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

This week it's all about sweets. We'll take a look at the great candy civilizations—ancient India and Persia—and their contribution to our modern day sweet tooth. Our guest is Tim Richardson, author of Sweets: A History of Candy.The Sterns are in Charlevoix, Michigan where Jane says she ate the pancake of her life at Juilleret's.Cook and author Sally Schneider was inspired by Alice B. Toklas and the honey bee to create a luscious Nougat Ice Cream. Then screenwriter Bix Skahill brings us his unique take on sugar and family dysfunction.Food critic David Rosengarten returns with his picks of hard ciders, and Lynne talks with Arnold Carbone, head of what they call "Bizarre and D" and Ben & Jerry's.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 6, 2003 (originally aired)September 4, 2004 (rebroadcast)

This week it's food and the sexes. Naturalist Susan Allport, author of Primal Feast, examines how gender shapes food behavior for humans and other animals. It's an interesting take on food, foraging, and sex in the animal world.The Sterns are into Hot Truck, a deeply local specialty of Ithaca, New York. Wine maverick Josh Wesson has advice for wines to drink with sweet corn. Dorie Greenspan checks out the best gadgets for saving leftover wine.We'll hear the story of a local hero and his giant tomato, and Dave Hirschkop, author of Crazy from the Heat, tells us about his chili sauce creation that was so hot it was banned from the fiery food show.It's tomato season, the time of year that's sheer bliss for Lynne. She's been in the kitchen concocting a Big Tomato Sweet-Sour Salad and "Drippy" Mexican Sweet Corn.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 16, 2003 (originally aired)August 28, 2004 (rebroadcast)

This week it's class warfare in the California wine country. We'll take a look at growth and development versus local culture as new money from the Silicon Valley threatens what's left of the rural lifestyle in the Napa and Sonoma valleys. Our guest is Alan Deutschman, author of A Tale of Two Valleys: Wine, Wealth and the Battle for the Good Life in Napa and Sonoma.Avoiding the fray, Jane and Michael Stern are in South Carolina eating Jesus crabs and flounder atFishnet Seafood on Johns Island.Sally Schneider, author of A New Way to Cook, has been fiddling with fresh soybeans. Her recipe for Succotash is a delicious result. Then Jill Gusman, co-author of Vegetables from the Sea, introduces us to the unfamiliar realm of sea greens. Her recipe for Sea Vegetable Caesar Salad is a good way to start experimenting with veggies from the deep.We have the scoop on the luscious argan oil from Morocco, and, as always, Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 9, 2003 (originally aired)August 14, 2004 (rebroadcast)

It seems that salt has taken on a life of its own these days, now that we can choose the sea we want it from and even the color. We'll take a look at this "white gold" and its relationship to power in America with our guest, Professor Pierre Laszlo, author of Salt: Grain of Life.The Sterns are eating classic regional fare at Harry Caray's, the funky Chicago restaurant founded by the renowned broadcaster known as "the voice of the Chicago Cubs." Our beer guy, Steve Beaumont, suggests a Mid-Atlantic road trip based loosely on the theme ""follow the brew."" And Lynne reveals some of her favorite makers of Prosecco.David Rosengarten talks the flavors of India and its world-class fare that, regrettably, we all but ignore. He'll share sources for some of his favorite products and Indian pantry staples. Try David's recipe for Pilau Rice with Saffron and Fresh Curry Leaves and Sarson Da Saag from The Turmeric Trail by Raghavan Iyer. You might become a fan of this rich and varied cuisine.Finally, we'll hear the story of an American who tried to get a family recipe from her East Indian fiancé's clan and ended up with more family than recipe.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 2, 2003 (originally aired)July 31, 2004 (rebroadcast)

This week it's a guide to easy summer entertaining with Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmetmagazine. Ruth is an expert hostess and former caterer who believes it's all about beginnings and endings. She leaves us with the only menu we'll need for a season of successful parties: A Lazy Front Porch Supper.Jim's B-B-Q Chicken in Candor, New York, is one of the Sterns' latest finds. They say it's like no other. For Steve Jenkins, summer entertaining means cheese suppers. There's no cooking and the accompaniments are fantastic.Chef Jerry Traunfeld wants us to harvest those nasturtiums and pickle them like capers. Learn how with his recipe for Nasturtium Capers. British storyteller Jim Crace has an unusual way of celebrating birthdays that involves spitting, and we'll take a look at solar cooking with Jennifer Barker.Broadcast dates for this episode:July 5, 2003 (originally aired)July 3, 2004 (rebroadcast)

This week it's the story behind Greens, the first eatery to turn vegetables into serious, fabulous eating. Today, some twenty years later, the San Francisco restaurant founded by a group of Buddhists is still going strong. Lynne talks with Chef Annie Somerville, the guiding force behind this American classic and author of Everyday Greens: Home Cooking from Greens, the Celebrated Vegetarian Restaurant. Fire up your grill and try Annie's recipe for Grilled Fingerling Potato Salad with Corn and Cherry Tomatoes.On the other hand, the seductive aroma of sausages moved the Sterns to follow their noses to Otto's Sausage Kitchen and Meat Market in Portland, Oregon.Dorie Greenspan returns with a guide to chips, chunks, and planks for smoking your supper. Dorie's charming new book, Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops, transports you to the City of Light without leaving home.We'll hear a fictional tale about the Vietnamese cook to Alice B. Toklas and Gertrude Stein as Monique Truong reads from her novel, The Book of Salt.Finally, we've news from a Minnesota ethanol plant that's taken its place among the world's great producers of premium vodka.Broadcast dates for this episode:July 26, 2003 (originally aired)June 26, 2004 (rebroadcast)

"We're taking a look at the groundbreaking culinary revolution that blasted onto the scene in the 1970's, sending foodies of that era into fits of rapture. It was called California Cuisine and it was so new, so hot, and so chic. Our guest, California chef Jeremiah Tower, was front and center in the movement that put fresh-from-the-field, locally grown food onto restaurant dinner plates and, ultimately, our tables at home. His new book, California Dish is a memoir of that moment in time. Lynne did some reminiscing herself and came up with her homage to California Cuisine: Garlic Bread, Green Bean and Tomato Salad.The Sterns are eating brisket and trying to ignore the glaring bulldog at Sugar's in Velarde, New Mexico. Cheesemonger Steve Jenkins has a curious diner's guide to sheep cheese, and Lynne shares a favorite recipe for Wilted Greens and Sheep Cheese Bruschetta. Chinese food expert Bik Ng leads reporter Scott Haas into the world of dim sum, and we'll hear the story of how Arnie, the Doughnut took charge of his life.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 20, 2003 (originally aired)June 19, 2004 (rebroadcast)

This week we'll hear how Buddhism and karma shape the most sophisticated cooking in Southeast Asia. Our guest, David Thompson, calls it "the cuisine that takes no prisoners." He shares a recipe for Thai Grilled Chicken from his book, Thai Food.Jane and Michael Stern are eating Frito Pie from the Five & Dime General Store while strolling the mall in Santa Fe.David Rosengarten reveals some extraordinary Mondavi wines, discovered while celebrating Robert Mondavi's 90th birthday and tasting his way through everything made by the renowned producer.Travel writer Anya Von Bremzen went home to Russia and found a booming new food scene. She tells of some discoveries in Pushkin, and leaves us a recipe for True Russian Blini.Only Calvin Trillin could turn a ride to the airport into an adventure in raw fish. It's a tale from his new book, Feeding a Yen: Savoring Local Specialties from Kansas City to Cuzco.Broadcast dates for this episode:June 7, 2003 (originally aired)June 5, 2004 (rebroadcast)

Food historian Patrick Faas, author of Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome, takes us back to a time when flamingo tongues were finger food and boiling water signaled a decline in your morals. Patrick leaves us with an unusual recipe for Soft-Boiled Eggs in Pine Nut Sauce.It's decadence road food style for the Sterns as they indulge in sub sandwiches at the White House Sub Shop in Atlantic City. Sally Schneider returns to reveal the gadget she can't live without and gives us her recipe for Warm Olivada. Food writer Ted Lee tells us what he discovered when he set out to find the next big taste. Maybe it has something to do with his recipe for Berbere-and-Mulberry-Glazed Duck. Randall Graham of Bonny Doon Vineyards introduces us to a Frenchman whose wines are not about taste. And we'll hear from the only remaining maker of limburger cheese in this country.Broadcast dates for this episode:May 24, 2003 (originally aired)May 22, 2004 (rebroadcast)

"We're fat, we're sick, and it's all your fault!" was the essence of a lawsuit brought by two teenagers against McDonald's. They denied it. Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock set out to find the truth by eating three meals a day for a month at the Golden Arches and documenting the process in his movie Supersize Me. He tells us what he learned. The Sterns visit D.Z. Akins in San Diego to find out if there's sublime Jewish deli beyond New York. Josh Wesson says bargain-priced Pinot Noir isn't necessarily an oxymoron. He's found good ones under $15!Gourmet magazine executive editor John Willoughby, co-author of How to Cook Meat, talks cuts of lamb kindest to our wallets, and shares his recipe for Grilled Lamb Shoulder Chops Greek Style. Novelist Eleanor Lipman muses about building great literary character at the table. Her latest novel is The Pursuit of Alice Thrift. Tucker Shaw, author of Flavor of the Week, tells of photographing everything he eats in 2004. By year-end he expects to have about 2500 pictures representing the good, the bad, and everything in-between in one man's diary of a year eating in New York City.Broadcast dates for this episode:May 15, 2004