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

This week it's all things Italian but not in Italy. Instead of heading east to Rome, we're going south to Buenos Aires where the descendants of two million Italians have settled. Food writer Rich Lang is our guide.The Sterns report from the Pacific Northwest, their favorite breakfast destination, where Michael says you'll find the paragon of waffles at Fresco Caffe in Portland, Oregon.Steve Jenkins lines up a cheese vacation in Portugal, and Sally Schneider talks the little fish everybody loves to hate: the anchovy. Her recipe for Warm Anchovy and Olive Oil Sauce might change some minds about one of Lynne's favorite sneaky ingredients.Chris Kimball of Cook's Illustrated magazine and America's Test Kitchen is back with the skinny on non-stick pots and pans. The latest book from the Cook's Illustrated folks is the 2005 edition of America's Test Kitchen Live!Sam Perkins talks wine auctions, and the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 16, 2005 (originally aired)May 6, 2006 (rebroadcast)

We'll go inside the dairy with Soyoung Scanlon, California's new star cheese maker who has celebrity chefs kissing the hem of her apron. She follows the milk and her mood, not the market, at her Andante Dairy in Santa Rosa and it shows in her cheeses.The Sterns cross the pond for pie and mash in London. Tune in to find out it they chose the optional eels.Vegetarian expert Deborah Madison talks spring things for this teeter-totter time of year. Her recipe for Lemony Risotto Croquettes with Slivered Snow Peas, Asparagus, and Leeks comes from her new book, Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison's Kitchen.Margo True, Executive Editor of Saveur magazine, tells the story of the tiffinwallah, Mumbai's lunch ritual that's the envy of General Motors. Read the full story in the May 2005 issue of Saveur.We'll hear about the back-to-basics coffee served at Deaf Dog Coffee shops, and Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 9, 2005 (originally aired)April 29, 2006 (rebroadcast)

This week it's Cuban Miami with Glenn, Raul, and Jorge. The "Three Guys from Miami" love to eat, they love their town, and they give us advice on where and what to eat, including airport food worth the trip. The recipe for Roast Pork is from their book Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban: 100 Great Cuban Recipes with a Touch of Miami Spice.The Sterns are in a time warp at Lankford Grocery and Market, a 1940's era café serving divine triple cheeseburgers. The highly opinionated cheese monger and author of Cheese Primer, Steve Jenkins has ideas for what to eat with cheese. Dill pickles are on the list! Travel & Leisure magazine's Anya Von Bremzen returns with her picks of the best new American restaurants of 2004.Wine critic Matt Kramer talks the new California grape and the latest region to watch. His newest book is Matt Kramer's New California Wine: Making Sense of Napa Valley, Sonoma, Central Coast and Beyond. We have the story of Hamburger America, a documentary film about some of the best burgers in America and the people behind them, and, as always, Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 5, 2005 (originally aired)April 1, 2006 (rebroadcast)

If you've always suspected that taste goes beyond science's big four of sweet, sour, salt and bitter your instincts are right. This week we're looking at umami. It's what food types call the "fifth taste." Our guest, David Kasabian, tells us how to use this wunderkind to make everything we eat taste better. Coq au Vin Nouveau, from The Fifth Taste: Cooking with Umami by David and Anna Kasabian, demonstrates the principle. For the Sterns it's retro burgers, fabulous hand-cut fries and malts at one of Lynne's favorite haunts: Convention Grill in the Minneapolis suburb of Edina. Anya Von Bremzen talks Spain's surprise national dish and it's not paella. It's Cocido from her latest book, The New Spanish Table. Wine critic Matt Kramer, author of Matt Kramer's New California Wine answers the controversial question: can you actually get cheap good wines? We go to Mexico for vanilla—the most labor intensive food in the hemisphere—and stop by Cake Man Raven Confectionery, a bakery in Brooklyn that claims to be the official home of the classic Southern Red Velvet Cake—and so much more.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 25, 2006

Joe Queenan, that quirky observer of the human comedy, takes us his England this week. It's a place of people driven by good-natured insanity, where home cooking thrives, and the steak and kidney pie requires a pneumatic drill. His book is Queenan Country: A Reluctant Anglophile's Pilgrimage to the Mother Country.Remember creamed chipped beef on toast? The Sterns tuck into the old-fashioned dish and more classic New England fare at the Blue Benn Diner in Bennington, Vermont. Wine maverick Josh Wesson talks cans, boxes and sippy straws, the next new things for serving wine. Sally Schneider returns with ideas for easy suppers starring cornbread, including her recipe for Parmigiano Cornbread.Health authority Nina Simonds advises saying no to Botox and yes to the spice cupboard for fighting those pesky signs of aging. She shares her recipe for Fragrant Cinnamon Pork with Sweet Potatoes is from her new book Spices of Life: Simple and Delicious Recipes for Great Health.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 19, 2005 (originally aired)March 18, 2006 (rebroadcast)

This week we take a look at the new kitchen science that has haute restaurant chefs rethinking everything, taking foods apart and putting them back together in ways we can't imagine. The instigator is our guest, chemist Hervé This, author of Molecular Gastronomy: Exploring the Science of Flavor (Arts and Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History.) The Sterns report from Eddie's Supper Club in Great Falls, Montana, where the secret marinade is key to their renowned steaks. Then Lynne shares her Guide to Marinades, including several delicious recipes.Cheese expert Steve Jenkins shares his latest artisan cheese finds, the ones he calls "adult candy." Mike Colamecco, our go-to guy for good eats in the Big Apple, tells us where to find the city's best hot dogs. Reporter Peter Aronson tells of the Mexican scientist who sees edible bugs saving the world's poor; and we celebrate National Potato Chip Day with the chief flavor architect of Kettle brand potato chips.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 11, 2006

This week it's a look at a new way to buy wine and it has everything to do with knowing the importers and distributors. Neal Rosenthal of Rosenthal Wine Merchant joins us to talk wine importers and who to look for on the label. The Sterns are eating herring "cremated" and "sunnyside up" at Cypress Grill in Jamesville, NC. David Rosengarten brings order and tranquility to that baffling liquid: sake. He shares his recipe for Salted Seaweed Salad with Lemon and Freshly Grated Ginger from his latest book, David Rosengarten Entertains. John Willoughby of Gourmet magazine has ideas for what to do between meals in London. For starters, there's cooking classes, shopping, and a secret garden. The New York Times gardening columnist Ann Raver has new veggies for us to try and shares her picks of the best seed sources. We'll check in with Rick Field, the inventive pickle maker behind Rick's Picks, and Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 19, 2005 (originally aired)February 25, 2006 (rebroadcast)

We're off to Australia where it's summer now and the food scene is hot. Aussie star chef Bill Granger tells us where and what to eat in Sydney. His book, Bill's Open Kitchen, is full of uncomplicated and tantalizing recipes like a Glazed Duck with Pear and Rocket Salad. Before taking off for some retail therapy at the Kittery outlets, Jane and Michael Stern fuel up with the Clam-O-Rama at the Maine Diner in Wells. Sally Schneider has a whole new concept for using dried fruit, including her method for Essential Plumped Dried Fruit. Just in time for Shrove Tuesday, global food authority and Moscow native Anya Von Bremzen joins us to talk a Blini. The recipe is from her book The Greatest Dishes: Around the World in 80 Recipes. Dr. Robert Kushner of Northwestern Medical School has the scoop on dieting dogs, and the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 5, 2005 (originally aired)February 18, 2006 (rebroadcast)

Chinese food authority Grace Young joins us this week with the story of China's famous pot and shares tips on how to achieve the perfect stir-fry. She leaves us a recipe for Chinese Broccoli with Ginger Sauce from her new book, The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Spirit of Chinese Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore.It's old-world Eastern European fare for the Sterns at Polonez in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Andrea Immer tells us how to stock a wine closet on the cheap and shares her recipe for Coconut Milk-Curry Shrimp Soup from her new book, Everyday Dining with Wine. Patricia Schultz, author of the fascinating book 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, names three places to eat before you die.Zanne Stewart, executive food editor of Gourmet magazine, tells what it was like testing the 1,000 recipes featured in the new The Gourmet Cookbook. The Rumaki recipe is one to remember for upcoming holiday parties. We'll hear about the healthy vending machine program from Stonyfield Yogurt, and Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 6, 2004 (originally aired)January 21, 2006 (rebroadcast)

This week our guest is Barbara Kafka, one of the masterful cooks in the food profession. When Barbara digs into a subject she takes no prisoners. She's created her own short list of cookbook classics with titles like Roasting, Soup, and Microwave Gourmet, and each one is a complete education. Now, she has ideas for bringing more veggies into our lives with her new book, Vegetable Love. She leaves us her recipes for Parsnip Ice Cream and Greek Island Potatoes.The Sterns dig into classic Dixie diner fare and sky high meringue pies at Crystal Grill in Greenwood, Mississippi. Kitchen equipment expert Dorie Greenspan has the scoop on the new silicone kitchenware. From muffin pans to rolling pins, is silicone the way to go?For Chris Kimball of America's Test Kitchen fame, the ideal family vacation involves a tent, two kids, 4 camels, and a cook walking the desert in Morocco. Morning Edition's Kitchen Sisters talk America's hidden kitchens—the ones not in houses and restaurants—from their book, Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes, and More from NPR's The Kitchen Sisters.In honor of its 100th birthday, Ted Allen, food guy of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, talks our most overlooked appliance: the toaster. And, as always, the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 14, 2006