The Splendid Table

This week it's a look at the Russian tradition of zakuski with Diana Henry, author of Roast Figs Sugar Snow: Winter Food to Warm the Soul. Iconoclast chef David Chang of Momofuku fame joins us with the method behind the madness of his inspired fusion cuisine. Jane and Michael Stern are eating sweets in Salt Lake City's The Lamb, and Food & Wine's Ray Isle joins us with his short list of the bo...

Broadcast dates for this episode: November 27, 2014

Adam Rapoport of Bon Appétit joins us this week to give us a head start on preparing the Thanksgiving feast, we talk to journalist Elizabeth Royte about her article for National Geographic on how we waste food, and actor and cook Stanley Tucci joins us with his cookbook The Tucci Table. Broadcast dates for this episode: November 21, 2014

We are having a conversation with the original star chef, Jacques Pepin, we talk to Ina Lipkowitz, author of Words to Eat By: Five Foods and the Culinary History of the English Language, and we turn to Indian chef Vikas Khanna to learn about his culinary and broadcast journey in India. Broadcast dates for this episode: October 1, 2011 (originally aired) September 29, 2012 (rebroadcast) November 14...

This week it’s surprising cooking techniques from Andrew Schloss, author of Cooking Slow, we have a conversation with Food & Wine magazine’s Ray Isle about protecting America’s historic grapevines, and we talk to New York Times columnist David Tanis about his book One Good Dish. Broadcast dates for this episode: November 1, 2013 (originally aired) November 7, 2014 (rebroadcast)

Chef Daniel Boulud talks to Dorie Greenspan about his book Daniel: My French Cuisine, we look at the basics of cooking with coconut oil with culinary nutritionist Tricia Williams, and Jane and Michael Stern bring us the best in non-chain steak houses. Broadcast dates for this episode: October 18, 2013 (originally aired) October 24, 2014 (rebroadcast)

It’s a look at the newest in culinary exotica, salt block cooking, with Mark Bitterman, author of Salt Block Cooking, and we go behind the scenes of cookbook production with recipe tester Ian Knauer. Broadcast dates for this episode: September 21, 2013 (originally aired) September 26, 2014 (rebroadcast)

This week we’re looking at buttermilk with Diane St. Clair, author of The Animal Farm Buttermilk Cookbook, we talk to the duo behind The Perennial Plate about their latest travels in Italy and we look at the changing face of sushi in the states with Trevor Corson, author of The Story of Sushi. Broadcast dates for this episode: September 7, 2013 (originally aired) September 12, 2014 (rebroadcast)

This week we're cooling off with homemade ice cream from ice cream maven Jeni Britton Bauer, author of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home. Andrea Nguyen, author of Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, shares her recipe for cool Vietnamese noodle salads. Susan Glasser, former editor in chief of Foreign Policy, talks about the ways in which food is used as a political tool from the story " Eat, Drink, Prote...

William Sitwell, author of A History of Food in 100 Recipes, joins us, we look at the Indian tradition of chutneys with chef Vikas Khanna and check in with film director Wayne Wang about his latest project, a documentary on the life of legendary Chinese restaurateur Cecilia Chiang. Broadcast dates for this episode: August 24, 2013 (originally aired) August 15, 2014 (rebroadcast)

Jo Robinson, author of Eating on the Wild Side, explains why eating five fruits and vegetables a day may not be enough, fruit expert David Karp of the Los Angeles Times tells us about a surprising new variety of table grape and we dive into summer entertaining with humorist Charles Phoenix. Broadcast dates for this episode: August 10, 2013 (originally aired) August 1, 2014 (rebroadcast)

Sandor Katz, author of the masterful Art of Fermentation, joins us with the guidelines for yogurt making, we get a basic guide to tequila from Lucinda Hutson, author of Viva Tequila! Cocktails, Cooking and Other Agave Adventures, and we learn how to train our wine taste buds with Megan Krigbaum of Food & Wine magazine. Broadcast dates for this episode: July 27, 2013 (originally aired) July 18,...

We get a master lesson in pie crust from chef Thomas Keller and pastry genius Sebastian Rouxel, authors of Bouchon Bakery, Jane and Michael Stern bring us the very best in extremely hot road food and Mexican chef Roberto Santibañez looks at the Middle Eastern influences on modern day Mexican food. Broadcast dates for this episode: July 13, 2013 (originally aired) July 4, 2014 (rebroadcast)

We are meeting up with Lucinda Scala Quinn, author of Mad Hungry Cravings, for another round of Key 3, and we talk with award-winning writer and Texan Robb Walsh about whether or not Tex-Mex is an actual cuisine. He is the author of The Hot Sauce Cookbook. Broadcast dates for this episode: June 29, 2013 (originally aired) June 20, 2014 (rebroadcast)

We're taking our Weber to a more primal state this week with Tim Byres, author of Smoke: New Firewood Cooking, and we get a recipe for Japan's delicious pancake, okonomiyaki, from The Washington Post's food columnist David Hagedorn. Broadcast dates for this episode: June 22, 2013 (originally aired) June 13, 2014 (rebroadcast)

We take a look at the latest trend in sustainable meat -- goat -- with chef Jesse Griffiths, author of Afield: A Chef's Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish. The Sterns are at Big W's Roadside Bar-B-Q in Wingdale, N.Y., and we talk to Bruce Feiler, author of The Secrets Of Happy Families, about the surprising news on what is really important about family dinner. Broadcast dates for th...

This week we talk to spice merchant Lior Lev Sercarz, owner of La Boîte à Epice in New York, we take a look Filipino food with Marvin Gapultos, author of The Adobo Road Cookbook, and turn to the duo behind The Perennial Plate to learn about their food travels in Spain. Broadcast dates for this episode: May 25, 2013 (originally aired) May 16, 2014 (rebroadcast)

This week we talk to award-winning journalist Michael Moss about the food giants that decide what we eat. He is the author of Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. Chopped's Ted Allen has advice on how to get out of our food ruts and we look at the stirrings of a movement in the wine world, natural wine.  Broadcast dates for this episode: May 11, 2013 (originally aired) May 2, 2014 (rebro...

Dan Buettner, author of Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way, tells us about the significance of the shared meal among the world's happiest people. Jane and Michael Stern are tracking down the very best in deli rye and we talk to Dana Bowen about celebrating Easter in Sicily. Broadcast dates for this episode: April 23, 2011 (originally aired) April 18, 2014 (rebroadcast)

We’re heading to India for this week’s Key 3 with Raghavan Iyer, author of the best-selling 660 Curries. Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat, brings the stories from our tabletops. Broadcast dates for this episode: April 27, 2013 (originally aired) April 11, 2014 (rebroadcast)

This week it’s a look at saliva with America’s funniest science writer, Mary Roach, author of Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Trail. The Sterns are at the Blue Scorcher Bakery Café in Astoria, Ore., and we learn which salts are really worth the money with salt merchant Mark Bitterman, author of Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral. Broadcast dates for this episode: April 6,...

Greg Engert's profiling system divides beer into seven categories. Award-winning writer and cook Deborah Madison is here with the missing puzzle piece for vegetable cooking -- the plants themselves -- with her book Vegetable Literacy. We turn to the duo from The Perennial Plate, an online documentary series dedicated to socially responsible and adventurous eating. Broadcast dates for this episode:...

Jeffrey Hertzberg, the best-selling co-author of The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, joins us with the newest take on bread making for the home cook, we look at Muslim-Chinese cuisine with Jason Wang of New York City's Xi'an Famous Foods, we head to Tallahassee, Fla., with the Sterns to Olean's Cafe for first-rate soul food and hear about how vegetarians are taking on the congressional lu...

We're talking to Smithsonian paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner about the origins of meat-eating. Food scientist Harold McGee explains the nuances of rice wine vinegar, and we get the lowdown on real Southern cooking in Chicago with Garden & Gun magazine’s Julia Reed. Broadcast dates for this episode: March 9, 2013 (originally aired) February 28, 2014 (rebroadcast)

We're looking at legendary gourmand and politician Winston Churchill with Cita Stelzer, author of Dinner with Churchill: Policy-Making at the Dinner Table. And Jane and Michael Stern join us with tales from eating on the road; this time, it's the Stockholm Pie Company in Stockholm, Wis. Broadcast dates for this episode: February 23, 2013 (originally aired) February 14, 2014 (rebroadcast)