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.

-Buongiorno.

Benvenuti.

Welcome to Lidia's home.

You know, when you come here, there's always something delicious waiting for you.

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

Individual meat loaves dressed in a mushroom sauce makes this family favorite a special treat while cutting the cook time in half.

There's always room for one more at my table.

"A Warm Welcome."

What was it like to eat in the courtyard of Nonna Rosa?

There were three entrances to this courtyard, and people were kind of coming in from all entrances.

Uncle Emilio and Zia Lidia from the side, because they lived that side.

Santola Maria from this side, because she lives right there.

There was the need not only to nourish and eat and taste, but there's always the need to socialize.

We thought nothing of dropping in on somebody's meal.

Talking about eating and tables and families, every family has their picky eaters, especially when kids are small.

Well, my brother was one of them.

So what my Grandma Rosa would do, she would take whatever minestra she cooked and went over to the next-door neighbor.

She would leave it there.

And my brother would love to eat in other people's houses.

He thought that was better.

And so she would tell him -- When he wouldn't eat what she put out on the plate, she said, "Go, go.

Go around the corner.

Go eat your minestra."

And he went, and he ate it.

The same minestra.

The grandmas were in cahoots.

[ Laughs ] Shaved artichoke, spinach, and mortadella salad.

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 gonna 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 gonna 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 gonna 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.

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 the mandoline.

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 bologna/Bologna -- There's a connection there.

But bologna is just without 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 pt.

And so in America, you have bologna.

In Bologna, you have mortadella.

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

This one has pistachio in it.

You can get it with pistachio, without pistachio.

You just make them matchsticks like that.

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

And if you eat mortadella with bread or as 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 a 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 am going to grate in the cheese.

To give you more stability in grating it, you grate it, and then you just throw it in, like that.

And the grating, 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 gonna 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 borsa, 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.

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 here.

Crunchy, lemony, mortadella-y.

It's easy.

It's beautiful.

And your guests will love it.

Some of my favorite times in the kitchen has been teaching my grandchildren to grow into confident cooks.

And these days, even though they are living on their own, that doesn't mean they stop asking for advice.

"Sharing Recipes -- Spaghetti with Garlic & Oil."

I do miss my grandkids.

They're all away.

They're adults.

They're on their own.

They're in college.

They're cooking for themselves.

But they call me when they need a recipe.

And Ethan is gonna call me.

[ Computer chimes ] Here he is.

Hi, Ethan.

How you doing?

-Hi, Nonni.

I'm good.

How are you doing?

I miss you.

-You look very good.

You look nice and rested.

You had a good night rest?

Yeah?

-Oh, yes.

Been studying a lot.

But, you know, it's always important to get a good night's sleep.

-You're in your junior year.

That's three years already.

Time flew.

So are you cooking full speed now?

-Amongst my busy schedule, it's easy just to stick to, you know, the jarred sauces and your care packages, but every once in a while I get to do something a little special.

And sometimes it's for myself.

Sometimes it's for my roommates.

But I've been cooking away for myself.

-Good.

And what is your kind of go-to recipe, and everybody loves?

-Go-to and everybody loves is gonna be spaghetti with pesto because it's easy, gets done in 15 minutes.

So everyone loves to do that.

-And if you don't have pesto in your house, what's the next favorite?

-Spaghetti aglio e olio.

-That's good.

So let me hear how you make spaghetti garlic and oil.

-I have to go out, get the fresh ingredients from the supermarket, get the oil, sliced garlic, peperoncino, because I like it a little spicier than most people.

-So then you load some parsley?

-Yes.

You always taught me to add some fresh greens from the garden to my pasta, and it always makes it better.

-Absolutely.

It looks better, it smells better, it tastes better.

-And take some of the pasta water, you throw it in the sauce, and then you pour the pasta in, and it's done in minutes.

-You are good.

That's the way it's done.

Once you put the pasta water, it sizzles all over the place, right?

-Sometimes we have a little spillage in the kitchen, and, you know, it's all over the stovetop.

But, you know, that's a problem to deal with after we eat.

-Exactly.

That's a correction that you do after.

So do you drain your pasta, or do you just fish it out like Grandma with the tongs and put it right into the sauce?

-I drain it just because, you know, I always get worried that I'm gonna add too much water or it's gonna be too soupy of a pasta.

So I usually drain it first and kind of control the amount of water I put in it.

-So how many friends do you have in your dorm?

-There's eight of us in here.

We have a common room, a small kitchen so we can manage to make a few meals, but nothing like Grandma's family meals.

-So you collaborate on this effort of a meal?

-Yeah.

-Who is the official chef?

-Well, there's three Italians between the eight of us.

-Ooooh!

-So, you know, there's some pushing and shoving on who's the best and who's the head chef.

-[ Laughs ] -But I think usually it's me.

-Good for you.

I'm proud of you.

Now, do you finish your spaghetti aglio e olio with grated cheese?

Do you finish it with toasted bread crumbs?

How do you guys like it?

-I usually add more peperoncino on top of it.

Some of my roommates like to put cheese on it.

But, you know, we usually keep it pretty simple.

-But, you know, this pasta dish, as simple as it is, it could really be evolved into a main course.

You certainly can add shrimps, you can add scallops, or if you want to go the meat route, you can add little slices of chicken breast.

Or you can go vegetarian.

You can add, you know, the Broccolini that you like or the escarole, a little bit of escarole, or a little bit of anchovy, olives, and all of that.

Have you done much of that?

-I've tried adding shrimp.

I love shrimp, so I've added shrimp a few times to it.

And I know my roommates love it when there's always more protein in the spaghetti aglio e olio than just as it is regularly.

-That's good.

And do you make spaghetti marinara?

-Sometimes, you know, when we get the fresh tomatoes and we have a little extra time to prepare for dinner, we'll make the sauce ourselves.

-Okay.

You're cooking.

Who's cleaning up now?

-Usually the dishes will get left in the sink until someone decides it's time to clean up.

But if I'm cooking, I always make sure someone knows that they're gonna be cleaning up after.

-I've been on visits to these dorms of my five grandchildren.

And let me tell you that those sinks were piled.

Piled high.

And, you know, in the beginning, I used to sometimes get in there and clean, but I don't anymore.

Just shut the door, and we go out and eat.

[ Laughs ] -Everyone loves to cook, but no one loves to clean.

-That's okay.

Cooking is very important because, you know, not a lot of people cook.

I used to put a stool when we used to knead pasta.

And here you are, cooking at college.

Well, I know that I get messages from you -- "Nonna, I need some sauce.

Nonna, I need some pasta."

And I love getting these messages.

And so keep on cooking.

And any time you have a question, you call Grandma, okay?

I'm here.

-You know I will, Nonni.

I love you.

-Till next time.

Ciao.

-Bye-bye.

-That's great.

Isn't that beautiful?

What do you want more than that of life?

Nothing.

Just having them near maybe is a little better.

Skillet Ricotta Meat Loaves.

Who doesn't love meat loaf?

But meat loaf, you know, it's a big meat loaf, and it takes some time.

Here, we're gonna make some small meat loaves in a sauce, and it's easy, and it's quick.

So what I have here is pork and beef, 50-50.

Now we're gonna flavor the meat loaf.

I'm going to put in some ricotta, some scallions.

The green part is also very good.

I use it as much as I can.

I go all the way to the end.

Let's put that right in.

Now, to bind it all, we'll put an egg.

Okay.

Just whisk the egg.

I'll put the milk right in here.

And... add that.

Then the ricotta.

Grandma used to love ricotta.

And so when I made meat loaf, there was always ricotta in there.

It makes it softer and delicious.

Some grated cheese.

Bread crumbs.

Parsley.

Let me put some salt.

We have the seasoning in, the eggs, the ricotta.

Now for the nutmeg.

Nutmeg is great for stuffings.

It has an intense flavor.

It brings a lot of flavor.

So not too much.

And Italians, we love it in the stuffing of our raviolis.

And in this polpettone, as we call it in Italian, it's really good.

All right.

Everything is in there.

Let's mix up a little bit.

Okay.

Now I'm gonna dive in because this needs a good mix.

Looks like it's thoroughly mixed.

Now let's shape these little meat loaves.

A little flour.

I will make four.

So let's kind of divide.

Rough divide.

And then we go and make the polpettone.

One portion each.

That's a healthy portion.

But if you're hungry, absolutely.

Slightly flour.

Just like that.

Okay.

Here's one.

Two.

Just lightly flour them.

Okay.

Okay.

So we're all set.

I'll let them rest a little bit, wash my hands, and then we'll proceed to make the sauce.

Welcome to my library.

I'm here.

I'm reading, watching your photos, your videos, your questions.

And I'm happy to answer them.

Here I have an e-mail from Francesca.

"Your show brings me back to my childhood -- the memories of my mother and grandmother cooking and the wonderful aromas throughout the house.

So the question is, how do you know that garlic is fresh, and what is the proper way to store it so it lasts longer?"

Well, the first thing is the touch.

So a nice, firm garlic head will indicate that this is a fresh garlic.

And as far as storing it, the whole head, that is, the way I store garlic is in a cool place, in a refrigerator, in a plastic wrap first, and then in a container.

Grazie, Francesca.

[ Sizzling ] I have the meat loaves frying, getting the flour fried, and just kind of pull them together.

And we're gonna make the sauce right in here with the mushrooms and some marinara that I have.

Mushrooms -- Just sliced champignon mushrooms.

You can use any mushrooms that you have.

Let's flip these little meat loaves.

Oh, they look nice.

So be gentle when you flip them over because the ricotta and all of that, they need to sort of gel all together.

So let's rest them out here while we begin with the sauce.

And the sauce, you make right in here.

We'll put the mushrooms right in there.

We'll season the mushrooms with a little bit of salt.

I like mushrooms, and I think this is really a great addendum to the mini meat loaves.

But, you know, you don't like mushrooms, you can put peas.

Why not?

But you need to put the peas a little later, especially if you use frozen peas.

You defrost them, and they're almost cooked.

So you put them at the end.

So here I have the marinara sauce.

Let me put all of it in here.

I will rinse with some water.

Because we put it in the oven and the meat loaves need to cook thoroughly, you need a little bit of extra liquid.

So let's get the meat loaves back into the sauce.

Okay.

You want to bring this back to a boil.

Let's put some basil.

I'll put a whole little branch of basil, and then I'll take it out because it gives all the flavor to the sauce.

So let's cover it and let it percolate for another 15 minutes on the stovetop.

Then in a 400-degree oven, another 15, 20 minutes, and you've got dinner ready.

So here I have an e-mail.

It's from Tom and Kathy.

"Every month, we have a 'Lidia Night' with our friends, Mark and Sharon.

We each make one of your recipes, and the guys are in charge of aperitifs."

Mm, sounds good.

"Tom and I recently made your turkey meatloaf with mushroom sauce, and here is the picture.

Thanks for the inspiration, Tom and Kathy."

So here is the picture.

Mmm.

Looks good.

And that sounds like a great idea.

You know, I do get e-mails where there's a gathering, whatever, and everybody makes one of my recipes, and then they gather together with some good wine, and it's a Lidia party, and I just love that.

I am not invited, but my flavors are, and I love that.

Now let's go on to the next e-mail here.

And it looks like Mark and Sharon sent their own photos from Lidia Night -- a simple chicken parmigiana.

And here it is plated.

Continue Lidia partying.

Thank you very much for inviting my flavors to your party.

All right, dinner's ready.

I always tell you -- Out of the oven, the handle is hot.

Cover it so nobody grabs it.

First of all, let me get a little plate for Lidia here.

Let's get your dish here.

I know you're waiting.

I know you're waiting.

All right.

So first, let's pick up one of the meat loaves.

I think one is enough per person.

And let's do the mushroom and the sauce.

Okay.

I'm gonna steal a little corner here.

Nobody will ever know the difference.

Okay, let me put a little bit of sauce.

That's for Lidia.

To decorate, I will put a little basil to sort of bring back the flavor of the basil in there.

I think that is perfect.

And here is my gift to you.

My gift to the family.

Ooh, it's hot.

Okay, let's leave this here still because it's hot.

I chose as far as wine a Ciliegiolo.

Ciliegia is "cherry."

And in Maremma, which is part of Tuscany, they make a lot of this wine Ciliegiolo.

And so I thought that with this dish, that would go really good.

So let me taste.

Mmm.

Delizioso.

It is delicious.

It is tender, it is good.

And I'll take a little sip of the Ciliegiolo.

And I am going to invite you because I have enough.

And I know you are not gonna go right and cook it right now.

So come and join me.

And as I say always, tutti a tavola a mangiare.

Mmm.

I think an old traditional Italian saying says it all.

[ Speaking Italian ] "There's always room for one more chair at the table."

And what says, it's always room to fit another person at the table to enjoy the meal with loved ones.

[ Singing in Italian ] -Cin-cin.

-Salute.

Cin-cin.

So, Grandma, are you hungry?

-I'm always finding a little room for something sweet.

-This is between sweet and savory, but it's made with something that you really love.

-Oh, ricotta?

-This is ricotta.

-Ah!

That's what I like.

-Now, tell me a little bit about ricotta, because I know you love it.

And I know your mother, my Grandmother Rosa, used to make her own ricotta.

-Yeah, we have a couple of cows.

With the milk, we make ricotta, too.

-Red cabbage.

What can you tell me about red cabbage?

-This is mine, and this is yours.

-[ Laughs ] She gets me every time.

-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...