Jessica Soffer explores the connections between food, writing, culture in her first novel, Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots. Jessica joins Cathy Erway for this week's Eat Your Words to talk about her Iraqi Jew heritage, and how the food culture of her people is underrepresented in New York City, and the world. Learn more about the novel, and the trend of books that includes evocative plots involving food and heritage. Have you ever had masgouf? Learn about the traditional Iraqi dish that includes butterflying and grilling a white fish vertically. What other novelists does Jessica admire? Find out all of this and more on this week's installment of Eat Your Words! This program has been sponsored by Fairway Market. Thanks to The California Honeydrops for today's music.

"I think there's an explicit connection: getting affirmation from cooking and writing." [6:30]

"Masgouf is the national dish of Iraq, which is interesting because it's so different from what it once was." [17:50]

-- Jessica Soffer on Eat Your Words

Brisket's back because of Daniel Delaney, Hunter Augeri, and BrisketTown! Mariana Cotlear sits down with the BrisketTown guys to talk about smoking and carving meat! Hear how Daniel and Hunter developed their recipes by smoking meat at Daniel's parents' home in New Jersey. How does Brisket Town reflect the tradition of American barbecue? Tune in to hear where Brisket Town sources their meat from, and learn about barbecue lore and recipe secrecy. Listen in to find out about Brisket Town's upcoming menu changes and special events! This program has been brought to you by Hearst Ranch.

"We just use salt and pepper. There's no gimmick, there's no special sauce- nothing like that." [2:15] -- Hunter Augeri of Brisket Town

"Brisket has the most lore around. It's the evil villain in the barbecue scene. Nobody gets it right- it's easy to make pulled pork, and it's easy to make ribs. Brisket is less forgiving." [5:25] -- Daniel Delaney of Brisket Town

This week on The Speakeasy, Damon gets to chat about his favorite spirit in the world - Fernet-Branca! He's joined in studio by Jennifer Corrao, brand ambassador for Fratelli Branca, a distillery that produces Fernet-Branca, Branca Menta, Carpano Antica and more. Learn all about the bitter digestif that has picked up in popularity over the past few years - especially amongst bartenders and service industry professionals. What makes the recipe so special? What are bartenders doing with Fernet-Branca in cocktail recipes? Get the inside scoop on what some people call This program was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons.

"Not only does [Fernet-Branca] aid with digestion, it helps relax the body as a whole." [7:15]

"Anytime you use ingredients from nature - herbs, roots, spice, etc - it will be better appreciated by the body." [8:20]

--Jennifer Corrao on The Speakeasy