The Splendid Table: Conversations & Recipes For Curious Cooks & Eaters American Public Media

This week, we are celebrating the spring cookbooks of 2023! First, we talk with Chef Lara Lee about her approach to flavorful meals using iconic Asian ingredients from her pantry, including recipes for her stellar Tom Yum Bloody Mary and Sambal Patatas Bravas - crispy potatoes topped with a sambal spiced tomato mixture and a bit of mayo! Addictive! Her latest book is A Splash of Soy. Then, we get deep into flavor combinations with Niki Segnit, author of The Flavor Thesaurus. She talks us through surprising flavor combinations that will inspire and expand your home cooking adventures. Then, we talk African home cooking with Lerato Umah-Shaylor, author of Africana, and her delicious recipes filled with traditional and modern flavors of African cuisine. From yassa butter to bejeweled aromatic fried rice and her delicious Akàrà; deep fried bean fritters with ginger & spring onions.

Broadcast dates for this episode:


May 12, 2023 (originally aired)

April 26, 2024 (rebroadcast)





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This week, it’s the food journeys of two chefs. First, TV Star and author Carla Hall joins us to talk about her latest show, Chasing Flavor. She brings us stories about her filming and travels and the connection between people and their food. She sticks around to answer some of your cooking questions. Carla Hall hosts the MAX series, Chasing Flavor, and is the author of Carla's Soul Food: Every Day and Celebration. Then, we sat down with Atlanta chef Todd Richards to talk about the interesting and varied influences on soul food. He talks about the foods from West Africa, how they traveled across the Caribbean, and how the dishes have evolved. He left us with his recipe for Haitian Oxtail in Beef Broth with Pikliz. Todd's new book is Roots, Heart and Soul: The Story, Celebration and Recipes of Afro Cuisine in America.

Broadcast dates for this episode:


April 19, 2024 (originally aired)





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This week, we promise you will get your recommended dose of fruits and vegetables! Award-winning author Abra Berens takes us on a sweet and savory journey with fruit. From best cooking methods to subtle and exotic pickling methods- think Brined Cherries + Salty Snacks, to advice on picking the best fruit to throw on the grill. She’s the author of three books, Grist, A Practical Guide to Cooking Grains, Beans, Seeds, and Legumes, Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables, and her latest, Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit. Then, we turn to vegetables with food editor and author Sheela Prakash. Her new book is Salad Seasons: Vegetable-Forward Dishes All Year. The book is chockfull of imaginative uses for fresh veggies, including an amazing recipe for Spring Carrots with Burnt Butter and Labneh.

Broadcast dates for this episode:


April 21, 2023 (originally aired)

April 12, 2024 (rebroadcast)





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We are looking at food stories from different cultures this week. First, documentarian and journalist Von Diaz joins us to talk about her latest book, Islas: A Celebration of Tropical Cooking.  She writes about island cuisine from all over the world and talks about her academic field research, the connections she feels when she is on an island, and the unique dishes she cooked and tasted for her book research. She found commonality among the islands in their cooking techniques, from grilling to smoking and marinating, and shares a delicious, iconic island recipe for CHamoru Barbecue Chicken with Juanita’s Fina’denne’. Then, best-selling author and  Jewish food authority Joan Nathan joins us to talk about her latest book, a memoir My Life in Recipes, Food, Family and Memories. Joan chronicles her start in food, the people she met along the way, her passion for elevating the home cook and her devotion to the regular ritual of sitting down together for a meal.  

Broadcast dates for this episode:


April 5, 2024 (originally aired)





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We’re all about baking today, from New York to Mexico to London by way of India. First, Pastry Chef Natasha Pickowicz talks to us about her favorite recipes and her baking process. Then, she shares her baking techniques, from bringing egg whites back to life to saving overbaked cakes by soaking them in delicious liquid. She is the author of More Than Cake: 100 Baking Recipes for Pleasure and Community, and she left us with her Fennel, Chocolate, and Hazelnut Spears. Then, Chicano Eats Food Blogger Esteban Castillo gives us a rundown of his favorite Mexican pastries and all the goodness Mexican panaderias have to offer, from cakes to jellos and even savory treats. He is the author of Chicano Bakes: Recipes for Mexican Pan Dulce, Tamales, and My Favorite Desserts. He left us with his recipe for Pan de Elote. And you can find more recipes on his site, Chicano Eats. Then, one of the most beloved contestants on the Great British Baking Show, Chetna Makan, talks about her love of baking and the ways she incorporates Indian spices and flavors into her sweets. Her latest book is Chetna’s Easy Baking with a Twist of Spice, and she left us with her recipe for Chocolate and Coconut Spiced 
Self-Saucing Pudding.

Broadcast dates for this episode:


April 7, 2023 (originally aired)

March 29, 2024 (rebroadcast)





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This week, we spend the hour with cooking columnist and internet sensation, Sohla El-Waylly. We talk about her connection to food and how she got her start as a pastry chef, writer, and recipe developer. She talks about her work in restaurants and her passion for teaching people how to cook. And she answers your cooking questions, from the best way to cook rabbit to her favorite ice cream flavor. Her latest book is Start Here, filled with recipes that teach techniques, as shown in her Bisteeya Inspired Phyllo Chicken Pie recipe.

Broadcast dates for this episode:


March 22, 2024 (originally aired)





Donate to The Splendid Table today and we will show our appreciation with a special thank-you gift.