Siggi Bennett

EVERYONE EATS        |        MAY 10, 2020

Siggi Bennett

Host of (Sig)nature Dish!

Siggi Bennett is a mother and a wife, a makeup artist by trade and food enthusiast by taste. The native Californian has garnered a loyal online following over the years by being her authentic self, sharing her love for high-end cookware, and throwing down daily in the kitchen for her family.

In fact, her kitchen chronicles became so popular that it inspired her to launch “(Sig)nature Dish!”; a YouTube-based cooking series during which she shares some of her crowd-pleasing recipes and personal anecdotes.

When she isn’t whipping up something delicious, Siggi is wearing her many hats as CEO of the Bennett Family.

INTERVIEWED BY ROSIE ELLIS
PHOTOGRAPHS BY CHRIS PAUL THOMPSON

SIGGI’S KITCHEN IN LOS ANGELES

We talked wine, growing up in an extremely healthy household, our new quarantine habits and the pros and cons of being the only cook in the house.

BREAKFAST

Before quarantine, we weren't a big breakfast family. It would just be Jett [Siggi's daughter] grabbing something quickly in the morning on the way to school. Breakfast was reserved for the weekends. But now that we’re here all day, it’s Belgian waffles, eggs, sausage, hash browns.

I went from 0 to 100, so now we're on a waffle kick; Belgian waffles every other day, gluten free. We're not strict about anything with our diet, but over time, we noticed that Marty [Siggi's husband] recognized a difference in his body and energy if he ate something like pasta. I try to take the gluten out in small ways, like using gluten free waffle or pancake mix. Little things like that, but I'm not going to a restaurant asking what’s gluten free. Just give me whatever you got.

I grew up with a dad who was very health conscious and felt like I was deprived of a lot of food as a kid. As an adult, I understand nutrition a little better, so I get it. But I also feel like life is too short and just... eat the waffles.

I'm not a big coffee person. Marty never drank coffee and then all of a sudden he started last year. As a writer, he has this romanticized idea of sitting at a cafe all day, so he started frequenting random coffee shops, just sitting and having coffee. He's a total coffee buff now after trying so many different shops.

For Christmas, I bought him some crazy expensive coffee machine that he said his friend had. Now he experiments and makes coffee twice a day. He's so proud of himself when he makes something new, so I'll let him make me a coffee every once in a while. But first thing in the morning I'll never think about coffee. I'll get a couple glasses of water in.

LUNCH

With breakfast, I kind of stick to the same thing, but lunch could be anything! Lunch and dinner are where I get creative. I go to bed thinking about what I'm going to make the next day. I usually ask Marty, if you could eat anything tomorrow what would it be? and then I'll figure it out. I'll research some recipes, come up with some ideas and then I'll just figure it out. Any day could be anything.

I live for the grocery store and normally go almost every single day. But the way I grocery shop has been different during quarantine – I have to be better about meal planning and using what we have so that I don't have to go out to the store as often. I recently got back to using Instacart and delivery services, but for a while there it was really hard to get food delivered. I tried to steer away from it so that the people who actually needed to have groceries delivered could have access. I'm able-bodied, healthy and young, so I can go out and get my own.

DINNER

The only thing that gets made every week is spaghetti. Some form of pasta with meat sauce. And then either tacos or a shrimp bowl. Other than that, I'm always trying to come up with new things to try.

Nobody cooks in my house but me. Some days I find myself wishing that one other person knew how to cook. Jett is a little too young to deal with the stove and knives. My sister-in-law has lived with us for two years and she's starting to pick things up from me so that when she moves out, she can fend for herself! She's made dinner a couple times during lockdown, but the full weight of deciding on meals is my job. Even if I decide to order out, it's always, whatever you want Sigg, let's do it. Being a stay-at-home mom, I understand my supportive role is to make sure everything is taken care of for the household, which I'm all about. I love taking care of my family and I do it well.

DESSERT

I don't like sweets. Well, I can’t say I don’t like sweets at all because I love wine and there's a lot of sugar in wine. I'll occasionally have ice cream, but by occasionally, I mean once every three months. Marty and Jett have the biggest sweet tooth. It's a ritual to order cookies, usually from this place they love called Suzie Cakes. They’ll make sundaes or bake a cake, and I'm like, you guys enjoy, I'll have my glass of wine.

Right now I'm a big fan of Brown Estate, which is a black-owned winery. When you go there, the experience is top notch; their wines and charcuterie boards are delicious, and the vibe is great.

SPEED ROUND

Recent food discovery?
In quarantine I discovered Trader Joe’s damn taco sauce and that shit is amazing. It tastes just like Taco Bell.

Weirdest eating habit?
That eggs freak me out.

 

Cooking playlist?

Tamia Pandora. I'm a '90s R&B person. Maybe some Mariah, some Sade, Babyface, definitely Toni Braxton.

 

Any vitamins or supplements?
No. My dad used to give me 20 vitamins every single morning as a kid and now I just don’t care at all. If anything, digestive enzymes.

Best snack between meals?
Krinkle Cut Salt & Pepper Kettle Chips. I’ve gone through thousands of bags in my day. It’s also my and Marty’s midnight snack in bed. (There are actually chip crumbs on the floor in our room today.)

Go-to comfort food?
Mac and cheese. I’m a mac and cheese connoisseur. If it’s on the menu I have to try it.

Go-to market or grocery store?
TJs.

Most underrated kitchen tool?
The fuc*ing garlic press. People do not understand how much easier that makes your life. I am not about to sit here and dice garlic.

Favorite seasonal treat?
I do enjoy a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice. (That's my white girl half.)

Go-to cookbook?
Cravings by Chrissy Teigen.

Cocktail of choice?
Malbec or Tito’s and grapefruit.

Favorite way to work off a big meal?
Stairmaster and weight lifting. I’m not a big cardio person, but I like to hike.

Food celebrity idol?
I like me some Ina Garten. All her recipes aren’t great but her energy is calming to me and I like that she makes cocktails. I like her garden. And that her husband will come by sometimes. I love it. She just looks like she’s living her best life.

Secret food hack?
Add salt and season every step of the way. And heavily salt your cooking water!

Any foods you avoid?
I hate bell peppers, eggplant, okra and papaya. These things all have something in common; they're all slimy to me.

Favorite restaurant globally?
Pappas Bros. Steakhouse. The whole Pappas chain. There's a lot of nostalgia there.

Who would you like to see on Everyone Eats?
Chef Resha.

Five items always in your kitchen?
Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. Camellia Red Beans. King Arthur's Gluten Free Pancake Mix. Almond Breeze. Wine.

 

Favorite hole in the wall?

Californians have taco trucks on lock and so my favorite neighborhood hole in the wall would be the taco truck on International Blvd. Anybody from Oakland will know exactly what I’m talking about.

 

Last thing you ordered for delivery?
Oh god, I’ve ordered delivery 20 times in the last three days. Maybe Harold’s Chicken. It’s a Chicago native chain. Definitely get the fried catfish with the mild sauce.

Dream dinner date?
My dad.

Where do you most feel like The Regular?
Chicago. My Tribe.

THIRD SCOOP

You’re a self taught cook. What advice would you give to someone starting down that same path?

You can’t be afraid to be bad. I wasn’t always good, that’s the thing. For me, it was getting married and actually having someone to cook for. I never cooked for myself when I lived by myself. The first time I cooked for my husband was on our wedding day. We went to the courthouse and got married and then went grocery shopping. I made nachos, something super simple, but it’s that satisfaction of somebody being like oh wow this is good. And I’m like, wait it’s good? What else can I make that’s good? So the advice I would give to somebody is don’t be afraid to try things. You can’t be afraid to diversify your seasoning palette. It can’t just be salt and pepper. I hate when I see that. I’m like, no girl! Put five other things on there at least!

You’ve got to keep trying. That’s true for anything. Everything takes practice, that's what I try to instill in Jett. She’ll learn something new in math and she’ll get it wrong and say “I can’t do this!” I’m like, you think I was always good at cooking? You think Daddy was always good at football? This is life, you have to just keep going and remix it and experiment.

How do you continue to evolve as a cook?

Finding creativity in cooking is what’s been fulfilling for me: just experimenting and constant research. I’ll wake up in the morning and think of something so random to try to figure out. I’ll go online and look at ten highly rated recipes and then I’ll get in the kitchen and just figure it out. And if it comes out badly, you can’t be afraid to try it again. I had a friend the other day that said “yeah I tried making something and it didn’t come out right so I just never made it again” and I’m like, no you have to try again, you have to change something so that you can get it right eventually, you know? It’s all an experiment, it’s just one big science experiment. For me it’s fascinating to figure out what works well together, what doesn’t work well together, it’s chemistry. It’s truly art, so finding the art in it, for me, is the fun part.

Where did the idea for (SIG)nature Dish! come from? What do you want your audience to take away from the show?

I suppose the idea came from my Instagram stories, where I was showing my day-to-day cooking adventures. A lot of the feedback I get on my Instagram is, “I feel like you’re my girlfriend and in my head we’re just hanging” or “I feel like you’re really down to Earth and you’re not sugarcoating it – you’re not afraid to come on here with no makeup.” So that’s the sentiment we’re trying to take into the show. You’re getting a recipe, but I’m not telling you exactly how much of each ingredient I’m using because it’s more of a conversation, I just happen to be cooking at the same time, so it’s like we’re just kicking it in my kitchen.

SIGGI'S TURKEY BURGERS

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4

INGREDIENTS

1 pound ground turkey (I prefer dark meat)
1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce (I use Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki)
1 tablespoon olive oil
A few shakes of Liquid Smoke
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
A few shakes of red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt (Diamond Crystal is always my brand of choice)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 slice whole wheat bread, toasted hard and crumbled by hand to act as “breadcrumbs” (doesn’t have to be precise)

PREPARATION

1. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Wet hands with cool water (so that the meat will not stick to your hands) and mix everything together well.

2. When sufficiently mixed, begin forming 1/4 pound burgers into patties. Patties should be about an inch thick. Place formed patties onto a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Place the plate into a freezer for about 20 minutes so that the patties can stiffen up slightly and hold their shape when cooked. After 20 minutes remove the plate from the freezer and preheat your oiled grill or skillet to medium-high.

3. Once hot enough, place burgers on the cooking vessel and cook for approximately five minutes on each side, or to be more exact, until the center of the patty reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant-read thermometer. Melt cheese on top of burgers, assemble on a bun with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!

Siggi's famous turkey burger.

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