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

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza, we're here to help with guest Paula Wolfert, author of The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen: Recipes for the Passionate Cook. Paula has fabulous and imaginative do-ahead recipes that will please everyone at your holiday table.The Sterns have escaped it all and are savoring New England hospitality atVermont's Dorset Inn.Josh Wesson talks "grower champagnes" and offers his picks for holiday sips. Our cooking guy David Leite looks at the Christmas goose through his unique kaleidoscope, while Lynne shares the recipe for the Garlic-Stuffed Roast Goose that's a holiday favorite at her house.We learn how to make Mock Aquavit from Scandinavian food authority Andreas Viestad, and Jerry Pozniak, a specialist in food-related stains and owner of Cameo Cleaners in New York, tells us what to do about those post-prandial red wine spots on the heirloom damask.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 20, 2003

The baking season is here, the oven is cranked and we have recipes for you from the great bakers of Paris via Dorie Greenspan. Dorie's book, Paris Sweets: Great Desserts from the City's Best Pastry Shops brings together her best recipe finds, including Korova Cookies and the extravaganza called Opera Cake.The Sterns take the "Mega-Bob Challenge" (and lose) at Bob's Drive-In in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.Kitchen designer Deborah Krasner picks her all-time top design books, and food forager Ari Weinzweig takes us beyond olive oil to the delicate and delicious nut oils few people think to use.Tim Richardson has the back-story on licorice, including his top picks; and we'll hear from Art Lange, the man at Honey Crisp who creates the exquisite dried fruits that are at the top of our holiday wish list.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 6, 2003

This week we'll explore the practice of geophagy, the eating of substances like soil, chalk, and clay as a cultural custom or for dietary or subsistence reasons, with our guest Susan Allport, author of The Primal Feast: Food, Sex, Foraging and Love. Evidence of geophagy has been found at archaeological sites and still occurs in much of the world (including the United States) today. Listen in on a fascinating discussion.Jane and Michael Stern have completed their dissertation on Philly cheese steak and report their findings. Anya Von Bremsen has returned from France with a recipe for Easy Bouillabaisse, that flavorful Mediterranean fish stew, along with a short list of the best places to eat bouillabaisse in Marseille.Our gadget gal Dorie Greenspan suggests cooking in steamers for pure, fat-free flavor. She shares a recipe for Spiced Steamed Salmon with Chutney and Chard to get us started. Julia Alvarez, author of A Cafecito Story, tells a fable about how a cup of coffee changed a life, and Lynne takes your phone calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 7, 2002 (originally aired)November 29, 2003 (rebroadcast)

David Rosengarten, whose new book, It's All American Food, joins us this year for our annual Thanksgiving show. David is a gifted cook who's always looking for great flavors from little work. TheThanksgiving dinner menu he shares with us has an interesting twist and it's all very doable.The Sterns are eating soul food amidst politicos and locals at Florida Avenue Grill in Washington, DC. Food forager Ari Weinsweig, author of Zingerman's Guide to Good Eating, wants us to set aside that bottle of balsamic and consider other vinegars.Men's Journal columnist John Hodgeman considers the thorny issue of men and carving. Is it really true "you're not a man until you can carve?" Raghavan Iyer tells the story of a family in Bombay and a father's love in a cup of steamed milk. He leaves us his recipe for Steamed Milk with Pistachio Nuts and Almonds from his book, The Turmeric Trail: Recipes and Memories from an Indian Childhood. David Myers, owner of Redstone Meadery in Boulder, Colorado, has the scoop on mead. Not only is the ancient beverage still around, it's what they're drinking now in the Rocky Mountain state.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 22, 2003

This week we'll explore the often-confusing world of olive oil with Deborah Krasner. With extra-virgin oils going for $37 dollars a quart and higher, we want to know what the oil tastes like before shelling out such an outrageous sum. For her new book, The Flavors of Olive Oil: A Tasting Guide and Cookbook, Deborah taste tested 150 different oils. She'll tell us about three oils she keeps in her pantry, then leave us with a "Twelve-Minute Dinner Menu" that highlights these healthy oils.Jane and Michael Stern discover a sausage known only in Washington, D.C., at Ben's Chili Bowl. David Rosengarten, that guy with the golden palate, talks Spanish hams and shares sources for buying these new imports. Christopher Kimball, editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine, has been taste-testing salts and finds they're not all alike. Winemaker Nan Bailey of Alexis Bailey Vineyards explains the odd process that makes Beaujolais Nouveau unique. And Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 2, 2002 (originally aired)November 15, 2003 (rebroadcast)

This week we’re bringing you a show we recorded live at The Gourmet Institute in New York City. Guests include, Ruth Reichl, editor in chief of Gourmet magazine; Gael Greene, former restaurant critic of New York Magazine; Daniel Boulud, chef/owner, Café Boulud; and the newest television star, Rocco DiSpirito, chef/owner of Union Pacific and Rocco's 22nd Street.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 1, 2003

Rolling Stone magazine calls Jamie Oliver, known by Food Network devotees as The Naked Chef, a "hot foodie." But there's another side to this tousled British charmer that viewers rarely see, and it's related to his new mission in life. Tune in to hear Jamie give us the scoop, then try his outrageous recipe for the World's Best Baked Onions from his new book, Happy Days with the Naked Chef.Jane and Michael Stern are in Memphis to check out Champion's Pharmacy, a peculiar and amazing mix of herbology, voodoo, and the unusual and unique in medicine. Food writer Sally Schneider returns to talk saffron, and shares some ideas for using this lovely aromatic and pungent spice that's the world's most expensive. A good place to start is Sally's recipe for Warm Citrus and Saffron Oil Vinaigrette. We'll have Cliff's Notes for the wine lover from Jay McInerney, author of Bacchus and Me; and Gourmet magazine restaurant critic Jonathan Gold takes on the Jewish delis controversy—are the best ones in New York or Los Angeles? Then Lynne has trivia about alligator pears, raves about The Elephant Walk Cookbook, shares two recent wine discoveries, and gives us her recipe forSweet Avocado-Green Chili Ice Cream.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 26, 2002 (originally aired)October 25, 2003 (rebroadcast)

It may occur in 1 in 200 people, it runs in families, women have it more than men, and those with it probably have a superior memory. It's synesthesia, and research neurologist Dr. Richard Cytowic will explain this fascinating peculiarity in the brain that results in the involuntary joining of two or more senses. If you think a slice of apple pie tastes like an octagon, tune in for some explanations.Jane and Michael Stern taste the art of the soda jerk at Edgar's Soda Fountain in Elk Point, South Dakota. The folks at Cook's Illustrated magazine taste test tortilla chips, and reporter Scott Haas has a lesson in mixology from the bartender at the Hemingway Bar in the oh-so-chic Ritz Paris. Tea merchant Bill Waddington returns to talk flushes, the key to buying premium tea while saving money. We'll get the low-down on the first national standards for organic products. And Lynne shares her recipe for Chicken in Chile, Garlic and Vinegar Sauce, a make-ahead dish that's perfect for a fall supper.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 12, 2002 (originally aired)October 18, 2003 (rebroadcast)

For some of us, a bit of fine, luxurious chocolate can soothe our stress or brighten a dreary day. But how many of us know that our Godiva bar started out as a goopy white substance from the insides of an ugly cacao pod? Maricel Presilla, author of The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao, shares some history and cultural lore about our antidote of choice and leaves us with two recipes: Kekehi Cacao-Chile Balls and Maya-Mediterranean Chocolate Rice Pudding.Jane and Michael Stern are sampling smoked eel and other delicacies from The Eel Man of the Delaware Valley; and winemaker Randall Graham of Bonny Doon Vineyards talks "wine of the prostitute" and Strawberry Fizz. Cheese expert Steve Jenkins offers alternatives to Brie; and we'll go to New Orleans for the return of a Sunday classic.We'll hear how an adult-ed class teamed up with salsa to change the lives of a group of Mexican women in California's Anderson Valley. The "salsa ladies" collectively wrote Secrets of Salsa: A Bilingual Cookbook to tell their inspiring story and share recipes like Potato and Carrot Salsa.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 28, 2002 (originally aired)September 27, 2003 (rebroadcast)

This week we're looking at where our health and nutrition information comes from with Dr. Marion Nestle, professor and chair of New York University's Department of Nutrition and Food Studies. Dr. Nestle has served as nutrition advisor to the USDA and the FDA and is the author of Food Politics: How the Food Industry Influences Nutrition and Health. She suggests some Internet sites that offer help in determining who is funding the health and nutrition research we hear about in the news.It's conch chowder and picadillo for Jane and Michael Stern at Dennis Pharmacy Luncheonette in Key West, Florida. Joshua Wesson reveals true lies behind those wine rules, and wants us to try low oak Chardonnays that pair well with a variety of foods.Chef Jerry Traunfeld cooks with lavender and has a recipe for Potatoes with Lavender and Rosemary. Our always-hungry reporter Scott Haas lets his American teenagers loose at Paris' high altar of serious cuisine; we'll hear from the woman who initiated the ban on soda in Los Angeles schools; and Lynne shares her recipe for Tomato-Mozzarella Salad with Spiked Pine Nuts and Basil.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 31, 2002 (originally aired)August 23, 2003 (rebroadcast)