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

Latest Episodes:

The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics Nov 05, 2005

Show notes

This week it's a blast from the past - the macrobiotic diet - with Jessica Porter, author of The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics. Jessica has a fresh take on that 1960's phenomenon.

The Sterns visit the Beacon Light Tea Room in Lyles, Tennessee. Wine wit Joshua Wesson wants us to discover the mysterious Primitivo, and Mike Colamecco, our New York food expert, tells us where to breakfast in Manhattan.

Francine Maroukian, author of Esquire Eats, has advice for the guys on how to feed friends and lovers. Start with her recipe for Double-Fired Porterhouse with Classic Steakhouse Rub.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

October 2, 2004 (originally aired)
November 5, 2005 (rebroadcast)

Farmer's Diner Oct 22, 2005

Show notes

Tod Murphy is a man who's giving restaurant chains a run for their money. His Farmer's Diner in Barre, Vermont serves up good, cheap food from local farms. The system is a winner that could take "local" national.

The Sterns set out for breakfast in Nashville and ended up at Vandyland for ice cream sodas.

Sally Schneider shares her recipe for Real "Jell-O", and David Leite talks the hazards of being a "hired belly." Anya Von Bremzen is just back from Turkey with easy little dishes, including Turkish Braised Eggplant, and we'll hear about the "Taking America to Lunch" exhibit opening next spring at the Smithsonian's National Museum of History.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

September 25, 2004 (originally aired)
October 22, 2005 (rebroadcast)

Michael Bauer and the San Francisco Chronicle Oct 01, 2005

Show notes

This week it's a newspaper that gets it. America is food obsessed as never before, yet newspapers across the country are slashing their food sections down to a few recipe columns off the wire amid a mass of ads. And forget local coverage. An exception is the San Francisco Chronicle food & dining page. Executive food and wine editor Michael Bauer joins us to talk the plight of the food page. The recipe for Pomegranate and Spice-Braised Pork comes from the Chronicle.

The Sterns tuck into a plate of soul food spaghetti at Ramon's in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The high priestess of wine, Andrea Immer, brings a real world take to wine issues like glasses, temperature, and what to do with that open bottle. Her latest work is Andrea's Complete Wine Course for Everyone on DVD.

Are you ready for some wattle seed or Inca Aji? Spice purveyor Nirmala Narine hunts down the truly unusual from the spice world to create her remarkable blends. Food writer Francine Maroukian talks the return of the neighborhood coffee roaster, and we have the scoop on the Healing Foods Pyramid - with wine and chocolate!

Broadcast dates for this episode:

October 1, 2005

Zinfandel Sep 10, 2005

Show notes

We're taking a look at Zinfandel, the mystery grape swathed in controversy, its origins lost in the mists of time. Wine historian Charles Sullivan, author of Zinfandel: A History of a Grape and Its Wine, joins us to unravel its questionable past.

The Sterns have found great barbecue behind bulletproof glass at Leon's Bar-B-Que in Chicago. Dorie Greenspan gets us ready for the return of cool weather with the best in bread baking gear. Our go-to guy in New York reveals one of his secrets for great cheap eats: the city's oldest Indian neighborhood called Curry Hill.

Lynne shares her recipe for Tamarind-Glazed Pork Tenderloin Sauté, and Alice Waters, the high priestess of California cuisine and organics, reports on the latest in school lunches from Berkeley's Edible Schoolyard.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

September 11, 2004 (originally aired)
September 10, 2005 (rebroadcast)

Spaces for Entertaining Sep 03, 2005

Show notes

This week we're creating spaces for entertaining. It's not about remodeling, it's about working with what you already have. Our guest is architect Sarah Susanka, whose latest book is Home by Design: Transforming Your House Into a Home.

The Sterns are eating Cuban sandwiches and mango milkshakes at Margon in Times Square. Cheese monger Steve Jenkins is back and wants us to try fresh summer cheeses.

Anya Von Bremzen wanders the world as a food journalist, but Spain draws her back again and again. She joins us to talk Spanish food, including the ultimate Classic Andalusian Gazpacho. We'll hear the backstory on Terroir estate coffee from George Howell, founder of Boston's Coffee Connection. Dan Lowenstein fills us in on PlayDine, a new take on family-style restaurants, and Lynne has a recipe for Iced Summer Peaches.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

July 24, 2004 (originally aired)
September 3, 2005 (rebroadcast)

Cooking for Kings Aug 20, 2005

Show notes

This week it's a look at Antonin Carême, the world's first celebrity chef. Abandoned by his family at age nine to starve on the streets of Paris, Carême overcame impossible odds to achieve wealth, fame and an unheard of independence. In the process he reshaped French cuisine. His biographer Ian Kelly, author of Cooking for Kings, tells the story. Carême's recipe for Orange Flower and Pink Champagne Jelly takes us back to the 19th century when he cooked for kings.

The Sterns have discovered an anomaly at Burgerville, a restaurant chain in the Pacific Northwest. Christopher Kimball of Cook's Illustrated tested ice cream makers and came up with some worth having. We'll go to Seattle for an oyster dating service, and Lynne gets a lesson in pairing wines with oysters. Our man in Athens calls in with the scoop on what the athletes are eating, and we have the latest solution to cork taint - the Vino-Lok.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

August 21, 2004 (originally aired)
August 20, 2005 (rebroadcast)

From Curries to Kebabs with Madhur Jaffrey Aug 13, 2005

Show notes

Indian food expert Madhur Jaffrey joins us this week with the tale of how curry turned global. It's all about India's caste system and Britain's lust for empire. Madhur shares her recipe for Cilantro Chicken from her latest book, From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail.

Michael Stern takes on the politics of the waffle at the Blue Plate Café in Memphis, and Josh Wesson wants us to try German wines with simple labels.

Journalist Anya Von Bremzen talks the true soba noodles of Japan and names the best soba parlors in Tokyo and New York. Now is a good time to try her recipe for Chilled Zaru Soba with Dipping Sauce. We'll hear from a watermelon queen in love with petrochemicals, and Vocation Vacations has ideas for your next getaway.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

August 7, 2004 (originally aired)
August 13, 2005 (rebroadcast)

The Secret Life of Lobsters Jul 30, 2005

Show notes

This week, our guest Trevor Corson, author of The Secret Life of Lobsters, takes a new look at endangered sea life. It's story of underwater feminism, renegade scientists, and amorous crustaceans!

The Sterns are road tripping into fried pie country where they've found a gem called Family Pie Shop.

Rick Bayless picks wines to drink with Mexican food, and shares a recipe for Garlicky Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with Smoky Tomato-Chile Salsa from his book Mexico One Plate At A Time. Smart cook Sally Schneider talks how to waste nothing and be ready for anything. It's all in how you use your freezer. Keep her Fool-Proof Flaky Butter Pastry on hand for a spur-of-the-moment fruit pizza or pie. B-52 rocker Kate Piersen tells about her retro Lazy Meadow Motel in the Catskill Mountains, and Lynne takes your calls.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

July 17, 2004 (originally aired)
July 30, 2005 (rebroadcast)

Summer in Provence Jul 02, 2005

Show notes

We're talking living and eating in the south of France with none other than Patricia Wells, restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune and the most prominent American authority on French food today. Patricia's new book, The Provence Cookbook, is the latest addition to her roster of titles about cooking, traveling and eating in Paris and France. She leaves us her recipe for Fresh White Beans with Garlic and Light Basil Sauce, and recommends a visit to Le Bistrot du Paradou.

The Sterns tell of the sensational hotdogs at Fido's a street cart in Portland, Oregon, and then Josh Wesson suggests wines to pair with rich, oily fish like salmon and mackerel.

Lynne reports on her visit to Armandino's Salumi and other Seattle restaurants discovered during her recent trip to the Emerald City where she partied with KUOW listeners. Finally, we'll have a report on picnicking in the nude, part of the fastest growing trend in vacationing - nude recreation!

Broadcast dates for this episode:

July 10, 2004 (originally aired)
July 2, 2005 (rebroadcast)

A Good Year Jun 25, 2005

Show notes

Peter Mayle, author of A Year in Provence, joins us this week with a send-up of France's latest wine craze. It's all about the scams and hype that have us sniffing our wines for traces of impertinence and pencil shavings! Peter's new novel is A Good Year.

The Sterns indulge in the fabulous frozen custard at Leon's in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Josh Wesson suggests wines to pair with summer's bounty, then Mike Colameco tells us where to eat in New York City's Hell's Kitchen, a neighborhood little known to those outside the Big Apple.

Food & Wine magazine just named their picks for Best New Chefs of 2004 and we have the scoop! Then we'll have an update on what not to eat from sea and stream from the folks at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

June 12, 2004 (originally aired)
June 25, 2005 (rebroadcast)

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

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

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected