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

This week, we’re all about discovering the secret of cooking—and exploring an iconic French Dish. First, Award-winning food historian Bee Wilson talks to us about her latest book, The Secret of Cooking: Recipes for an Easier Life in the Kitchen. She talks about how to find the joy in cooking with real-world advice, from embracing your favorite kitchen tool to considering cooking as a remedy. She left us with her recipe for Magic Pasta with Mushrooms, Garlic Cream, and Wine. Then, food writer Sylvie Bigar takes us through an amazing culinary journey, exploring the history and culture of cassoulet and why she became so obsessed with the iconic French dish. Her book is Cassoulet Confessions: Food, France, Family and the Stew That Saved My Soul, and she left us with her recipe for Gateway Cassoulet.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 8, 2023 (originally aired)December 13, 2024 (rebroadcast)Celebrate kitchen companionship with a gift to The Splendid Table today.

It’s the holiday season, and we’re kicking it off this week with some sweet treats. First, food editor and recipe developer Ben Mims joins us with his latest project, covering over 300 cookie recipes from Asia to the Levant to Scandinavia to the Caribbean. The varieties are astonishing.  We get into cookie styles, the fascinating ingredients in regional cookies, and the hundreds of flavor combinations. Ben is the author of Crumbs: Cookies and Sweets from Around the World. And he left us with a recipe for Guava-Filled Butter Cookies from Brazil. Then, we step into the world of wild chocolate with Rowan Jacobsen. We hear about the new breed of cacao farmers and the amazing flavor profiles found in wild chocolate and meet some of the farmers who are making it. Rowan is the author of Wild Chocolate: Across the Americas in Search of Cacao’s Soul.Broadcast dates for this episode:December 6, 2024 (originally aired)Your support is a special ingredient in helping to make The Splendid Table. Donate today

It’s our favorite time of year – Fall Cookbook season! We’re joined by baker Samantha Seneviratne, author of Bake Smart, who tells us about her favorite baking techniques, including a butter trick that creates the creamy texture in her Gooey Cranberry Crumb Cake. Then, chef and content creator Jon Kung talks about his debut cookbook, Kung Food: Chinese American Recipes from a Third-Culture Kitchen. He tells us about his cultural identity as a “third-culture kid,” how he experienced multiple cultures at once while growing up, and how he applies that experience to his fusion cooking. He shares a recipe for reimagined Hong Kong Style Chicken and Waffles. Then, Rose Previte, author of the new book Maydan: Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond, talks about travels and her cultural background that influenced her award-winning restaurant and her interest in dishes cooked over fire like Omani Grilled Shrimp Kebabs.Broadcast dates for this episode:November 3, 2023 (originally aired)November 29, 2024 (rebroadcast)Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.

Join us for Turkey Confidential, our must-listen-to annual Thanksgiving Day broadcast! This year’s guests are Andrea Nguyen author of Ever Green Vietnamese, Super Fresh Recipes Starring Plants from Land and Sea, Dallas-based chef Tiffany Derry of  Roots Southern Table and The Great American Recipe on PBS, Washington Post Food Editor and author of Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking, Joe Yonan and pastry chef Paola Velez author of Bodega Bakes, Recipes for Sweets and Treats Inspired by My Corner Store. And, of course, our charming Francis! Broadcast dates for this episode:November 28, 2024