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

We're taking a look at the politics of wine in America with our guest Bruce Cass, author of The Oxford Companion to the Wines of North America. Bruce says it's easier for a 13 year-old to buy a gun on the Internet than it is for an adult to purchase a bottle of wine.Polar explorers Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen are making history as they attempt to ski some 2,400 miles across Antarctica. They'll join us by phone from their tent near the South Pole and tell us what they've been eating on their journey and share the recipe for Liv's Mother's Kentucky Cake. Jane and Michael Stern are in sunny San Diego eating authentic Hawaiian food at Da Kine's Plate Lunches. Cheese monger Steve Jenkins is back and this time he's talking butter. It's in style again, especially the flavorful cultured butter Steve loves.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 13, 2001

This week it's the history of popcorn with Andrew Smith, author of Popped Culture: A Social History of Popcorn in America. It's been around for thousands of years and it's America's favorite snack food. Andrew debunks some popcorn myths and explains why it has such staying power. His recipe for Popcorn Canapés is one of the more unusual ones we've featured here at The Splendid Table.Jane and Michael Stern are eating with the locals at Hopkin's Boarding House in Pensacola, Florida. They'll tell us why it's one of their Top 10 Picks. Kitchen designer Deborah Krasner evaluates range hoods. It's a case of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Barbara Flores, author of The Great Book of Pears, has a tale about how devout monks and showy aristocrats of days gone by turned the small, bitter pear into the voluptuous and luscious treat now give as holiday gifts. We think Barbara's recipe for Moraga Pear Pie is a fine way to use this succulent fruit.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 6, 2001

It's our annual entertaining show and we've got tips from the experts for when you have little time and energy but want to entertain with style, simplicity and fun. Caterer Ina Garten, proprietor of the Barefoot Contessa specialty food store in the ultra chic Hamptons, creates take-out and party food for the likes of Steven Spielberg and Martha Stewart. And she has plenty of down-to-earth advice for catering your own parties with maximum style and minimum cooking. Her recipe for Virginia baked ham makes an easy, delicious and spectacular presentation.Minimalist cook Mark Bittman drops by with more streamlining tricks and the easiest appetizer everrosemary-lemon bean puree. Jane and Michael Stern say why bother cooking at all. They're eating out and on the cheap at Hodad's on the beach in California. Equipment guru Dorie Greenspan has been checking outroasting pans, and we'll learn about sake bar etiquette from a pro.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 11, 2000

We're off for a look at New Orleans bars this week with resident historian and photographer Kerri McCaffety, author of Obituary Cocktail: The Great Saloons of New Orleans. The Big Easy has more bars per capita than anywhere else in the country and each of these architectural and cultural treasures harbors true stories more fascinating than folklore. Try the recipes for a Sazerac, the brandy concoction that was the Exchange Alley rage in 1853 or an Obituary Cocktail, a version of the martini with a splash of absinthe.It's another Memphis BBQ find from Jane and Michael Stern, David Karp talks quince, we'll hear about Etiquette Soup and naked chefs, and the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 8, 2000 (originally aired)November 4, 2000 (rebroadcast)

According to history professor Rebecca Spang, author of The Invention of the Restaurant, it used to be that going out to eat was not something anyone did by choice, and in 18th Century Paris restaurants weren't about eating at all. It's an intriguing bit of history that Ms. Spang will share.Jane and Michael Stern report from Fairfield, Connecticut where they're eating Super Duper Weenies from what used to be a truck. Bruce Cost, author of Asian Ingredients, joins us with tips for buying fish sauce and shares a recipe for Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Dipping Sauce. We'll have a tasting of Italian liquors that are meant to bite your tongue and kiss your tummy, and a North Carolina native reports on the North Carolina BBQ wars.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 28, 2000

This week Faith Popcorn, consumer trends forecaster to the Fortune 500 and co-author of EVEolution: The Eight Truths of Marketing to Women, gives us a look at how food will be marketed in the future. Ms. Popcorn has always been ahead of the curve with trends like "cocooning" and "the pleasure revenge." Now she brings us EVEolution, and it's all about a new power base in consumerism. She claims the food companies are clueless.Jane and Michael Stern are eating po boy sandwiches at Domilise Sandwich Shop in New Orleans. Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan stops by with the scoop on sulfites in wine. Are they harmless or should we be worried? Apple expert Frank Browning explains some of the pleasures and puzzles of apple cider and gives us a recipe for Appalachian Cider-Baked Beans. Garrett Oliver, brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery, suggests some beer and food pairings for your Oktoberfest celebration, and the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 21, 2000

We're off on an adventure this week to places you may not get to on your own. John Willoughby sweeps us away to Istanbul for Turkish food and a stay at the charming Empress Zoe Hotel, then world traveler and tea purveyor Sebastian Beckwith takes us trekking into the backcountry of Laos in search of the birthplace of tea.Jane and Michael Stern are raving about the impeccably fresh and lush seafood at San Francisco's Swan Oyster Depot, and gadget guru Dorie Greenspan is back with a report on stockpots just in time for soup season. Finally, Sandra Mizumoto Posey, author of Café Nation, talks coffee and magic and leaves us with a "recipe" for Simple Coffee Klatsch Divination. As always, Lynne will take your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 14, 2000