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: Meals & Memories."

-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.

-Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition, yet contemporary.

-It's the Italian way.

Prosecco Doc ros, a toast of Italy.

-Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese from Italy.

Handcrafted from 100% sheep's milk.

-Olitalia.

From chef to chef.

-Time spent cooking in the kitchen helps grow and shape your palette, your technique, and your confidence.

This salad shines with only the youngest and most tender baby artichokes, making it a very special way to start a meal.

As I'm making this, it takes me to a beautiful place, with grandma and my love for mortadella, my lunches with mortadella.

Mussels are an excellent choice for weeknights, one part cooking.

And this dish is fortified with sausage and potatoes for a flavor packed dinner.

Can't get enough of these beauties.

Oh, they're so beautiful, so plump.

Mm.

You got this.

Grow in the kitchen.

Lidia, what possessed you to go into the restaurant business and go cook in the kitchen?

I guess you feel that you can do it, you know?

Opening a restaurant was a challenge.

I was not a chef yet.

We hired a chef, and I became his sous chef.

I knew that I needed some more tutoring.

And you have to know, you know, when you need help, when you need guidance, Position yourself strong.

Then you learn and you grow.

And I traveled, and I picked up from other chefs.

I went to Italy and continued to grow till this day.

You know, I do research.

I continuously go back to Italy and around the world.

So you have to have that confidence.

You have to have that determination, and you have to go for it.

It's not always an easy road or an easy ride.

I mean, you know, the first year that we opened, Tanya came along, so I had to deal with motherhood, new restaurant.

A lot of new things were happening in my life.

I made it.

-Insalata di lamelle, di carciofi, spinaci, e mortadella.

Welcome into my kitchen.

Artichokes.

I love them.

The Italians love them.

My son in law loves them.

And this is an artichoke salad.

Raw artichokes.

You think only cooked artichokes.

Raw artichokes are wonderful.

But I know out there you're all kind of concerned about handling artichokes.

Well, I'm going to go step by step here.

I'm going down until I begin to see the white part.

I cut the stem, and then I kind of just peel a little bit of the stem because I want to use the stem.

But this part, I'm going to peel off.

So, you know, you need to have a good paring knife.

And we cut the tip off.

So the artichoke, you clean it, and when it's small like that, it doesn't have the beard.

So we're going to eat the whole thing.

That's why when you cook an artichoke Roman style or whatever, they cook the whole artichoke, because the beard is not built up yet.

So this is what you want.

You want nice young artichokes that are firm, and you can almost feel the toughness of the leaves.

A serrated knife is great for this because otherwise, the artichokes are kind of tough to cut through.

So mandoline is a great way to go, but you have to be careful.

The mandoline is sharp.

[ Chuckles ] You slowly just slide the artichoke, and it goes down quickly.

So as you're getting to the bottom, use a towel to protect your fingers.

And you can cut all of the artichokes by hand, but you can never get it as thin as you can with a mandolin.

Here I have six artichokes in total.

Put a little bit of lemon juice right away because the acidity keeps the artichoke nice and white and it doesn't oxidize.

So I can comfortably work with the rest without the artichokes turning color.

Raw artichokes are delicious.

So to that I will add celery.

I love these leaves.

I think that celery is underused in the American cuisine, you know?

Especially the leaves.

So look at me.

I just kind of cut them like that and put them right in so they act like a salad, actually.

Again.

So even when you make your tuna salad, put those leaves in there.

It gives it a lightness, a freshness.

So mortadella is one of those cold cuts that Italians just love.

It's made in Bologna.

Bologna is the heart of mortadella.

So baloney, Bologna, there's a connection there.

But baloney is just with that little pieces of fat, which Italians like.

The fat that's very mature and almost rendered is inserted in this pork meat that's really finely ground and it's made into a paste.

It's like a pat.

And so in America, you have baloney, in Bologna, you have mortadella.

And when you get the mortadella, have them cut a thick slice like that because I'm going to make matchsticks out of this.

This one has pistachio in it.

You can get it with pistachio, without pistachio.

You just make the matchsticks like that.

Usually if you buy mortadella, they want to cut it thin.

And if you eat mortadella with bread or antipasto, thinly cut you want it.

But for this, have it cut a little thicker, like that, and a little more.

This is a great salad for antipasto.

You can serve it in smaller amount and for buffet tables.

You know, once you put the lemon juice in there, the artichokes stay the color, and the rest doesn't really wilt.

And let me just toss it a little bit.

We have to season the artichokes and the celery.

Okay, let's get the salad dressed.

I am going to put the lemon juice in there.

And of course, you can squeeze the lemon before separately and then add it like a dressing.

And I am going to add the oil.

Some fresh pepper.

And now I'm going to grate in the cheese.

To give you more stability in grading it, you grade it and then you just throw it in like that.

And the grading.

I make it a little chunky because you want little chunks of cheese now and then that come up with the mortadella and the artichokes.

Okay.

So let me toss this a little bit.

Okay, let's get the spinach in there.

These are baby spinach leaves.

Just kind of refreshes everything.

Now, could you put chicory?

Yes.

Could you put the mixes that you can buy?

You can put some of that.

You can put romaine.

It's important, especially in this chunky salad that you toss everything just like that.

Let's see.

Needs a little salt.

Okay.

The cheese is in there.

Everything is in there.

Let's give it a good toss, and we're ready to serve.

And I'm going to get a little bit of Lidia.

Service.

Okay.

I love mortadella.

I really do.

You know, I used to go with grandma to the market.

She had her little garden for the family, but all the extras, we went to the market and sold it.

It's still there.

I still go to it.

It's these wonderful rows of women selling their goodies.

And I would help.

I would be the cashier.

But you know what I would do?

Because we had no plastic bags then.

I would make a cone bag, you know, take the newspaper like that, and then wrap it around just like that and made it like this, just like a cone.

And she would put everything in there, close it, and that's how they would take it and put it in their little bursa, in their bag.

But for lunch, I would go to the bakery.

She would give me the money.

I would get a hot panino.

Panino just came out of the oven.

And put the thin slices of mortadella in this hot bread.

The heat of the bread melted a little bit of that fat.

It was like buttered the bread, and that was my lunch.

So as I'm making this, I'm thinking about it.

Takes me to a beautiful place with grandma and my love for mortadella, my lunches with mortadella.

But you know what?

I'm forgetting you guys.

So let me serve you.

Look at this.

It's chunky.

It's delicious.

It's different.

It's different.

So let's taste it now.

Want an artichoke, mortadella?

The cheese is stuck into it.

I got everything in here.

Crunchy lemony mortadella.

It's easy.

It's beautiful.

And your guests will love it.

-Salute!

-It always brings me such joy to connect through food.

My friends are everywhere, from Italy to New York.

We always end up discussing all things delicious.

Sharing recipes.

Wine & women.

I am taking you to Montalcino to meet a dear friend of mine, Donatella Cinelli Colombini.

She has been my friend, I would say maybe 30, 40 years.

But I've been drinking her family wine and her wine forever.

Delicious.

So here she is.

Donatella, how are you?

-Fine, and welcome in Tuscany.

-It's always a pleasure because you've become such an icon not just because of your wine production, but you were one of the first women cheering on women producers all over Italy.

You are one of the founders of Le Donne Del Vino, which I am a member of.

Tell me a little bit what drives you.

-Because the good wineries in Italy didn't employ women as manager.

And so I decided to do something to change this situation to show that the great wine are not made with strong muscles, but with talent, with intelligence.

-This is so wonderful.

The women are being appreciated, thanks to you, I am sure in the wine industry.

You also initiated cantina aperte, did you not?

-Yes.

-All over Italy.

-In Italy, there was only 25 wineries open for visits.

Now there are 30,000 open, to visit the winery, to eat in the restaurant.

-Now your great wines, what cheeses would you pair with what wine?

Just give them a sense of what would you do with the Brunello?

What would you do with a Sangiovese?

-I prefer cheese of my region, of Tuscany.

And our main cheese is pecorino cheese.

I use the fresh one with the youngest red wine and the aged one with the old wine.

-Yeah, foods and wines from the same region go together the best.

So not only do you run a winery, you have an agriturismo, you have a restaurant, and your daughter works closely with you in running all of this.

Violante, let me see you.

How are you doing, Violante?

Tanti auguri!

You know how close I work with my daughter.

It's lovely to see this.

This team are unbeatable.

-We are strong.

[ Laughter ] -Much continued success.

-Thank you.

-Ciao.

Grazia, grazia, Violante.

Grazia.

And, Donatella, grazie mille for sharing your friendship with me.

And thank you very much for being such a great supporter of women.

Auguri!

Salute!

Auguri!

-Cozze, salsicce, patate, vino bianco.

When you cook a dish like this, potatoes, mussels, sausages, you think you're dining out, but it's so simple.

So the potatoes first, that's the base starch.

Get them nice and caramelized in olive oil.

And here I have sausage out of the casing.

It's about three links.

You can get your sausages, you can pull them out of the casing, or you can buy sausage out of the casing.

And let's spread it around.

Let's get the sausages to render a little bit.

In the meantime, we'll put some onions and all of this on a medium heat.

So what am I doing here?

I'm holding like a bridge here.

And then I go in with the tip of a sharp knife and just cut slices into it, and then, of course, dice it on the other side, keeping the tip of my fingers away from the knife.

Always the knuckles.

I'll put just a little bit of white wine to render it a little bit, loosen up all the little bits and pieces that have caramelized on the side, and then we'll add the flavorings.

But let's talk mussels.

I know in all my restaurants, we sell a lot of mussels.

People love mussels, but somehow people are reluctant to cook mussels.

Well, let me tell you, mussels are delicious, they're inexpensive, and they're easy to cook.

They cook very quickly.

Now, more than ever, the mussels that you buy, they're mostly cultivated.

You don't need to clean them.

When I would go musseling with my uncle, Uncle Emilio, he was a fisherman.

He would drop us kids on the rocks around the coastline before he went out with his little boat, and the mussels grew attached to the rocks.

So I knew how to pick my mussels.

And certainly I know how to cook my mussels.

And I want you to cook mussels.

You know that my grandson, Lorenzo, he's now on the West Coast, and he sends me these pictures.

Him and some friends, they are on the rocks picking the mussels.

And that's wonderful to see.

So let me season this.

I'm going to salt just the potatoes and the sausages.

Peperoncino.

I like it spicy for the mussels and the potatoes and everything else.

And thyme.

Thyme goes very good with mussels.

Okay.

The potatoes are almost cooked.

The sausages are rendered.

Now, let me just dump the mussels right in here.

Put the thyme.

Okay.

Put some more wine.

Oil.

I started with oil, but I'm going to dress it up a little bit now.

Okay.

And I'm going to cover it.

Let it cook for about 10, 15 minutes.

I'll check on it, and we'll be ready to enjoy dinner.

And you have a full meal out of one pot.

Buongiorno.

Benvenuti to my library.

Here is where I read your e-mails and answer you.

Eli and Olin have sent a photo in and here is what they say.

"I caught these Red Rock crabs with my son at our local beach.

I typically boil the legs and body and serve it with garlic butter, but was curious how you would prepare them."

Oh, I love crabs.

I used to go crabbing all the time.

On the rocks, we used to chase the crabs because they hide very quickly.

All right, let's take a look at these crabs.

All right.

This looks like a beautiful crab.

It's a big one.

You have two here, I think.

You can make a great pasta sauce from these.

You have to clean them.

You have to pull up the cap.

And underneath, you find the gills.

You remove those gills and the head.

That's usually where the digestive tract ends.

You cut that out, and then you break it in half, the body, and you make sauce.

A little bit of garlic and onion.

Some crushed tomatoes.

Put the crabs in there, a little peperoncino, and you got yourself a nice sauce for your pasta.

Keep on foraging for them, you and your son.

How wonderful is that?

So here's another e-mail, and it's one that I get asked often.

Lisa asks, "What is the difference between chopped tomatoes and diced tomatoes?

I usually use crushed tomatoes, but what is the difference?"

So there are the crushed tomatoes, which are tomatoes that are kind of crushed in the can, in their juice.

There are the diced tomatoes, the cut up tomatoes.

Again, in the can with their juice.

There is the passata di pomodoro, the puree of tomatoes, and then there are the whole tomatoes in the can.

And I prefer the San Marzano tomatoes in a can.

And then I take that tomato, and I crush it myself.

They have a thin skin.

They have a lot of pulp, very little juice, and not too many seeds.

The juice is usually acidic, and the seeds are bitter.

So if that tomato has less of it, the sauce will be sweeter.

Good luck with your sauces, Lisa.

Here's another e-mail.

It is from Anna.

"I bought my daughter one of your cookbooks, and it turned into one year of what she called Lidia's Dinners."

Love that.

"Each month, we would pick a different area of Italy from the cookbook and make at least three of the recipes.

We'd set the table (fine china, flowers and all), And our family would share the meal.

Learning about the particular region of Italy that was highlighted."

Isn't that a great idea?

And here is the family that did it all.

That's a great family picture you got there.

Keep on learning about the different regions.

You know, Italy has 20 regions.

It's so diverse.

It has so much to offer as far as food and recipes.

It's a long trip that will last you a whole year and more.

And by then, I'll have a new book for you.

So enjoy.

Have a good time.

Thank you.

The mussels are almost done, and, of course, you need some bread to dunk in the juice.

Let's see.

Let me put some bread here.

It has to also look nice.

You know, the whole presentation.

Okay, let's check on the mussels.

Mm!

What an aroma.

Let me chop some parsley.

I have to get going quickly here.

Let's get it all in.

Mm.

Just like that.

I'm going to put some oil in there.

Now the last touches here.

Mm, look at the potatoes.

There's juice.

And you see how nice and plump they are.

This is how you want your mussels.

Okay, we are ready to serve.

Just like that.

The pot is hot.

Don't forget to put empty plates or little bowls to put the shells.

Okay, that goes on the table.

So let's serve up this mangiate.

And you see, you see this plumpness here?

This is what you want.

You do not want to overcook those mussels.

Look at this beauty right here.

Mamma mia.

Che bellezza.

Now we'll put the potatoes in the center.

Okay, so that's one plate.

The other.

Okay.

If a mussel doesn't open, throw it out.

Mm-hmm.

This one looks good.

Oh, they're so beautiful.

So plump.

So that's what I'm telling you.

Get going cooking mussels.

You can get some wonderful results out of mussels.

Mm.

Can't get enough of these beauties.

Let me bring them steaming to the table.

Mm, mm.

And here's Lidia.

A beautiful Lidia, some sauce.

Okay.

Some sausages.

There you go.

And one, two, and three.

Mamma mia!

The rest, you can bring it right to the table.

They can help themselves to more.

On a trivet, you put it on the table.

Now, first of all, I put some oil.

Now on this one.

And on Lidia's.

Okay.

Now a little bit of parsley, a little bouquet just like that.

And just like that, I'm going to put another one for my shells.

So don't you forget to put one for the shells at the table.

You know, a bowl.

Between every two or three people, you put an empty bowl.

Wine -- a nice white crispy wine.

Sauvignon from Friuli is beautiful, but not a sweet wine.

Crisp and not too complex.

This is a light meal, and you want some great fresh wine.

So let me taste.

Do you feel I'm rushing?

I am.

I don't want it to get cold.

Mm.

So you know what we used to do?

We used to go like this and grab some sauce and some sausage and some whatever, and you just slurp it in.

Mm!

I want you to come, come quick.

I don't want it to get cold.

I don't want mine to get cold.

So, as I always do, there's plenty of mussels here for everyone.

Come and join me.

And as I always say, Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

Mm, salute!

Don't let an ingredient or a technique deter you.

Get confidence and try it because it's not as hard as you think.

Usually if you follow the instructions, it will take you there, maybe with a mistake the first time, but second or third time, you'll get it.

So don't let the challenge deter you.

Go for it.

You got it.

You can make it.

Absolutely.

[ Singing in Italian ] [ Singing in Italian ] [ Singing in Italian ] [ Singing in Italian ] [ Glasses clink ] [ Speaking Italian ] [ Singing in Italian ] [ Singing in Italian ] -The food from the 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.

-Grana Padano -- authentic, Italian, rich in tradition, yet contemporary.

-And by...