The Splendid Table

This week we have a conversation between Michael Ruhlman, author of The Book of Schmaltz, and celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern about cooking with fat, the Sterns join us with their take on the best regional American pizza, Bon Appétit’s Adam Rapoport teaches us a simplified duck confit recipe, and travel and food writer Anya Von Bremzen talks about her memoir, Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• October 4, 2013 (originally aired)
• October 10, 2014 (rebroadcast)
• October 7, 2016 (rebroadcast)

It’s Serious Eats’ science superstar J. Kenji Lopez-Alt with his new book, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science. Mary Karr, author of The Art of Memoir, talks about the role of smell and taste in memory. Musician Sammy Hagar, author of Are We Having Any Fun Yet?, compares cooking to writing a song. James Nienhuis, a professor at the University of Wisconsin, explains what paintings show about the history of vegetable domestication. Jane and Michael Stern report on the High Desert Market Café in Bisbee, Arizona.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• September 25, 2015 (originally aired)
• September 23, 2016 (rebroadcast)

It’s a conversation with Craig LeHoullier, author of Epic Tomatoes: How to Select and Grow the Best Varieties of All Time. We talk to Nicole Bermensolo about her book, Kyotofu: Uniquely Japanese Desserts, and we get kitchen design and philosophy from Gabrielle Stanley Blair, creator of the blog and book Design Mom. Cara Nicoletti, author of Voracious, shares dishes from her favorite novels, while Andrew Moore, author of Pawpaw, explains the forgotten fruit.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• September 11, 2015 (originally aired)
• September 9, 2016 (rebroadcast)

This week we talk to chef Pierre Thiam about his new book on modern Senegalese cuisine, Senegal, and Melanie Dunea, author of My Last Supper, explains the art of capturing chefs on film. Writer Elissa Altman is having a difficult time feeding her aging mother, and the Sterns seek out the best pimiento burgers. We also revisit an old segment with award-winning chef Daniel Patterson, who tells us what tools a cook really needs.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• August 28, 2015 (originally aired)
• August 26, 2016 (rebroadcast)

This week we talk to Leanne Brown, author of Good and Cheap: Eat Well on $4/Day. Wendy Suzuki, author of Healthy Brain, Happy Life, shares recent evidence that you can benefit your brain by giving it a smell and taste workout. In his latest project, “To Live and Dine in L.A.,” Josh Kun looked at a collection of over 9,000 menus dating back to 1875. And Cathy Erway, author of The Food of Taiwan, shares the distinctive tastes of Taiwanese cuisine.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• August 14, 2015 (originally aired)
• August 12, 2016 (rebroadcast)

We talk to Darra Goldstein, editor of The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets; we meet Douglas Quint, one of the founders of New York City's Big Gay Ice Cream Truck; and we learn the simple art of Italian dumplings with chef Jenn Louis, author of Pasta By Hand. Keith Wilson, curator of the exhibit "Ancient Chinese Jades and Bronzes" at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., explains ancient Chinese wine vessels.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• July 31, 2015 (originally aired)
• July 29, 2016 (rebroadcast)

Will Allen tells us how he feeds 10,000 people a year from a three-acre farm in the poorest part of Milwaukee. We talk to Amy Bentley, author of Inventing Baby Food. Adam Leith Gollner explored Abruzzo, Italy, which he says is "hidden in plain sight," and Barbara Mazur discovered The Vilna Vegetarian Cookbook in the rare book room at YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. The Sterns share their soul food picks -- in Orlando, Florida.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• July 17, 2015 (originally aired)
• July 8, 2016 (rebroadcast)

We're in the New York City kitchen of legendary chef Daniel Boulud for another installment of The Key 3. David Tanis tries to convince us to eat seaweed, and we play Stump the Cook with Frank DeCaro, author of The Dead Celebrity Cookbook.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 23, 2012 (originally aired)
• June 15, 2013 (rebroadcast)
• July 1, 2016 (rebroadcast)

This week Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College, and student Chanson Goodson tell us why the Dallas school converted its football field into a garden. Contributor Noelle Carter looks at the world of sake making with sake brewer Gordon Heady. Contributor Melissa Clark talks to food critic Robert Sietsema about his new book, New York in a Dozen Dishes. Freelance journalist Jason Strother takes us to a restaurant serving Mexican-Korean food in Seoul. And in celebration of The Splendid Table’s 20th anniversary, we revisit an interview with Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish, about the history and health of the four species of fish that dominate our menus.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 19, 2015 (originally aired)
• June 17, 2016 (rebroadcast)

Guest host David Leite talks to Augusten Burroughs about the latter's new memoir, Noelle Carter explores the food of Lima with Virgilio Martinez, and Shauna Sever discusses Italy's history of food preservation with Domenica Marchetti. Plus, David builds the perfect pie crust with Art of the Pie's Kate McDermott, and Lynne Rossetto Kasper checks in with Jekka McVicar on the wonders of lemon balm.
Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 10, 2016