This week it's a look at Thai food traditions with Su-Mei Yu, chef/owner of Saffron Restaurant in San Diego and author of Cracking the Coconut: Classic Thai Home Cooking. Su Mei tells of the rather curious way she researched her heritage, and leaves us with etiquette tips for dining in Thai restaurants and a recipe for sticky rice.
This week it's a private tour of Seattle's Pike Place Market, the gold standard among farmers markets. Our guide is none other than award-winning chef and restaurateur Tom Douglas, who was just named Best Chef in the Northwest by the James Beard Foundation. Tom reveals some of his favorite market vendors and shares his recipe for Sake-Steamed Sockeye Salmon with Sake Butter. His new book, Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen, is a celebration of the city's rich and diverse culinary heritage and wealth of fresh local ingredients.
Donna Hay, Australia's diva of divine dining, is credited with rescuing a generation of young people from the clutches of take-out and fast-food. Her latest book, Off the Shelf: Cooking From the Pantry, offers tips and recipes for fresh, quick, stylish, and flavorful meals using what you have on hand. Her recipe for Chili Fish with Sweet Lemon Salad is a fine example.
When Americans first mixed spirits and poured them over ice, they took a path with alcohol that set them apart from the rest of the world. William Grimes, restaurant critic for The New York Times and author of Straight Up Or On the Rocks, joins us with the story of how the cocktail came to be and why it has a place alongside other Americana like animated cartoons, comic strips, and jazz. He shares recipes for a Vesper (the James Bond martini) and a Champagne Cocktail.
This week it's out with Chardonnay and Cabernet and in with lager and ale, as we look at pairing food with beer. From grilled chicken with ale to chocolate cake with stout, bold-tasting premium beers are what to drink now. Stephen Beaumont, author of Premium Beer Drinker's Guide, joins us with tips for matching these unusual beers with what you're having for dinner tonight.
Journalist Eric Schlosser, author of the New York Times best-seller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, says the fast-food industry should be exposed to the same scrutiny given tobacco and drug companies. We'll take a look at what's become the All-American Meal — a take-out burger, fries and soda — and find out what's really in those "goodies" that will have us shelling out over $110 billion this year.
If you've ever wondered who comes up with the messages printed on those little heart-shaped candies that appear every year at this time, tune in for the story behind a Valentine's Day classic from the New England Confectionary Company.
It's a look at the unusual, the unexpected, and the extraordinary aspects of food and food culture this week with Alan Ridenour, author of Offbeat Food: Adventures in an Omnivorous World. From how Betty Crocker has changed through the years to the dangers of Pez dispensers and a history of pie throwing, we promise an entertaining look at popular culture that we hope sparks a dinner table conversation or two.
Asian-food authority Nina Simonds joins us this week with remedies and relief for those of us suffering the miseries of a cold or flu. Nina, author of A Spoonful of Ginger and star of the public television special by the same name, tells us how the Chinese use food as medicine. Her recipe for Ginger-Scallion Root Tea is the elixir you'll want when sniffles and chills set in.
This week we're off to the Spice Coast of southern India where the air is fragrant with cinnamon and pepper, the people are gracious, and the food is grand. It's the family home of our guest, Maya Kaimal, author of Savoring the Spice Coast of India, and hospitality is a way of life. Maya's recipe for Steamed Mussels in Coconut Milk is an example of the exotic fare you'll encounter here.