This week our guest is Barbara Kafka, one of the masterful cooks in the food profession. When Barbara digs into a subject she takes no prisoners. She's created her own short list of cookbook classics with titles like Roasting, Soup, and Microwave Gourmet, and each one is a complete education. Now, she has ideas for bringing more veggies into our lives with her new book, Vegetable Love. She leaves us her recipes for Parsnip Ice Cream and Greek Island Potatoes.
San Francisco wine merchant and importer Kermit Lynch joins us this week with the story of how he entered the wine world through the back door and ended up a leader in the exquisite and the little known. His new book is Inspiring Thirst: Vintage Selections from the Kermit Lynch Wine Brochure.
This week it's the mother of all kitchen tours. Thomas Keller is repeatedly named the best chef in the country. When he set out to duplicate his famed California restaurant, The French Laundry, in New York City, he dictated every design element, but for unheard of reasons. The result is Per Se, the hottest restaurant in the country right now. Chef Keller leads the tour and shares his recipe for Mussels with Saffron and Mustard from his fabulous new book Bouchon.
Today we offer our holiday special, a special guide to reveling, relaxing, and reflecting. This is a remarkable time of the year and no matter where you go, you'll find celebrations and feasting.
This week we're talking all things salted, cured and smoked with food writer Michael Ruhlman, co-author of Charcuterie. In Europe, charcuterie is high craft, done by masters. Here, it's the latest thing in the artisan food movement. Michael has tips for making your own home-cured meats and seafood and shares his recipe for the ultimate party food: Pâté de Campagne.
Master Sommelier Andrea Immer Robinson joins us this week to talk Burgundy wine. It's the tricky but luscious older brother of Pinot Noir that the movie "Sideways" crowned the new king. Andrea's Pearl Barley Risotto with Mushrooms and Carrots pairs beautifully with Pinot Noirs from Burgundy's Côte Chalonnaise district.
This week's guest could be New York's next star chef. He's Suvir Saran, author of Indian Home Cooking. His food is all about clear, singing flavors and simple, light dishes. Tomato Rasam is a fine example.
It's our annual Thanksgiving show and we're bringing you a banquet of recipes, stories, a cut of history, and new looks at feasting inside and outside our borders. Food authority Joan Nathan talks real American food today from home kitchens across the country. Her recipe for Braised Butternut Squash with Mustard Seeds, Chili, Curry Leaves, and Ginger is from her new book, The New American Cooking.
This week it's a blast from the past - the macrobiotic diet - with Jessica Porter, author of The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics. Jessica has a fresh take on that 1960's phenomenon.
Tod Murphy is a man who's giving restaurant chains a run for their money. His Farmer's Diner in Barre, Vermont serves up good, cheap food from local farms. The system is a winner that could take "local" national.