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

This week it's a look at why we buy. What drives us to purchase nonsense, even when we're watching every penny? Branding consultant Martin Lindstrom examined this behavior with neuroscientists at Oxford University. The findings convinced him that mysterious forces we aren't even aware of propel us to open our wallets for things we don't need or want. His book is Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy.The Sterns have been wandering the Louisiana bayous, where they found great eats at Mosca's, a vintage Italian roadhouse in Avondale. Wine maverick Josh Wesson gives American Riesling its due. It's the perfect wine for how we eat today. We check in with Chef Gabrielle Hamilton at Prune in New York City. She shines at her restaurant stove, but feeding two toddlers at home is another story.Then it's to the opposite coast and Portland, Oregon where little money gets you brilliant feasting at the city's food carts; and New York Times reporter Julia Moskin reveals the hottest new cooking tool you'll never find on the equipment sites and in the cookware stores.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 14, 2009

This week it's a different look at the seemingly simple and innocent banana. It's played a role in building regimes, toppling governments, partnering with the CIA and even gave Elvis his legendary grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich. Our guest is Dan Koeppel, author of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit that Changed the World.The Sterns have found five-star Mexican food at Rosita's in the small Great Plains town of Scottsbluff, Nebraska.Sally Schneider is back talking savory ideas for lemons. Try her recipe for Risotto with Dry Sherry and Lemon from her book, The Improvisational Cook.Reporter Guy Hand tells of the morphing of the tater tot. From the ridiculous to the sublime, it's the story of what happened to those crispy little nuggets that started out as cattle feed in the Pacific Northwest and ended up in trendy bars all across America.Lynne and Christopher Kimball of Cook's Illustrated fame play another round of Stump the Cook with Chris from St. Louis.Professor Jessica Harris, the first scholar-in-residence to hold the chair endowed by Ray Charles at Dillard University, talks about the musician's great generosity, how he loved to eat, and his support of African-American culture.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 15, 2008 (originally aired)March 7, 2009 (rebroadcast)

This week it's a peek into the life of a waiter at one of the world's most demanding restaurants. It's a profession and high craft, and not for the faint of heart. Our guest is Phoebe Damrosch, former waiter at Chef Thomas Keller's acclaimed Per Se in New York City. Phoebe tells all in her book Service Included: Four-Star Secrets of an Eavesdropping Waiter.The Sterns are at Grove Café in Ames, Iowa, where they're forking up pancakes true to their name-huge, pan-size disks of thick and fluffy deliciousness.Cheesemonger Steve Jenkins is back with a look at the cheeses of the Pyrenees. Improvisational cook Sally Schneider talks the theory and practice of meat loaf and shares her recipe for Lamb Meat Loaf with Cumin, Coriander and Fennel.Pierre Laszlo, Professor Emeritus of chemistry at the University of Liege in Belgium, tells the story of what happened when a group trying out Utopia in California wrote a letter to the USDA. Professor Laszlo wants us to try his recipe for Tarte au Citron from his latest book, Citrus: A History.Streit Matzo, the last family-owned matzo factory in the country is moving from its long-time home on New York's Lower East Side. Fourth-generation family member Aaron Gross explains why.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 16, 2008 (originally aired)February 21, 2009 (rebroadcast)

This week it's the one recipe that can make all the difference: stock. Author Michael Ruhlman guides us through the steps to creating that essential elixir that, when well made, can turn a new cook into a good cook, or a good cook into a great one. His recipe for Basic Brown Veal Stock gets us started. Michael's new book is The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft for Every Kitchen. Jane and Michael Stern chomp down on the "Pastraminator" at the All-Star Sandwich Bar in Cambridge, Massachusetts. One person says yams, another says sweet potatoes, one of them is wrong. Los Angeles Times food and wine journalist Russ Parsons, author of How to Pick a Peach cracks the confusing codes behind yams and sweet potatoes and leaves us his recipe for Sweet Potato Puree with Hazelnut Soufflé Top. Historian Ken Albala talks beans-all 18,000 varieties in all their confounding glory. Ken is the author of Beans: A History. Zak Rosen celebrates 100 years of Faygo pop, the beloved quirky beverage from Motown. Susanna Short, author of Bundt Cake Bliss, talks the come-back gâteau and shares her recipe for Pine Nut and Chili Bundt with Chili Glaze.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 26, 2008 (originally aired)January 31, 2009 (rebroadcast)

We are taking a look at our Locavore Nation project. 15 adventurous souls took on the challenge to eat a sustainable, local diet for a year. We will weigh in with the results. Locavore novelist Barbara Kingsolver, author of Animal, Vegetable. Miracle: A Year of Food Life joins us for a commentary on the results.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 17, 2009

Our guest this week is Padma Lakshmi, host of TV's reality show, "Top Chef." Her famous line is "please pack your knives and go." Padma packed her knives, cooked her way around the world, then came home to write her new book Tangy Tart Hot Sweet: A World of Recipes for Every Day. Her food, including Two Hens Laughing, is some of the most alluring to come along in some time.Great smoked fish lured Jane and Michael Stern to Duluth, Minnesota (in the winter, no less) and the Northern Waters Smokehaus. Also in Duluth, the Damiano Center is feeding hundreds of folks every day with perfectly good food that stores, restaurants and farmers throw away. It's the kind of good-news story we love.Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg stop by to tell us how we can make our own artisan bread in five minutes a day (no kidding). Five-Minute Artisan Bread is from their book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking.Christopher Kimball of Cook's Illustrated fame is back for another round of Stump the Cook, and David Wallechinsky, author of The New Book of Lists, reveals the one he claims isn't yet complete.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 15, 2007 (originally aired)December 27, 2008 (rebroadcast)

Broadcast dates for this episode:December 13, 2008

This week it's the story behind the wine world's most revered and feared critic. One bad review from him can take a wine down. He's Robert Parker, Jr. and his power is both rare and absolute. We'll find out what shapes and informs his legendary palate. Look for the 7th and latest edition of his classic Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide in bookstores now.Who but the Sterns would go for apple pancakes with potato pancakes on the side? They're at the Northside Grill in Ann Arbor, Michigan.Christopher Kimball of America's Test Kitchen stops by with this year's crop of top kitchen gadgets just in time for holiday gifting.Food scientist to the pros and award-winning author Shirley Corriher is back and she's talking cookie control - what we need to know for successful baking that no one else tells us. Her wonderful book, BakeWise: The Hows and Whys of Successful Baking, is hot off the press.Tea merchant Bill Waddington shares some interesting tea customs, and Hillary Carlip (www.hillarycarlip.com), author of A la Carte: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers, lets us in on an unusual kind of culinary collectible.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 6, 2008

This week it's a cooking lesson with a virtuoso. Violinist Joshua Bell has received every accolade imaginable in his career, including a Grammy for his stunning performance in the soundtrack of the Academy Award-winning film The Red Violin. Now he's creating his first home and he wants to learn to cook. He and Lynne met up at the stove in his New York City kitchen where Tagliatelle with Caramelized Oranges Almonds was the lesson of the day.The Sterns are in Cleveland where they're eating Wiener Schnitzel and Dobos Torte at Balaton. Sally Schneider, author of The Improvisational Cook, returns with a cold weather cooking technique you will love.Food scientist Harold McGee, author of the seminal On Food and Cooking, explains those ever more confounding scientific contortions coming out of restaurant kitchens these days. And We'll hear from the United States Oyster Shucking Champion.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 10, 2007 (originally aired)November 29, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week it's Jeff Henderson, "Chef Jeff" of the Chef Jeff project on The Food Network, Jane and Michael Stern are at Enstrom's Toffee in Grand Junction, CO. And we visit with Dorie Greenspan author of Baking, From My Home to Yours, and Gourmet magazine's John Willoughby.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 22, 2008

This week we have a homage to all things porcine, and the story of family life in a rural French village from French chef Stéphane Reynaud, author of Pork & Sons, Jane and Michael Stern have found the "krunkest" fish in Nashville at Eastside Fish, and Kim Marcus of The Wine Spectator brings us up to date on the wines of Portugal.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 3, 2007 (originally aired)October 25, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This weeks it's the intersection of food and international relations with Chris Fair, author of Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations. Jane and Michael Stern are eating cream puffs at Butler's Donuts in Somerset, MA and Gourmet Magazine's John Willoughby brings us their picks of America's legendary restaurants.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 18, 2008

This week we peek at the fantasy life of a house in Tuscany with Michael Tucker, author of Living in a Foreign Language, A Memoir of Food, Wine and Love. Sally Schneider author of A New Way to Cook gives us a fresh take on pears, and Seattle chef Tom Douglas explains the trials and tribulations of becoming a "gentleman" farmer.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 3, 2007 (originally aired)October 11, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week we talk to journalist Julia Flynn Siler author of The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. Jane and Michael Stern are at Kumback Lunch in Perry, OK. David Rosengarten looks at the origins of ramen noodles. And for an interpretation of an epicurean's take on happiness we turn to philosopher and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht, author of The Happiness Myth: Why What We Think is Right is Wrong.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 8, 2007 (originally aired)September 27, 2008 (rebroadcast)

We're looking at global seed banks with journalist John Seabrook, author of The New Yorker article, Sowing For the Apocalypse. Jane and Michael Stern are at Short Sugar's BBQ in Reidsville, NC, wine wit Joshua Wesson takes us to Italy's premier wine event, Vin Italy, and Jill Carle, co-author of College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends, has ideas for breaking out of the popcorn and noodle cup rut.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 15, 2007 (originally aired)September 6, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week we're talking to distinguished nutritionist and food activist Marion Nestle about who should really be responsible for our food supply. She is the author of What To Eat. The Stern's are at Standard Baking on the Portland, ME waterfront and Sally Schneider author of the award-winning The Improvisational Cook gives us a new view of the kitchen staple, the egg.Broadcast dates for this episode:June 9, 2007 (originally aired)August 9, 2008 (rebroadcast)

We're taking a look at sushi-what we never knew about it, that the way we eat it is probably all wrong, and that its birthplace in not Japan. Our guest is journalist Trevor Corson, author of The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket. The Sterns are in Colorado where they're tucking into cinnamon rolls the size of dinner plates at Johnson's Corner in Loveland.Middle Eastern food authority and historian, Claudia Roden, brings us something new to grill: kafta, the ground meat kebabs that every country in the region makes its own. She leaves us her recipe for Moroccan Kebabs from her beautiful new book Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, & Lebanon. Whisky maker John Glaser of Compass Box Whisky Company has been dubbed a maverick by the trade for his new-style blends of Scotch. He stops by with samples for Lynne.French chef and national treasure Jacques Pépin talks the small simple things he's created over a lifetime of cooking that make sensational eating. He leaves us his recipe for Fromage Fort from his latest, and perhaps most personal, book, Chez Jacques: Traditions and Rituals of a Cook. Carolin Young, author of Apples of Gold in Settings of Silver: Stories of Dinner as a Work of Art, fills us in on her Paris walking and dining tours; and, as always, the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:June 30, 2007 (originally aired)August 2, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week we meet the charming Spanish wunder chef Jose Andres, host of PBS's Jose's Made in Spain. The Sterns are in Sacramento, CA eating Squeeze Burgers at The Squeeze Inn, and Lynne puts veggie burgers to a taste test in her kitchen.Broadcast dates for this episode:July 19, 2008

This week we talk to journalist Dave Plotnikoff about his hike from the Mexican border to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail and the food that ended up being the touch point of the trip. He is the author of "Hungry Man" from the July 2007 issue of Saveur Magazine. Jane and Michael Stern are eating planked whitefish and ice cream "Thunderclouds" at Juilleret's in Harbor Springs, MI, and Russ Parsons, author of How to Pick a Peach explains the rules about produce and the refrigerator.Broadcast dates for this episode:July 21, 2007 (originally aired)July 5, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week we have the story of Mother Noella Marcellino who found her calling in a Benedictine abbey and the cheese caves of France. The Stern's are at Clanton's in Vinita, OK eating chicken fried steak. Wine wit Josh Wesson introduces us to the delicious and overlooked sparkling red wines of summer. Marian Burros of The New York Times recommends sources for grass fed beef, and attorney Cameron Stracher, author of Dinner with Dad: How I Found My Way Back to the Family Table, tells the tale of what happens when a working dad takes over dinner for a year.Broadcast dates for this episode:June 17, 2007 (originally aired)June 14, 2008 (rebroadcast)

We are looking at the foods of the Philippine's this week with Amy Besa, author of Memories of Philippine Kitchens: Stories and Recipes from Far and Near, Jane and Michael Stern are at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, TN and Sally Schneider author of the award-winning The Improvisational Cook gives us a cooking lesson for spring.Broadcast dates for this episode:May 26, 2007 (originally aired)May 10, 2008 (rebroadcast)

We're looking at the education of a wine rookie with Lettie Teague and her student, movie critic Peter Travers. Lettie is the author of Educating Peter, How I Taught a Famous Movie Critic the Difference Between Cabernet and Merlot or How Anybody Can Become and (Almost) Instant Wine Critic. Jane and Michael Stern are in the Mississippi Delta at Rhoda's Famous Hot Tamales and we look at the advent of a new dining trend, one-pot meals served in private homes.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 28, 2007 (originally aired)May 3, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week it's a special one-hour program recorded in Hawaii. Aloha! This week we're bringing you a special one-hour program recorded in Hawaii. It's a look at the food and culture of Honolulu and its island of Oahu that few tourists see. You won't want to miss this show. Famed chef Alan Wong gets us started with a short history lesson, laying out the role immigrants played in the origins of island foods. Then we're off on a whirlwind tour around the island of Oahu, sharing ideas for where to eat and where to shop along the way. We'll talk the local food revolution with farmer Dean Okimoto, visit the Honolulu Fish Auction, tour Chinatown with Joan Namkoong, author of Food Lover's Guide to Honolulu, and stop for shrimp and shave ice on Oahu's north shore.Keona Mark tells how a native organization is taking taro beyond the infamous poi, and we'll eat from high to low. Along the way we gathered recipes to share, including Hamakua Springs Tomato, Beet and Avocado Salad from the legendary Alan Wong's Restaurant, and a Korean Marinade from Yummy Korean Barbecue in Honolulu's Makai Market.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 17, 2007 (originally aired)April 19, 2008 (rebroadcast)

We're still celebrating! This week it's Part Two of our 10th anniversary special recorded in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. This is the region of Italy that Italians consider their culinary jewel, the land of prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano.Enjoy A Holiday Feast from Ferrara, a menu of recipes handpicked by Lynne for wonderful holiday celebrations.Learn more about this beautiful country in Lynne's Go-To Guide to Emilia-Romagna and enjoy Lynne's memories and thoughts of Villa Gaidello. (See photos of Lynne in Italy in a slideshow as well.)Join us for this very special broadcast of intimate armchair travel with one of Italy's greatest fans, Lynne Rossetto Kasper.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 15, 2005 (originally aired)October 21, 2006 (rebroadcast)March 3, 2007 (rebroadcast)April 12, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Splendid Table® with the first of two shows recorded in Lynne's beloved Emilia-Romagna. This is the region of Italy that Italians consider their culinary jewel, the land of prosciutto and Parmigiano-Reggiano.Lynne takes us behind the scenes as no one else can - into balsamic attics and kitchens of legendary country restaurants. She takes us to a town where people still set a place at table for the composer Verdi and his music spills out into the street.Lynne's Go-To Guide to Emilia-Romagna takes us from a salumeria in Parma to a barrista in Bologna, stopping along the way for a pasta class and a visit with an eel fisherman. A Rustic Celebration Supper from the Hills of Parma and Piacenza features a menu and recipes for a casual celebration supper selected by Lynne.Join us for this very special broadcast of intimate armchair travel with one of Italy's greatest fans, Lynne Rossetto Kasper.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 8, 2005 (originally aired)October 14, 2006 (rebroadcast)April 5, 2008 (rebroadcast)

Thomas Jefferson was the first American to make a serious study of wine. He not only collected and drank it, he toured vineyards, learned first hand, and took copious notes. John Hailman, author of Jefferson on Wine, spent 30 years studying the writing of a man way ahead of his time. He joins us this week with the fascinating story.The Sterns take a detour from road food to feast on old time San Francisco seafood at Sam's Grill in the financial district. Hide the Velveeta and dump that block of mozzarella. The always-opinionated Steve Jenkins is back with new finds that will get us out of a cheese rut.We have a story of newlyweds that asks an interesting question: can true love overcome Spam? Christopher Kimball plays another round of Stump the Cook, and we'll talk eating and emotion (as in popcorn at the movies.) Lynne shares recipes for Easter Lamb with Red Wine and Black Olives and Soffritto of Tomato and Fresh Herbs with Penne and, as always, takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 24, 2007 (originally aired)March 29, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week it's a story of growing up in Delhi, told by Indian food authority and actress Madhur Jaffrey. She came of age at a wrenching time in India's history, in a large family both privileged and conflicted. It's all evoked through Madhur's taste memories and chronicled in her new book, Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India. Her recipe for Everyday Cauliflower is from the book.The Sterns are in upstate New York, noshing on Sauceburgers, "Michigans," and fries at McSweeney's in Plattsburgh. Food and Wine magazine's Senior Editor, Ray Isle, stops by to sort through the glut of American Pinot Noir on the market these days and picks the best buys.Former home-cook-turned-chef at New York City's Prune, Gabrielle Hamilton, tells a story which begins, "It's All Fun and Games Until ..." excerpted from How I Learned to Cook: Culinary Educations from the World's Greatest Chefs. Tune in to find out what happens next. Judith Hoffberg, creator of the International Edible Books Festival, reveals how you can eat your own words and everyone else's, too, and Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 17, 2007 (originally aired)March 8, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week it's a look at the life of a culinary innovator. Cecilia Chiang was a pioneer in bringing regional Chinese food to America with the opening of The Mandarin, her San Francisco restaurant. It became a culinary landmark and Cecilia became a leader in the city's food community. Her book, The Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco tells her story. Cecilia's recipe for Lion's Head, a Shanghai specialty, is from the book.It could be the ultimate corned beef sandwich for Jane and Michael Stern at Tucson's Feig's Kosher Foods. Baking authority Dorie Greenspan is back from "Chocolate University" and stops by with tips for a chocolate tasting. She leaves us her recipe for Gooey Chocolate Cakes from her fabulous book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.Tea expert Bill Waddington joins Lynne for a tasting of new old teas—two varieties treasured in China but unknown here. Ethan Lowry has the scoop on Urban Spoon, a wonderfully innovative source for good eats in cities across the country. And, as always, the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:February 9, 2008

Those tangibles of the American food revolution — take-out sushi at the gas station, salads of organic baby lettuces and obscure herbs, star chefs, restaurants as Mecca — are no coincidence according to our guest David Kamp, author of The United States of Arugula: How We Became a Gourmet Nation. He believes a parade of freewheeling originals — from Julia Child to Michael Pollan — led us out of the culinary dark ages. We have the story.The Sterns unveil a transcendental sweet potato pancake at Nashville's Pancake Pantry. Deborah Krasner talks culinary vacations and what you need to know before you hand over the credit card. Her new book The New Outdoor Kitchen: Cooking Up a Kitchen for the Way You Live and Play is due out in February.It's the New York City burger war with Mike Colameco, our go-to guy in the Big Apple. Singer Alex Kapranos of the Franz Ferdinand band takes us on tour for a look at a rocker's road food. He's the author of Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand.Eli Winkleman tells the story behind Challah for Hunger, a national student organization addressing humanitarian issues in a unique way. Lynne shares her Homage to California Cuisine: Garlic Bread, Green Bean and Tomato Salad and a recipe for Carrots with Apricots and Pistachios. And the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 13, 2007 (originally aired)February 2, 2008 (rebroadcast)

This week we're cooking and eating the vegan way with our guest Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. It's less about tofu and more about dynamite vegetables and inventive cooking. Her recipe for Asparagus Quiche with Tomatoes and Tarragon is a delicious introduction.For Jane and Michael Stern it's that great southern triumvirate—biscuits, ham and sweet tea—at the Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. David Rosengarten takes us to Hyderabad, the Indian city where the rich and regal food of the north meets up with the zing and zap of the cuisines of the south.Aaron Woolf, director of King Corn, tells the back story behind the new feature documentary about two guys from Boston, one acre of corn, and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation. We'll meet up with Laura Solorio, the first of the 15 "locavores" to participate in our year-long project called Locavore Nation. James Villas, the southern gentleman of the food world, stops by to talk one of those guilty pleasure foods—bacon—and leaves us his recipe for Bacon and Peanut Butter Chocolate Truffles from his new book The Bacon Cookbook.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 19, 2008

Science writer Jennifer Ackerman joins us this week for a scientific take on how our bodies use food and drink. What really controls our appetite and hunger? We'll have some answers. Jennifer's new book is Sex, Sleep, Eat, Drink, Dream: A Day in the Life of Your Body. The Sterns' fondness for prison gift shops led them to some great hush puppies and shredded pork sandwiches at Hocutt's Carolina Barbecue. It's right across from the Big House in Moundsville, West Virginia.Culinary improviser Sally Schneider, author of The Improvisational Cook takes the intimidation out of the soufflé. Her cheese soufflé recipe is a step-by-step guide to perfect results. Wine writer Natalie MacLean is always game for a new wine experience. When she became a restaurant sommelier for a night she came away with some good tips to share. Natalie is the author of Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass.Professor Steven Kaplan, a man who has French bakers shaking in their shoes, stops by to talk French bread. We'll hear about an oyster shell recycling program from Sabrina Varnum of the North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries, and, as always, Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 12, 2008

This week we take a look at what controls our eating. Is it real hunger or something more complex? We'll have answers from our guest, Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Laboratory. His new book is Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. It's an endangered species for the Sterns — an old-time American chili parlor that's alive and well at Mike's Chili Parlor in Seattle.Food writer Francine Maroukian shares her idiosyncratic approach to building a cookbook library and shares some favorite titles from her own shelves. Then Lynne weighs in with some sources to check when starting or adding to a cookbook collection. That brilliant culinary trickster, Chef Michel Richard, has tips that make the new kitchen technology doable for home cooks. The recipe for Low Carb-O-Nara is from Chef Richard's book Happy in the Kitchen: The Craft of Cooking, the Art of Eating.Celebrity Stump Master Christopher Kimball returns for another round of Stump the Cook, we have a report on bottled waters, and the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 6, 2007 (originally aired)January 5, 2008 (rebroadcast)

Writer and Director Nora Ephron, author of the best-seller I Feel Bad About My Neck, joins us this week with observations on life and the American food scene, including a provocative take on how the duo of the birth control pill and Julia Child shaped the social history of the late 20th Century.The Sterns report that the endangered chicken in a pot bubbles proud and free at the Chutzpah in Fairfax, Virginia. Sally Schneider, author of The Improvisational Cook, has her usual effortless take on great hors d'oeuvres, including her recipe for Pancetta Tartines. It's gifts for wine geeks from a master geek himself, The Wine Spectator's Matt Kramer. His latest book is Matt Kramer's Making Sense of Italian Wine.Fred Plotkin, our pleasure activist and author of Italy for the Gourmet Traveller, talks Vienna, the perfect winter destination, and lines up the must-do coffeehouses. We'll take a look at the new nanny nutrition dilemma, and, as always, Lynne takes your callsBroadcast dates for this episode:December 16, 2006 (originally aired)December 29, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Broadcast dates for this episode:December 22, 2007

This week it's a look at the pivotal cookbooks of our time with Judith Jones, the woman who brought them to print. She didn't set out to edit cookbooks. Then she discovered Julia Child, Marcella Hazan and a clutch of other "greats." The rest is history. Judith's recipe for Frenchified Meatloaf is from her latest book, The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food.Jane and Michael Stern stop by with their report on Lupie's in Charlotte, North Carolina. They say the squash casserole is worth a trip.Consummate cookbook author and baker Dorie Greenspan simply cannot resist testing kitchen gadgets. It's led to some great stocking stuffers. Gail Monaghan, author of Lost Desserts, takes a look at antique desserts. Her recipe for Red Wine Jelly is a stunner no one has seen for at least a century.We have the story of Will Scott, one of California's last African American farmers, and the chef who carries on his cultural and culinary traditions at Farmerbrown restaurant in San Francisco. Author and photographer Melanie Dunea tells us about a perfect gift for all the chef groupies on your holiday shopping list: her book titled My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals and, as always Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 8, 2007

Broadcast dates for this episode:December 1, 2007

When our guest, Saveur magazine executive editor James Oseland, was 19, he spent a summer in Indonesia. He returned home but his heart and appetite stayed behind. After 23 years of exploring the region, James has written Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. He joins us for a look at an enchanting cuisine and a world of new flavors and traditions. The recipe for Beef Rendang is from his new book.Extra crispy fried chicken has Jane and Michael Stern clucking at Price's Chicken Coop in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wine maverick Josh Wesson claims boxed wines rock and so do ones in cans! He shares his picks. Dorie Greenspan brings us a baking pro's prime secret: goodies you never knew you could make ahead and freeze. Cocoa-Buttermilk Birthday Cake comes from Dorie's latest must-have book, Baking: From My Home to Yours. Joanna Pruess, author of Seduced by Bacon: Recipes & Lore About America's Favorite Indulgence, reviews the lush new bacons showing up in the market and shares an intriguing recipe for Pecan-Brown Sugar and Bacon Ice Cream.Seth Kugel reports on the New York City Pushcart Awards. He writes the "Weekend in New York" column for The New York Times and is co-author of Nueve York: The Complete Guide to Latino Life in the Five Boroughs.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 11, 2006 (originally aired)November 24, 2007 (rebroadcast)

This week it's our annual Thanksgiving show. We're bringing you a line up of experts for a look at why we eat what we eat on this day. Chef Jonathan Waxman, author of A Great American Cook, tells how he and his little daughter lay out the feast. His recipe for Apple and Chicken Liver Mousse is to die for and guaranteed to keep hungry relatives at bay while the turkey cooks.It's an early morning carbo-loaders dream breakfast for Jane and Michael Stern at the Kozy Korner Café and Bar in Winnett, Montana.Deborah Madison, author of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, is back with a Vegetarian Thanksgiving Feast that will knock anyone's socks off. For turkey eaters, Lynne's Fast and Crisp Roast Turkey Scented with Apple and Basil fills the bill.Those sweet potatoes with marshmallows that appear on many holiday tables may trace their beginnings back to an ancient Arab medical handbook according to Yale history professor Paul Freedman, author of Food: The History of Taste. He joins us for a look at what shaped our tastes for this holiday.We have a post-punk Thanksgiving for vegans; and Mary Murray Bosrock, author of Asian Business Customs & Manners: A Country-by-Country Guide gives a lesson in etiquette from across the sea.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 17, 2007

This week it's the story of an illegal fish and two ships stalking each other in the waters off Antarctica. Our guest, Bruce Knecht, author of Hooked: Pirates, Poaching and the Perfect Fish, shares the saga of one of the longest and most dangerous sea chases in history.Jane and Michael Stern tuck into corned beef sandwiches of iconic proportions at Jake's in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Food & Wine magazine's senior editor Ray Isle wants us to stash the Margarita mix and rinse out the good glasses because he's bringing us the latest status tequilas—the ones you drink straight up.Scholarly hedonist Fred Plotkin has us eating and sipping our way through Santiago, Chile, and then it's another round of Stump the Cook with Stumpmaster Christopher Kimball. Are we ready for wines with names like Fat Bastard, Hair of the Dingo, White Trash White and The Laughing Magpie? Peter May, author of Marilyn Merlot and the Naked Grape, celebrates unusual wines from around the globe.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 4, 2006 (originally aired)October 27, 2007 (rebroadcast)

This week we're off to Santa Fe for a visit at a destination restaurant that never lost its heart. After 20 years Café Pasqual still shines, the food is still dynamite, and the service is still a hoot. Our guide is the woman who makes it all happen: restaurateur Katharine Kagel. She shares a seasonal recipe—Sugar Pumpkins Filled with Vegetable Stew in Chipotle Cream Sauce—from her book, Cooking with Café Pasqual's: Recipes from Santa Fe's Renowned Corner Café.It's Code 10 Chili at Noon Break in Cody, Wyoming for our road food duo, Jane and Michael Stern. Anya Von Bremzen, author of The New Spanish Table, has the scoop on the mother of all paprikas: Spain's smoky-rich pimenton. Anya's recipe for Smokey Mashed Potatoes from Extremadura highlights this luxurious spice.Commentator Julie Hauserman tells how Florida has finally put her tax dollars to work—in the kitchen. Beer historian Alan Eames, author of The Secret Life of Beer, claims the Halloween witch was a beauty, a healer, and she made beer. What a gal! Alan tells all. We have the story of pasta, Holy Communion and the eye of artist Lisa Venditelli, and Lynne brings us her Short Apple Cooking Guide.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 28, 2006 (originally aired)October 20, 2007 (rebroadcast)

This week it's everything sushi—the things you didn't know you need to know, like what should not be in your soy sauce, and the big clue to whether the sushi maker is a master or not. Our guide is Dave Lowry, author of The Connoisseur's Guide to Sushi: Everything You Need to Know About Sushi Varieties and Accompaniments, Etiquette and Dining Tips and More. It's burgoo and mutton barbecue for Jane and Michael Stern. They're dining at George's in Owensboro, Kentucky.Paris food critic Daniel Young takes us to the City of Lights for a look at where the locals go every night: the bistros, brasseries, and wine bars. Choucroute Garnie with Salmon is from his latest book, The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris. Sylvan Brown, co-author of The Slow Food Guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area: Restaurants, Markets, Bars, has advice about where to eat in the City by the Bay.Our refrigerator game, Stump the Cook, is back with Lynne and Christopher Kimball, our celebrity stump master. Lynne has some new Italian wines to try—winners of the Gambero Rosso® Three Glasses Award for 2006, and we'll hear about Marshmallow Peeps and Peep Research currently underway.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 15, 2006 (originally aired)September 29, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Food historian John T. Edge joins us this week with a dissertation on the little ring of dough that became a patriot, a movie star, and stirred up some good old American ingenuity. The recipe for Zingerman's Roadhouse Donuts is from John's new book, Donuts: An American Passion.It's dynamite food in the midst of New Mexico's chile fields for Jane and Michael Stern. They're eating the incredible chile rellenos at Chope's in La Mesa. Food & Wine magazine's Lettie Teague talks true Chablis, the French gem nobody knows.We'll hear from Dr. David Bedford, one of the creators of the award-winning Honeycrisp apple about what makes this luscious variety so sought after. Keeping to the theme, Lynne shares her recipe for an Apple Citron Turnover that makes the most of these gems called one of the 25 innovations that changed the world.Russ Parsons, columnist for the Los Angeles Times, tells all about the fresh fig. This fruit can make you blush! His article, "Seduction By Fig," appeared in the September 6, 2006 issue of the newspaper. To find it, go to latimes.com and search for "Seduction By Fig." We'll hear from Will Sillin, an artist who brought Julia Child to a cornfield and, as always, the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 23, 2006 (originally aired)September 22, 2007 (rebroadcast)

It's back-to-school time and the question facing every parent in America: the lunch box issue. How do you pack healthy food that the kids will actually eat? Consumer rights warrior and mom Marion Nestle has answers. Marion's new book is What to Eat: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Savvy Food Choices and Good Eating.The Sterns report from Barberton, Ohio, where they're eating a Hungarian feast at Al's Corner Restaurant. And all for six dollars! Wine wizard Josh Wesson has us "thinking pink" with his recommendations for lush rosés.Chef Mai Pham talks grilling Vietnamese style. It's all about bright, zingy flavors and fast cooking. She leaves us her recipes for Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp and Vietnamese Rice Noodles with Grilled Pork.Tom Beller, author of How to Be a Man: Scenes from a Protracted Boyhood, tells of an adolescent epiphany on the streets of New York, and we have the scoop on the very clever and very cool new dinnerware from Orikaso.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 26, 2006 (originally aired)September 1, 2007 (rebroadcast)

This week we're grilling with all-American ingenuity, or what our guest, Dan Huntley, calls "contraption cooking." It's all about a special league of cooks who have cobbled together brilliant and often wacky cooking rigs. Dan leaves us his recipe forPyro's Burnt Endsfrom his bookExtreme Barbecue: Smokin'Rigs and Real Good Recipes.The Sterns are eating soul food with local preachers at Niecie's in Kansas City, Missouri. Karan Feder takes us back to the 1950s when Liberace, that era's king of bling, was playing outrageous excess to the hilt and cooking the same way. The recipe for In Italian, Zucchini Means Italian is from Karan's book Joy of Liberace: Retro Recipes from America's Kitchiest Kitchen.Journalist Scott Huler lampoons the always prolific zucchini and Lynne offers her recipe for Crisp Fried Zucchini Flowers as an antidote to that summer garden excess. It's street food paradise in Penang, Malaysia with reporter Maria Bakkalapulo and Dan Barber, chef and co-owner of Blue Hill in New York, talks new technology for farmers.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 25, 2007

We're off to Italy this week with Italian food and culture authority Fred Plotkin. He takes us to the luscious and evocative region of Marche, an area little known to Americans where the charm rivals Tuscany but you aren't likely to run into your neighbor. The recipe for Scampi al Prosciutto is from Fred's book, Italy for the Gourmet Traveler.It's Chicago but no hot dogs for the Sterns. This time they're tucking into chicken with 18 soulful vegetables at Feed. That master chef of the herb garden, Jerry Traunfeld, is back and he's talking herbal cocktails. His refreshing Sage Rush is from his latest book, The Herbal Kitchen: Cooking with Fragrance and Flavor.Cynthia Zarin shares a vacation memoir of trying to blend a family over the broken fantasy of an island in Maine. Stump Master Christopher Kimball presides over a new round of "Stump the Cook," we have the scoop on a new perfume that will have you smelling like a cheese tray, and Lynne takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 5, 2006 (originally aired)August 18, 2007 (rebroadcast)

Broadcast dates for this episode:August 11, 2007

Broadcast dates for this episode:August 4, 2007

Broadcast dates for this episode:July 28, 2007

This week it's the wonder and biology of honey and the bees that make it. Journalist and beekeeper Holley Bishop, a woman who fell for bees the way one might fall for a puppy, tells the story. Holley is the author of Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey, the Sweet Liquid Gold that Seduced the World. Her Berry Striped Pops are the perfect icy snack for these dog days of summer.The Sterns are in Seattle where Jane says they've found "the best doughnuts in the world" at Top Pot Doughnuts. Wine Maverick Josh Wesson talks France's unsung whites. The good news is the bargain prices.It's a look at bottled water with New York Times reporter Julia Moskin. We want to know why we're spending nine billion dollars a year for what comes out of the tap virtually free. We join the Sterns in Seattle for adventures you can have on a tank of gas. Our guide is Hsiao-Ching Chou, food editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.It's the art and technique of competitive eating with many-times champ and hip hop artist Eric Badlands Booker. His latest cd is "Hungry and Focused II." Lynne shares her recipe for cool and refreshing French Greens and Melon Salad with Fresh Goat Cheese and takes your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:July 22, 2006 (originally aired)July 14, 2007 (rebroadcast)

This week it's contemporary food's most friendly wine: Riesling. We're in Germany on the fruity, classy little gem's home turf with our guest, award-winning Riesling master Dr. Ernst Loosen.The Sterns are multi-tasking in El Paso, eating Huevos Rancheros and Menudos while watching their car go through the cycle at H & H Car Wash. Smart cook Sally Schneider turns dross into gold with her smart saves for so-so vinegars. She leaves us her ideas for Vinegar Improvisations and a recipe for Peppery or Bitter Greens with Seasonal Fruits and Roasted NutsAmerican food historian, Andy Smith, takes us back to the birth of lunch. It was all about being a worker or a woman. Otherwise, you did "dinner."We have another round of our wildly popular refrigerator game, Stump the Cook, with guest Stump Master Christopher Kimball. Larry Wu, consumer strategist for Iconoculture, talks "conscientious consumption." He claims it drives our choices in the market. Lynne has recipes for A Classic Pesto of Genoa, and an Old Time Bar Lunch Sandwich in honor of Andy Smith's discussion of the beginnings of lunch in America. And in the second half of the show, the phone lines will be open for your calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:July 8, 2006 (originally aired)July 7, 2007 (rebroadcast)