-up/id1840993910

Amazon → https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1fc5d229-459b-4334-8970-ce0d6f925982/chewed-up

RedCircle → https://redcircle.com/shows/c42dbec1-e576-4927-acc7-f22e988c1a81

Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss a bite.

🎁 Fan Giveaway

Every episode we pick one lucky subscriber for a fan giveaway.

This week’s Giveaway: Esther Choi Push Button Take-Apart Precision Shears from Messermeister.

Want in?

👉 Subscribe and sign up here: https://chewedupshow.com/fangiveaway

In this episode of Chewed Up, lifestyle icons Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall, and Michael Symon are back in the kitchen bringing the heat — and the cheese.

This episode centers around a crave-worthy, comfort-food classic with a twist: Portobello Mushroom Parmesan Subs.

Instead of chicken, thick, meaty portobello caps are roasted until tender, layered onto hero rolls, smothered in marinara, and blanketed with mozzarella and Parmesan before being broiled to bubbly perfection. It’s hearty, satisfying, and bold enough to convert even the most skeptical meat-lover.

Between roasting mushrooms and melting cheese, the trio dive into unfiltered takes on meatless cooking, sandwich superiority debates, and what really makes comfort food comforting. Expect sharp humor, kitchen chaos, strong opinions, and a lot of cheese pulls.

Guest: Jackie Bukala

Instagram: @chef_jackieb

Substack: https://substack.com/@chefjackieb

👉 Grab the full recipe + more at: https://www.chewedupshow.com/recipes

⏱ Timestamps

00:00 – Welcome back & kitchen chaos begins

02:15 – Why portobello mushrooms are the perfect swap

05:40 – Prepping and seasoning the mushrooms

09:10 – The great meatless debate

13:25 – Building the ultimate parm sub

16:45 – Broil magic: achieving peak melt

19:30 – First bites & verdict

23:00 – Comfort food confessions

27:10 – Final thoughts & fan giveaway

🙌 Special Thanks to Our Sponsors:

FreshDirect → Fresh groceries delivered straight to your door.

https://www.freshdirect.com

Frontgate → Premium home, kitchen, and entertaining essentials — including Michael Symon’s collection featured on the show.

https://frontgate.com

Produced by Simple Alien → https://www.simplealien.com/

Camera, Audio and Crew provided by TV Boy → https://tvboynyc.com/

🍽️ About Chewed Up

Three lifestyle icons reunite with zero filter, strong opinions, and even stronger flavors. Clinton Kelly, Carla Hall, and Michael Symon are back in the kitchen with comedy, comfort food, and unfiltered conversation — served loud.

Episodes drop 3x a week:

Monday – Appetizers

Wednesday – Mains

Friday – Desserts

👉 Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don’t miss a bite.

Want to Watch?

→⁠Spotify⁠⁠ (https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z9NDuHH7XP03FXQIhHlQ3)

→⁠YouTube⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/@ChewedUpShow)

Want to Listen?

→ ⁠Spotify⁠ (https://open.spotify.com/show/3Z9NDuHH7XP03FXQIhHlQ3)

→ ⁠Apple⁠ (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chewed-up/id1840993910)

→ ⁠Amazon⁠ (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1fc5d229-459b-4334-8970-ce0d6f925982/chewed-up)

→ ⁠RedCircle (https://redcircle.com/shows/c42dbec1-e576-4927-acc7-f22e988c1a81)

🎁 Fan Giveaway

Every episode we pick one lucky subscriber for a fan giveaway.

This week’s Giveaway: A copy of Clinton Kelly’s book, Freakin’ Fabulous.

Want in?

👉 Subscribe and sign up here: https://chewedupshow.com/fangiveaway