LIDIA: Buongiorno.

I'm Lidia Bastianich, and teaching you about Italian food has always been my passion.

It has always been about cooking together and ultimately building your confidence in the kitchen.

So what does that mean?

You got to cook it yourselves.

For me, food is about delicious flavors... Che bellezza!

...comforting memories, and most of all, family.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

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ANNOUNCER: And by... LIDIA: There's nothing more important to me than gathering around the table to share a family meal.

I use the classic stir-fry technique to create an Italian-style sweet and sour glazed chicken that everyone will enjoy.

I serve this sweet pizza topped with grapes and ricotta as dessert.

I'll say it now, and I'll say it again.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

A meal is the glue to keeping the family together.

Then Italian meal is about sitting at the table with family, even the small, the children, the baby.

Pull up that high chair to the table.

This is how the familiarity grows to find the time to be together at the table.

And it doesn't have to be long.

Half an hour, 20 minutes, it suffices.

Some nice words, some nice looks at each other.

Some reprimands might even come at that table, but it's all part of a family meal.

Balsamic chicken stir-fry.

Family meal.

I bet you ask yourself that question many a time.

What should I do tonight?

Stir-fry Italian style.

How's that?

One of my favorite cuisines besides the Italian is the Chinese.

So I kind of borrowed the idea and made it Italian.

Here we have some chicken strips.

We are going to season them.

And what's good about this, it's a one-pan meal.

All in one pan, in and out of the pan will do.

Let's put some nice oil here.

Nice and hot.

We want to fry the chicken.

Let's do that.

So we want the chicken to caramelize quick, high temperature sear it, and then we'll cook everything else and we'll add the chicken at the end.

So what is the sauce?

Well, I use a little bit of chicken stock, some honey.

Balsamic vinegar.

Yeah.

Okay, let me... And some cornstarch.

So depends on how thick you like the sauce on how much cornstarch you put.

But it's best if you mix it first in the sauce, just like that, and let it dissolve.

So I like my stir-fry spicy.

I'm going to put a little bit of peperoncino on the chicken, and then I'm going to put some later on with the sauce.

Let's get the vegetables ready and the broccoli.

Broccoli is always great for a stir-fry.

And I have some prepped, but I want to make sure that you use every piece of it.

And to the stem, I look at it, you know what's hard or soft, and then I peel what's hard.

And you just cut it into small pieces, little matchsticks.

Just like that, little matchsticks.

So let's check the chicken here.

I think it's almost there.

We don't want to overcook it.

So let's put in the vegetables.

Mushrooms.

The peppers, the broccoli, and I'm going to season that with salt.

And again, a little bit of peperoncino.

Give that a stir.

And I'm going to cover it.

Let me just clean up, and then we'll finish the dish.

That's quick, not even half an hour.

Benvenuti.

In my little library.

And here is where you and I share information.

And it is my pleasure.

So here I have, from Richard -- "Are there any recipes that have been passed down through the generations in your family?"

Absolutely.

For example, the guazzetto, which is the long cooking process of different meats.

Polenta -- polenta is made a certain way, and you got to cook it.

Bean soup.

In our region, instead of the pasta, that we add sauerkraut.

And so getting into my little world of my family and my region, it's the source of many of my recipes, and that continues to be.

So keep that tradition going and keep on cooking.

Love your questions, and keep on writing.

So I'm going to cut the scallions, and the white part I'm going to put in first because I want it to cook.

Okay.

Just like that.

And I'm going to use the green part.

For that, I use almost like parsley for decoration at the end, and I kind of like the freshness that green scallion like this brings to a dish.

Okay.

This looks like it's -- Like the perfect timing.

So now we can add the chicken right in.

And I'll add the chicken with all its juices just like that.

And I will add the sauce.

♪ ♪ Okay.

As you can see, the sauce is densening and it's coating, and you don't want to overcook or over-sauce it.

So I'm looking at it, I'm examining it.

Do I want some more balsamic?

Do I like the color?

Do I like the intensity?

I like it as it is, the recipe as it is.

But you certainly could add a little bit of more balsamic if you want.

And I'm gonna shut the heat off.

Cover it.

Keep it warm.

I'm going to get the rice, and it's time to eat.

So let's go on.

Janice.

Janice wants to know, what is the biggest mistake that I made in the kitchen and that I've learned from the most.

Salt is the biggest one.

Everybody kind of gets into that mistake, adding too much salt or not adding salt.

An easy way to control salt is if you have a recipe, you take the salt, and you put it in a little bowl, and you put it right next to when you're cooking.

That's the amount suggested by the recipe.

Always leave a little bit of salt, and that's for the correction purposes.

You taste, and if you have enough, you stop.

That's the best that I can recommend, but mistakes happens to all of us.

Good question.

Good question.

Here we are.

Family style.

The stir-fry and a big bowl of rice just plain cooked, and we're all ready, and let them help themselves.

So let me -- I'll serve one for you.

Just -- But you put it on the table with a spoon and some rice.

And this is it.

You've got your meal.

Now Lidia.

How about a little bit, Lidia?

Absolutely.

Just like that.

And Lidia likes a little bit of rice with hers right away.

Mm-hmm.

Just like that.

Let me taste.

Mm, delicious, good, spicy.

You know, what's different about this one?

The acidity and the complexity of the balsamic vinegar.

It's really Italian stir-fry.

Make it for your family.

They'll love it.

ALL: Salute!

LIDIA: it always brings me such joy to connect with my Italian roots.

I always stay in touch, whether it's traveling there, cooking the food, or catching up with friends who live there.

Sharing recipes with Mimi Thorisson.

Frico.

I'm very excited today.

I'm going to connect with my dear friend, Mimi.

She just came up with a most wonderful cookbook.

She's in Torino.

She sort of approached the old tradition of Italian cooking, and I just love that.

So let's see if she's on the line already.

Hi, Mimi.

Are you there?

MIMI: I'm here.

Hello to everyone, to you, from Torino.

Really happy to be with you.

LIDIA: You know, I want to share with the viewers a little bit, your story.

Your mother is French, and your father Chinese.

So what a blend.

What a beautiful blend.

You spent every summer with your grandmother in France.

MIMI: Oh, yeah.

So my grandmother and aunt, they were very big inspirations for me for cooking.

LIDIA: I can relate to that, you know.

There's something about passing it down from generation to generation.

MIMI: It was a special time.

LIDIA: And then you got the Italian bug.

MIMI: You know, you're partly responsible.

LIDIA: Okay, I'll take that responsibility.

MIMI: So when I was starting to cook Italian food, you were, you know, my first Italian cookbook.

It was really inspiring.

And I think Italian food is all about being at the table with your family, celebrating something or feeding your kids and loving them, getting them included.

LIDIA: Now, Mimi, I heard that you made one of my recipes and that your kids love them.

The frico.

MIMI: Let me show you here.

I have one here, and I wanted to eat it for lunch, but I wanted to save it to show you.

-LIDIA: Beautiful.

-MIMI: This recipe, it's like making pancakes with cheese and then filling it with all your favorite foods.

LIDIA: Isn't it?

It's like breakfast all in one.

You make your home fries, basically, you know, potatoes boiled with onions.

You can put some bacon in there.

You can fill it with anything, and the cheese on the outside.

Kids like -- Everybody loves crispy cheese.

Makes the crust.

It's like a big pizza and you can cut slices and everybody gets a slice.

And voilà!

MIMI: Yes, and I love making it in an individual portion.

And then, I put salads around.

LIDIA: Yeah, a little bit of greens on top.

That's a great idea.

Now, tell me, have you found anything new in Italy that might surprise me?

MIMI: Oh, well, I'm still in the honeymoon period in Italy.

Everything is wow.

Everything is a surprise.

I'm keeping on writing, writing recipes.

LIDIA: Oh, good.

When I when I come down, I hope I get there soon, and I'll pass by in Torino and we can have -- and have a bicerin.

I like a bicerin.

-MIMI: A bicerin, yes.

That is the ultimate drink in Torino.

LIDIA: It's kind of this layers of melted chocolate, coffee, whipped cream.

MIMI: Feels like you're having a cocktail with it.

LIDIA: Well, enjoy it, discover it, and keep those recipes coming.

-MIMI: Salute!

-LIDIA: Cin-cin!

A pleasure chatting with you again.

MIMI: Such a pleasure.

Thank you, Lidia.

LIDIA: Salute.

Pizza for dessert.

It's a great dessert.

It's easy to make.

I'm going to show you how to make a double batch of pizza, half you're going to use for this one, half you're going to leave for another time when you want a real pizza.

It's not too sweet and it's easy to make.

So, let's proof our yeast first in warm water.

Mix.

And we have the flour and a little sugar.

Salt.

Let's put this in the bowl.

Let's mix a little bit of olive oil with water.

Let me slowly give it a mix.

The olive oil with the water will bind the whole dough.

Let's put the yeast in there.

And usually, we like our dough on the soft side, because it kind of rises better.

It becomes puffier when you put it in the oven.

It becomes nice and risen.

So, but I'm looking at this.

It's a little too soft.

Always have a little bit of flour and even a little bit of water on the side.

This is all extra.

I think I need a little bit of flour.

Let me just use this to put in the flour.

And do it slowly, because you don't want to over-flour it.

I'm going to put the dough to rise in a bowl like this.

Let's put a little bit of oil just a little bit, and we put the oil just to sort of lubricate the sides so that the dough glides as it rises.

It doesn't encounter friction and rises as much as it can.

Nicey-nicey, as the Italians say.

And ideally, a dough for bread, for pizza, whatever sort of pulls off the sides and accumulates around the paddle or the hook.

So let me lower it a little bit and pick it up slowly and so the dough will come off the hook.

So...

Done.

Oh, this is great.

Nothing better than this dough in your hand, nice and soft and warm.

This is going to be just perfect.

Let's put a little bit of flour right here, a little bit of flour on my hand.

♪ It's good, feels good.

So, what is it telling me?

Needs a little bit of flour.

♪ And I like it when it's soft like that, because I know it will rise.

So, you know, you're saying, "Oh, Lidia, you're getting sticky there."

But it's okay.

♪ And there's a nice sound to the right dough.

So, here it is.

Let's put it in here.

I usually cover it with a little bit of plastic wrap and let it rise for about an hour.

It should double in size.

Here is this young lady Olivia, and she has sent a video.

OLIVIA: Hi, Lidia.

My name is Olivia, and I'm 10 years old.

My question is, I want to have a big party for my big Italian-Croatian family.

Do you have any good recipes for a big, hungry crowd?

And I love your show.

I watch it all the time.

And as us Italians always say, tutti a tavola a mangiare.

LIDIA: Brava, Olivia.

Is that beautiful or what?

I love the fact that you sort of feel me close to you when you're cooking and that you want my advice.

You know, Olivia, if you have a big family, making things in advance is recommended.

You can make a nice octopus salad, octopus and potatoes.

I think next would you follow things from the oven.

Lasagna, baked ziti -- All of these are good possibilities.

And then for dessert, I have a great recipe for ricotta cookies.

That's beautiful, Olivia.

Keep on cooking.

Stay in touch, Olivia.

My pleasure.

We're ready to bake the sweet pizza.

Half of the dough has risen well, and we are ready to put it in the oven.

So, half a sheet pan is enough, because you don't need a big piece of dessert.

Little bit of oil.

And let's get into the dough.

See how beautiful?

Look at this.

Look at this.

And it's sticky, so you just pull it off the sides, get it all together, and we're going to plop it right in here.

Mm.

Just like that.

If it really gets sticky, you have flour here, and just use a little bit of flour.

But, you know, the softer it is, the more it's going to rise.

So, it's a very workable dough.

Get it in the corners.

Aha.

Say, "Lidia, you really like that sticky dough, don't you?"

Well, I like the end product.

Let's put it that way.

So...

This will even rise a little more by the time we're finished doing the topping.

So, the topping is grapes and a little savory rosemary.

Let's see.

These are -- You like this?

That's from my garden.

Rosemary.

Love rosemary.

It's part of who I am, part of growing up.

I just love it.

And let's chop-chop.

And not too much.

You don't need too much of rosemary.

Okay.

We got the rosemary.

Let's put in the grapes.

I have some cut, some whole.

Could you do this with other fruit?

Yes, you could, as long as it's not too watery.

Some melted butter.

♪ And...here we go.

♪ ♪ Spread it out evenly.

This way, everybody gets a little piece of grape.

And a little bit of ricotta.

And I love desserts with ricotta, so little pieces of ricotta here and there.

And you don't need to do anything to the ricotta.

We'll put some sugar at the end on top of it all.

Some turbinado sugar.

It's a beautiful color, but it will retain also its crunchiness and, yeah, it might make a crust.

♪ Okay.

A nice, little piece of rosemary for decoration.

And you put it in a preheated 475-degree oven.

So let's put it in the oven, and then we'll enjoy it.

Oh, look at this.

I got a picture of Tina and her granddaughter, Sadie.

Tina is teaching Sadie a tradition of a hand pie that her mother-in-law taught her.

This is beautiful, Tina.

And if Sadie's there, hi, Sadie.

This is so beautiful, Tina.

I can see myself in the same position.

Keep on bringing your granddaughter in the kitchen with her hands in the dough just like you.

The delicious sweet pizza is done.

It rested a little bit, so let's get it out of the the sheet pan.

Okay, so let's slide it just like that.

I love this combination of flavors -- grape and rosemary, so sweet and savory, then some ricotta in between.

So, let's see.

This is dried.

I have some fresh there I'll replace, although it left its aroma.

And I'm looking at this.

You know, how am I going to cut it?

You always got to make plans here -- how many guests do you have and what presentation you want to make.

Cut it three.

♪ ♪ Just like that.

And yes.

So, let me just kind of slide them over here, and then I'll arrange them.

Mm.

That's for me.

♪ And that's for me.

[ Chuckles ] The chef always gets a little extra.

I think we deserve it.

♪ And of course, this corner is going to be for me, so I'm going to put it right here close to me.

And let's return to the original flavors.

The rosemary recalls the flavor in the focaccia, the fresh rosemary.

But you see how simple and beautiful?

And it's not too sweet, and it's not too cloying.

And, you know, sometimes you just might want to serve this with tea, teatime or coffee time.

♪ The dough is not sweet, but the grape and the sugar on top is, so it's a beautiful combination.

And I'm going to continue to eat and drink, but certainly, there's enough for all of us.

So come on over.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

Salute!

♪ Some of the fun moments for me was, yes, we had our table in the kitchen, but there was always a table in the courtyard.

And the courtyard was my grandfather, his sisters on this side, the cousin on the other side.

So when mealtime came, it wasn't unusual that some of those would just pull up a chair and join us in the food.

You know, there's an old Italian saying, c'è sempre posto per una in piú a tavola.

"There's always room for an extra chair at the table."

And that means a lot.

And somehow, it worked, even if food was scarce.

Really memories that I cherish.

Certainly, Grandma will sing her way to the courtyard table.

♪ [ Erminia singing in Italian ] ♪ ANNOUNCER: The food from this series makes Italian cooking easy for everyone and showcases simple-to-prepare recipes that require fewer steps, fewer ingredients, and less cleanup without sacrificing flavor.

The recipes can be found in Lidia's latest cookbook, "Lidia's a Pot, a Pan, and a Bowl.

available for $29.95.

To purchase this cookbook and any of her additional products, call 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... ANNOUNCER: 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.

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

ANNOUNCER: And by... ♪ ANNOUNCER: Authentic Italian cured meats.

Paolo Rovagnati, the true Italian tradition.

Closed captioning provided by San Benedetto.

ANNOUNCER: "Lidia's Kitchen" studio provided by Clarke, New England's official Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.