The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraWhy is Thai food so popular in the United States? We turn to Professor Mark Padoongpatt, author of Flavors of Empire: Food and the Making of Thai America for some surprising insights. We revel in regional Thai flavors with Austin Bush, author of The Food of Northern Thailand, and Leela Punyaratabandhu, author of Bangkok. Chef Hong Thaimee, author of True Thai: Real Flavors for Every Table, gives us an essential lesson in a vital Thai recipe, homemade curry paste. Plus, America’s Test Kitchen puts coconut milk to a taste test and tells us about their favorites.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 11, 2019 (originally aired)January 17, 2020 (rebroadcast)

In this episode, it’s all about how far some of us will go for the food we love. Celebrity photographer Melanie Dunea tells us the story of an epic trip to Afghanistan to document a saffron harvest in Taliban territory. Chef Dan Felder talks about the creative efforts he goes through to dream up new versions of classic dishes. Food writer Hugh Merwin and his partner, New York Times California dining critic Tejal Rao, bring us the cross-country adventure of man, woman -- and curry tree. Plus, Joe Gitter from America’s Test Kitchen explains the madness behind making perfectly clear ice.Broadcast dates for this episode:January 10, 2020

This week we're getting ready for the holidays. Pastry superstar Christina Tosi brings us her singular and exuberant take on DIY holiday baked gifts. Chef Victor Albisu of Taco Bamba in Washington, DC teaches Francis how to make a delicious Peruvian pepper potato soup called ajiaco. Matty Matheson, host of Viceland’s It’s Suppertime and Dead Set on Life, fills us in on the Canadian way with the holidays including his must-have Rappie Pie. Journalist Liana Aghajanian tracks the unusual and cunning cross-cultural spread of a particular golden chocolate, and America’s Test Kitchen brings us their favorite gifts for the cook on your nice list.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 14, 2018 (originally aired)December 27, 2019 (rebroadcast)

This week, Francis learns how to make stuffed potato pancakes called draniki from Chef David Nayfeld of San Francisco’s Che Fico, and talks with Nayfeld about the Jewish roots of Roman food. Russ Parsons talks to author-of-the-moment Nik Sharma about the similarities between his upbringing in India and his husband’s upbringing in the American South, and it’s not just okra. Melissa Clark talks to champagne expert Peter Liem about why we should be drinking a lot more bubbly. America’s Test Kitchen reviews the gift you may want to rethink asking for – the air fryer. Plus, Francis talks with listeners about cooking with lard and scaling up recipes.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 30, 2018 (originally aired)December 13, 2019 (rebroadcast)

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraThis episode features an in-depth conversation with one of the food world’s most beloved and compelling personalities, Nigella Lawson. Nigella has hosted cooking shows and written 11 books including her breakout best-seller How to Eat. While our host Francis Lam has been reading her work for his entire career, he just recently had the chance to talk with her in-person when she came to the U.S. to tour for her new book, At My Table. During their conversation, Lawson explained why she has to defend the honor of home cooking, how snobbery ruins everything, and why her cookbooks feel like conversations. Broadcast dates for this episode:May 18, 2018 (originally aired)May 10, 2019 (rebroadcast)November 29, 2019 (rebroadcast)

Francis Lam hosts the 2019 edition of our popular Thanksgiving call-in show. He fields two hours of calls from listeners and is joined by guests Melissa Clark, Kwame Onwuachi, Samin Nosrat and Shauna Sever. Looking for something specific you heard on the show? See this page for a full rundown of questions and topics from this year's phone calls.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 28, 2019

This week, we’re looking ahead to the big Thanksgiving holiday and family feasts. Carla Hall joins us with a soul food-inspired take on the big day; her latest book is Carla Hall’s Soul Food. Lan Lam from America’s Test Kitchen has a gravy technique that is going to make you a major player in the gravy game. We get a lesson in fixing last-minute dessert disasters from Kristen Miglore, author of Food52’s Genius Desserts. And for your dinner table conversation, Smithsonian curator and anthropologist Logan Kistler explains the wily relationship between mastodons, man and pumpkins. Francis talks with listener Alma from Boston about preparing light appetizers for Thanksgiving guests, and Elizabeth from Washington, DC, who claims she can never cook poultry correctly.We also have two recipe videos featuring Food52's Kristen Miglore for Secretly Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies and Greek Yogurt Chocolate Mousse. See those videos here. Broadcast dates for this episode:November 16, 2018 (originally aired)November 22, 2019 (rebroadcast)

Listen and Subscribe to Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark Podcast: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS | iHeartRadio | TuneInMelissa makes her simple and slightly sinful Lemon Vanilla Rice Pudding with Whipped Cream for her mom – in the Instant Pot. Also, she weighs in on how to best separate eggs, plus what to do with those extra egg whites and vanilla beans. And finally, someone answers the question, can pressure cookers really blow up?Related Links:Weeknight Kitchen with Melissa Clark websiteInstant Pot Pressure CookerPorcelain Bowl Set Broadcast dates for this episode:November 13, 2019

This episode is all about the oyster. We meet two cousins -- Ryan and Travis Croxton -- who have reimagined their family oyster business, The Rappahannock Oyster Company on the Chesapeake Bay, and reinvigorated the industry through their innovative oyster farming techniques. Thomas "Uptown T" Stewart is an oyster-shucking fixture in New Orleans; he teaches us how to shuck with swagger. We talk to Joanne Hyppolite, curator at Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture, about the amazing story of Thomas Downing aka The Oyster King of New York City. Dan Souza from America's Test Kitchen shares his expert advice on selecting, grilling and serving oysters. Chef Brandon Jew of San Francisco’s Mister Jiu’s cuts no corners when it comes to handmade oyster sauce. And writer Alicia Kennedy finds solace in a half shell following a family tragedy.Broadcast dates for this episode:March 16, 2018 (originally aired)March 15, 2019 (rebroadcast)November 8, 2019 (rebroadcast)

Francis Lam spends a fascinating hour with René Redzepi, the groundbreaking chef of Copenhagen’s Noma. His book, The Noma Guide to Fermentation, is a master tome on the technique that he believes is the future of the way we cook.  Francis and René talk about Noma’s influence on the global palate, where Redzepi finds inspiration, and how he achieves an enjoyable work/life balance. America’s Test Kitchen’s Dan Souza (no slouch in the fermentation world either!) brings us an amazingly simple recipe for cultured butter to make at home. We also have clips from a video interview with René Redzepi and David Zilber, the director of Noma's fermentation lab, in which they two do more in-depth on the role of fermentation at the restaurant and suggest a few projects for beginners.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 2, 2018 (originally aired)October 25, 2019 (rebroadcast)