Journalist Eric Schlosser, author of the New York Times best-seller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, says the fast-food industry should be exposed to the same scrutiny given tobacco and drug companies. We'll take a look at what's become the All-American Meal — a take-out burger, fries and soda — and find out what's really in those "goodies" that will have us shelling out over $110 billion this year.
If you've ever wondered who comes up with the messages printed on those little heart-shaped candies that appear every year at this time, tune in for the story behind a Valentine's Day classic from the New England Confectionary Company.
It's a look at the unusual, the unexpected, and the extraordinary aspects of food and food culture this week with Alan Ridenour, author of Offbeat Food: Adventures in an Omnivorous World. From how Betty Crocker has changed through the years to the dangers of Pez dispensers and a history of pie throwing, we promise an entertaining look at popular culture that we hope sparks a dinner table conversation or two.
Asian-food authority Nina Simonds joins us this week with remedies and relief for those of us suffering the miseries of a cold or flu. Nina, author of A Spoonful of Ginger and star of the public television special by the same name, tells us how the Chinese use food as medicine. Her recipe for Ginger-Scallion Root Tea is the elixir you'll want when sniffles and chills set in.
This week we're off to the Spice Coast of southern India where the air is fragrant with cinnamon and pepper, the people are gracious, and the food is grand. It's the family home of our guest, Maya Kaimal, author of Savoring the Spice Coast of India, and hospitality is a way of life. Maya's recipe for Steamed Mussels in Coconut Milk is an example of the exotic fare you'll encounter here.
Journalist Michael Ruhlman, author of The Soul of a Chef, takes us behind the scenes of the Culinary Institute of America's grueling Certified Master Chef exam. It's the Iron Man challenge of the food world and not for the faint of heart.
Jay McInerney, the acerbically witty author of that blockbuster novel of sin and debauchery, Bright Lights, Big City, has turned his considerable talents to the subject of wine. An unabashed oenophile who calls himself a "grape nut," Jay's irreverent wine columns for House & Garden magazine have been culled for his latest book, Bacchus & Me. Fasten your seat belts and tune in for a serendipitous and highly-informed romp through the world of wine.
It's our annual holiday show, and we've assembled a team of experts on cooking, entertaining, and gift giving. Sally Schneider, author of A New Way to Cook, has entertaining wrapped up with three easy menus and recipes guaranteed to wow your guests. Sally's food tastes great, it's stylish, it's healthy—it's how we want to eat now.
Diana Kennedy, the British woman who introduced America to authentic Mexican cooking and started our love affair with the chile pepper, joins us this week to share the Mexico she knows so well. Diana's latest book,The Essential Cuisines of Mexico, is a treasure. So is her recipe for tortillas filled with mushrooms Empanadas De Hongos.
It's our annual Thanksgiving show and we're celebrating with one of America's most beloved authors: poet, novelist, and screenwriter Jim Harrison. You may remember him from Legends of the Fall. We'll be talking with Jim about food and its role in our lives, a subject he covers with passion and wit in his book, The Raw and the Cooked: Adventures of a Roving Gourmand.