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.

-Authentically Italian Prosecco DOC -- the Italian sparkling art of living.

-For over 140 years, Auricchio traditional handcrafted provolone, made in Italy.

-Olitalia -- from chef to chef.

-Buongiorno.

It gives me great joy to invite you back into my kitchen where my family, where my story, where it all began.

Everyone loves the smell of baking focaccia.

This one is filled with stracchino cheese and adds an extra special touch to any meal.

You can see the bubbles, how nice and crispy it is.

Salty meets sweet in this match made in heaven... Do you know what Pecorino is?

-I know what it tastes like.

-[ Chuckles ] ...for a quick showstopping salad.

This is a great winter pasta meal.

It's easy, flavorful, and combines pasta, meat and veggies... Up the ante on the vegetables.

...all in one dish.

As always, benvenuti a casa mia.

Welcome to my kitchen.

My kitchen is a very special place.

For years, the family has grown in this kitchen.

I have fed them with good food, with lots of love, and I get to do my thing.

So for me, the way a kitchen is set up is very important.

If I want to grab the spider, if I want to grab the pot or the skillet, it's there.

Of course, the stove is my Ferrari.

That's what I need.

I have six potent burners.

I have a griddle, I have two ovens.

And in the back I have two sinks -- one for the regular pots and pans, one for all the greens, the salads.

And of course, the rotisserie.

I had it sent in from Italy.

It's a wood-burning rotisserie.

And I need to have my cutting boards.

I need to have my knives in place.

I need to have my spatulas all at hand's reach.

So it's like I'm a pilot in a plane.

747, I'm landing it.

I need all the things around me.

And so now I bring you into this very special place of mine.

This is my theatre.

Welcome to my kitchen, and let the show begin.

Focaccia di Recco.

Buongiorno.

Welcome to my kitchen.

And today I'm going to show you an easy favorite of my family, certainly -- focaccia di Recco.

But let's begin with the cheese.

Focaccia you know -- bread.

But this focaccia has a stuffing, and the cheese that's usually put in the stuffing is this soft, fresh cheese called stracchino.

It's imported, but you can use also crescenza instead of it.

And then we put it to drain a little bit because you don't want to wet the dough.

You want the cheese to be as dry as possible.

So let's make the dough.

Here you see flour, oil, water and salt.

Where's the yeast?

There's no yeast in this focaccia di Recco.

Recco is a little city in Liguria, west of Genoa.

And Liguria is known for its focaccia.

It claims to have first made the focaccia.

Yeast focaccia, or flatbreads, have been made for centuries before that.

But this is a special focaccia from Recco because of the cheese.

So here we have the flour, and you want bread flour, high-gluten flour, because we're going to roll it very thin, so you want it to be elastic.

Let's put some salt.

Let's put it in the processor and let's combine... the water and oil.

Okay?

[ Food processor whirring ] First, give it a whirl, and then let's add the liquid.

Okay.

Yes, it's nice... and it's a little bit on the sticky side, but that's the way we want it.

And it's very pliable.

Beautiful.

And a little bit of bench flour.

I love the feeling of dough.

As a kid, Grandma would put a little stool for me and I would get up to the table and knead the dough with her.

And as you can see, it's rolling beautifully.

And we are going to put this in plastic wrap to rest.

So here we are.

So plastic wrap, wrap it up tightly and let it rest at room temperature for about an hour, and then we'll roll it out and make the focaccia di Recco.

I'm here in the kitchen.

I have some time, and I thought I'd check in with everyone.

Let's see who wrote in.

Alright.

Deb sends an e-mail.

"I saw your kneading board and asked my husband to make one for me.

It's a little different than yours, but it does the job.

Mine has a lip right in front of me, so the flour stays on the board.

Thank you for your inspiration!"

Oh, that's nice, Deb.

I'm glad.

I'm glad.

Let me click on the photo.

Wow.

Oh, you have a talented husband.

That's a big, long board.

I see the lip in the front.

Mine has the lip in the back and on the side all around.

So maybe you might want to have your husband add a lip on the back too, so it doesn't flow out the other way.

But that's great.

Good kneading!

The dough has rested.

The cheese has drained.

We're ready to go.

And this focaccia di Recco pan is copper.

Look.

And it's a great one.

It's the traditional one.

You can do it in a pizza dish, but just make sure it has a little bit of a lip.

Let's oil this well.

In the meantime, I have the oven heating at 500 degrees.

You want this to be hot.

That's that.

Now let's get to the dough.

It has rested.

So we're going to need one for the bottom and one for the top.

So let's cut it in half.

It's almost like an apple pie.

You need a base and you need a top.

So let's roll it.

And you can already see how the dough stretches easily.

Okay.

And to do it around, you actually roll around and then you can flip it over.

And as you can see, it really stretches.

And the fact that it is bread flour high in gluten really helps the stretching.

It looks nice and thin.

Let's just plop it right into the vessel here.

And if it breaks a little bit here and there, don't you worry.

You see, just push it a little bit with your hand and you can stretch it right in here.

That's the base.

And you're going to put the stracchino in kind of little dabs all over.

One in the center.

There we go.

Help yourself with another spoon so you can get it off.

If you don't have stracchino, you can even use cream cheese.

How's that?

It'll be different.

It'll taste different, but you could use it certainly.

It will melt and it will kind of spread.

That looks good.

Let's do...the top.

The cover, sort of.

And always help it with your hand a little bit.

Stretch it.

My dear friend Nancy Silverton.

She's a great baker, and she does focaccia di Recco at Chi Spacca in LA, and it is delicious.

And let's pull it over the side.

Let's cut it all around.

And just sort of help it along.

Just squeeze it a little bit so it's nice and sealed.

And then you go in between the cheese and just give it a little rips, just like that.

This gives an opportunity for the moisture, the steam to come out so that the dough remains nice and crispy.

And... let's brush it with oil gently.

Looks ready to go.

Let's put a little bit of salt.

And it's ready to be put in the oven.

So the oven is hot -- 500 degrees.

About 15 to 18 minutes.

It'll be nice and brown on top and also on the bottom.

And it is a delicious focaccia di Recco.

I have some more time, so let me see what you guys are writing in.

Robbie writes, "How do I freeze pizza dough?"

That's a good question.

You have to let the pizza dough raise once.

You have to let the yeast begin to activate.

Once it has risen, you punch it down, you mix it, you knead it, shape it back into a ball, brush it with olive oil, cover it so it doesn't form a film, and ready to freeze.

Now, when you're ready to bake, you got to pull it out.

Let it come to room temperature, let it rise slowly, punch it again, and then you proceed to make your pizza.

Okay.

Let me go check what's baking in the oven, and keep on writing.

I appreciate it.

The focaccia de Recco has rested, and look how beautiful it looks.

You can cut it with a knife, but I like the pizza cutter.

And you can see the bubbles.

You can see... [ Pizza cutter scraping ] ...how nice and crispy it is.

So let's get myself a little slice.

Okay.

This is my slice.

You see it's flaky.

The cheese is running there.

Mmm!

I'm gonna -- See how flaky?

So I'm ready to taste for you.

Just like that.

The whole slice.

Because in Recco, the focaccia di Recco is sold by the slice.

And just walking out like that, mmm, let me taste it.

Mmm.

And of course, a little prosecco to complement this wonderful, crunchy and light focaccia.

Mmm.

You can make one.

You can make two.

You can keep on making them, and they'll disappear in no time.

Okay.

I'm going on for more.

Pecorino Romano and pear salad.

Nonni and Olivia.

This is my grandchild.

She was my first grandchild.

I have five of them.

And you remember them running around here?

Olivia, do you remember when you used to run around here?

-Of course I remember.

Yes.

-All of you.

You were all lined up around.

-We made gnocchi.

I remember.

-Yes.

Now she graduated.

She has a job.

She has an apartment.

So now and then she comes, "Nonni, what new ideas do you have for me?"

Do you entertain a lot in your -- in your apartment?

-When we do, we're always needing new recipes, easy things to throw together.

So I'm always looking for recipes that you think might be good for that.

-I think this is a real good one.

I know you like your salads.

-I do.

-Arugula, and we're going to have some pear and some Pecorino Romano cheese.

How does that sound?

-That sounds great.

-Okay, so cut the pear.

-Okay.

-So do you do a lot of cooking?

-During the week, I try to make like three or four healthy dinners, I would say.

And salad is often in the rotation.

-Oh, okay.

Okay.

-Yeah.

-And how does it feel to have your own apartment?

Does it feel good?

-Yeah, it's good.

I feel like an adult.

-[ Chuckles ] I don't like that sound -- "an adult."

I want my grandchildren.

-I don't like it either.

[ Laughs ] -Oh, no?

You're liking it less and less, huh?

You're doing a nice job, but you don't want the thing to wobble.

You want it to be steady.

-Oh.

Okay.

-And then, of course, you don't want your nails to get in, so you want to hold like this behind and your knuckles are protecting.

Go ahead.

-Like that?

-Yeah.

Do you like fruit and cheese?

-Yes, I do.

I like both of them, but I never put them together in a salad, so... -Oh, you haven't?

-...you're going to be teaching me something new.

-And arugula?

-Yes.

It's my favorite green.

-What happened to the... -Kale?

-...kale?

-That's only in the fall.

-Oh, good.

Seasonal eating.

That's -- That's the way.

That's the way.

-Seasonal eating.

-And toss it a little bit.

If you notice, I put a little bit of lemon juice in the first ones so they don't oxidize.

Perfecto.

So now let's get to the cheese.

Do you know what Pecorino is?

-I know what it tastes like.

[ Laughter ] -That's good enough.

Pecorino is a sheep's milk cheese.

Pecora, sheep.

-Okay.

-So we want to make, like, julienne strips.

Let me just get you started.

-Okay.

-Nice piece like that.

And then cut down the line like that.

-Mm.

-And like that.

And like that.

-Okay, I can do it.

-Go ahead.

-It's that good?

-Yeah.

Yeah, that's very good.

You think that's enough cheese for that salad?

-Yeah.

-Now the pears.

And how much pears would you put in there?

-I think almost all.

-Okay, go ahead.

Use your judgment.

-Great?

-Mm-hmm.

Now we're going to dress.

-Okay.

-You want to start with the lemon juice?

-Mm-hmm.

-Lemon, it's nice and firm.

You want to kind of begin to get the juices flowing in there.

So put it here.

Put your hand, and pressure back and forth.

Back and forth.

Alright.

Now you can cut it in half.

Okay, go ahead.

Okay.

I'll put some salt, and you have the fresh pepper.

-Mm-hmm.

-Good.

-A little bit of olive oil.

Okay.

And now a good toss.

-Think that looks good.

-Did you want to taste it?

-Yes.

Mmm!

-You like it?

-Mm-hmm.

-Okay.

You know, this is a nice gadget.

The tongs.

-Ahh.

I use this.

-You use that?

Okay.

-It makes it a little easier.

-I would put more, more.

-More?

-'Cause that's for people to help themselves.

Oh, that looks great.

Okay, deliver that to the table.

Now, you and I, I want a little plate and you get a little plate.

Let's taste this... masterpiece here.

-Okay.

-This looks delicious.

It's dressed just right.

Here's yours.

Here is mine.

-Thank you.

-And let's taste.

-Delicious.

-Good job.

And just like that, you have a delicious salad for a meal for your friends... -Mm-hmm.

-...by Olivia and Grandma.

Rigatoni con salsiccia e verza.

These four ingredients will yield one of our family favorite pasta dishes, and that is savoy cabbage with sausage, rigatoni of course, a little onion and a little thyme will make it happen.

Let's put some oil.

And the first thing, we will pull the sausages out of the casing.

So it's almost like a chopped meat at the end of the day.

But the little crumbles of sausages really flavor everything.

Just break it up like that because this is the sausage meat out of the casing.

[ Sizzling ] We're going to break it up, almost like a Bolognese sauce.

Let's do the onion -- red onion, regular onion, whatever you have.

I always tell you I want you to feel comfortable.

Number one, feel comfortable and confident with my recipes.

But you do not have red onion?

Okay.

Use yellow onion, use white onion, whatever you have.

I kind of like it...just like that, a little coarser, because I'm going to have the cabbage, and the cabbage is going to be kind of coarser.

Let's take the onions right in here.

And so let's do the cabbage now.

This is savoy cabbage.

I love the whole cabbage family, but the savoy cabbage... my grandma used to have it in the garden.

She would say when the first frostbite hits the cabbage, then it's at its best.

And I guess because the frost sort of softened up the cabbage itself.

And we want to take out this core -- just the core.

This again.

So, I don't want it too big.

The pieces are just like that.

I want them to disintegrate and coat the pasta.

Just like that.

You got that right.

I always say "just like that."

I don't even realize.

But I'm getting so many e-mails from you.

"Lidia, you should name your show 'Just Like That.'

Lidia, you should name a book 'Just Like That.'"

The sausages got nice and crisp.

The onion is wilted.

Let's throw in the cabbage.

A lot of you say, "Gee, a lot of pasta, a lot of carbohydrates."

But you see -- you see how many vegetables?

You know I love my vegetables.

And I just upped the ante on the vegetables.

It's the Italian way, it's the way we eat.

More than one day, we don't eat pasta, it's a problem.

Here we are.

Let me season this with salt.

Peperoncino.

I love that sort of zing, spunk that peperoncino gives to the pasta.

Here, I have some fresh thyme.

I just pull the leaves off the stems, chopped it up, and in it goes.

So here I have the pasta water, and I'm going to use this to make my sauce.

Just a little bit.

Okay.

Could you add stock?

Of course.

But you have enough flavor here.

You have the cabbage, you have the sausages.

I am going to add tomato paste, and it brings a lot of flavor, especially when you're cooking pasta.

So... let's give it a good mix here so that the tomato paste gets a little caramelized all together and cover it.

Let it cook about 20 minutes.

With this pasta sauce, I like to use rigatoni.

Why rigatoni?

Rigatoni, you know, they have this tubular kind of carrier where the sauce lodges, and then, when you're eating, you're taking it with you instead of the sauce or the meat remaining all at the bottom.

So this will take 20 minutes.

When it's halfway through, I'll add the pasta to the salted water.

And just plain water and salt, I tell you, abundant.

And then we'll pull it together.

Dinner will be ready.

Let's see who else is writing in.

I got some time.

Linda's e-mail says, "I wanted to ask you, how do you separate loose sausage when sauting?

Any tips?

It's so difficult to break it apart."

Well, Linda, it's not all that bad.

So you take the sausages out of the casing and you put it in a bowl, put a little white wine, and just break it down, and then you're ready to go.

Thank you for writing in.

Let me go check on my sauce there.

Okay.

It looks like the pasta, it's nice al dente.

And we're going to put it right in the sauce.

Mm.

Nice.

The aroma is beautiful.

Let's get the pasta right in here.

Just like that.

And, you know, I always tell you, always save some of the pasta water.

So I'm mixing here.

I'm mixing.

Looks good.

I could put a little bit of pasta water and let it cook together so it finishes cooking the pasta and the pasta is absorbing the sauces and the flavors.

In the meantime, I'm going to put a drizzle of fresh olive oil.

You know how I always add the oil at the end?

Because olive oil is good for you, but it's expensive, and you maximize it like this when you put it at the end.

That really gives you the whole flavor of the oil coming right out.

So while that's cooking away, some red wine, of course, with this hearty pasta, cabbage, and all that.

And this is Ciliegiolo.

Ciliegia is cherry.

Very fruity.

It's going to go delicious with this.

Okay.

I see just enough sauce here.

I always tell you, you put the cheese at the end, you close the fire.

You don't want to cook the cheese.

Just like the oil, you want to maximize the aroma of the cheese by using it the last minute and just tossing it in.

And this way, you get the full flavor of the cheese.

And this is a little grana, grated cheese.

100% cow's milk cheese, very milky.

Delicious for pasta.

And let's get the pasta dishes.

Of course, a little bit for Lidia.

She wants to taste.

Look at this.

Okay.

And let's serve you some.

A nice bowl for this.

You want a bowl that will kind of hug your pasta.

Mm.

Okay, that's one.

Let's do another one.

And this is a great dish that you can make when you have a big crowd.

And look how delicious these look.

Mm-mm.

Some more cheese for me and for the guests.

And, again, because you get all of those aromas and flavors in the last minute, let's do it here, as well.

Mm.

Okay.

And not only am I ready to taste, I want to tell you how it tastes.

Let's see.

Mm.

Delizioso.

I love the cabbage.

There's a sweetness.

There's a complexity.

So, as I always do, come and join me.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare.

The kitchen, for me, has always been my comfort zone.

I felt the warmth, I felt the aromas.

And in my grandma's kitchen, everybody gathered to eat in the kitchen, and hence, my kitchen, this big table and all that.

I want everybody to be in the kitchen as I remember it.

You know, in my process of traveling and emigrating, the kitchen became a place for me to kind of contribute.

My first job was in a bakery.

And, ultimately, opening our own little family restaurants, which really gave me a platform to connect with my new family, to show them my flavors, my culture.

And I loved it.

I built new friends, extended families, all stemming from that kitchen.

How wonderful is that?

[ Singing in Italian ] -Liscio come l'olio.

-Liscio come l'olio.

"Smooth as oil."

Everything went smoothly.

Nice and easy.

-That's the best.

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

And by...