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

Thomas Jefferson was the first American to make a serious study of wine. He not only collected and drank it, he toured vineyards, learned first hand, and took copious notes. John Hailman, author of Jefferson on Wine, spent 30 years studying the writing of a man way ahead of his time. He joins us this week with the fascinating story.The Sterns take a detour from road food to feast on old time San Francisco seafood at Sam's Grill in the financial district. Hide the Velveeta and dump that block of mozzarella. The always-opinionated Steve Jenkins is back with new finds that will get us out of a cheese rut.We have a story of newlyweds that asks an interesting question: can true love overcome Spam? Christopher Kimball plays another round of Stump the Cook, and we'll talk eating and emotion (as in popcorn at the movies.) Lynne shares recipes for Easter Lamb with Red Wine and Black Olives and Soffritto of Tomato and Fresh Herbs with Penne and, as always, takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 24, 2007 (originally aired)March 29, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week it's a story of growing up in Delhi, told by Indian food authority and actress Madhur Jaffrey. She came of age at a wrenching time in India's history, in a large family both privileged and conflicted. It's all evoked through Madhur's taste memories and chronicled in her new book, Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India. Her recipe for Everyday Cauliflower is from the book.The Sterns are in upstate New York, noshing on Sauceburgers, "Michigans," and fries at McSweeney's in Plattsburgh. Food and Wine magazine's Senior Editor, Ray Isle, stops by to sort through the glut of American Pinot Noir on the market these days and picks the best buys.Former home-cook-turned-chef at New York City's Prune, Gabrielle Hamilton, tells a story which begins, "It's All Fun and Games Until ..." excerpted from How I Learned to Cook: Culinary Educations from the World's Greatest Chefs. Tune in to find out what happens next. Judith Hoffberg, creator of the International Edible Books Festival, reveals how you can eat your own words and everyone else's, too, and Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 17, 2007 (originally aired)March 8, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week it's a look at the life of a culinary innovator. Cecilia Chiang was a pioneer in bringing regional Chinese food to America with the opening of The Mandarin, her San Francisco restaurant. It became a culinary landmark and Cecilia became a leader in the city's food community. Her book, The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco tells her story. Cecilia's recipe for Lion's Head, a Shanghai specialty, is from the book.It could be the ultimate corned beef sandwich for Jane and Michael Stern at Tucson's Feig's Kosher Foods. Baking authority Dorie Greenspan is back from "Chocolate University" and stops by with tips for a chocolate tasting. She leaves us her recipe for Gooey Chocolate Cakes from her fabulous book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.Tea expert Bill Waddington joins Lynne for a tasting of new old teas—two varieties treasured in China but unknown here. Ethan Lowry has the scoop on Urban Spoon, a wonderfully innovative source for good eats in cities across the country. And, as always, the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 9, 2008

Those tangibles of the American food revolution — take-out sushi at the gas station, salads of organic baby lettuces and obscure herbs, star chefs, restaurants as Mecca — are no coincidence according to our guest David Kamp, author of The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation. He believes a parade of freewheeling originals — from Julia Child to Michael Pollan — led us out of the culinary dark ages. We have the story.The Sterns unveil a transcendental sweet potato pancake at Nashville's Pancake Pantry. Deborah Krasner talks culinary vacations and what you need to know before you hand over the credit card. Her new book The New Outdoor Kitchen: Cooking Up a Kitchen for the Way You Live and Play is due out in February.It's the New York City burger war with Mike Colameco, our go-to guy in the Big Apple. Singer Alex Kapranos of the Franz Ferdinand band takes us on tour for a look at a rocker's road food. He's the author of Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand.Eli Winkleman tells the story behind Challah for Hunger, a national student organization addressing humanitarian issues in a unique way. Lynne shares her Homage to California Cuisine: Garlic Bread, Green Bean and Tomato Salad and a recipe for Carrots with Apricots and Pistachios. And the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 13, 2007 (originally aired)February 2, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week we're cooking and eating the vegan way with our guest Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. It's less about tofu and more about dynamite vegetables and inventive cooking. Her recipe for Asparagus Quiche with Tomatoes and Tarragon is a delicious introduction.For Jane and Michael Stern it's that great southern triumvirate—biscuits, ham and sweet tea—at the Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. David Rosengarten takes us to Hyderabad, the Indian city where the rich and regal food of the north meets up with the zing and zap of the cuisines of the south.Aaron Woolf, director of King Corn, tells the back story behind the new feature documentary about two guys from Boston, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. We'll meet up with Laura Solorio, the first of the 15 "locavores" to participate in our year-long project called Locavore Nation. James Villas, the southern gentleman of the food world, stops by to talk one of those guilty pleasure foods—bacon—and leaves us his recipe for Bacon and Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles from his new book The Bacon Cookbook.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 19, 2008

Science writer Jennifer Ackerman joins us this week for a scientific take on how our bodies use food and drink. What really controls our appetite and hunger? We'll have some answers. Jennifer's new book is Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body. The Sterns' fondness for prison gift shops led them to some great hush puppies and shredded pork sandwiches at Hocutt's Carolina Barbecue. It's right across from the Big House in Moundsville, West Virginia.Culinary improviser Sally Schneider, author of The Improvisational Cook takes the intimidation out of the soufflé. Her cheese soufflé recipe is a step-by-step guide to perfect results. Wine writer Natalie MacLean is always game for a new wine experience. When she became a restaurant sommelier for a night she came away with some good tips to share. Natalie is the author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass.Professor Steven Kaplan, a man who has French bakers shaking in their shoes, stops by to talk French bread. We'll hear about an oyster shell recycling program from Sabrina Varnum of the North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries, and, as always, Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 12, 2008

This week we take a look at what controls our eating. Is it real hunger or something more complex? We'll have answers from our guest, Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Laboratory. His new book is Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. It's an endangered species for the Sterns — an old-time American chili parlor that's alive and well at Mike's Chili Parlor in Seattle.Food writer Francine Maroukian shares her idiosyncratic approach to building a cookbook library and shares some favorite titles from her own shelves. Then Lynne weighs in with some sources to check when starting or adding to a cookbook collection. That brilliant culinary trickster, Chef Michel Richard, has tips that make the new kitchen technology doable for home cooks. The recipe for Low Carb-O-Nara is from Chef Richard's book Happy in the Kitchen: The Craft of Cooking, the Art of Eating.Celebrity Stump Master Christopher Kimball returns for another round of Stump the Cook, we have a report on bottled waters, and the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 6, 2007 (originally aired)January 5, 2008 (rebroadcast)

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 callsBroadcast dates for this episode:December 16, 2006 (originally aired)December 29, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Broadcast dates for this episode:December 22, 2007

 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