Lidia's Kitchen

-Bonjourno.

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.

-My fondest memories are always around the table, surrounded by family, friends, and neighbors.

You can prepare these crispy cheese bowls in advance.

They're fun to make and a playful way to serve a salad.

And, voil, you have a salad bowl.

-Pretty good.

-The deep, rich flavor of this broccoli-walnut pesto tossed with hot bucatini makes a dish that will feel like a warm hug.

We always made stuffed peppers when I was a child.

Here, the dish is a little lighter, using ground turkey and some vegetables.

It's easy and foolproof.

Look at this big boy here.

Mmm!

Join me.

The more, the merrier.

One of the most-asked questions is, "Oh, a recipe is for four or six.

I'm having 12.

What do I do?"

Yes, you can multiply the recipe, and, usually, it works.

But, you know, be smart about it.

For example, the stuffed peppers -- you already have it portioned, so you do your filling, you multiply it, you braise it, and they're waiting for you to be served.

And don't let pasta intimidate you.

Yes, you can bake it, but you can also make it in the last minute, because you make a sauce like a pesto, whatever.

It's ready to go.

All you have to do is cook your pasta, drain it, and toss it, and voil.

So, when you're cooking for a crowd, choose your recipes wisely.

How can you multiply it?

And how will it keep well to be served for a bigger crowd?

Frico.

Two generations in Lidia's kitchen.

Olivia, my oldest granddaughter, she likes to cook.

She likes to entertain.

So, Olivia, we're going to make, frico, a little chip, which we're going to turn into a salad bowl.

So, take about 1/2 cup of the grana cheese.

And a nonstick pan, and you have to go all around, even up the sides.

Okay.

So, you let it slowly toast.

You got to be careful that it doesn't burn.

And you can make the salad in between.

So, take the arugula and have some radicchio and some endive.

Just throw it all in.

And salt.

And peperoncino.

Red-wine vinegar.

And whenever you're doing that, you keep an eye on this.

Olive oil.

You like some fresh pepper?

-Yes.

-Okay.

Okay.

Toss, toss, toss.

And that's just a simple salad just to show you how this will turn into a beautiful salad bowl.

-I think that looks good.

-Yeah, yeah.

I think it looks very good.

Let's check on the frico.

So, you see it's not yet finished.

You look at the cheese.

The cheese is turning golden and then slightly brown on the edges.

And then you try to pick it up, and if it's not sticking -- -Okay, that's when you know it's ready?

-Right.

You don't want to overcook it, because cheese gets bitter when it's overcooked.

-Oh, okay.

-When it is crisp, we will flip it on here and then just kind of pressure it down.

And bring me one of those.

This is what it will turn into.

-Mmm!

-Does it look nice?

Yeah.

Let me serve the salad.

-And you know you can make these in advance.

That looks beautiful.

And do the other one, too.

Have you ever had something like this?

-I've definitely had frico like this, but I don't think with the salad in it, so... -Uh-huh.

Are you going to use it for your friends?

-Definitely.

-Okay.

-Ooh!

-Huh?

-Do you want to?

-I'll try.

-Okay.

-I might need your help.

-It's okay.

Okay, let's pick it up.

Don't be afraid of it.

-The whole thing?

-Yeah, yeah.

Just pick it up.

There you go.

Flip it over on the -- That's it.

Adjust it.

Quickly, quickly.

All right, good.

Put the pan back here.

Let's press it down into our shape.

Go ahead.

Nice and easy.

You let it cool off and voil.

Good job.

-Pretty good.

-For a first time, it's pretty good.

-Put some salad?

-Absolutely.

And let's just start nibbling on it.

It's inviting, huh?

-Yeah.

-I'll take that away, make room.

And I'll take a piece of this.

How about you?

-Yep.

Ooh!

[ Both laugh ] -It's okay.

It's okay.

We'll eat pieces of it.

-Mmm!

-Your friends will really be impressed with all these new techniques.

-My friends might prefer nibbling on this.

-Well, you could do the same thing.

Just make smaller ones and don't flip them over, and you get small, round ones.

It's like a cracker.

You have now an extra dish to your repertoire, to the dinners.

And just like that, crispy frico cheese bowls made by Olivia.

Bucatini al pesto di broccoli e noci.

Pasta with pesto is always a good choice.

Of course, pasta -- everybody loves pasta -- and pesto.

And pesto is so versatile, and in this case here, also, it's quite nourishing.

You know, you can put into pesto anything you want.

Here, I'm going to put some broccoli.

So, I'm going to blanch the broccoli first, because a blanch will take the edge out of it.

You need a little bit of ice water just to shock it so it stays nice and green.

And then we have parsley and basil.

Walnuts -- toasted first so that the flavor and the oils really come out, and then let them chill.

Garlic, of course.

Okay.

A lot of you write to me about the spiders.

"What are they?"

Well, they're the best.

I use them for everything.

So, here we are.

It's not cooked, but it took the edge out of the broccoli.

Let's put it right in here.

And let that chill.

And right in this water we're going to put the pasta.

These are the bucatini -- thick spaghetti that have a hole in the middle.

And the sauce goes in it, and it has a bite, but they do take a while to cook.

I haven't even begun my pesto and I am already putting the bucatini in.

Long pastas -- dry fettuccine, perciatelli, capellini -- don't you dare break them.

I see some people break them.

No, no, no.

The whole pasta, you put it in, and it sort of sinks comfortably and it will cook.

So, we have some time, and I love it when you send me e-mails and I get to hear what you have to say about it, so let's take a look.

Oh, Luca.

"Ciao, Lidia!

Can I use any herb to make pesto?

Also, I don't have a food processor.

What is the best way for me to make it?"

Well, of course.

You can use basil, parsley, mint, celery, if you like the flavor of celery, thyme -- not too much, because it's quite pronounced.

And a processor does the job quickly, but, traditionally, pesto was made in the mortar and pestle, you know, those marble things.

Sometimes, they're made out of wood.

Get yourself one of those.

But you have to work at it and make it really into a paste.

So, I'm glad.

I'm glad that you're into pesto.

Thank you very much for your e-mail.

When you have a chance, when you have a question, when you want to connect, send me an e-mail.

I thank you.

I appreciate it.

I am going to pull out the broccoli and put them right in there.

You can pat them dry on a paper towel if you'd like.

And salt.

Peperoncino.

You know I like that.

And the cheese -- Pecorino Romano and the grana.

I'm going to put it at the end.

Some of the recipes call for, "Oh, put in the cheese," and if you're going to use it right away, it's also okay, but I like my cheese separate.

I like to coat the pasta with the pesto and then let the cheese stick to that.

Let's make it happen.

It looks fine.

You can have it nice and chunky.

You see?

Or you can make it really fine, like the pesto that maybe you are used to.

But especially with the broccoli, I kind of like it a little chunky.

Now, pesto you don't cook.

The heat of the pasta is enough.

So...do I need all of this?

I think so, because that's what we have.

Now let's pull this pasta out.

Mmm!

You can strain the pasta.

Just don't rinse it.

And just let's mix.

Mmm!

I think I'm going to put just a little bit more of olive oil.

And the cheese.

Pecorino Romano -- sheep's-milk cheese, very pronounced, very good.

The grana is cow's milk, so it's a little milder.

I like to combine the two, but you can do just one or the other.

Mmm!

And we are ready.

And Lidia's dish.

You know I always accompany myself with my little plates so I don't dribble all over the place.

And then I sort of put it down and let it fall perpendicular right on the plate.

Here we are.

And a little bit of Lidia.

And I'm going to bring it to the table.

And just like...that.

A little bit of sauce to sort of liven it up a little bit.

Here we go.

Just like that.

You send me e-mails.

You tell me, "You should name a book just like that.

You should name a show just like that."

But I want you to know when Lidia is happy with something.

Just like that.

A little bit for Lidia.

And you can put a chunk of Pecorino Romano right on the table and let them grate it.

But here we go.

That's for me.

You have to be careful because this pasta has the hole, the sauce goes in there, and it gets capricious as you're eating it.

It could squirt the sauce right in your face.

But here, I'm watching.

Mmm!

Buonissimo!

Easy to make, delicious.

So make sure you serve a big bowl of pesto pasta just like this in the near future.

Peperoni ripieni di tacchino.

I love it when my table is full of people.

A dish like this, like stuffed peppers, really fits the bill.

You start with some bread.

This is a good place to use bread that you have a day old or two day old -- regular Italian bread, whole-wheat bread.

Whatever you're eating, it's fine.

Let's put the water in.

And we'll let this soak and then we'll squeeze it into the filling.

So, what you do is that we're going to put all this into the filling of the peppers and we're going to make a sauce here.

So, let's start with the sauce.

Olive oil.

And you want a nice heavy pan, just like that, where they don't burn easily, but they have the heat perking them away and cooking them away.

Let's put the onions in there.

Bay leaves.

One, two, three.

Fresh bay leaves.

So, I'm going to put some salt now on the onion and let that slowly wilt while I prepare the peppers.

These are beautiful peppers.

The more colorful, the better the dish is.

Let's just cut the tip right off, just like that.

Clean a little bit on the inside.

And let's just cut this off right here.

That's it.

That's another one.

Okay.

So, we have the peppers ready.

The bread is soaking.

The sauce is cooking.

[ Sizzling ] And, you know, stuffed peppers can be made with all different kinds of meat -- with beef, with pork, with pork and beef.

I chose turkey.

You know, we're all trying to eat lighter.

The turkey is really great.

And I add some vegetables in it.

The importance of eating vegetables -- we need to really fit it into our family's diet.

So, I'm going to grate it because I want it to be nice and small.

I'm grating it, and that's fine, but you could put it in the food processor.

This looks good.

Can you go smaller?

Yeah, you can go smaller.

Depends how evident you want to make your vegetables.

And then you can always chop this up and throw it right in the sauce.

I have the zucchini.

That's it.

And the zucchini is a soft vegetable, so I do want it a little larger, just like that.

And, usually, you see me, you know, use the San Marzano tomatoes, and they're delicious, they make the sauce, and that's perfectly fine.

But this, I'm going to use passata.

The Italians use it a lot.

Passata di pomodoro is San Marzano tomatoes which are milled into smooth sauce.

Alright.

This is the passata, usually, right here like this.

You buy it.

Tomato sauce -- nice and dense.

I always use an abundant amount of water to clean it so that I don't waste anything, but also to extend, a little bit, the sauce.

Okay.

So, let me put this on the side.

I told you I was going to use this.

You know Lidia doesn't waste much.

So I'm going to put this right into the sauce.

And this will disintegrate right into the sauce.

Now this -- What am I doing with this towel?

I'm trying to get the water right out so that the filling doesn't get too watery.

-Okay.

This is good juice.

Here we go.

Good to the last drop.

And, here, we're going to make the stuffing.

Let's get the bread back.

I'm going to squeeze the water out of the bread and kind of break the bread right into the filling.

Moving on with the filling.

And I like oregano in stuffed-vegetable dishes.

And I'm going to put a little bit in the stuffing and a little bit in the sauce.

And you buy this dry oregano, because, you know, I like my fresh herbs, but as far as oregano, I like the dry one better.

And that's it.

Mmm!

[ Sniffs ] That's a lot of good aroma.

Let's put some in the stuffing... and some in the sauce, just like that.

Now I have the oregano here.

Let me get some salt for the passata sauce.

And now we can assemble the stuffing.

Let me get the eggs first.

I want to whisk the eggs.

And the eggs are the binding elements.

They will hold everything together.

A little bit of salt.

Let's get it right in there.

Parsley.

And chopped turkey right in there.

And my hands are clean.

You can put gloves, but I can really mix it well just like that.

That looks good.

And an abundant amount of cheese here.

Okay.

Okay.

Let's stuff the peppers now.

So, do not over-stuff the pepper.

If you overstuff it, it will crack.

So just stuff it enough, because the stuffing expands as it is cooking.

If you do not want to eat bread or carbohydrates, rice is very good for the stuffing.

You can replace the bread with the rice, but parcook the rice.

The rice takes a longer time to cook, and you want it to be nice and mellow in there.

This is a good measure -- just right for the six peppers that I have here.

You can always turn whatever's left over into meatballs and just plop them in the sauce along with the peppers.

So, I'm going to wash my hands now.

Alright.

That was fast.

So, I'm going to put a little fresh pepper in this sauce.

You know I like my peperoncino, but fresh pepper is good for this.

And try to nestle the peppers next to each other so they hold each other up.

There we go.

Okay.

Well, now bring it to a boil right here on top, but you can finish it up in the oven.

350 degrees, cover it, and for about 45 minutes.

After 30 minutes, you can uncover it.

And you're ready.

45 minutes, in an hour, you can sit down for dinner with a whole crowd.

And let's put it in the oven.

Whenever I get a chance to sit down, I like to check on you guys, so let's do just that.

Deb and Dorothy.

"After watching your show, our family decided we would try to gather on Sunday and invite you by making one of your recipes."

Well, thank you for the invitation.

Here is a picture of my 90-year-old mom, Dorothy, with your lentil-pasta soup.

We made it surrounded by pictures of her grandchildren.

Oh, that's wonderful.

God bless you guys.

Stay together in the kitchen.

That always works.

"Our question is, which recipe would you make for a big family?"

Usually, big-pot recipes are the best.

Soups are great, and you can add, you know, sausages in there or ribs in there.

So you not only have the soup, but you have a contorno, as we say it.

But, certainly, you know, a big pot of sauce and meatballs or sauce and sausages, chicken cacciatore.

All of those things are easy because you can make them, they stay nice and moist, you reheat them when the crowd comes, and, voil, and you can make additions to it, whether you make polenta, whether you make mashed potatoes, whether you make some pasta.

Stretch that pot to serve a lot of people.

And say hello to Mom Dorothy -- Grandma Dorothy.

The peppers look delicious.

They are done, and I am hungry, and I bet you are hungry, so let's get to it.

First, we'll bring some to the table.

So, I will do this.

Mm-hmm!

That's a nice one.

Mmm!

Okay.

Some sauce over them, just like that.

So, here we are.

Let's bring this to the table.

And even if you have a long table, you put four here four there, four there, and everybody helps themselves.

Now, stuffed peppers go great with mashed potatoes.

Yes, you can serve it with polenta, you can serve with some pasta, but the best is mashed potatoes.

Absolutely.

Just like that.

And some sauce.

You can serve them like this.

Certainly put the extra mashed potato right here.

And now it's Lidia's turn.

Oh, I'm going to go back to the table.

What can I tell you?

This is good enough for Lidia.

Look at this big boy here.

So, I'm going to let you get into this pepper.

Look at this.

Mmm!

How bello, magnifico, buonissimo.

Ay-yi-yi!

I don't know which side to turn.

Maybe I'll start on this corner.

And this -- you need a substantial wine.

I have some dolcetto from Piemonte.

It is a red wine that has a lot of body.

And it goes great with tomatoes and acidity.

Let me taste this.

Mmm!

Nice and sweet.

I'm gonna invite you as I always do -- Tutti a tavola a mangiare.

A casa mia una grande tavolata.

A big table full of family, friends, and whoever wants to join.

Yes, I always beckon you to the table -- Tutti a tavola a mangiare.

But many other things happen at the table.

We socialize, we laugh, we tell jokes, we sing, we drink, we argue, all of that and more.

All with a good plate of pasta.

[ Both singing in Italian ] [ Both speaking Italian ] -"To become red like a pepper."

To be embarrassed.

-Molto bene.

-Grazie.

-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 one 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...