The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

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The Spice Coast Jan 12, 2002

Show notes

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.

Jane and Michael Stern have stumbled upon a family feud at Manganaro's, one of their favorite places in New York City. Food expert John Willoughby is back with some good news about sea scallops, and sculptor Kiko Denzer says you can build your own wood-fired oven for little money by using mud! His book, Build Your Own Earth Oven tells us how. The idea has Lynne so excited we hear she's attempting to thaw the earth in her backyard and start construction. In the second half of the show, it's open lines for your calls, and Lynne tells us how to cook Effortless Polenta.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

January 27, 2001 (originally aired)
January 12, 2002 (rebroadcast)

The Chef Test Dec 29, 2001

Show notes

Journalist Michael Ruhlman, author of The Soul of a Chef, takes us behind the scenes of the Culinary Institute of America's grueling Certified Master Chef exam. It's the Iron Man challenge of the food world and not for the faint of heart.

Jane and Michael Stern are eating artisan breads at the Red Hen Bakery in Chicago, and we'll hear from a scientist who has the lowdown on white salmon, the twenty-dollars-a-pound fish chefs fight over. Remember the Smothers Brothers? Jon Kalish pays a visit to the Smothers' Winery where Tommy has been making some highly regarded boutique wines for nearly as long as the brothers have been making people laugh. Alice Waters of Chez Panisse is back to tell us about her dream for the White House. If we ever get out of the election mess, her idea promises help with great spin potential for the new president.

In the second half of the show the phone lines are open for your calls and Lynne has some trivia about a runcible spoon she might use to serve her Oven-Roasted Canned Tomatoes.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 2, 2000 (originally aired)
December 29, 2001 (rebroadcast)

Bacchus And Me Dec 22, 2001

Show notes

Jay McInerney, the acerbically witty author of that blockbuster novel of sin and debauchery, Bright Lights, Big City, has turned his considerable talents to the subject of wine. An unabashed oenophile who calls himself a "grape nut," Jay's irreverent wine columns for House & Garden magazine have been culled for his latest book, Bacchus & Me. Fasten your seat belts and tune in for a serendipitous and highly-informed romp through the world of wine.

Jane and Michael Stern are hanging out at the Shortstop Diner at Exit 148 off the Garden State Parkway. John Willoughby, whose latest book with co-author Chris Schlesinger is How to Cook Meat, wants us to think beyond turkey when we're serving a crowd. Their recipe for Crown Roast of Lamb with Saffron Rice and Apricot-Mint Sauce should do the trick. Nach Waxman of New York City's Kitchen Arts & Letters bookstore stops by with a list offood and wine reference books just in time for holiday gifting. Lynne recently returned from Salt Lake City, and tells of a delightful bed and breakfast find and "the best fish taco I've ever had!" And, finally, she reveals her sources for Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, her favorite gift to give at the holidays.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 16, 2000 (originally aired)
December 22, 2001 (rebroadcast)

Happy Holidays 2001 Dec 15, 2001

Show notes

It's our annual holiday show, and we've assembled a team of experts on cooking, entertaining, and gift giving. Sally Schneider, author of A New Way to Cook, has entertaining wrapped up with three easy menus and recipes guaranteed to wow your guests. Sally's food tastes great, it's stylish, it's healthy—it's how we want to eat now.

The Sterns are eating pancakes and enjoying the spectacular holiday lights display at Clifton Mill in Ohio. Chef Gray Kunz, co-author of The Elements of Taste, reveals a new way to approach cooking and shares his recipe for luscious Pork Tenderloin with Bourbon Mustard Brine and Tangy Pears. Steve Beaumont has seasonalbeers for Santa, it's stocking stuffers from gadget queen Dorie Greenspan, and Lynne has more gift ideas for the cooks on your list.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 15, 2001

Diana Kennedy's Mexico Nov 24, 2001

Show notes

Diana Kennedy, the British woman who introduced America to authentic Mexican cooking and started our love affair with the chile pepper, joins us this week to share the Mexico she knows so well. Diana's latest book,The Essential Cuisines of Mexico, is a treasure. So is her recipe for tortillas filled with mushrooms Empanadas De Hongos.

The always original Jane and Michael Stern are in Charleston, South Carolina, eating at The Wreck, a restaurant that's hard to find because it's housed in an old bait locker and has no sign. Joshua Wesson, wine maverick and seeker of the unexpected, has been tasting wines from Canada and stops by with a report. Our favorite "slightly neurotic" foodie, Scott Haas, recently traveled to New York City to dine at Restaurant Daniel where deep pockets are de rigeur. He tells us if it was worth the trip.

When we heard of a new spa at the Hotel Hershey where they use chocolate in the treatments Lynne rushed to the phone to get the details. She was intrigued by the chocolate fondue body wrap. We'll listen in on her conversation with spa director Jennifer Whaland Smith.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 25, 2000 (originally aired)
November 24, 2001 (rebroadcast)

Happy Thanksgiving 2001 Nov 17, 2001

Show notes

It's our annual Thanksgiving show and we're celebrating with one of America's most beloved authors: poet, novelist, and screenwriter Jim Harrison. You may remember him from Legends of the Fall. We'll be talking with Jim about food and its role in our lives, a subject he covers with passion and wit in his book, The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand.

Jane and Michael Stern are eating seven sweets and seven sours at the Dutch Kitchen in Frackville, Pennsylvania. We'll hear about hard apple cider, an old-time American alternative to wine, from Steve Wood of Farnum Hill Ciders. British writer Jim Crace looks charity square in the eye in a story from his book The Devil's Larder. Gourmet magazine editor Ruth Reichl tells us what the holiday might be like in New York City this year, we have a guide to brining turkey from Cook's Illustrated magazine, and Lynne shares Thanksgiving cooking tips and her recipe for Moroccan-Inspired Turkey.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 17, 2001

Espresso Nov 03, 2001

Show notes

This week we'll meet the family responsible for the modern-day espresso machine. Dr. Ernesto Illy, head of the family's coffee dynasty in Italy, explains Italy's coffee culture and tells us what a really fine cup of espresso should taste like.

Jane and Michael Stern are in Milwaukee eating soul food at Mr. Perkin's Family Restaurant where the turnip bottoms are "better than any vegetable should be." To help us determine what kind of turkey to buy for the holidays Christopher Kimball, editor of Cook's Illustrated, stops by to report on the results of the magazine'sturkey taste test. We'll go to Ketchum, Idaho, for a Basque sheep festival, and from Appalachia we have a story of cornbread and biscuits. In the second half of the show Lynne takes your calls and gives us her recipes for Three-Generation Thanksgiving Turkey and Herman's Cornbread Stuffing.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 18, 2000 (originally aired)
November 3, 2001 (rebroadcast)

Travels in Spain Oct 20, 2001

Show notes

We're traveling and eating in Spain this week with journalist Anya Von Bremzen. Anya says Spain is the most exciting place in Europe to eat these days. The chefs there are rethinking the very foundations of food and a culinary revolution is happening. Along the way we'll stop off in Bilbao to visit the new Guggenheim Museum, the site of an architectural revolution.

Jane and Michael Stern are in the California desert eating apple pies at theJulian Pie Company. Jewish-food authority and writer Matthew Goodman is back to tell us of the surprising origins of fish and chips and leaves us with the recipe for Fish & Chips from London's Upper Street Fish Shop.

Still have that old fondue pot from the 1970s lurking in the attic? Dust it off and get ready for a fondue lesson from Switzerland with our hungry reporter Scott Haas. We'll meet food sculptor Peter Anton, a man with a different take on the hungry artist theme, and the phone lines will be open for your calls.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 9, 2000 (originally aired)
October 20, 2001 (rebroadcast)

Dinner Rush Oct 06, 2001

Show notes

This week we meet Bob Giraldi, producer and director of the new film Dinner Rush. This movie, about a night in a happening New York City restaurant of the moment, captures the frantic trendiness and atrocious pressure that drives so many places these days. It's no warm and fuzzy Babette's Feast. Bob leaves us with his mother Minnie's recipe for Baked Ziti with Ricotta, perfect for Sunday dinner.

In contrast, Jane and Michael Stern are at laid-back El Gallito in Cathedral City, California, eating mole and buying second-hand Pucci dresses. Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan talks decanting, and writer Jim Leff of Chowhound.com takes on the political side of dining out. Comedienne Cathryn Michon, author of The Grrl Genius Guide to Life, reports on competitive cooking at the Santa Barbara Fair and gives us her recipe forLow-Fat Technicolor Tater Salad. It's not the all-American classic. Lynne's trivia question has a medical theme, and she's finally agreed to put her recipe for Pork Steaks with Chile Orange Sauce into print!

Broadcast dates for this episode:

October 6, 2001

The Doctor Is In Sep 15, 2001

Show notes

Do you ever wonder whom Lynne, Julia Child, and other pros in the food business turn to when they're stumped with a culinary question? They call our guest, food scientist Shirley Corriher, author of CookWise. Shirley's unique ability to translate complex food chemistry into simple language, combined with her natural warmth and sense of humor, make her a favorite with our listeners. Try her wonderful recipe for Mixed Greens with Walnuts—it's no ordinary salad.

Jane and Michael Stern have the scoop on a great breaded steak sandwich, cheese maven Steve Jenkins talks great "melters," and kitchen designer Deborah Krasner opens her online address book to share sources for kitchen equipment on the Web.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

January 22, 2000 (originally aired)
July 14, 2001 (rebroadcast)
September 15, 2001 (rebroadcast)

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