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

Latest Episodes:

Nora Ephron Dec 29, 2007

Show notes

Writer and Director Nora Ephron, author of the best-seller I Feel Bad About My Neck, joins us this week with observations on life and the American food scene, including a provocative take on how the duo of the birth control pill and Julia Child shaped the social history of the late 20th Century.

The Sterns report that the endangered chicken in a pot bubbles proud and free at the Chutzpah in Fairfax, Virginia. Sally Schneider, author of The Improvisational Cook, has her usual effortless take on great hors d'oeuvres, including her recipe for Pancetta Tartines. It's gifts for wine geeks from a master geek himself, The Wine Spectator's Matt Kramer. His latest book is Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Italian Wine.

Fred Plotkin, our pleasure activist and author of Italy for the Gourmet Traveller, talks Vienna, the perfect winter destination, and lines up the must-do coffeehouses. We'll take a look at the new nanny nutrition dilemma, and, as always, Lynne takes your calls

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 16, 2006 (originally aired)
December 29, 2007 (rebroadcast)

December 22: Happy Holidays! Dec 22, 2007

Show notes

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 22, 2007

The Tenth Muse Dec 08, 2007

Show notes

This week it's a look at the pivotal cookbooks of our time with Judith Jones, the woman who brought them to print. She didn't set out to edit cookbooks. Then she discovered Julia Child, Marcella Hazan and a clutch of other "greats." The rest is history. Judith's recipe for Frenchified Meatloaf is from her latest book, The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food.

Jane and Michael Stern stop by with their report on Lupie's in Charlotte, North Carolina. They say the squash casserole is worth a trip.

Consummate cookbook author and baker Dorie Greenspan simply cannot resist testing kitchen gadgets. It's led to some great stocking stuffers. Gail Monaghan, author of Lost Desserts, takes a look at antique desserts. Her recipe for Red Wine Jelly is a stunner no one has seen for at least a century.

We have the story of Will Scott, one of California's last African American farmers, and the chef who carries on his cultural and culinary traditions at Farmerbrown restaurant in San Francisco. Author and photographer Melanie Dunea tells us about a perfect gift for all the chef groupies on your holiday shopping list: her book titled My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals and, as always Lynne takes your calls.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 8, 2007

December 1: Cheese Essentials Dec 01, 2007

Show notes

Broadcast dates for this episode:

December 1, 2007

Cradle of Flavor Nov 24, 2007

Show notes

When our guest, Saveur magazine executive editor James Oseland, was 19, he spent a summer in Indonesia. He returned home but his heart and appetite stayed behind. After 23 years of exploring the region, James has written Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. He joins us for a look at an enchanting cuisine and a world of new flavors and traditions. The recipe for Beef Rendang is from his new book.

Extra crispy fried chicken has Jane and Michael Stern clucking at Price's Chicken Coop in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wine maverick Josh Wesson claims boxed wines rock and so do ones in cans! He shares his picks. Dorie Greenspan brings us a baking pro's prime secret: goodies you never knew you could make ahead and freeze. Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake comes from Dorie's latest must-have book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Joanna Pruess, author of Seduced by Bacon: Recipes & Lore About America's Favorite Indulgence, reviews the lush new bacons showing up in the market and shares an intriguing recipe for Pecan-Brown Sugar and Bacon Ice Cream.

Seth Kugel reports on the New York City Pushcart Awards. He writes the "Weekend in New York" column for The New York Times and is co-author of Nueve York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 11, 2006 (originally aired)
November 24, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Happy Thanksgiving Nov 17, 2007

Show notes

This week it's our annual Thanksgiving show. We're bringing you a line up of experts for a look at why we eat what we eat on this day. Chef Jonathan Waxman, author of A Great American Cook, tells how he and his little daughter lay out the feast. His recipe for Apple and Chicken Liver Mousse is to die for and guaranteed to keep hungry relatives at bay while the turkey cooks.

It's an early morning carbo-loaders dream breakfast for Jane and Michael Stern at the Kozy Korner Café and Bar in Winnett, Montana.

Deborah Madison, author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, is back with a Vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast that will knock anyone's socks off. For turkey eaters, Lynne's Fast and Crisp Roast Turkey Scented with Apple and Basil fills the bill.

Those sweet potatoes with marshmallows that appear on many holiday tables may trace their beginnings back to an ancient Arab medical handbook according to Yale history professor Paul Freedman, author of Food: The History of Taste. He joins us for a look at what shaped our tastes for this holiday.

We have a post-punk Thanksgiving for vegans; and Mary Murray Bosrock, author of Asian Business Customs & Manners: A Country-by-Country Guide gives a lesson in etiquette from across the sea.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 17, 2007

Hooked Oct 27, 2007

Show notes

This week it's the story of an illegal fish and two ships stalking each other in the waters off Antarctica. Our guest, Bruce Knecht, author of Hooked: Pirates, Poaching and the Perfect Fish, shares the saga of one of the longest and most dangerous sea chases in history.

Jane and Michael Stern tuck into corned beef sandwiches of iconic proportions at Jake's in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Food & Wine magazine's senior editor Ray Isle wants us to stash the Margarita mix and rinse out the good glasses because he's bringing us the latest status tequilas—the ones you drink straight up.

Scholarly hedonist Fred Plotkin has us eating and sipping our way through Santiago, Chile, and then it's another round of Stump the Cook with Stumpmaster Christopher Kimball. Are we ready for wines with names like Fat Bastard, Hair of the Dingo, White Trash White and The Laughing Magpie? Peter May, author of Marilyn Merlot and the Naked Grape, celebrates unusual wines from around the globe.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

November 4, 2006 (originally aired)
October 27, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Café Pasqual Oct 20, 2007

Show notes

This week we're off to Santa Fe for a visit at a destination restaurant that never lost its heart. After 20 years Café Pasqual still shines, the food is still dynamite, and the service is still a hoot. Our guide is the woman who makes it all happen: restaurateur Katharine Kagel. She shares a seasonal recipe—Sugar Pumpkins Filled with Vegetable Stew in Chipotle Cream Sauce—from her book, Cooking with Café Pasqual's: Recipes from Santa Fe's Renowned Corner Café.

It's Code 10 Chili at Noon Break in Cody, Wyoming for our road food duo, Jane and Michael Stern. Anya Von Bremzen, author of The New Spanish Table, has the scoop on the mother of all paprikas: Spain's smoky-rich pimenton. Anya's recipe for Smokey Mashed Potatoes from Extremadura highlights this luxurious spice.

Commentator Julie Hauserman tells how Florida has finally put her tax dollars to work—in the kitchen. Beer historian Alan Eames, author of The Secret Life of Beer, claims the Halloween witch was a beauty, a healer, and she made beer. What a gal! Alan tells all. We have the story of pasta, Holy Communion and the eye of artist Lisa Venditelli, and Lynne brings us her Short Apple Cooking Guide.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

October 28, 2006 (originally aired)
October 20, 2007 (rebroadcast)

The Connoisseur's Guide to Sushi Sep 29, 2007

Show notes

This week it's everything sushi—the things you didn't know you need to know, like what should not be in your soy sauce, and the big clue to whether the sushi maker is a master or not. Our guide is Dave Lowry, author of The Connoisseur's Guide to Sushi: Everything You Need to Know About Sushi Varieties and Accompaniments, Etiquette and Dining Tips and More. It's burgoo and mutton barbecue for Jane and Michael Stern. They're dining at George's in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Paris food critic Daniel Young takes us to the City of Lights for a look at where the locals go every night: the bistros, brasseries, and wine bars. Choucroute Garnie with Salmon is from his latest book, The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris. Sylvan Brown, co-author of The Slow Food Guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area: Restaurants, Markets, Bars, has advice about where to eat in the City by the Bay.

Our refrigerator game, Stump the Cook, is back with Lynne and Christopher Kimball, our celebrity stump master. Lynne has some new Italian wines to try—winners of the Gambero Rosso® Three Glasses Award for 2006, and we'll hear about Marshmallow Peeps and Peep Research currently underway.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

April 15, 2006 (originally aired)
September 29, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Donuts Sep 22, 2007

Show notes

Food historian John T. Edge joins us this week with a dissertation on the little ring of dough that became a patriot, a movie star, and stirred up some good old American ingenuity. The recipe for Zingerman's Roadhouse Donuts is from John's new book, Donuts: An American Passion.

It's dynamite food in the midst of New Mexico's chile fields for Jane and Michael Stern. They're eating the incredible chile rellenos at Chope's in La Mesa. Food & Wine magazine's Lettie Teague talks true Chablis, the French gem nobody knows.

We'll hear from Dr. David Bedford, one of the creators of the award-winning Honeycrisp apple about what makes this luscious variety so sought after. Keeping to the theme, Lynne shares her recipe for an Apple Citron Turnover that makes the most of these gems called one of the 25 innovations that changed the world.

Russ Parsons, columnist for the Los Angeles Times, tells all about the fresh fig. This fruit can make you blush! His article, "Seduction By Fig," appeared in the September 6, 2006 issue of the newspaper. To find it, go to latimes.com and search for "Seduction By Fig." We'll hear from Will Sillin, an artist who brought Julia Child to a cornfield and, as always, the phone lines will be open for your calls.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

September 23, 2006 (originally aired)
September 22, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

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

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected