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.
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.
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.
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.
This week we're taking you to Spain, to the little known region of Galicia, just north of Portugal. The area may be best known for the pilgrim trail leading to Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of St. James are believed to be interred, but we were there for the wine. This past summer we spent a week on a bus with a group of journalists exploring the area's emerging wine region, and lived to tell you this tale!
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.
This week we're taking a look at our carnivore nation with journalist Susan Bourette, author of Meat: A Love Story. Jane and Michael Stern are at Bakesale Betty's in Berkely, CA. Wine expert Joshua Wesson gives us his suggestions for gift bottles. New York City food authority Mike Colameco comes up with a short list of places in NY with a particularly festive air, and we learn how to cup coffee with Portland's legendary Stumptown Coffee.
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.
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.
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.