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

Latest Episodes:

Encyclopedia of Junk Food May 12, 2007

Show notes

This week it's a scholarly look at junk food and fast food through the eyes of American food historian Andrew Smith. He tells how it all started and claims that between the Erie Canal and Ben Franklin our destiny had nowhere else to go. Mr. Smith is the author ofThe Junk Food Encyclopedia.

The Sterns report from beautiful Manchester, Vermont where they're feasting on a curious mix of goodness called Wild Turkey Hash at Up for Breakfast.

Lynne talks spring lamb and new potatoes in her simple and luscious recipe for Ninth-Night Lamb, a dish she first tasted at a guest farm in Italy's Puglia region.

Food & Wine magazine's Senior Wine Editor Ray Isle shares some little known tips for finding Good Wines for $10 and Under.

Botany professor Dr. Peter Gail wants us to rethink the vegetable garden—as in weeds are good! Dr. Gail leaves us his recipe for Dandelion Flower Cookies, just one of many from his repertoire.

We'll have another round of our popular refrigerator game, Stump the Cook, with Lynne and celebrity Stump Master Christopher Kimball, and Molly Sullivan steers us to a good time in Vegas. She's a co-author of Las Vegas Little Red Book: A Girl's Guide to the Perfect Vegas Getaway.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

May 12, 2007

Hunger May 05, 2007

Show notes

"Hunger is a country we enter every day, like a commuter across a friendly border," says nature writer Sharman Apt Russell. She joins us this week with a look at the subject through a new prism—hunger as art, hunger as power, and hunger as revelation. Ms. Russell's book is Hunger: An Unnatural History. The Sterns dine on succulent Italian roast pork sandwiches at Tony Luke's in Philadelphia.

Darryl Beeson, American editor of www.wineontheweb.com, roams the globe reporting on wine, spirits, food and travel. He stops by to talk good values among the wines of Texas. It's a look at sustainable meat with Bill Niman, a rancher who turned a wild piece of coastline into a sustainable model. The recipe for Grilled Pork Tenderloin Salad is from The Niman Ranch Cookbook.

It's flying Fritos or any other snack of your dreams from Washington, D.C.'s unique solution for midnight cravings: www.dcsnacks.com. Reporter Jule Gardner has the story. Nigel White, secretary of the British Cheese Board, reports on a study the Board has dubbed "Cheese and Dreams," and, as always, Lynne takes your calls.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

May 27, 2006 (originally aired)
May 5, 2007 (rebroadcast)

The Way We Garden Now Apr 21, 2007

Show notes

This week it's vegetable gardening for the horticulturally challenged. Gardening expert Katherine Whiteside, author of The Way We Garden Now, stops by with short cuts to instant gratification (hard labor is not for her) and a recipe for Rhubarbaritas.

Mike Colameco, host of Colameco's Food Show on New York's PBS Channel 13, is back with tips for picnics in New York City. Keeping to the theme, Lynne shares a recipe for Roasted Asparagus Potato Salad.

Self-described pleasure activist Fred Plotkin, author of Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, returns to the show to talk what we don't know about Helsinki: the unforgettable seafood, the strawberries, those intriguing Fins!

Broadcast dates for this episode:

April 21, 2007

The Insatiable Critic Apr 14, 2007

Show notes

She's sensual, iconoclastic, and hungry. In the late 1960's she blew the lid off stuffy food writing with her restaurant reviews for New York, the smartest magazine in town. She's Gael Green, a critic like no other and the woman who led the pack in a dining revolution. Gael joins us this week to share memories from her new autobiography, Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess. The recipe for Danish Meat Loaf is from the book.

For the Sterns it's classics with a Texas twist at Houston's Avalon Diner. The pharmacy lunch counter is a favorite genre for our dining duo and the setting soothes Jane's hypochondria! It's a rhubarb revelation for our favorite improviser, Sally Schneider. She says discoveries happen when you let yourself go in the kitchen. Her recipe for Rhubarb Confit with Rhubarb Syrup for Improvising is quintessential springtime fare.

Kai Ryssdal, host of Marketplace and a former resident of China, talks going back after ten years and eating in the new China. Are our kitchens making us fat? Some architects claim they are! We'll take a look at the latest patsy for our weight woes. A new exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt museum in New York City takes a look at feeding desire, and Lynne shares a favorite springtime recipe, Roasted Asparagus and Spring Potato Salad.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

May 13, 2006 (originally aired)
April 14, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Fred Kirschenmann Apr 07, 2007

Show notes

Fred Kirschenmann of The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture joins us this week to talk why America lost touch with her food source—the farm—and looks at the resurrection taking place, right now, on farms across the land. The Sterns are at the final stretch of the famed Route 66 in Stroud, Oklahoma.

Our wine wizard Josh Wesson is back and this time he's debunking all those wine myths, starting with sulfites. Bee scientist Dennis Van Englesdorf joins us to investigate the mystery of the vanishing honeybees and the impact on crop pollination.

Gourmet magazine's John Willoughby, author of Let the Flames Begin, has ideas for Easter lamb and ham, new party cuts to try, and a recipe for Mensaf (Lamb in Spiced Yogurt Sauce with Rice and Bread.) Stanley Feder of Simply Sausage, Inc. tells of cooking paella for 3,000 in Spain. It's a story that gives new meaning to cooking for a crowd.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

April 7, 2007

Judith Jones Mar 31, 2007

Show notes

This week we're going inside the process of how exceptional cookbooks are brought to life. Our guide is Judith Jones, often called the cookbook editor's editor. Forty-some years ago she discovered Julia Child. In the ensuing decades Judith's influence changed the American cookbook forever and her authors became a "who's who of food."

It's camp for the Sterns—roadfood style—at Mike Linnig's Fish Camp in Louisville, Kentucky. Our master of the wine bargain, Joshua Wesson, talks second labels, the hidden deals from world-class vineyards. We'll take a look at the delicious and the deadly when we go to the Fungus Festival in Santa Cruz, California.

New York Times writer Kim Severson brings us chocolate with a passport; and Mark Kurlansky, author of The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell, talks the bivalve mollusk's golden age in New York City.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

April 8, 2006 (originally aired)
March 31, 2007 (rebroadcast)

What to Drink With What You Eat Mar 10, 2007

Show notes

This week it's a look at how the pros decide what to drink with nearly every food you can imagine. Our guest, Karen Page, author of What to Drink With What You Eat, talked with expert chefs and sommeliers to find out what goes with everything from apples to veggie burgers. She takes us beyond wines and waters to coffee, soda and even vinegar!

The Sterns are in Tampa, Florida where they swooned over the Cuban sandwiches and ropa viejo at La Teresita. Lynne ponders the potential spiritual and ecumenical ramifications of Pope-approved Fish Snackers from KFC.

Who knew that cauliflower of all things would become the latest darling of cutting edge chefs? Amy Scattergood, staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, joins us with a report. Not to be outdone, Lynne came up with a recipe for Roasted Cauliflower with Fresh Sage and Rosemary that takes this often overlooked member of the cabbage family to new heights.

Dr. Richard Schulze talks Carolina Gold Rice, the huge cash crop of the 1800's (extinct by the 1900's) and what brought it back. Dr. Schulze is the author of Carolina Gold Rice: The Ebb and Flow History of a Lowcountry Cash Crop.

Spice hunter Nirmala Narine looks at the herb you never actually eat — the bay leaf — and shares her recipe for Turkish Lamb Kebabs. Nirmala is the author of In Nirmala's Kitchen: Everyday World Cuisine. Gyro artist Bill Swislow tells a story of culinary collecting of a different sort, and, as always, the phone lines will be open for your calls.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

March 10, 2007

Wine Style Feb 24, 2007

Show notes

This week Mary Ewing-Mulligan puts wine where she thinks it belongs: it's all about taste. Mary claims quality is second to flavor, geography is more important than the grape, and a number on the bottle can help us match a wine to a menu. Mary's new book is Wine Style: Earthy Whites to Powerful Reds: Using Your Senses to Explore and Enjoy Wine.

The Sterns have found the ultimate babka and bagels of their dreams in Montreal. Who knew? Vegetable gardening expert Jack Staub shares new ideas for gardeners and mail order seed sources. How about sweet little pocket melons, super lush tomatoes and day-glo lettuce for your garden this year? Jack is the author of 75 Exciting Vegetables for Your Garden.

Julie Hauserman fills us in on the Florida tomato fight that's all about appearance over flavor. Our very popular refrigerator game, Stump the Cook, is back with Lynne and Stump Master Christopher Kimball! We return to the MIT Media Lab for dinner plates you toss when you're finished eating ... and make new ones whenever you want.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

March 4, 2006 (originally aired)
February 24, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Tamales Feb 10, 2007

Show notes

Imagine Mexico without tacos or tamales. Imagine Mexican intellectuals trying to eliminate corn from the country where it was born. History professor Jeffrey Pilcher, author of Que Vivan Los Tamales: Food and the Making of Mexican Identity, joins us this week for a look at a national identity crisis.

The Sterns tuck into a weird-but-delicious chow mein sandwich at Evelyn's Drive-In in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Seattle's famed Herbfarm chef Jerry Traunfeld returns to the show to talk the next herb in the spotlight: shiso. His recipe for Shiso Crab Cocktail is from his latest book, The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor.

Gourmet magazine's John Willoughby reports on the best place in the world for a protein high: the meat palaces of Argentina. His article appears in the May 2006 issue of Gourmet. When famed restaurateur Mario Batali took his chefs to Italy for five days of non-stop eating and research, dining morphed into hard work. Bob Sloan, author of The Tailgating Cookbook: Recipes for the Big Game reads an excerpt from the article "Mario's Excellent Adventure: 5 Days in Bologna, 62 Courses" which appeared in the April 2006 issue of Gourmet.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

April 22, 2006 (originally aired)
February 10, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Perfuming Our Food Feb 03, 2007

Show notes

Natural scent expert Mandy Aftel, co-author with Chef Daniel Patterson of Aroma, The Magic of Essential Oils in Food and Fragrance, joins us this week to talk about perfuming our food. With scent accounting for most of what we taste, the idea seems logical. A delicious example of scent meets taste is Rose and Ginger Soufflé.

Jane and Michael Stern experience the outrageous sandwiches at Blue Ash Chili in Cincinnati, Ohio.

We'll hear the story of two chefs, an exalted restaurant, and a trial by tragedy from Chef Eric Ripert of the famed Le Bernardin in New York. Chef Ripert shares the recipe for Warm Snapper with Ginger Oil from A Return to Cooking, his book with co-author Michael Ruhlman.

When a lab geek takes on liquid nitrogen and ice cream something is bound to happen. We have the story. Washington Post Bureau Chief T. R. Reid has advice for eating cheap in Japan, and we'll hear about eating out in our jammies at Cereality.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

January 22, 2005 (originally aired)
February 11, 2006 (rebroadcast)
February 3, 2007 (rebroadcast)

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