The holiday party season has begun and now's the time to indulge in that quintessential excess—champagne and caviar! Master of Wine Mary Ewing-Mulligan and Ed McCarthy, authors of the recently published The Wine Buying Companion for Dummies, will tell us what to select for aperitifs, a dinner party or very special gift. Our favorite fish and seafood expert, Mark Bittman, author of Fish: The Complete Guide to Buying and Cooking, enlightens us on what to look for when buying caviar and shares a favorite source. After such extravagant indulging who better to bring us back to earth than Jane and Michael Stern? They'll tell us their picks for down-home comfort food. Steve from Charleston tries to Stump the Cook, and Lynne shares our choice for the best 1997 mail-order gift and takes your calls. Also, some meaningful gift-giving ideas at Heifer Project International.
We'll tell you where to find the best of the best in mail-order food with Jeffrey Steingarten, food critic for Vogue magazine and author of the recently published The Man Who Ate Everything. Last year Jeff turned us on to a smoked salmon purveyor in Iceland—tune in for his secrets to inspired gift giving this season. Fried pies are on Jane and Michael Sterns' minds this week; Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan talks vintage character port; Sam in San Antonio tries to Stump the Cook; and Lynne takes your calls.
It's a vegetarian Thanksgiving with Deborah Madison, author of The Greens Cookbook, The Savory Way, and the newly published Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Deborah offers a vegetarian menu and shares her recipe for winter squash galette. For balance, that quintessential southerner, Hoppin' John Martin Taylor, author of The Fearless Frying Cookbook, talks us through a different approach to the traditional bird with his method for deep- fried turkey. Jane and Michael Stern say perhaps the best way to eat turkey is in a sandwich and tell us where to find good ones when we're on the road. Betsy from Portland tries to Stump the Cook, and Lynne gives tips throughout the show for a festive and successful Thanksgiving dinner.
From New York City to Detroit to Dallas, we're looking at the Best New Restaurants of 1997 with John Mariani, food and travel correspondent for Esquire magazine. John has restaurant tips you won't want to miss. Jane and Michael Stern tell us where to find a superb Virginia treat—peanut soup; specialty produce expert David Karp gives us his short list of great mail-order fruit for the holidays; John from Texas tries to Stump the Cook, and Lynne gives a Denver restaurant pick.
New Orleans native Lolis Eric Elie, author of Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country, shares a recipe for Kansas City barbecue seasoning and a list of not-to-be-missed barbecue joints. Jane and Michael Stern disclose the East Coast's best purveyors of lobster rolls, and Master of Wine Mary Ewing-Mulligan talks Pinot Noir.
You'll want to pack your bags and head to Italy after Fred Plotkin, author of Recipes from Paradise: Life and Food on the Italian Riviera, fills us in on Liguria. Fred will share his picks of not-to-be-missed small towns, some great Ligurian olive oils, and his recipe for an authentic Ligurian dish— potato-string bean tart. Jane and Michael Stern have been taking in the fall colors in Vermont and tell us about America's oldest general store located in Bath; and our Master of Wine, Mary Ewing Mulligan, shares her thoughts on what she considers might well be the last great buy in wine—Chianti.
Let the slurping begin! It's a look at noodles, one of the perfect comfort foods with Nina Simonds, author of Asian Noodles: Mouthwatering Dishes to Twirl, Slurp and Savor. Nina will take us through the world of pad thai, Vietnamese pho and noodle etiquette and share her recipe for rainbow peanut noodles. Jane and Michael Stern have been south sampling country hams and tell us where to find a great one. Tim from New York tries to Stump the Cook; our grocery guru, Al Sicherman, takes Lynne to the world of Halloween candy; and Lynne shares her recipe for Don Pomodoro sauce—a wonderful way to use those delicious, ripe tomatoes from the garden.
We're taking a look at kitchen design with Deborah Krasner, author of Kitchens For Cooks. Those burn marks on your arms are the true sign of how well your kitchen is laid out! Even if you only go from freezer to the microwave —there are some things you should consider. Jane and Michael Stern take us to the clam belt, specialty fruit expert David Karp tells us about a melon worth traveling to France for, and Lynne shares a recipe for honeydew salsa and talks about the Eco-Pump.
It's the high season of fresh produce, and what better time to think about the French art of preserving with Georgeanne Brennan, author of The Glass Pantry. Georgeanne spends half the year in Provence and brings a different approach—French-inspired small batches of treasures that take little time to produce. How about recipes for pears pickled in Merlot and folie of fall fruits? Both are guaranteed to bring a spark of elegance to your holiday table. That classic autumn smell is in the air for our roadfood experts, Jane and Michael Stern, but it's not from burning leaves—it's those roasting chilies along Route 76 between Taos and Santa Fe! We're traveling with Bill Penzey, owner of Penzey's, Ltd., on an adventure to the Spice Islands; Marilyn from Minneapolis tries to Stump the Cook, and our grocery guru, Al Sicherman, has some insights into America's beef crisis.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield—yes, THE Ben and Jerry—share a bit of their business philosophy, some thoughts on ice cream, and their recipe for Cherry Garcia. Our cheese expert, Steve Jenkins, talks Spanish cheese, including his pick for "Cheese of the Decade" —Torta del Casar; Jane and Michael Stern take us to a Roundup in Pendleton, Oregon; Scott from Lexington tries to Stump the Cook; and Lynne takes your calls. Labor Day and back-to-school are approaching, but there's still great barbecue weather ahead so fire up the grill and check out Lynne's picks of music to barbecue by.