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!

Petey Holiday Party!

Awhile back, a few of my closest friends decided to call our group of girls the "Petey's" --- also sometimes Pete's, Peter's, you get the point. Anyway, every year we get together around the holidays, eat too much food, drink too much wine and exchange gifts a la Secret Santa/Hanukkah Harry. This year it was my (second) turn to host the gathering.

I made an appetizer and the main course. Thighs brought the cheese, crackers and crudite. Sockitome brought some well-seasoned asparagus, brussel sprouts, parmigiana and small rounds of fresh mozzarella from a local market, Rockstar brought dessert a la Fresh Direct - a dairy free lemon and a chocolate tart (Marathon Man, our lone dude for the evening, is allergic) and Chef MJ brought her famous deviled eggs and Caesar salad. Of course, everyone brought plenty of wine!

While Thighs was preparing a cheese, crackers and crudite plate, I was being the biggest hypocrite on the planet and preparing a Rachel Ray recipe! I KNOW!!!! I can't stand her Joker-grinned cheesy shtick but RRR had made her sage sausage bites with balsamic apricot dip and it was a big hit. As much as I loathe her and everything she stands for, I have to admit, this appetizer was super easy and quite tasty! The spice of the sausage was perfectly balanced by the herby sage and sweet dip with the right amount of tart from the balsamic. My few revisions to the dish (recipe on the link above) would be to put a bit more of the dip in the sausage, use hot sausage in lieu of sweet and to not make as much of the dip as the recipe calls for - I wound up with a lot left over!

Ms. Foodie made a rookie mistake when baking these tiny sausage meatballs... I used a flat cookie sheet instead of one with edges and before you knew it the kitchen was filled with smoke from the oil that was burning on the bottom of the oven! Oh well, it kept me and Thighs on our toes!

After devouring the sausage bites, we moved on to Chef MJ's deviled eggs which were deliciously rich and simply made using egg yolks, mayonnaise, dijon mustard and pepper. Fresh chives, paprika and a bed of purple cabbage added to the overall presentation.

Her Caesar dressing is even more impressive... made with one coddled egg yolk, olive oil, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, anchovies and lemon juice. I am not always a fan of Caesar, but MJ's is so light, flavorful and full of salty anchovy goodness that before you know it, you've gone back for seconds and thirds! Lucky for me, there was lots of dressing left over!

With my time being limited this week thanks to some late nights at work, I needed to make something less time consuming as the main course. I looked to that goddess of Italian cuisine, Lidia Bastianich, for a hearty pasta recipe and chose her bucatini with pancetta, tomato and onion. The recipe comes courtesy of my signed (how cool is that?!?) "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" cookbook and the complete recipe is on the link above.

The sauce was hearty and flavorful and actually tasted sooo much better the next day once the flavors had a chance to meld (as is often the case with sauces). We all found the bucatini a bit tough to eat and there was a lot of slurping; especially from my side of the table.

The best part of the meal was our gift exchange! We all know each others tastes so well and the gifts were simply perfect! I received a set of baking sheets from my Secret Santa, later revealed to be Comet aka Rockstar. The baking sheets came in a set of three different sizes with edges so I am sure not to repeat my sausage oil fire hazard stated above.

I also received a box of Jacques Torres chocolates! Oh me and my love - reunited at last! It's been too long! What a great way to kick off the holidays!