PBS Cooking Shows

Lidia's Italy: What can I say except that I love this woman! A few years back I had the pleasure of meeting her at a cookbook signing where she made four different versions of gnocchi which we enjoyed with some Bastianich wines. I hadn't had gnocci that good outside of Italy!

I do enjoy this new version of her show where they intercut Lidia in different regions of Italy then back in her home kitchen making the dishes you've seen her enjoy abroad. Informative and entertaining!

Perhaps it is the way she adds pecorino with reckless abandon to a dish of cacio e pepe or the way she can crush garlic with the strength of three men! I do enjoy her stories about the tradition behind the dishes she makes and her stories about growing up in Italy. Giada and her cleavage have nothing on Lidia's man hands! And never tire of Lidia's closing line: "tutti a tavola a mangare" when she invites you to her table after she puts a generous pour of olive oil to finish a dish and toasts you with a big gulp of wine. You really feel like you are sitting on the other side of her counter and she's cooking for you.

Lidia is the Queen of Italian Cuisine - hands down!

Everyday Food: They seemed to have revamped this show since I last tuned in; adding Martha at the beginning and end of the show to add a little 'star-power' to the cooks featured each week. They also seemed to have dispatched of the dude that used to cook with all the ladies - where did he go? This show is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me; it's a bit cheesy (no pun intended) but the recipes showcased are often great springboards for easy weeknight meals. The show seems to cater to the soccer Mom but there are ideas and meals here for everyone.

Tonight's episode included a "Quick Tip" on salt describing the difference between table, Kosher and sea salt. Quite helpful actually, especially for the novice cook. The camera work on the show seems to have improved with some very stylized shots of the finished dishes - very Martha!

The shredded pork tacos looked particularly good this evening and pretty close to the Real Simple pork rustica dish but with a Mexican flair. But then again, if you know me at all you know I am a pork freak. I did my dinner dishes when one woman made salsa - zzzzzzzzzz! And there's Martha again with a tip on cutting brownies. Apparently it's a faux pas to serve up the brownie edges to your guests and you should instead freeze the edges and serve them over ice cream at a later date. Okay, I can buy that!

Everyday Baking: There's Martha again at the top of the show. It appears they spun off the Everyday Food cooking show into a half-hour baking show. And there's the DUDE! John! One could look at this as a promotion or a demotion depending on how you look at it: he's got his own show but it's as if he's been banished to the lesser show. One of the ladies from the previous episode randomly showed up to give a tip on how cool the Microplane is as a kitchen tool. (FYI: she's right!) Too bad my lack of willpower keeps me from baking for fun. That and the fact that I don't have counter space for a stand mixer. But all jokes aside, this episode was informative and made even the more complicated cookie recipes seem simple to execute. And there's Martha again in the last segment heating platters using hot water instead of the oven.

Bittman takes on America's Chefs: I always enjoyed Bittman's articles in The New York Times Dining Section and his other PBS series where he traveled the world for the best (hamburger, meatball, paella) recipe - you get the point. In this show, a renowned chef makes a dish for Mark and then he follows with a homemade easy take on their complex dish. This week was Suvir Saran, chef from New York's Devi restaurant (I've been told by those in-the-know that this is the most authentic Indian in NYC), was his guest. RRR and I chatted at the beginning of the episode so I missed the intro but it looks like Suvir didn't totally enjoy Bittman's take on his dishes. It was interesting to see Mark "defile" Suvir's beautiful tandoori shrimp with okra but did receive a nod of appreciation from the chef.

Last week's episode of Bittman featured Michel Richard and was an absolute riot! Now THAT guy needs his own show!

Simply Ming: I ran out of steam (this time pun intended) when Simply Ming got on, but I did catch last week's episode where he caught up with Master Sommelier Andrea Immer. I was wondering where she was! Her Fine Living shows, Simply Wine with Andrea Immer along with her food pairing show (Pairings with Andrea Immer) seems to be M.I.A. What gives Fine Living?

But back to Ming... I actually went to Blue Ginger, his Massachusetts restaurant, years before this blog was started with RRR, Mitch and Contessa and he was actually working in the kitchen. I do love his food but the preparation and ingredients can sometimes be a bit too complicated. He appears to have toned it down a bit. Still looks delicious!

I do adore my PBS cooking shows - certainly more entertaining than tonight's State of the Union address!

Chicken with double roasted tomatoes and leeks

I spent the better part of last week eating my way through a refrigerator of leftovers from a dinner party I threw over the weekend.

So this weekend, it was time to try something new to rejuvenate my palate. I walked through the Manhattan Fruit and Vegetable Exchange on Saturday looking for some inspiration.

There were some nice fairly (I stress fairly) inexpensive leeks so I grabbed a bunch and then saw that grape tomatoes were on sale (2 pints for $2.99). The tomatoes looked decent and even though I stay away from them in the "off season" I thought some time in the oven would give them some depth of flavor.

I came home and after washing all the sand off the leeks, sliced them in chunks and filled a cookie sheet with the leeks, the grape tomatoes and some unwrapped cloves of garlic. Some olive oil spray, salt, pepper, garlic and thyme and my work was done. After a good half hour of roasting time the vegetables were tender and my apartment smelled amazing!

The next day, I preheated the oven while preheating my Le Cruset on the stove top. After seasoning some chicken breasts, I placed them in the Le Cruset to sear on both sides.

When that was complete, I added the leeks, tomatoes, garlic, some chicken stock, tomato paste as well as few large capers and olives for good measure. A light mix and it was off to the oven for about twenty minutes.

What came out was juicy chicken in a rich salty sauce. I probably added a bit too much kosher salt but that's nothing a little extra stock won't take care of when I reheat it for lunch this week; making what is going to be a very busy week at the office a little easier to handle.