The Splendid Table

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, our mini podcast where we share the interviews that inspired us, taught us something new, or just helped make us better cooks. A few shows back we visited the taco historian Gustavo Arellano, author of Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. And if you didn’t catch it, he came on basically to defend the honor of the flour tortilla. He also clarified that yes, flour tortillas are Mexican in origin. That conversation made us so hungry for authentic flour tortillas that we invited Gustavo back for a follow-up conversation. Think of it as a flour tortilla road trip. Visit our new Selects interview page to see a list of Gustavo’s flour tortilla picks and check our past conversations we’ve had with him. Now that you've got all things tortilla on your mind, check out our Corn Tortilla Recipe & Tutorial from Alex Stupak and Jordana Rothman.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill featuring Organic Masa Harina Corn Flour.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 1, 2018

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, where we pull together some of our favorite conversations that shine a light on the many cuisines found in the United States and around the world. In this Splendid Table Selects, we learn about a very special food city. In 2015, Tucson, Arizona, became the first U.S. city to be named a City of Gastronomy in the Creative Cities Network by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Contributor Von Diaz wanted to find out what makes Tucson such a unique food city, and what influences shaped the community there. She talked with Gary Nabhan, an educator, agricultural ecologist, and ethnobotanist who lives south of Tucson, near the U.S./Mexico border.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill for their support of this Splendid Table Selects podcast series.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 17, 2018

In this episode of The Splendid Table, host Francis Lam takes a look at what it means to feed your family. Molly Wizenberg and Matthew Amster-Burton, from the podcast Spilled Milk, muse about why we take what our kids will eat so very personally. We talk to Pableaux Johnson, a man who has been cooking red beans and rice in his house for guests every Monday night for more than 15 years. Self-confessed cork dork Bianca Bosker delivers a commentary on the family she found within the deeply-obsessed world of sommeliers. And David Leite joins us to discuss his struggles and triumphs with food and family from his new book, Notes on a Banana: A Memoir of Food, Love and Manic Depression. Francis also answers listener questions about using raw and cooked asparagus in the kitchen, and he gives suggestions on how to use saffron.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 21, 2017 (originally aired)
• April 13, 2018 (rebroadcast)

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, where we pull together some of our favorite converations that prove to be especially useful in the kitchen. In this Splendid Table Selects, we're featuring a new interview with Dan Souza, Editor-in-Chief of Cook's Illustrated for America's Test Kitchen. He and our Managing Producer Sally Swift talk about the importance of three sauces that are essential to Asian cuisine: oyster sauce, fish sauce, and hoisin sauce. They discuss how the sauces are made, used in cooking, and the winner of each sauce category in a recent taste test. Dan also shared a recipe with us for a Vegan "Fish Sauce." You can use your favorite oyster, fish or hoisin sauce on one (or more) of the many recipes we've linked below.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill for their support of this Splendid Table Selects podcast series.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 3, 2018

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, our spin-off podcast that highlights interviews and stories that we find particularly important to our larger discussions about food. This episode, we're focusing on fat. Fat is one of those ingredients that tends to get a pretty bad rap, but it really shouldn't. Fat is essentially responsible for the flavor, appearance and texture of many of the dishes we love to cook and eat.  Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern defends fat.  He says it’s not an evil word; it’s a vastly overlooked and underappreciated ingredient.  He joined his friend, food writer Michael Ruhlman, for a conversation about their mutual love of fat.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill for their support of this Splendid Table Selects podcast series.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 20, 2018

Chef Amanda Cohen is an outspoken critic of food media and sexism in the food industry. She and Francis Lam discuss the changes that need to be made in the restaurant industry to order to get more women excited about and active long-term in professional kitchens. Food writer and journalist Hanna Raskin introduces the groundbreaking women who made American food writing before anyone called it "food writing," by way of the women's pages in popular newspapers. Correspondent Abigail Leonard takes us inside a Buddhist monastery in Japan to learn how Japanese monks are teaching a new generation of chefs to use seasonal ingredients – and zen principles – to elevate their cooking. When it comes to setting it and forgetting it, not all slow cookers can be trusted to get the job done correctly. Lisa McManus from America's Test Kitchen has the results of a recent equipment review. Plus, chef Daniel Patterson talks about his relationship with vegetables -- and meat -- in his vegetable-centric restaurant Coi.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 9, 2018

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects, where we pull together some of our favorite interviews -- from the past and present -- to showcase conversations that surprised us, illuminated something new in our world, or have proven to be especially useful in the kitchen. In this Selects, contributor Noelle Carter talks with Col. Chris Hadfield, an astronaut who was the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station and is the author of An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth. Hadfield has enjoyed sharing via YouTube, social media and speaking engagements all aspects of life in space, chief among them eating and handling food in zero gravity. Listen to their conversation and see videos of Hadfield cooking in space at his website. Check out dozens of shrimp recipes you can make here on Earth at The Splendid Table's Pinterest page.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill for their support of this Splendid Table Selects podcast series.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 6, 2018

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects. This is where we pull together some of our favorite interviews -- from the past and present -- to showcase conversations that surprised us, illuminated something new in our world, or have proven to be especially useful in the kitchen. The first time that travel writer Tim Neville smelled cheese fondue, he did not even want to try it; he says the aroma was dreadful. But his first taste convinced him otherwise, and converted him into a lifelong fondue fanatic. The Splendid Table contributor David Leite talks with Neville about his early days of fondue discovery, learning from fondue masters in Switzerland, and the formula he believes will yield amazing fondue for anyone that follows the proper steps. Listen to their interview, watch our video, and read more fondue wisdom from Tim Neville by way of The Fondue Manifesto. Then you'll be ready to try Neville's suggested recipe for 007 Fondue.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill for their support of this Splendid Table Selects podcast series.
 



Broadcast dates for this episode:

• February 20, 2018

Francis Lam celebrates his first full episode as the new host of The Splendid Table with the return of The Key 3 and great guest interviews. Francis visits with historian Adrian Miller, who shares stories of the influence and support that African-Americans have provided throughout American history by way of the White House kitchen. His new book is The President's Kitchen Cabinet. Pho may seem like an ancient or long-standing traditional dish from Vietnam, but that's not the case at all. Pho is actually a fairly recent dish, inspired by the cross-section of both Vietnamese and French cultures. Andrea Nguyen, author of The Pho Cookbook, brings her experience and insight on the dish to the show. For The Key 3, Francis visits chef Amanda Cohen at her NYC restaurant Dirt Candy to learn about her must-make dishes: leftovers sandwich, risotto, and her own Chickpea Tomato and Rosemary Soup. Plus, America's Test Kitchen discovers a treasure trove of premium extra virgin olive oil, and are all too happy to share their findings.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• March 10, 2017 (originally aired)
• February 16, 2018 (rebroadcast)

Welcome to Splendid Table Selects. This is where we pull together some of our favorite interviews -- from the past and present -- to showcase conversations that surprised us, illuminated something new in our world, or have proven to be especially useful in the kitchen. In this Selects, we talk with Michael Cimarusti, a chef considered to be the king of Southern California seafood for the last 20-plus years. He is a chef and seafood market proprietor who thinks deeply about fish; he is also willing to share some unusual observations for the home cook.  Our contributor Russ Parsons and Chef Cimarusti got together in Los Angeles to talk about techniques for cooking different fish, supporting dock-to-dish sustainability, and the key elements to a perfect clam chowder.
Thanks to our presenting sponsor Bob’s Red Mill for their support of this Splendid Table Selects podcast series.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• February 6, 2018