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

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, our podcast featuring interviews we find particularly interesting or helpful. This episode, we're talking about hard cider. The alcoholic beverage made from fermented apple juice was popular with early Americans because it was easy to make and was safer to drink than water. Over the years, hard cider became less popular as people began to favor beer, wine, and spirits. Today, cider is making a comeback with small batch cider makers popping up all over. Amy Traverso knows a lot about apples and hard cider; she is food editor at Yankee Magazine, co-host of WGBH's Weekends with Yankee, and author of The Apple Lover's Cookbook. She talked with contributor Rebecca Sheir about the current hard cider revival.Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill.  As we get into the thick of apple season - with all of the delicious pies, crisps, cakes, and buckles - Bob’s Red Mill is a great source or all of your baking needs. Visit their website for more information about all of their products and to check out their recipes.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 23, 2018

Pastry chef Stella Parks, best-selling author of BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, talks with Francis Lam about the origins of our favorite classic desserts. She shares the history of and her decadent recipe for red velvet cake. (Spoiler alert: there's red wine in it!) SAVEUR writer Leslie Pariseau takes us to India for a grand religious pilgrimage centered around a sweetened rice dish as devotional offering. Biographer Adam Federman shares his thoughts on the life of Patience Gray, one of the most important food writers you have probably never heard of; his book is Fasting and Feasting. America’s Test Kitchen shows us how to perfect a wicked good Boston cream pie at home. And expert halva maker Lisa Mendelson explores modern twists on the traditional treat.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 6, 2017 (originally aired)October 12, 2018 (rebroadcast)

Here's the situation. You’ve got friends coming over for beers after work. You get home, and there it is. Your beer. On the floor of the garage, not in your fridge. And you can’t find your bottle opener. Have no fear; the King of Beer Hacks is here! Ben Robinson is the author of Beer Hacks: 101 Tips, Tricks, and Projects. He shared a handful of his favorite hacks with Managing Producer Sally Swift including three ways of cooling your beer down quickly -- one of which is quite mind-blowing -- creative workarounds for when you can't find a legit bottle opener, and his advice for the best glassware for beers with specific serving temperatures. Robinson also shared his recipes for the beer cocktails Black Velvet and Amaro and Beer Cocktail. And if you're looking for something fun to pair with your beer or beer cocktail, try Andrea Slonecker’s Pennsylvania Dutch Hard Pretzel recipe.Our presenting sponsor is Bob's Red Mill, an employee-owned company that offers organic and stone-ground products. As we jump back into baking season, remember that Bob’s Red Mill is a great source for all of your baking needs, from whole grains and flours to foolproof gluten-free baking mixes. For more information about all of their products, visit the Bob’s Red Mill website.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 9, 2018

In this episode of The Splendid Table, we are looking at food from faraway places with host Francis Lam. Top Chef contender chef Sheldon Simeon talks cooking the home food of Hawaii. Francis recalls a trip to the remote Faroe Islands and the efforts of chef Leif Sørensen to bring fine dining to an area known traditionally for a subsistence diet. Contributor Melissa Clark explores the rise of British food with Aleksandra Crapanzano author of The London Cookbook. And we find unexpected hospitality in a refugee camp in Calais, France with journalist Shane Mitchell, author of Far Afield: Rare Food Encounters from Around the World. Plus, America's Test Kitchen is serving up the perfect poached egg.Broadcast dates for this episode:April 7, 2017 (originally aired)March 23, 2018 (rebroadcast)September 28, 2018 (rebroadcast)

Splendid Table Selects is our sister podcast that features interviews that focus on intriguing topics. This episode, we look at the science behind wine headaches. If you're a person that doesn't get wine headaches, count yourself lucky. For those that do suffer them, some of us at The Splendid Table feel your pain - literally. Dr. Nadia Berenstein is a researcher who writes about science, technology and culture in the context of food for many publications and on her blog Flavor Added. She talked to our friend Russ Parsons about what causes a wine headache, why it only affects some people, and what some people in the wine industry are doing to decrease the effects.Our presenting sponsor is Bob’s Red Mill. They’re an employee-owned company that, for decades, has offered organic, gluten-free, stone-ground products. Check out the Bob's Red Mill recipe page for main dishes, desserts, and snacks.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 25, 2018

This week, we devote our entire show the wonderfully multifaceted food of the Philippines. Amy Besa, author of the award-winning Memories of Philippine Kitchens tells us about the unusual mix of Spanish, Chinese, Mexican, and American influences on Filipino food. Francis Lam goes into the home kitchen of chef King Phojanakong and his mother Emma for a lesson in the delicious seafood sinigang stew. We get an expert list of where to eat great Filipino food across the United States from Joanne Boston of the Filipino Food Movement. We talk to chef Chad Valencia of LASA in Los Angeles about the key ingredients for the Filipino pantry. America's Test Kitchen gives us the recipe and advice for making Filipino-style chicken adobo. And author Jessica Hagedorn reads an excerpt about enjoying the food you love most -- while there's still time -- from her book Dogeaters.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 22, 2017 (originally aired)January 19, 2018 (rebroadcast)September 14, 2018 (rebroadcast)

As the end of summer draws near, we're making our final efforts to savor the flavors of the season from our gardens and farmers market. For some help we turned to Marisa McClellan, the food preservationist extraordinaire who runs the blog Food in Jars and has written three books on preserving. She talked with our contributor Shauna Sever about some simple ways to take last days of summer produce and keep them forever. Marisa also shared her informative starters guide, Quick Introduction to Canning, as well as her recipes for Spicy Pickled Green Beans and Small Batch Spiced Blueberry Jam. Books by Marisa McClellan: Naturally Sweet Food in Jars, Preserving by the Pint, Food in Jars: Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round.Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill. With baking season around the corner, they have all of the essential ingredients any home baker needs. Visit the Bob's Red Mill website for more information.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 11, 2018

Francis Lam talks to Caleb Harper, Director of the Open Agriculture Initiative at MIT Media Lab who believes that to feed the world, we need to fully embrace indoor urban farming. Rachel Khong takes us around the world to explore how different cultures prepare and eat eggs. America’s Test Kitchen puts grill tongs to the test. Patrick Comiskey explains the wonderful wines and storied past of the American Rhône.  And we head to Miami for the latest in restaurant openings, and guess what? They’re happening in gas stations! Plus, Francis answers listener questions about foods that are fun for group preparation activities, and cooking Indian food with non-wheat flours.Broadcast dates for this episode:September 8, 2017 (originally aired)June 8, 2018 (rebroadcast)August 31, 2018 (rebroadcast)

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, our mini-podcast where we serve up one interview that’s taught us something new, inspired us, or just made us better cooks. As we near the end of summertime, we have two things on our mind: watermelon and tomatoes. Thankfully, Vivian Howard is right there with us. Vivian is a terrific chef, author of a best-selling cookbook Deep Run Roots, and the star of the PBS show A Chef’s Life. But most importantly, she’s a Southern cook with a lot of ideas for cooking with these summer beauties. She talked with contributor Shauna Sever, and shared her recipes for BLT Dip, Watermelon Salsa and Endive, Stewed Tomatoes and Pork Shoulder Steaks in Red Curry-Braised Watermelon.Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob's Red Mill. Visit their website for more information about all Bob's Red Mill products.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 28, 2018

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, our bite-sized podcast and a place where we share conversations that taught us something new, really inspired us, or just made us better cooks. Ilene Rosen has been making salads professionally for decades and recently published her first cookbook on the subject, Saladish. Rosen's theory in the book is that by bringing together a wide range of ingredients that emphasize contrasting textures and flavors you can build a better salad. Contributor Russ Parsons talked with her and got the wondeful recipes for Cucumbers with Black Sesame Seeds and Sweet Lime Vinegar, Couscous with an Allium Mix and Quick Pickled Red Onions. Enjoy many of our other favorite salad recipes from our Splendid Table Pinterest page.Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob's Red Mill. Our friends at Bob’s Red Mill are all about combining seasonal vegetables with healthy whole grains like amaranth, buckwheat, bulgur, kamut and spelt. Check out their guide for building a better grain bowl – it includes several recipes and there’s even a guide that helps you chose the best grain for your recipe.Broadcast dates for this episode:August 14, 2018