Between graduations, weddings and reunions, party season has struck! We've got advice from a woman who loves to give a party, Abigail Kirsch, caterer and author of Invitation to Dinner. The Sterns take us to a surfer sushi bar, legendary cooking teacher Marian Cunningham is back with lesson two of her three-part series on learning to cook; composer Christopher Hogwood explains the English Tea; and Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan deciphers wine ratings.
For those headed back to college, we've some advice from wine expert Joshua Wesson on matching fast food with wine! Yes, there is an ideal bottle to be had with a Domino's Double Cheese and Chinese take-out. Joshua is the reigning expert of $10 or less finds! Jane and Michael Stern take us to Chicago's Polish Neighborhood for funeral food, and Kitchen Designer Deborah Krasner wants us to welcome red worms into our pantry!
Grace Young, author of The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen, takes us into the Cantonese home of her childhood; the Sterns take us to the Brick Pit BBQ in Mobile, Alabama; the mother-daughter team of The Dreaded Broccoli Cookbook join us to talk pantry momentum; singer Patti LaBelle shares her soon-to-be-a-classic potato salad recipe; and legendary cook and teacher Marion Cunningham, author of The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, begins her three-part series on learning to cook.
Journalist Corby Kummer fills us in on Slow Food, an organization who believes in doing good by eating well; Jane and Michael Stern take us back to Chicago for gold coast hot dogs; the bestselling author of Under a Tuscan Sun, Frances Mayes, tells us tale of a trip to Venice; kitchen designer Deborah Krasner wants us to think about our four senses when working in the kitchen; and Lynne samples salt with Grocery Guru Al Sicherman in their monthly tasting.
It's a look at wine auctions with one of the country's foremost experts, Fritz Hatton of Christies U.S. Wine Department (http://www.christies.com/wine). Who buys Andrew Lloyd Weber's wine cellar? Our wanderers, Jane and Michael Stern, hit the road and head west toward the Grand Canyon, and Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan gives us the rules on the basics, like how full should a glass of wine be filled?
The wines of Washington State have soared into prominence in a relatively short time due, in part, to the unique growing conditions and varied microclimates that give the region its potential to become one of the greatest fine wine producing areas in the world. Our guest, Lorne Jacobson of Hedges Cellars, will fill us in on these reasonably priced wines of exceptional quality. Our road food duo Jane and Michael Stern have entered the fray in yet another culinary controversy—clam chowder. Whether it's heavy cream, light cream, no cream, or tomato-based, they'll have the word on where to find the best of each variety. Fruit-obsessed David Karp has found a "fruit zoo" and he's back with a report, and culinary minimalist Mark Bittman streamlines Thai curries with his recipe for shrimp in yellow curry.
We're getting a culinary travel tour of India with award-winning author and tour guide Julie Sahni. The Stern's answer the question, "what ever happened to waffles?", Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan has Napa Valley travel tips and Mark Bittman has advice on streamlining our life behind the stove, with a recipe for braised lamb shanks.
The calendar might not say it's spring, but gardeners have been studying seed catalogs and dreaming of the harvest for months now. Even if your "garden" is only a potted tomato plant on a terrace, you'll want to tune in this week when William Woys Weaver, author of Heirloom Vegetable Gardening, takes a fascinating look at the history of heirloom vegetables and shares some of his seed sources. When the subject is vegetables, Jane and Michael Stern head to an outdoor market in Birmingham, Alabama and a certain diner that serves up an incredible offering of nearly four dozen vegetables, all farm-fresh and cooked Southern-style! Our Master of Wine, Mary Ewing Mulligan, fills us in on Viognier - the latest white wine craze; Lee from Portland tries to Stump the Cook, and Lynne shares a recent find at the Miami airport and takes your calls.
We're taking a look at one of the largest wine growing regions in France this week, not Burgundy, not Bordeaux, but Languedoc with Pierre Noique. Great values are to be had! Our guide is wine merchant Pierre Noique who gives us his favorite picks of Languedoc bargains. Think bottles in the $8 to $13 range! Jane and Michael Stern have had another New England Epiphany. It's Simon Pearce this time and, yes, it's in Vermont. They'll stop by with the details. Minimalist cooking sage and award-winning author Mark Bittman is back with some thoughts on braising and a streamlined recipe for braised and grilled lamb shanks. Architect Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live wants us to re-think our dining rooms and tells us why.
Americans now eat nearly 2 pounds of garlic a year, and botanists believe that garlic was one of the first plants to be cultivated by man. Linda and Fred Griffith, authors of Garlic, Garlic, Garlic, join us with lore, medical breakthroughs, and recipes for The stinking rose. The Sterns take us to the land of country-music stars and biscuits and gravy—The Loveless Café in Nashville, Tennessee—cheesemonger Steve Jenkins stops by with an explanation of cheese varieties and tea expert Bill Wattington gives us the lowdown on green teas.