Fans of the hit show The Office will know Angela Kinsey as the actress who played Angela Martin, an uptight senior accountant at Dunder Mifflin. But when Kinsey isn’t gabbing with fellow The Office alum, Jenna Fischer, on their award-winning Office Ladies podcast, she’s in the kitchen with her husband, actor Joshua Snyder. The pair have a YouTube series called Baking With Josh and Ange that shows off their dynamic: He’s a culinary whiz while she plays sous chef — and that tag-teaming typically results in a mouth-watering yet simple dish that anyone can make.
To prove that, the pair have released a cookbook entitled You Can Make This!: More Than 100 Family Favorite Recipes. We caught up with Kinsey and Snyder to talk about their favorite doable dinners from the book, their top tips for stress-free cooking, and a key culinary difference between Angela Kinsey and Angela Martin.
Katie Couric Media: You’ve invited fans into your kitchen through Baking with Josh and Ange; what made you decide it was finally time to turn those moments into a cookbook?
Angela Kinsey: The cookbook was always a hope for us. We wanted it to be really good, and we wanted it to feature recipes that were a staple in our home. But something like that takes time, because we wanted to get it right. It took years of us making these recipes and figuring out what we loved, and Josh perfected them. Then there are the recipes that connect us with our kids and our other family members. This book is more than a cookbook for us — it’s a tangible record of our family.
Joshua Snyder: Our whole journey as a family is in this book. The recipes all mean something to us and to our kids — they grew up with [these recipes], and we still make them to this day.
You Can Make This is so encouraging and down to earth as a title. How did you land on that phrase? What does it represent to you as a couple?
Kinsey: I get intimidated while cooking sometimes. I’ll look at a recipe and be like, “I can’t do this.” And for years, Josh has said to me and the kids, “You can make this.” He’s always been our cheerleader in the kitchen. So when it came time to name the cookbook, he said, “It’s got to be called, You Can Make This.”
Snyder: I actually couldn’t believe no one else had taken the name already. It means a lot to our family.
Every recipe collection has one that’s especially resonant for the authors. What’s a dish in the book that feels most personal to your family?
Kinsey: We have three kids who do a ton of afterschool activities — there’s always a tennis practice or a band recital or something going on. But dinner is that sacred time where we all reconnect. The one-pot and sheet pan dinners are great if your family’s schedule has a lot of moving parts. Sometimes we eat earlier in the evening or sometimes it’s got to be a little bit later, depending on the kids’ practice. So anything that we can prep ahead of time is key.
As for one recipe, that’s hard to answer. It’s kind of like when people ask for my favorite episode of The Office. I’m like, “How do I pick one?” There’s nine years of memories tied to those episodes, and that’s similarly how I feel about these recipes.
What’s one recipe from the book that you’d recommend to help somebody who wants to fall back in love with cooking?
Snyder: The Chicken with Rosemary Lemon Pan Sauce. It’s one of those recipes that’s actually really simple to make, but it feels like you’re at a super fancy restaurant. The kids love it, too.
Kinsey: The chicken itself is great, but the sauce is so good. I also pour it over noodles, veggies, rice, whatever. And it’s not one of those recipes that you have to buy special gear for.
Angela, fans know you from The Office: What’s something your TV family would be surprised to learn about you as a home cook?
They might be surprised to know that I can make a really good soup. I made Josh one when we were dating that’s in the cookbook. It’s sort of a shocker to our friends and family, because he’s so much better in the kitchen than I am. But I did cook for him before he cooked for me.
I think that Office fans probably wouldn’t think that Angela Martin could make a killer meatball soup, since she’s a vegetarian. And I don’t think that Angela Martin would imagine that soup is the way to Dwight’s heart.
Snyder: It’s definitely the way to mine.
Kinsey: Well, Angela Kinsey knows that soup is the way to Josh’s heart.
Josh, what’s something Angela does that makes your meals feel more fun or spontaneous?
Snyder: One of my favorite parts of the day is five o’clock, when I start prepping dinner. She comes into the kitchen and we’re able to reconnect there. She brings the fun into the kitchen.
Kinsey: I make the kids come in — I yell, “Get in here, let’s all hang out.” But sometimes I might be on a work call and I’ll get a text from Josh that just says, “Five o’clock,” and that’s our time to hang. I come in and he’s already got the meal prepped and started. I pour us a glass of wine, I set out some cheese and crackers, we put on some music — and I just chat his ear off.
Snyder: I don’t even mind the cleaning when she’s hanging out with me in the kitchen.
A lot of people are intimidated by cooking for family or guests. What’s your best advice for making home cooking feel fun?
Kinsey: One of the biggest things I learned from Josh is to prep beforehand — have all the ingredients measured out and ready to go. He puts everything in little bowls, so he can just toss things into the pot or the pan. You’re less stressed, because everything’s ready.
Snyder: 90 percent of feeling comfortable is just making sure that you’re prepared. And don’t be afraid to be basic: Not everything has to be complicated to taste good. Sometimes just pasta with butter is delicious, and that’s what you’re in the mood for.
