Lidia's Kitchen

-Buongiorno.

I'm Lidia Bastianich, and teaching you about Italian food has always been my passion.

Just like that.

You got that right.

It has always been about cooking together and building your confidence in the kitchen.

For me, food is about gathering around the table to enjoy loved ones.

Your family is going to love it.

Share a delicious meal and make memories.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare.

"Lidia's Kitchen: Tradition to Table."

-Funding provided by... -Every can of Cento tomatoes is born in Italy, where they are grown and ripened in sun-drenched fields and then harvested by local farmers who select them just for us.

Cento -- trust your family with our family.

-It's the Italian way.

Prosecco DOC ros.

A toast of Italy.

-Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese from Italy -- handcrafted from 100% sheep's milk.

-Exercising your cooking skills is something you should do every day.

Even a simple recipe is a great opportunity to get better and better.

In one pot, you have legumes and vegetables.

Each bite boasts a sweetness balanced by the tartness of the balsamic.

Delicious!

I'm a huge fan of freezing portions of soup for easy weeknight meals.

Let me share my tips on how to bring them back to life.

-I'm gonna do it.

-Of course you're gonna do it.

You may be surprised by the idea, but a roast chicken is one of the easiest things to throw in the oven for an impressive meal in no time.

I use rosemary and lemon for that extra special touch.

A quick salad, and you have a complete meal.

If you put love in, you get love out.

Nurture yourself.

Don't forget to cook.

Cooking every day is a way to really get better and better.

But for a working mom, busy mom, or a family, cooking could become a chore also, so you have to kind of look of ways to facilitate that and still make a good, meaningful nutritional dish.

For example, roasted chicken.

Everybody loves that.

Maybe you don't eat the whole thing.

Save the breast.

You make a nice club sandwich the next day.

Save all the bones and all the vegetables that you roasted it in.

It makes a nice stock the following day, and so on.

I also love using dried legumes because Grandma used to -- in the summertime when the beans were mature, she would let them dry and then we would shell them, and then she would keep them for the whole winter.

But, you know, today the convenience of vegetables that are frozen, and even cans, are quite good.

Canned beans, kidney beans, cannellini beans, are delicious for a quick salad, brings the protein.

You can make even a quick pasta e fagioli with the canned beans, so keep on cooking.

And what happens with cooking, let your... kind of your mind go and be free.

And if you feel, "Oh, maybe I'll add this, or maybe I'll add a can of beans to this," try it.

Make your cooking pleasurable, not a chore.

And there's a lot of things that could help you out there that make sense.

Okay, going to the kitchen.

See you there.

[ Lively, indistinct conversations ] Ready to go?

Zucca con Fagioli Cannellini.

Sounds good.

I love it.

I'm using here butternut squash, but you can use any squash you have.

So let's start with some olive oil.

Let me just crush some garlic, just like that.

Oh, okay.

[ Sizzling ] I'm gonna just throw in the butternut squash that I cut.

Now let's pick up the fire a little bit... [ Sizzling ] ...and I'm gonna put some bay leaves in there.

Always count the number of bay leaves that you put in, because that's the number of bay leaves that you're gonna put out.

And I'm gonna put some of the bay leaves in the pot where I'll make the balsamic reduction.

I'll also put some rosemary in there.

So what is a balsamic reduction?

I use the balsamic vinegar you can buy, not so expensive regularly... some honey... and we reduce that to about half.

You strain it to remove the herbs, and you're ready to go.

Let me season this with some salt, some peperoncino, just like that.

[ Sizzling continues ] To this I will add some water.

And that is enough.

And I'll let this cook slowly.

The balsamic vinegar will reduce.

This will cook slowly, covered.

And then in about 20 minutes we'll come back and we'll add the cannellini beans to it.

I got some time.

Let's see what you're up to and what you sent me, what questions.

I have an e-mail here from Jan. "Does balsamic vinegar have a shelf life?

I had a small forgotten bottle in my cupboard.

It seems thicker, sweeter, and had a pleasantly sharp vinegar taste.

What are your thoughts?"

You're aging your own balsamic vinegar, Jan!

It's good.

Vinegar, it has the acidity that really bacteria doesn't thrive in it, and it actually dehydrates the longer you keep it.

So it condenses, it gets richer and gets sweeter and gets syrupy-er -- all of those things.

So, yes.

Use it.

Absolutely.

Still very good.

Good question, Jan. Ciao!

This squash is just perfect.

And here I have the cannellini bean -- fagioli in Italian.

You always tell me you want to learn Italian, so let's do it.

Squash, zucca.

Zucca.

So, I cook the cannellini beans, or you can use even from the can.

Whatever you'd like.

Let's add them to the squash.

You just want to warm them up.

You don't want to make a mush out of it.

Let that sort of warm up.

The last minute, I'm gonna add some scallions.

Scallions is another one of my favorite vegetables, and I'll go right into the green part, too.

You want to use it.

That's good stuff.

This is good enough.

Let me remove the bay leaves.

We're counting.

Are you counting?

Yes.

Okay.

And I'm gonna add the scallion at the last minute.

And the scallion, just want to wilt a little bit.

So, I'm gonna use the wooden spoon.

I think the wooden spoon is more gentle than the tongs.

And that looks good.

So, this is two great vegetables.

You should have at a table when you have all kinds of meals -- when you have a lot of proteins or whatever -- but whoever comes to your table, you want to be ready for them.

You want to appreciate what they are all about.

And it smells really good.

This is how I would serve it, with a spoon there.

Let them help themselves.

If you're serving this for a lighter meal, a little fettunta.

What is fettunta?

Fetta is "slice."

Unta means sort of "greased."

But it is a bruschetta that's brushed with fresh oil and just rubbed with a little bit of garlic.

I would like a little prosciutto right here.

Of course.

And let's put... Mmm!

This is the balsamic reduction.

You see how it coats the spoon?

And just like that.

That's good.

Delicious.

It really is good.

You can taste a little bit of the sweetness, the honey.

And with this, what would go good?

Some rosato.

The color comes out of the amount of the contact of the juice of the grape with the skins.

So minimal account gets the color and also gets a lot of flavors.

I like even the color match here.

And a piece of bread for me... and I'm gonna take a little bit of this wonderful blend here.

Mmm!

Finger-licking good.

So, of course a little bit of the balsamic reduction too.

Mmm.

I could begin to cut this and all of that, but how about just biting into it, huh?

You like that?

I like that.

Delicious.

The sweetness of the squash, the sort of creaminess of the beans, and then the acidity of balsamic vinegar, the crunchiness of the bread -- really delicious.

Let's see if I was right about the rosato.

Mmm!

Delicious.

It has a lot of flavor, nice acidity, and it goes perfect with the sweetness of this perfect meal.

So...

I'm gonna continue to eat, and you start cooking.

Delizioso!

Trasforma la Zuppa Avanzata.

-We are back in my grandmother's kitchen again, and I don't think I'm, quite frankly, ever going to leave.

-I love that.

That's tender.

Oh, thank you, Cocco.

I want you forever in my kitchen, in my life.

Ah, that's what it's all about.

So, you know when you come to Nonna's house, you cook the meal, whatever you want, but I always send you off with some frozen food, and I just wanted to give you some pointers on the bag that I'm going to give you today when you go home, how to revive a soup from the freezer.

So, you know, when I make the soup, I pack it in this quart pack, and you can revive it very easily into making it a whole meal.

I added here two sausages so that not only do we have all this vegetable, which is good for you, but we have some protein.

And then I had some ditalini cooked, so -- -Might have to stock my whole freezer with some of your soup, so -- -So it's going to be a regular visit?

-Yeah.

-Weekly?

Monthly?

How we going to make this?

-Weekly.

-Oh.

[ Laughs ] So you can either do that, the pasta that you have cooked or whatever, leftover, so don't throw anything away.

You can add sausages like I did or uncooked stelline, but let's put just some of the ditalini here.

Go ahead.

Right -- Put it -- Put some in.

You want to do everything?

Okay?

Go for it.

-I like it dense.

-Go for it.

So, okay, so here it is.

I have some basil.

Chop some basil.

Fine, fine.

And throw that in.

That's going to be fresh.

All this fresh.

-I don't know how to -- you got to -- -You don't know how to chop?

-[ Chuckles ] -Hold this.

Hold that.

Hold -- Get close.

Don't worry.

And always hold like this.

-[ Chuckling ] Okay.

[ Both laugh ] -Come on.

Chop.

Chop.

Chop.

-You're going to take off my -- I can kind of... Like that?

-Yeah, yeah.

You're doing a fantastic job.

That's good.

Good enough.

Throw it in here.

How about some fresh pepper?

-Yeah.

-You like that?

Alright.

How about a drizzle of olive oil?

And that is done.

So you have Nonni's goodness, and then you make it your own.

And give it a different flavors.

Bring the bowls right here.

Hold it like this underneath with that hand so you don't have to move this.

Go get your soup.

-Oh, I see.

I see.

-Ah.

Mamma mia.

Okay, go ahead.

Put -- Put some more.

[ Chuckles ] Okay, that's enough for me.

How about you?

Okay, you want some more?

-Just a little bit more, yeah.

-Okay.

Serve it to the table.

And we have the sausages.

So you see?

One.

Two.

Okay, that's good.

So you have after-work weeknight meal.

You want some cheese?

-Oh, I love cheese.

-Okay.

Alright, good.

Not the whole table.

So, you know, I'll show you how to do that.

So you're on top.

You don't want to grate it or whatever.

Pick this up like this.

Hold it like this.

Now we have a perpendicular line to the...

Does that work?

Now bang it against the cheese.

Now, does that work better?

-That works a little bit better.

You're right.

-Should we taste?

-We should definitely taste.

-Yeah?

Mmm.

Looks nice, you see?

-You know what this needs?

A little peperoncino.

-You got it.

-Spice it up.

-You got it.

How much?

-Yeah, that's good.

-I'll put a little bit.

-Fantastico.

-Fantastico.

This is an evening meal.

It's healthy.

It's a few little additions.

-Doesn't get any easier than that.

-You're gonna do it?

-I'm gonna do it.

-Just like that, delicious soup with love from Grandma.

Mmm.

Pollo Arrosto alla Lidia.

Roasted chicken la Lidia and for Lidia.

A whole roasted chicken just for me.

Absolutely.

I'll get four great meals out of it, and then I'll get a big pot of stock, as well.

So, let's begin with the flavorings that I'd like to massage my chicken with.

Certainly, lots of rosemary, just like that.

And I'm gonna save some rosemary also because I'm going to stuff the cavity.

Let's chop this.

Yeah.

And chicken and lemon is delicious together, so I'm gonna use the rind like this.

And I'm gonna add to this some garlic powder... and salt right in here and olive oil.

Okay.

And this is the rub.

I'm gonna cut the lemons... so I have them ready, and this will be to stuff on the inside.

And now let's address Mr. Chicken here.

It's a nice large roaster.

Will I make it for myself?

Of course.

I get four great meals out of this.

So, let's put some salt first.

I want to salt it all.

Dress it.

Take the tip of the wing and just nestle it underneath, just like that.

Now let's begin to dress the chicken.

Get that flavorful rub all over, underneath the skin so everything is flavored.

And you're afraid to go under the skin, but it's quite easy.

There's a little kind of attachment here.

Don't cut the skin.

Just cut the attachment.

The skin is attached right here in the middle.

And then you can go in with your fingers and really make that space in there to get all that extra flavor underneath the skin.

I'm letting gravity help me a little bit here.

Alright.

I'm gonna put these right in here just to absorb everything.

And I'm going to cut this in small pieces, because this is gonna be in the cavity.

And let's stuff the cavity with all of that.

And you can see how there's a lot of flavor right here.

We need to seal this.

You could go like this and tie it with a kitchen twine, absolutely.

But you could also make a little slit in here and a little slit in here.

And let's see if the legs will stay in there.

Okay, that's that.

And, as I said, you could tie it, but this will do.

Okay.

That's a nice little chicken -- maybe big chicken -- all flavored up.

Let's get it in the roasting pan and vegetables on the bottom so you have all in one meal.

You have your vegetables -- your carrots, the potatoes.

Wash them well.

All the same size.

And I would like to season a little bit.

A bit of salt in here.

And oil a little bit, just like that, the potatoes and the carrots.

Let me just give it a little mix.

Let me give them some love, too, you know, because if you put love in, you get love out.

Let's get this beauty right in there.

I'm looking at it.

You see it's nice and tight here, seasoned.

I'm going to just put some stock in.

And don't pour it over the chicken.

Now that you have dressed it so well, don't give it a shower.

Just let the flavors be there.

Some wine.

Okay.

So, now we're gonna put it in the oven.

400-degree hot oven.

Depends on the size.

Anywhere from an hour to an hour and 15 minutes.

And you don't need to do much to it.

Yeah, check on it now and then and if you want to baste it, but I think it'll be beautiful.

You like that crust on top.

So, let's go to the oven.

Things are cooking in my kitchen.

I got some time.

Let's check the e-mails.

Let's check them out.

Elaine wants to know, "What is the difference between spatchcocking a chicken and roasting it whole?

Is one better than the other?"

They're two different things.

I think a whole chicken is a beautiful presentation.

If you split your chicken open and you press it down, the chances are that the cooking maybe will be more even.

Also, the caramelization on the inside and on the outside because you can turn it over.

But whatever you do, save those bones and make a stock for yourself.

This beautiful roasted chicken is done.

Could be a meal for six or six meals for Lidia.

And I'll show you.

So, let's get this baby right out of the juice.

It has rested.

Okay, here we go.

Let's start with the legs.

You have to cut into this skin right here, just like that.

And it is still hot, so a clean towel to help you along.

Absolutely.

I see the joint right in there.

And you go right for the joint.

And, voil, here we have...one leg.

Let's do the other one, just like that.

You see?

You go right in there.

Look for the joint.

And here we are.

I love chicken wings.

Grandma loved chicken wings.

And we had to share.

Now I can have both, but I'd much rather be sharing it with her.

But, okay, she's watching.

So, I usually go right in and cut a little bit of the breast.

So go to the joint, cut a little bit of the breast.

This tip you could leave or you can just... snip it off like that.

And here is going to be my stockpile, in a sense, the carcass and everything.

I'm going to be saving all of this so I can make the future meals.

Mmm!

Let me cut the tip off.

Put it in there.

Here is my other wing.

And I like a little skin.

Why not?

And then we have the breast.

You have the breastbone here.

You either go on one side or the other side, wherever the knife lets you go.

And it is hot, so a clean towel will do.

And just you pry it nice and gently, just like that.

Okay.

We have a joint here.

Let's get the joint.

There we are.

So, let's do the other.

And just pry it open and slowly go underneath.

And there we go.

That looks pretty good.

So, I'm going to put the carcass with all its... stuffing right in here and let it cool.

And that's gonna make a great pot of chicken stock.

Add some carrots, some celery, some onions, and you've got it.

Now, these little pieces are for me.

I'm gonna put them in my little plate there.

The wings, I said, are for me.

Let's make one full plate.

Carrots and potatoes.

Okay.

And then... one of the legs.

And, again, you feel the joint...just like that.

Let's put that here.

And just like that.

Mm-hmm!

And let's get some breast in here, too.

So, you cut it on a bias, just like that.

And I think that's... enough for that.

And I'm going to put the rest of the breast right here.

And you can see that you have two full meals right here.

I'm going to put the leg right here -- another meal.

My little dish.

I'm gonna have a carrot.

A little bit of juice.

Of the jus.

Just a little bit.

Let's bring the plate to the table.

That's ready.

My salad arugula with some shaved grana on top.

Now let's finish my dish right here.

And I'm going to fill these with some of this good stuff so that you have it... when you're ready to serve it.

So I'll put the carrots here.

Carrots and potatoes right there.

A little bit of juice so I can reheat this properly.

So, you know, when you're reheating things, if things have been in the refrigerator, they kind of dried out a little bit.

But you definitely need to reheat it in a little bit of some liquid.

And this stock is ideal.

You can save that.

You can save this to reheat this.

Look at all the meals you've gotten out of that beautiful chicken.

So, don't think twice when you're considering roasting a chicken for you.

So, let's decorate this little chicken here.

Rosemary.

That looks nice.

So, now I'm ready to taste.

I'm going to do what Grandma would have done.

Just taken the wing and bite right into it.

The best part of the chicken.

I'm ready to salute you and invite you tutti a tavola a mangiare.

And I'm going to go right back to my good wine and my chicken.

So, you enjoy yours when you make it.

[ Singing in Italian ] A lot of you write to me, "Oh, my mother had so many recipes.

She never wrote them down."

Well...listen to that.

Do write them down.

And if your mother and your grandmother are still alive, help them to do that.

Put them down, and then you add to that when your turn comes.

-The food from this series is a celebration of the Italian dishes Lidia cooks for the ones she loves the most, from the traditional recipes of her childhood to the new creations she feeds her family today.

All of these easy-to-prepare recipes can be found in Lidia's latest cookbook, "From Our Family Table to Yours," available for $35.

To purchase this cookbook and any of her additional products, call 1-800-PLAY-PBS, or visit shop.pbs.org/lidia.

To learn more about Lidia, access to videos, and to get recipes, tips, techniques, and much more, visit us online at lidiasitaly.com.

Follow Lidia on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, @LidiaBastianich.

-Funding provided by... -At Cento Fine Foods, we're dedicated to preserving the culinary heritage of authentic Italian foods by offering over 100 specialty Italian products for the American kitchen.

Cento -- trust your family with our family.

-And by...