The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters – Details, episodes & analysis

This week, we talk about cuisines from opposite ends of the world. We start by diving into the first, traditionally-published cookbook about Salvadorian cuisine with Karla T. Vasquez. She collected traditional recipes and techniques while documenting stories from the hands that made the dishes. Karla is the author of The SalviSoul Cookbook: Salvadoran Recipes and the Women Who Preserve Them. She left us with her recipe for a delicious Salvadoran Quesadilla. Then, we explore Southern Thai regional cuisine with author Austin Bush. Austin researched the diverse and unique cuisine of Southern Thailand through travel and cooking alongside local cooks He’s the author of The Food of Southern Thailand and he leaves us with a recipe for Simple Thai-Style Rice Salad - Khaao Yam.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• August 30, 2024 (originally aired)

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This week, we take a deep dive into pizza with the co-author of the voluminous Modernist Pizza, Nathan Myhrvold. We get into the history, culture, and techniques behind great pizza. We hear stories from his worldwide travels and deep dives into pizza cultures and traditions. Plus, we hear about the culinary lab research devoted to making the best pizza ever, and he sticks around to answer your pizza-making questions. He is the founder of the Modernist Cuisine Lab. Then, we tune into our Family Kitchen series and hear from Journalist Liana Aghajanian about her childhood visits to Chuck E. Cheese and how she felt it was a magical food portal to America.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• September 24, 2021 (originally aired)




• September 30, 2022 (rebroadcast)




• August 23, 2024 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we look at modern food and culture from two popular cuisines. First, we sit down with acclaimed food writer Khushbu Shah to talk about her debut cookbook, which is all about Indian home-cooked dishes. She shares ingenious hacks and delicious Indian-inspired recipes that can come together in a pinch using everyday pantry items, and teaches Francis how to make her Chili Cheese Toast.  Khushbu Shah is the author of Amrikan: 125 Recipes from the Indian American Diaspora. Then, we are off to Korea with Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard. We talk about why Korean cuisine has taken the world by storm, their travels to Korea to document modern Korean cooking, and how regional Korean dishes are showing up in many parts of Korea. Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard’s latest book is Koreaworld: A Cookbook. They left us with their recipe for Sauteed Rice Cakes with Gochujang & Cream.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 21, 2024 (originally aired)

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This week, we talk to two award-winning food writers about how to make the most of your vegetables and leftovers this summer. First up, award-winning vegetarian writer Hetty Lui McKinnon joins us to talk about her latest book Tenderheart, A Cookbook About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds. She talks to us about her father’s influence on her early life and how it inspired her vegetarian cooking career. She walks us through some of her favorite Chinese-inspired dishes made with a vegetarian twist, like her Sesame Mushroom Toast and Eggplant Char Siu and she sticks around to answer your cooking questions. Then, Tamar Adler, author of The Everlasting Meal Cookbook, brings fresh eyes to leftovers, from super quick ideas to elevate your cooking, like adding coconut water to your rice, and even ideas on what to do with your overcooked fish and those Cheeto crumbs at the bottom of the bag.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• June 9, 2023 (originally aired)




• June 14, 2024 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we spend an hour with one of Francis’ heroes, Chef Martin Yan. He talks about growing up in China, the time he spent working in the legendary wet markets, and how helping his mom in the kitchen gave him a lifelong lesson in seasonal cooking. From his journey to Hong Kong where he famously learned how to bone-out a chicken in 18 seconds, to his move to attend college in the US, to becoming a trailblazing culinary food show host of Yan Can Cook, his is a story full of determination, achievement, and his trademark humor. He is the author of over twenty cookbooks and is currently the host of Martin Yan, Quick and Easy

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• August 27, 2021 (originally aired)




• September 2, 2022 (rebroadcast)




• June 7, 2024 (rebroadcast)

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When it comes to seafood, frozen is the new fresh. We talk to seafood industry expert, Jennifer Bushman about how technology has improved the quality of frozen fish and how to make the most of canned seafood from your local grocery store. Her latest project is Sea Pantry, how to keep your pantry stocked up with ingredients from the sea. Then, Senior Editor of New York Times Cooking, Genevieve Ko brings us her best at-home seafood cooking tips and recipes.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• April 9, 2021 (originally aired)




• April 8, 2022 (rebroadcast)




• May 31, 2024 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we’ve got suggestions to start your summer reading list. First, we sit down with bestselling author and poet  Aimee Nezhukumatathil to talk about her upbringing and the nature of her poetry. She writes about her parent’s gardens and their food, and how she carries her childhood experiences with her today.  Her latest book is Bite By Bite: Nourishments and Jamborees. Then, we learn about the life and legacy of the iconic book editor Judith Jones through her biographer Sara B. Franklin. Sara documented Judith’s amazing journey from her first job at a publishing house to transforming the cookbook industry at large. Plus, we hear from Judith herself from an interview we did several years ago with our former host, Lynne Rossetto Kasper. Sara B. Franklin’s book is The Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 24, 2024 (originally aired)

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This week, we’re spending an hour with Culinary Historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris. We talk about her start in food writing, how she started making connections between what she ate in Africa and what she ate in America, learn about one of her greatest influences, her mother who she calls her “culinary secret weapon”, and hear the many different ways she studied food, from reading Columbus’ journal to her experiences as a travel editor. She is the author of twelve books including, Iron Pots and Wooden Spoon: Africa’s Gifts to New World Cooking, her memoir, My Soul Looks Back, and High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• January 7, 2022 (originally aired)




• January 27, 2023 (rebroadcast)




• May 17, 2024 (rebroadcast)

This week, we're joined by two comedians to talk about their connection to food. First, Ivy Le, host of the podcast Fear of Going Outside. We quote, "Most nature shows are hosted by reckless white men, but avid indoors woman Ivy Le is an Asian mom with severe allergies. Last season, Ivy conquered camping. She's back, braving the outdoors to go hunting- or die trying!" Then, comedian Dan Ahdoot, the author of the new book Undercooked: How I Let Food Become My Life Navigator and How Maybe That's a Dumb Way to Live, talks to us about his connection to food and his family, his theories on relationships, and the journeys he's taken for a great meal.

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 26, 2023 (originally aired)




• May 10, 2024 (rebroadcast)

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This week, we’re bringing you two guests that will get you excited about cooking and baking. First, New York Times food desk reporter Priya Krishna tells us about her food writing career, building connections through her stories and travels and her most recent book, Priya’s Kitchen Adventures: A Cookbook for Kids. In her book, she draws recipes from different cuisines worldwide and tells us what working with kids as recipe testers was like. She leaves us with a recipe for Life Changing Udon. Then, Baker Yossy Arefi talks us through what it takes to make delicious and simple baking recipes. She talks about making desserts without occasion and finding freedom in combining flavors in her recipes, like her delicious Pink Cookie Bars with cardamom and almond cream cheese frosting. Plus, she sticks around to answer your baking questions. Yossy Arefi’s latest book is Snacking Bakes, Simple Recipes for Cookies, Bars, Brownies, Cakes, and More.  

Broadcast dates for this episode:

• May 3, 2024 (originally aired)

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