Lynne Rossetto Kasper - The Splendid Tables How to Eat Weekends

A LSO BY L YNNE R OSSETTO K ASPER

The Splendid Table

The Italian Country Table

A LSO BY L YNNE R OSSETTO K ASPER AND S ALLY S WIFT

The Splendid Tables How to Eat Supper

Copyright 2011 by Minnesota Public Radio
Photographs copyright 2011 by Ellen Silverman

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.clarksonpotter.com

CLARKSON POTTER is a trademark and POTTER with colophon is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kasper, Lynne Rossetto.
The splendid tables, how to eat weekends / Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift. 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
(alk. paper)
1. Cooking. 2. International cooking. I. Swift, Sally. II. Splendid table (Radio program) III. Title. IV. Title: How to eat weekends.
TX714.K3677 2011
641.5dc22 2010052630

eISBN: 978-0-307-95332-2

Jacket design by Wayne Wolf/Blue Cup Creative
Jacket photographs by Ellen Silverman

v3.1

Once again this book is for Frank, the man I love, and for Jenny Luebke and Jen Russell, who have made the show fly for all these years, no matter what.

LRK

For my love Michael, and our hungry pack of wolvesOliver, Lucy, and Mackenzie.

SS

We may not have known it at the time, but the minute we put pen to paper for our last book, The Splendid Tables How to Eat Supper, we started writing this one, too. That book was about weeknight cooking, and though quick, seat-of-the-pants suppers are a staple in both of our lives, there was a lot we had to leave by the side of the road, like a bunch of our favorite dishes. We decided those dishes meant for the other two days of the week needed a book of their own.

What is eating weekends? We think of it as the luxury and the pleasure of taking the time to make things from scratch because they taste better than anything found on a supermarket shelf. Its about spending a lazy afternoon in a new neighborhood where maybe we dont speak the language, but can find new markets and restaurants. Its about the excitement of weaving ourselves into other cultures, and bringing them to our tables with our own hands.

One thing that separates Americans from the rest of the world is that ultimately at our origins most of us are immigrants, a gift for food lovers and opportunity to learn more about each other.

More people are finding their way to the stove today than in half a century. As a nation, were rediscovering that cooking is the balm for much of what ails us: its a way to save on food costs, a way to unwind from the stresses of the day, a way to reconnect with those we care about, a way to ensure that the foods we eat nourish us, and its a way to escape without the expensive plane ticket.

By the time youre reading this, our radio show, The Splendid Table, will have been on the air for nearly twenty years. You know the saying about having a front row seat at the revolution? Thats what we feel like.

We have seen how far Americas relationship with food has evolved. We Americans know more about food than ever before. Given the option, were no longer content to eat whatever supermarkets and chain restaurants offer. Weve become demanding and are changing the marketplace. We want authentic flavors, sound ingredients, and foods that feed our minds as well as our bellies.

Cooks and noncooks alike have become more aware and curious about the dimensions of food that arent obvious. We want to know where our food comes from, how its grown, who grows it, under what conditions, and how it arrives in our markets. Were now compelled to debate the hard topics like school lunch reform, how government food dollars are spent, and how to be certain that our food is healthily raised and accessible, no matter where we are on the economic scale. Terms like local, organic, and sustainable have a permanent place in our vocabulary. A long-overdue revolution is taking place on American platesin both what we eat and why.

Our American palates have changed as well. As we were working on several of the more traditional recipes for this book, we noticed a flatness in some. Were used to such rock-em-sock-em flavors today that many of those older recipes didnt make the cut. But some did.

We debated for weeks about whether to include . Its a recipe about which were both very sentimental, and its based on the sensuous and little-known tastes of the Renaissance. Lynne devoted years to researching and studying that period in Italy. In fact, she is on a first-name basis with Lucrezia Borgia (the infamous yet beloved Duchess of Ferrara of the sixteenth century). That research resulted in her masterful (Sallys word) first book, The Splendid Table. It was that book and, in fact, that recipe, that drove Sally to call Lynne all those years ago to make a radio program. So you see the attachment, right?

Our dilemma was that the lasagne is a far cry from the tomato-and-cheese-sauced version most of us know. This lasagne is a subtle blend of cinnamon-scented meat rag and cream, and delicate sheets of pasta. It should be served simplyalone, as a separate course. We wondered, will it be too quiet for you? Will you like it?

This book brought us back to a love of quiet dishes. We realized that simplicity can be just as satisfying as the constant pursuit of exotic flavors and cutting-edge technique. That said, not everything in this book is easy. Some of these recipes are projects that require time, commitment, and patience. We promise you, though, that every one of the monumental ones here is worth the time. They will pay you back tenfold for the effort you invest, and we will be there to help with the tricky parts. Remember that there is a reason these dishes are special. Theres no reason to waste time, money, and energy on anything less than extraordinary. We figure you feel the same way.

And then theres realityshare the work if you can; lighten the load. Look for the camaraderie of four or six hands together at the stove and in the sink. Make a trip to the Indian market a weekend family outing rather than a last-minute, solo, end-of-the-day scramble. Slow down, take two days to prepare a meal, invite friends, and revel. Its the weekend: let loose.

One of the reasons weve worked so happily together for so many years is that both of us look for the intersections between food and life. Were always looking to understand how what goes into our mouths transcends taste. Its the driving force behind the radio show and has brought about interviews with a fascinating mix of people from every imaginable dimension of this force we call food.

With their stories and our own, we take you inside the bigger picture behind many of our recipes, including how, when, and why these dishes are eaten on their home turf. Youll find history, lore, serving and shopping guides, and menus celebrating the cuisines we Americans have come to yearn for.