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.
It's a basic course in olive oil this week with Rolando Beramendi, founder of Manicaretti, an importer of high quality Italian food products. Extra-virgin, cold-pressed, estate bottled - Rolando explains it all and gives us a buyer's guide to getting the best oil for our money. Our dynamic dining duo, Jane and Michael Stern, discover a fine country ham in Virginia; cheese expert Steve Jenkins shares his spring cheese picks; and our grocery guru, Al Sickerman, talks Peeps!
We're taking a trip to one of New York City's finest wine cellars, at a restaurant called Patroon. With the wine cellar comes its caretaker, the Sommelier. It's a glimpse of one of the most intimate relationships in the restaurant business, chef and sommelier. Jane and Michael Stern take us to The Peanut Shoppe in Mobile, Alabama, and Lynne and grocery guru Al Sicherman taste canned tomatoes; who will win—Hunts, Contadina, or Muir Glen?
It's a look at winemaking with David Bruce of the David Bruce Winery. David makes award-winning Pinot Noirs. FYI, it's no small feat for an American winemaker to make a great pinot, it's considered by the industry to be one of the most difficut grapes to master. David tells the secret behind his great bottles—a rather ancient technique! Jane and Michael Stern take us to Vermont, again! This time off Route 132 in Sharon, home of Brooksies, and Master of Wine Mary Ewing Mulligan answers the age-old question —does the glass you serve your wine in really matter?
Cold season is upon us, and rather than heading to a drugstore—think about heading to your cupboard for apple cider vinegar, peppermint and thyme! Judith Benn Hurley, author of Healing Secrets of the Season, joins us with some seasonal home remedies. The Sterns have advice on San Diego street food and we check in with Specialty Produce Expert David Karp in the field, the orange groves of California!
This is the week most of us start a diet, and next week is the week the depression and guilt kick in! Why don't diets work? We're taking a look at the Great American Diet Scam with Journalist Laura Fraser, author of Losing It. Jane and Michael Stern take us to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the best chili in the States, Steve Raichlen of Low Fat/High Flavor fame gives a list of 5 must-haves for the lowfat pantry, and kitchen designer Deborah Krasner talks kitchen lighting and Grocery Guru Al Sicherman and Lynne do a sour cream tasting.
If you've had enough already of winter, start thinking south of the border and tune in as Rick Bayless, award-winning author of Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen, gives us an insider's view of places to go, things to see and, best of all, places to eat in Oaxaca! Jane and Michael Stern report in from just north of the border in Arizona with advice on where to find superb Indian Tacos. Our fruit expert, David Karp, recently visited California's Coachella Valley during the date harvest and shares what he learned about dates, including mail-order sources for superb rare varieties. Anne from Minneapolis tries to Stump the Cook, and Lynne takes your calls and makes one herself—to Spago in Las Vegas!