Carla Hall is all about cooking with love. Sharing her food notes and anecdotes with Florence Fabricant at Guild Hall’s popular series, “Stirring the Pot,” the two foodies could not agree more about the limiting nature of food trends. For example, who says that beets must always be served with goat cheese? Duh. Well someone decades ago made that combo a standard and now diners expect that. Cooking with love is way more intuitive about what can go with what, and what is fresh and available.

Hall has a new cookbook coming out in October focused on soul food, and the regional American cooking she craves, making key distinctions between Southern and soul, celebration foods and everyday foods.Fabricant asked The Chew co-star for an on the spot recipe for fried chicken. Hall responded thoughtfully, explaining the fine points of soaking the chicken in pickle brine, drying it out, and coating in a flour, salt, pepper, paprika mix adding a bit of cornstarch. She fries shallow in cast iron or le Creuset pans.

Of course fans wanted to know about the cancellation of The Chew. Hall says, it is not about Mario, speaking of the disgraced Mario Batali, accused of sexual misconduct, but rather a business decision. Carla Hall marked the finale of this season’s series that also included NYT food writer and editor Sam Siftonn, Ironchef Masaharu Morimoto and his knives, and David Bouley and his many tips on making his signature rich dishes healthy, offering cooking classes at his new venues Bouley at Home, Bouley Botanical, and Bouley Test Kitchen.

Regina Weinreich

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