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

Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | Spotify | PandoraThis week, we talk about comfort food around the world. First, Yotam Ottolenghi tells us about his latest book, which is filled with recipes for his favorite comfort foods. He talks about what it is about specific dishes that evoke emotional reactions, from taste to texture to memory like his recipe for “Thousand” Hole Pancake. Yotam’s latest book is Ottolenghi Comfort written with his collaborators Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller, and Tara Wigley. Then, Luisa Weiss joins us to talk about her deep connection to German food. Growing up between Berlin and the US, she tells us about her favorite hot school lunches, (which are famous in German culture!), “low key dinners” known as abendbrot, and the influences German dishes have gleaned from other countries. Luisa is the author of Classic German Cooking, and she leaves us with her recipe for Käsespätzle, Swabian Noodles with Mountain Cheese and Caramelized Onions.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 8, 2024 (originally aired)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

When it comes to cooking, do you follow a recipe to a T, or do you do a little improv? This week, we learn a lot about cooking by feel with the star of the Peabody and Emmy-award-winning show A Chef’s Life, Vivian Howard. She talks to Francis about how she “deprogrammed’ herself from precision cooking and started thinking outside of a written recipe. Plus, she sticks around to help answer your cooking questions. Vivian’s latest book is This Will Make It Taste Good. Then, we take advice from the scientist-turned-cook Nik Sharma, author of The Flavor Equation, on how to be intuitive with our food.  Broadcast dates for this episode:January 22, 2021 (originally aired)January 28, 2022 (rebroadcast)November 1, 2024 (rebroadcast)When you shop using our links, we earn a small commission. It’s a great way to support public media at no extra cost to you!Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

Cookbook season is back, and we talk to the authors of some of our favorite picks. We're joined by Carolina Gelen, who talks to us about learning how to cook, her favorite Romanian dishes, and how she comes up with her signature recipes like Butter Beans alla Vodka, a fast, one-pot dish inspired by the famous vodka pasta sauce. Carolina is the author of Pass the Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Sharable, Everyday Recipes. Then, Sonoko Sakai tells us how to “wafu” our food! Wafu means Japanese in style, and Sonoko takes familiar dishes and adds a little Japanese flair. Check out her recipe for her Pasta with Miso Bolognese Sauce. Sonoko is the author of Wafu Cooking: Everyday Recipes with Japanese Style. Then, Jody Eddy talks to us about the incredible food she found and cooked in religious communities around the world. She walks us through some of her favorite recipes, from condiments and Chicken soup in Tibet to a recipe she learned from a Minnesotan monastery, Honey Glazed Turkey Tinga. Jody's book is Elysian Kitchens: Recipes Inspired by the Traditions and Tastes of the World's Sacred Space.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 25, 2024 (originally aired)Sign up for our Weeknight Kitchen newsletter here and enter to win one of the incredible cookbooks featured in this episode.Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

This week, we dedicate the hour to the fabulous Dorie Greenspan. We talk about her start in food, from burning her kitchen down when she was a pre-teen to her love for project baking early in her career and becoming the iconic writer and cookbook author we know today. She shares stories about meeting Julia Child, working alongside high-level pastry chefs, including France’s Pierre Hermé, and her highly- creative process for writing recipes. Dorie is the author of 14 Cookbooks, including the best-selling Baking with Dorie, Everyday Dorie, Dorie’s Cookies, and Around My French Table. Check out our collection of Dorie interviews and recipes here.Broadcast dates for this episode:October 20, 2023 (originally aired)October 18, 2024 (rebroadcast)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today