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

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 St...

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 (original...

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...

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 isla...

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...

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...

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...

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 b...

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...

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...

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...

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 B...

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...

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 Fairfa...

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 re...

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 traditi...

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...

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...

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 wi...

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...

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 ch...

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...

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...