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

If a dinner party place setting with more than a knife and fork causes angst, this week's show brings relief. Judith Martin, the high priestess of etiquette known as Miss Manners, has tips for maneuvering smoothly through the minefield of dining and entertaining at this most social of seasons. Her new book, Star Spangled Manners, defends American etiquette and takes a look at what sets it apart.Jane and Michael Stern call in from the road, where they've found a top-notch-but-different chili in the Northeast. And Lynne shares her recipe for another different chili: Lynne's Nearly New Mexican Chili.Steve Beaumont wants us to try smoked beers, and tea merchant Bill Waddington stops by to talk about the year in tea. We have mail-order gifts from the forthcoming Slow Food Guide to New York City. And Lynne tells of the wonderful dried fruit she loves to give for holiday gifts. Finally, we have an interesting and probably controversial piece about the heritage animals at Kelmscott Farm in Maine.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 14, 2002

Our guest this week is Kermit Lynch, a wine pioneer who's been bucking trends since he began importing wine from France in the 1970s. He's devoted his career to seeking out the small and unique in a world of big and uniform. His book, Adventures on the Wine Route, chronicles his life in wine.Jane and Michael Stern are checking out the goods in Calgary, that eater's paradise up north. Steve Jenkins talks Cheddar, and David Rosengarten stops by to tell us about his three favorite books for cooks. Martha Holmberg of Fine Cooking magazine has tips for holiday cookie baking and a recipe for Lime Nut Buttons. And Lynne takes your calls and shares gift ideas for the book-lover on your list.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 7, 2002

Her father wanted her to be a diplomat. She had other ideas. We'll hear the story of how two passions came together to define the life of legendary cook and actress Madhur Jaffrey. You've seen her in Merchant-Ivory films as well as her own productions, and her books introduced Americans to authentic Indian food. Her latest work, Madhur Jaffrey's Step-By-Step Cooking, takes readers from India to Thailand, Indonesia to Malaysia, and has her recipe for Lamb Cooked in Dark Almond Sauce.A sign at a LaGrange, Texas, gas station alerted Jane and Michael Stern to the top-notch kolachkes at Weikel's Store and Bakery. We'll stop by a four-star restaurant near "ground zero" in New York to find out how the workers are doing and get the recipe for Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Curried Couscous, a staff favorite from Chef David Waltuck's book Staff Meals from Chanterelle. Tea merchant Bill Waddington talks scented teas, Phil Silverstone has tips for finding good cheap wine, and Trish Telesco helps us prepare for Halloween with the recipe for Rose Geranium Punch from her book A Kitchen Witch's Cookbook.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 27, 2001 (originally aired)November 30, 2002 (rebroadcast)

This year it's Thanksgiving big time with Judy Rodgers, one of America's most gifted chefs and author of The Zuni Café Cookbook. Judy's Thanksgiving Menu is modern but homey, and includes a turkey roasting technique designed to free up precious oven space and an interesting stuffing idea.Jane and Michael Stern bring us soul food at its best from Ellen's Soul Food Restaurant in Memphis. Steve Beaumont thinks all that angst about selecting the perfect wine for turkey and trimmings can be eliminated by serving beer instead. He recommends a trio of beers for the Thanksgiving table, including one that could double for champagne.Kevin Murphy, author of A Year at the Movies, tells what happened when he tried to smuggle Thanksgiving dinner into a theater. And reporter Scott Haas dines in the dark at Blindekuh (Blind Cow) in Zurich. Lynne takes your calls and has trivia about an over-the-top holiday entrée from medieval England.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 23, 2002

The kitchen of tomorrow is on scientists' drawing boards today at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and we love what they're cooking up. Are you ready for a kitchen table that cleans itself and a coffeemaker in your car? We are! How about dial-a-smell that sends the tantalizing scent of tonight's dinner wafting over the telephone line to family and friends? It's the new kitchen science, and we've got the scoop.Jane and Michael Stern are eating saltwater taffy and fairy food at Fralinger's on the Atlantic City Boardwalk, and wine maven Joshua Wesson explains the fuss over old vine wines. Soybean Queen Dana Jacobi, author of Amazing Soy, talks edamame and shares her recipe for Brunswick Style Sweet Soybeans. Our hungry reporter Scott Haas takes us truffle hunting in Italy with a dog named Diana, and Lynne's recipe for Classic White Truffle Pasta celebrates this rare and expensive jewel from Italy's Piedmont region.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 13, 2001 (originally aired)November 16, 2002 (rebroadcast)

We're eating out in America with Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. Ruth will talk about what's driving chefs these days, how our eating habits are changing, and where in the entire country she would eat if given only two choices and they couldn't be famous restaurants. Gourmet's October 2002 issue is all about restaurants—from big-city, upscale, and grand to local, down-home, and cozy.Jane and Michael Stern find hidden treasure in Cranston, Rhode Island, and wine maverick Joshua Wesson accepted our challenge to come up with some very drinkable wines for $5.00 and less a bottle!Cookbook author and teacher Rick Rodgers takes us to the coffeehouses of Vienna, where writers, artists, poets, and philosophers have gathered for centuries to debate the issues of the day and nibble glorious pastries. Rick leaves us with a recipe for Marble Gugelhupf from his latest book, Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. Finally, we'll get a new take on food and lust from Men's Health magazine. You can read the entire interview in the October 2002 issue.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 5, 2002

Hints of fall are in the air, we want to get back into the kitchen and cook, and Sally Schneider, author of A New Way to Cook, is going with us. Sally's healthy, lusty food is what we want to eat right now, and her sensational Fall Menu for A Splendid Table is the best inspiration we know.Jane and Michael Stern are eating loose meat sandwiches and onion chips at the Tastee Inn & Out in Sioux City, IA. Joshua Wesson talks low-alcohol wines and tells us if they're worth trying or merely forgettable. Kitty Morse, co-author of The Scent of Orange Blossoms, introduces us to Morocco's Sephardic cuisine and shares recipes for Aniseed Biscuits and Candied Grapefruit. We'll learn of an insidious new control in our lives from novelist Jim Crace; and you'll want to have Lynne's Brandied Fruit tucked away for the holidays that are closer than you think.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 14, 2002

"We journey to Vietnam this week with our guide Mai Pham, author of Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. We'll hear about street life, street food, and home cooking as she tells of a country at peace for the first time in a century and of a cuisine that's perhaps the freshest and brightest in all of Southeast Asia. We can't wait to try Mai's recipe for Lemongrass Beef on Cool Noodles.Back home, Jane and Michael Stern take us to Ralph 'N' Rich's in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where it's like being in an episode of The Sopranos. Travel writer Anya Von Bremzen may generate a bit of controversy when she names the place that has the best pizza in America, and Jon Kalish takes us into the Vermont woods for the Feast of Edacious Souls.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 25, 2001 (originally aired)August 24, 2002 (rebroadcast)

We're talking with scholar, explorer, and beer anthropologist Alan Eames, author of The Secret Life of Beer. Alan has tracked down beers in Amazon jungles and Egyptian temples, and survived being held at gunpoint by guerrillas in his quest to discover beer's origins. He believes it's at the heart of nearly every culture and he claims beer is, and always was, about women! Jane and Michael Stern have found cheeseburger heaven in upstate Connecticut. Minimalist cook Mark Bittman has had a life-changing experience with chickpeas. He stops by to tell all and give us his recipe for Chickpea Soup with Sausage.Reporter Jon Kalish takes us into the food world of mystery writer Kinky Friedman, where we'll hear from one of his Village Irregulars, Mike McGovern, who shares the recipe for Steve Rambam's Jailhouse Chili. Mike is the author of Eat, Drink, and Be Kinky, a delicious companion to Friedman's latest novel, Spanking Watson. Plus, Lynne has a recipe for Brussels Pork Carbonnades, a classic Belgian stew.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 12, 2000 (originally aired)July 28, 2001 (rebroadcast)August 17, 2002 (rebroadcast)

This week we're taking a look at farmers' markets with award-winning author Deborah Madison, whose latest book is Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America's Farmers' Markets. Deborah traveled America to determine if local markets can save the vanishing family farm and whether farmers can even make a living selling their harvest at these markets. She leaves us with a menu and recipes for a Late Summer Vegetarian Feast, just the thing right now to take advantage of summer's bounty.Jane and Michael Stern report from Moomer's in Traverse City, Michigan, where they're eating good ice cream amidst happily grazing dairy cows. Our opinionated cheese guy Steve Jenkins talks sheep cheese, and that prince of the picky palate David Rosengarten, taste tests hot dogs. Also, we hear how Team USA took the gold at the World Pastry Competition; and commentator Julie Hauserman muses over the resemblance between Martha Stewart and a Tibetan monk.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 10, 2002