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

San Francisco wine merchant and importer Kermit Lynch joins us this week with the story of how he entered the wine world through the back door and ended up a leader in the exquisite and the little known. His new book is Inspiring Thirst: Vintage Selections from the Kermit Lynch Wine Brochure.It’s meat-and-three for the Sterns at Zarzour’s, a Chattanooga favorite so elusive it’s only listing in the phone book is under the name of the owner’s mother-in-law! Joshua Wesson cracks the code for teaming booze with stews, and Lynne shares her recipe for Emilia-Romagna Braised Pork Ribs, a luscious dish from Ferrara just right for a wintery evening.Steve Jenkins talks bargain cheeses, and Nigel Slater, author of Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger, remembers a mother straining to cook with love but always missing the mark. For winemaker wannabes we have the scoop on the Crushpad, a new idea for home winemaking, and Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 8, 2005 (originally aired)January 7, 2006 (rebroadcast)

This week it's the mother of all kitchen tours. Thomas Keller is repeatedly named the best chef in the country. When he set out to duplicate his famed California restaurant, The French Laundry, in New York City, he dictated every design element, but for unheard of reasons. The result is Per Se, the hottest restaurant in the country right now. Chef Keller leads the tour and shares his recipe for Mussels with Saffron and Mustard from his fabulous new book Bouchon.The Sterns are forking into classic cowboy steak at Sleepy Hollow in Oklahoma City. Wine maverick Joshua Wesson talks Mourvedre, the new muscle man grape that produces a big bruiser of a red. Sally Schneider, author of A New Way to Cook, suggests vanilla beans to rescue a dish. Her recipe for Vanilla Bean Syrup kicks up the natural flavors of fruit. We have new food games - the SmartsCo flash cards - for trivia at the dinner table, and Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 11, 2004 (originally aired)December 31, 2005 (rebroadcast)

Today we offer our holiday special, a special guide to reveling, relaxing, and reflecting. This is a remarkable time of the year and no matter where you go, you'll find celebrations and feasting.Chef and Mexican food expert Rick Bayless spends every Christmas in Oaxaca and he takes us inside the holiday south-of-the-border. Wine maverick Joshua Wesson advises us on whether to drink or store those wonderful gift wines we receive.Jane and Michael Stern find a place to celebrate the holidays all year round in Frankenmuth Michigan.Traveling around the globe we get the best of India's celebrations with actress and food authority Madhur Jaffrey. From London, Nigella Lawson talks about life, food, and Christmas dinner.In Europe it is Christmas in Paris with Patricia Wells and of course Lynne shares Italian celebrations.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 24, 2005

This week we're talking all things salted, cured and smoked with food writer Michael Ruhlman, co-author of Charcuterie. In Europe, charcuterie is high craft, done by masters. Here, it's the latest thing in the artisan food movement. Michael has tips for making your own home-cured meats and seafood and shares his recipe for the ultimate party food: Pâté de Campagne.The Sterns are at Becky's Diner, beloved by locals in Portland, Maine. The food is delicious and Becky makes you feel like you've come home to mom.Wine wit Joshua Wesson suggests wines to sip with fruitcake. Can they redeem the much-maligned gateau? Dorie Greenspan brings a French twist to the holiday cookie exchange with Anise Cookies and Lemon Butter Cookies from her wonderful book, Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry ShopsOur New York food guy Mike Colamecco returns to talk pure romance: Christmas in New York. He names restaurants and food shops that serve up holiday magic along with great food.Robert Tinnell, author of Feast of the Seven Fishes, tells the story of the comic strip inspired by a Christmas Eve date, and, as always, the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 17, 2005

Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson joins us this week to talk Burgundy wine. It's the tricky but luscious older brother of Pinot Noir that the movie "Sideways" crowned the new king. Andrea's Pearl Barley Risotto with Mushrooms and Carrots pairs beautifully with Pinot Noirs from Burgundy's Côte Chalonnaise district.The Sterns are dining with night owls and truckers at Jo Jo's Restaurant in Pittsburgh. Sally Schneider stops by with what we need to know about seasoning with nut oils. Her divine Leek "Noodles" with Crème Fraîche and Hazelnut Oil is the best introduction we know. When one more carol threatens to send you screaming from the room, World Music master Bob Duskis comes to the rescue with holiday music to entertain by. The good news is there's not a fa-la-la-la-la in the bunch!Then we have the latest from Paris—temporary restaurants. They're open a few days then they're gone forever!Broadcast dates for this episode:December 3, 2005

This week's guest could be New York's next star chef. He's Suvir Saran, author of Indian Home Cooking. His food is all about clear, singing flavors and simple, light dishes. Tomato Rasam is a fine example.The Sterns are munching sopaipillas dipped in liquid sunshine at the Plaza Café, Santa Fe's oldest restaurant.Steve Jenkins introduces us to lush gooey cheeses, the ones he calls the "cheeses of a lifetime."Britain's beloved food writer Nigel Slater tells of a fragile mother-son relationship forged in the kitchen from his heartbreakingly funny memoir TOAST: The Story of a Boy's Hunger.Sally Schneider talks winter squash and leaves us her delicious recipe for Roasted Winter Squash Slices. Finally, we'll hear about an unusual pizza unique to the upper Midwest and Fox's Pizza Den.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 9, 2004 (originally aired)November 26, 2005 (rebroadcast)

It's our annual Thanksgiving show and we're bringing you a banquet of recipes, stories, a cut of history, and new looks at feasting inside and outside our borders. Food authority Joan Nathan talks real American food today from home kitchens across the country. Her recipe for Braised Butternut Squash with Mustard Seeds, Chili, Curry Leaves, and Ginger is from her new book, The New American Cooking.Who but the Sterns would find popcorn missing from the Thanksgiving table? They fill the void at Yoder Popcorn in Topeka, Indiana. Lynne has a new rule for the big feast and a whole do-ahead menu designed for one oven. It could change how you do Thanksgiving dinner from now on.Sally Schneider is back tackling side dishes and the big pumpkin question: fresh or canned? Her delicious Cranberry-Walnut Conserve is one side dish you'll want on your table! Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio tell of going inside the kitchens and lives of families from Greenland to Chad to photograph what they eat in one week. It's all documented in their book, Hungry Planet: What the World Eats.You'll hear about a coronation feast with a spine-tingling twist from Nichola Fletcher, author of Charlemagne's Tablecloth, and one urban activist tells the political side of dumpster diving.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 19, 2005

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)

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)

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