Our guest this week is Padma Lakshmi, host of TV's reality show, "Top Chef." Her famous line is "please pack your knives and go." Padma packed her knives, cooked her way around the world, then came home to write her new book Tangy Tart Hot Sweet: A World of Recipes for Every Day. Her food, including Two Hens Laughing, is some of the most alluring to come along in some time.
This week we're taking a look at our carnivore nation with journalist Susan Bourette, author of Meat: A Love Story. Jane and Michael Stern are at Bakesale Betty's in Berkely, CA. Wine expert Joshua Wesson gives us his suggestions for gift bottles. New York City food authority Mike Colameco comes up with a short list of places in NY with a particularly festive air, and we learn how to cup coffee with Portland's legendary Stumptown Coffee.
This week it's the story behind the wine world's most revered and feared critic. One bad review from him can take a wine down. He's Robert Parker, Jr. and his power is both rare and absolute. We'll find out what shapes and informs his legendary palate. Look for the 7th and latest edition of his classic Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide in bookstores now.
This week it's a cooking lesson with a virtuoso. Violinist Joshua Bell has received every accolade imaginable in his career, including a Grammy for his stunning performance in the soundtrack of the Academy Award-winning film The Red Violin. Now he's creating his first home and he wants to learn to cook. He and Lynne met up at the stove in his New York City kitchen where Tagliatelle with Caramelized Oranges Almonds was the lesson of the day.
This week it's Jeff Henderson, "Chef Jeff" of the Chef Jeff project on The Food Network, Jane and Michael Stern are at Enstrom's Toffee in Grand Junction, CO. And we visit with Dorie Greenspan author of Baking, From My Home to Yours, and Gourmet magazine's John Willoughby.
This week we have a homage to all things porcine, and the story of family life in a rural French village from French chef Stéphane Reynaud, author of Pork & Sons, Jane and Michael Stern have found the "krunkest" fish in Nashville at Eastside Fish, and Kim Marcus of The Wine Spectator brings us up to date on the wines of Portugal.
This weeks it's the intersection of food and international relations with Chris Fair, author of Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations. Jane and Michael Stern are eating cream puffs at Butler's Donuts in Somerset, MA and Gourmet Magazine's John Willoughby brings us their picks of America's legendary restaurants.
This week we peek at the fantasy life of a house in Tuscany with Michael Tucker, author of Living in a Foreign Language, A Memoir of Food, Wine and Love. Sally Schneider author of A New Way to Cook gives us a fresh take on pears, and Seattle chef Tom Douglas explains the trials and tribulations of becoming a "gentleman" farmer.
This week we talk to journalist Julia Flynn Siler author of The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. Jane and Michael Stern are at Kumback Lunch in Perry, OK. David Rosengarten looks at the origins of ramen noodles. And for an interpretation of an epicurean's take on happiness we turn to philosopher and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of The Happiness Myth: Why What We Think is Right is Wrong.
We're looking at global seed banks with journalist John Seabrook, author of The New Yorker article, Sowing For the Apocalypse. Jane and Michael Stern are at Short Sugar's BBQ in Reidsville, NC, wine wit Joshua Wesson takes us to Italy's premier wine event, Vin Italy, and Jill Carle, co-author of College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends, has ideas for breaking out of the popcorn and noodle cup rut.
This week we're talking to distinguished nutritionist and food activist Marion Nestle about who should really be responsible for our food supply. She is the author of What To Eat. The Stern's are at Standard Baking on the Portland, ME waterfront and Sally Schneider author of the award-winning The Improvisational Cook gives us a new view of the kitchen staple, the egg.
We're taking a look at sushi-what we never knew about it, that the way we eat it is probably all wrong, and that its birthplace in not Japan. Our guest is journalist Trevor Corson, author of The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket. The Sterns are in Colorado where they're tucking into cinnamon rolls the size of dinner plates at Johnson's Corner in Loveland.
This week we meet the charming Spanish wunder chef Jose Andres, host of PBS's Jose's Made in Spain. The Sterns are in Sacramento, CA eating Squeeze Burgers at The Squeeze Inn, and Lynne puts veggie burgers to a taste test in her kitchen.
This week we talk to journalist Dave Plotnikoff about his hike from the Mexican border to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail and the food that ended up being the touch point of the trip. He is the author of "Hungry Man" from the July 2007 issue of Saveur Magazine. Jane and Michael Stern are eating planked whitefish and ice cream "Thunderclouds" at Juilleret's in Harbor Springs, MI, and Russ Parsons, author of How to Pick a Peach explains the rules about produce and the refrigerator.
This week we have the story of Mother Noella Marcellino who found her calling in a Benedictine abbey and the cheese caves of France. The Stern's are at Clanton's in Vinita, OK eating chicken fried steak. Wine wit Josh Wesson introduces us to the delicious and overlooked sparkling red wines of summer. Marian Burros of The New York Times recommends sources for grass fed beef, and attorney Cameron Stracher, author of Dinner with Dad: How I Found My Way Back to the Family Table, tells the tale of what happens when a working dad takes over dinner for a year.
We are looking at the foods of the Philippine's this week with Amy Besa, author of Memories of Philippine Kitchens: Stories and Recipes from Far and Near, Jane and Michael Stern are at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, TN and Sally Schneider author of the award-winning The Improvisational Cook gives us a cooking lesson for spring.
We're looking at the education of a wine rookie with Lettie Teague and her student, movie critic Peter Travers. Lettie is the author of Educating Peter, How I Taught a Famous Movie Critic the Difference Between Cabernet and Merlot or How Anybody Can Become and (Almost) Instant Wine Critic. Jane and Michael Stern are in the Mississippi Delta at Rhoda's Famous Hot Tamales and we look at the advent of a new dining trend, one-pot meals served in private homes.
This week it's a special one-hour program recorded in Hawaii. Aloha! This week we're bringing you a special one-hour program recorded in Hawaii. It's a look at the food and culture of Honolulu and its island of Oahu that few tourists see. You won't want to miss this show.
We're still celebrating! This week it's Part Two of our 10th anniversary special recorded in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. This is the region of Italy that Italians consider their culinary jewel, the land of prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
This week we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Splendid Table® with the first of two shows recorded in Lynne's beloved Emilia-Romagna. This is the region of Italy that Italians consider their culinary jewel, the land of prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Thomas Jefferson was the first American to make a serious study of wine. He not only collected and drank it, he toured vineyards, learned first hand, and took copious notes. John Hailman, author of Jefferson on Wine, spent 30 years studying the writing of a man way ahead of his time. He joins us this week with the fascinating story.
This week it's a story of growing up in Delhi, told by Indian food authority and actress Madhur Jaffrey. She came of age at a wrenching time in India's history, in a large family both privileged and conflicted. It's all evoked through Madhur's taste memories and chronicled in her new book, Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India. Her recipe for Everyday Cauliflower is from the book.
This week it's a look at the life of a culinary innovator. Cecilia Chiang was a pioneer in bringing regional Chinese food to America with the opening of The Mandarin, her San Francisco restaurant. It became a culinary landmark and Cecilia became a leader in the city's food community. Her book, The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco tells her story. Cecilia's recipe for Lion's Head, a Shanghai specialty, is from the book.
Those tangibles of the American food revolution — take-out sushi at the gas station, salads of organic baby lettuces and obscure herbs, star chefs, restaurants as Mecca — are no coincidence according to our guest David Kamp, author of The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation. He believes a parade of freewheeling originals — from Julia Child to Michael Pollan — led us out of the culinary dark ages. We have the story.
This week we're cooking and eating the vegan way with our guest Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. It's less about tofu and more about dynamite vegetables and inventive cooking. Her recipe for Asparagus Quiche with Tomatoes and Tarragon is a delicious introduction.
Science writer Jennifer Ackerman joins us this week for a scientific take on how our bodies use food and drink. What really controls our appetite and hunger? We'll have some answers. Jennifer's new book is Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body. The Sterns' fondness for prison gift shops led them to some great hush puppies and shredded pork sandwiches at Hocutt's Carolina Barbecue. It's right across from the Big House in Moundsville, West Virginia.
This week we take a look at what controls our eating. Is it real hunger or something more complex? We'll have answers from our guest, Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Laboratory. His new book is Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. It's an endangered species for the Sterns — an old-time American chili parlor that's alive and well at Mike's Chili Parlor in Seattle.