The Preppy Kitchen's John Kanell And The Incredible Egg Have Your Holiday Dishes Covered - Exclusive Interview

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New York Times bestselling cookbook author John Kanell has somewhat of an unusual success story. He was teaching middle school math and science before deciding to completely change his path — and it's a good thing that he did. Kanell started his YouTube food channel "Preppy Kitchen" seven years ago, and it currently has a staggering 3.26 million subscribers. In a calm and approachable way that undoubtedly comes from his past as an educator, he gives viewers instructions on how to make homemade meals to share with family and friends.

From dishes like his savory Creamy Tuscan Chicken to his buttery and sweet Pan Dulce, Kanell has a little something for every palette, which hasn't gone unnoticed. The talented cook and his recipes have been featured on "Good Morning America," "The Kelly Clarkson Show," and "The Drew Barrymore Show." In an exclusive interview, we spoke with Kanell about his new collaboration with The Incredible Egg, how his unique cultural upbringing influenced his taste in food, and why he thinks his recipes have resonated with so many people.

In what ways did growing up in Los Angeles influence your own cooking style? 

My mother came to Los Angeles from Mexico when she was fairly young. She brought with her a love for cooking and making things from scratch, which is a hallmark of Mexican cuisine. When she came to this country, she discovered so many different cultures in Los Angeles, and I always say, "She explored the world through her kitchen." She got all of these recipe books. She met different people from different places, and she married my father, who is Greek and French-Canadian.

She was able to have these discoveries of flavors, of consistencies, of techniques, and of cultures in her kitchen and she found things that she loved. In my book, I have a Swedish apple cake, which is a bit random, but it's one of her favorite recipes that became one of my favorite recipes. They're beautifully poached apples in a meringue, which is fluffed egg whites with almond meal, and it's ever-so-slightly sweet and perfect with a scoop of ice cream. It has these wonderful soft flavors that I love.

With your mother being from Mexico and your father's family being from Greece, did that shape the way you look at food and culture?

My parents' heritage [definitely] shaped how I look at food and culture. One thing I'd like to point out is a cookie recipe. We have something called snowballs in this country, which are also named Russian tea cakes, but in Mexico, they're called polvorones, and they're known as Mexican Wedding cookies sometimes, too. They're like shortbread cookies that have nuts worked into them and they're rolled in powdered sugar fresh out of the oven. In Greece, you have almost the exact same cookie recipe. 

When I shared this recipe, a lot of people commented that they have one from their culture, too. In Indonesia, there's a version that uses rose water. In another country, they use pistachios.

One thing that was nice about this fusion of cultures is seeing how universal food can be and how it can bring people together in addition to shaping who we are and what our identity is. Both of those cultures have a love of bright, fresh flavors. Although the dishes are much different, and there isn't that much cross-over, it shaped how we worked in the kitchen. 

My mother came from a very small village in Mexico, and everything was [made] from scratch out of necessity. When she came to this country, everything was still from scratch, because that's what she knew and that's what she loved. She helped me understand clear, bright flavors, how to make things from scratch, how to play with things and have fun in the kitchen, and use the kitchen as a place of discovery.

You have so many incredible-sounding recipes in this book from Parmesan Buttermilk Biscuits to Blackberry-Balsamic Pork Chops. Is there any recipe that has a special meaning for you? 

So many recipes have a special meaning to me from this book. A good portion of them are family favorites that, for one reason or another, I held onto, saving them for a special moment or a special place. The Swedish apple cake that I mentioned earlier is one of those. Avgolemono is a Greek soup that is an egg-based chicken-lemon soup and you make a meringue of eggs, you whip the egg whites up until they're fluffy, and you fold that into the soup, and it turns the soup white but gives it a creamy, wonderful texture that's almost magical. With the brightness of the lemon juice, the substance of the chicken, a little kiss of oregano, I call it Greek magic, and it's delicious. It's the perfect thing if you're ever at all under the weather; it'll perk you right back up.

Many of the recipes are coming from a place of history in my family, and a lot of them are also things that came from living in Connecticut. I always loved pressing flowers with my brother. I would go and pick flowers and my mom wouldn't notice we were missing. We'd press them in books, and the nice thing was that you'd come back to them a month, a week, a year later, and you'd find these pressed flowers, and it was a memory of something that happened so long ago.

We moved to a place that has seasons where you're really immersed in winter — it's really winter, not like Los Angeles where it's usually sunny and 72 — so pressing flowers with my kids in books and then opening them up in the winter was that much more special. You're in the middle of white fields of snow, but you know that in a few months, those fields will be filled with wildflowers. A recipe I took from that project was shortbread cookies. They're flavored with orange and they're lovely, but you top them with these pressed edible flowers and you seal them on with a little bit of icing, and they're a magical memory of summer that you can have all year round.

Maneet Chauhan said she rarely sees such a "perfect harmony of technique and passion come together in the form of deliciousness." What does it feel like to get a review like that from her?

Maneet is one of the nicest, most talented, hard-working people I've ever come across. I love her dearly, and my heart was really full from that compliment. It meant a lot to me. I can't speak her praises enough or tell people to buy her lovely book, "Chaat," because she's amazing and it was so sweet of her to say anything about that book.

Comedian Loni Love said if she can follow these recipes in your cookbook, then anyone can. Is it important to you to create meals that anyone can make?

It's one of the most important things because I would be shattered if someone came to a recipe I made and tried and couldn't make the end result. That would be wasting your time and your money and your hope. Every recipe I make, I really go as granular as possible, step by step, showing you how to do things in a way that really makes sense. I was really happy that she said that and really grateful as well.