Late Night host Stephen Colbert and his wife Evie McGee Colbert join Terry Gross to talk about family recipes. They have a new cookbook of South Carolina-inspired dishes called Does This Taste Funny? They also talk about Stephen's harrowing experience with a burst appendix in 2023, meeting the pope, and Evie's role on the show during COVID.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: What is the background of Stephen and Evie's cookbook?
Chapter 2: How did the COVID lockdown influence their cooking dynamic?
During the COVID lockdown, when he hosted the late show from their home, she was his partner on the show, acting as a producer, sound engineer, and serving as an audience of one. I loved hearing her laughing at his jokes. They're typically not partners in the kitchen because they have different approaches to cooking.
But now they have a new cookbook they co-authored with the great title, Does This Taste Funny? Recipes Our Family Loves. Shrimp are well represented in the book because Stephen and Evie grew up in coastal South Carolina where they still have a home. Each recipe in the book is preceded by the story behind it and memories associated with it.
So you actually learn about Stephen and Evie as you read the recipes. If you watch Colbert's show, you know he likes a good drink. The book has a whole chapter on drinks. Each episode of The Late Show opens with a monologue, typically satirizing a major event in the news. Colbert doesn't pull his punches, especially when it comes to threats against democracy. Stephen, Evie, welcome to Fresh Air.
It's such a pleasure to have you back on the show, Stephen, and to talk to you, Evie. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here.
It's been too long.
Oh, yeah. So first question to you, Stephen, how do you find time to cook? I can't believe that you find time. I don't have time to cook, and I don't have half the job that you do. I make, like, omelets and heat-roasted chicken. Really?
I will tell you, it's it's relaxing for me. That's that's what I want to do on a Saturday afternoon. If I've if I've got a moment and I've got it to myself, especially if there's a farmer's market in town or something like that, I want to go get a. a pork belly and just start marinating that or start, you know, you know what? I've got some brioche. I've got eggs.
I've never done an almond bread pudding before. Let's try that with maybe the crispy top. Ooh, I'll make a cartouche on the top and sort of steam it in a bain-marie first and I'll take it off. And ooh, what about a bourbon caramel? So like I get, and I don't, what drives me crazy sometimes is that then I don't eat it.
Yeah, you're not cooking to make food for yourself. You're just cooking to make a process.
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Chapter 3: What led to Stephen's appendicitis experience?
Two shows? I thought it was one.
It was one night, but we did two shows that night.
Oh. Oh, no.
Yeah. Yes, exactly. That's how dumb I am.
Oh, no. Did you have to change your diet after that? Because the recipes have some, you know, pretty rich.
He solved it by just having the appendix taken right away.
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Chapter 4: How did Evie support Stephen during his health crisis?
Chapter 5: What childhood meals made a lasting impression on them?
Oh, no water? You're supposed to add a can of water.
No, no, no. That's if you're making soup, not if you're making a delicious remoulade.
Imagine the salt content.
Oh, exactly. Exactly. I'm a creature of pure sodium by the time I was 10. But, you know, that also, this is the thing that even I, as a child who just would eat anything you put in front of me, spaghetti with ketchup.
Oh, I had that once at my aunt's house.
Oh, my God. We got that all the time. My brothers and sisters loved it. I'm like, I don't understand what's happening. But I would, of course, have to eat it.
Have you ever brought to tears anticipating something your mother was going to serve for dinner? Frequently.
Well, yeah. My parents, you know, everything was very local. So I think a lot of Charlestonians love this. It's shad roe, which is really hard to get. It's, you know, the roe of a shad fish. And I hated that.
And it would be steamed with vinegar.
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Chapter 6: How did they meet and what influenced their careers?
Sometimes you're going to hurt the show by going on.
It was a pretty good show. It was two pretty good shows that night, I got to say. If you look back, you won't know that I'm dying. And the thing is, is that the show must go on to me is not like, you know, there's someone over you with a whip saying you must do the show. The show must go on is because that's what you do.
I've gone on and done shows under terrible conditions, and the show always makes it better. And that's why I went on, not because I felt an obligation to the CBS Corporation.
Which you do have, though.
I do have an obligation to the CBS Corporation and really paramount and very soon David Ellison. Welcome aboard, David. But that's what makes me feel better. I'm a performer. My default is to go on stage.
Did you feel at some point that you were actually close to death? And medically, how close were you? Hmm.
Well, they found out when they finally actually did the MRI, which was at 11, and we got the results at 1 or something like that. They knew it was my appendicitis, and they scheduled me for surgery the next day at 6 a.m., and they didn't think it had burst. But when I finally came out of it, the first thing the doctor said was, boy, it was a mess in there.
Yeah, it had burst, and that led to the blood poisoning.
Yeah, sepsis, and it was bad. I don't know. I don't want to say, like, I was on death's door. But it was the sort of thing that if you don't treat, yes, the worst will happen.
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Chapter 7: What sacrifices did Evie make for Stephen's career?
Chapter 8: What insights did they gain about health and family?
Well, thank God for good medical care, right? Because we had great care, and we had to go every day for antibiotics for a long time.
Like 21 days. It was so bad. I had, like, this neutron bomb drip to try to wipe it out because it was in my bloodstream.
Yeah.
And again, can we get back to the morphine for a second? Because I was so shaking. I was in so much pain. Like I could not communicate at all. Like I couldn't speak because my teeth were also chattering because of the blood poison causes spasms all over your body. And I got that line in me. Oh, God. It was funny.
She had been asking – the nurse had been asking – All kinds of questions. You know, when was the last time you did this? What about this? And you were just like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. And then she said, OK, we're going to give you a little morphine. You're like, really? OK, fine. If you think that's necessary, you know.
And then not 30 seconds later, Stephen looks over to the nurse. He's like, hi, what's your story?
I think her name was Nancy. Nancy, what's your story?
Nancy looks at me, you know, I'm afraid you're not the first person who's had morphine love for Nancy. And she looked at me with this laughing eyes. She's like, oh, I see. I think the morphine's acting. I think you're feeling better.
I'm like, what are you talking about? I just want to know what Nancy's story is. She seems like a nice person. So, Nancy, are you from around here?
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