LIDIA: Buon giorno.

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!

ANNOUNCER: 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: Authentic and original -- Amarena Fabbri.

A taste of Italy for brunch with family and friends.

Amarena Fabbri -- the original wild cherries in syrup.

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

ANNOUNCER: For over 140 years, Auricchio traditional hand-crafted provolone, made in Italy.

ANNOUNCER: Olitalia, "From chef to chef."

ANNOUNCER: And by... O0 C LIDIA: The best bet to satisfy any cravings, it's got to be cheesy, it's got to be a bit decadent, and, of course, use the best ingredients.

Pizza can be easy, approachable, and made at home to satisfy your cravings anytime.

Just follow along with me.

Focaccia, mozzarella, pickled peperoncino, and a grilled tomato bring an Italian touch to the classic cheeseburger.

I'm serving up classic cravings the Lidia way.

"Go-To Cravings."

We all have cravings.

We crave a different time for different things.

I associate them a lot with good times and good memories.

For me, good flavor brings back good memories.

So when I think of that bread slathered with the fresh ricotta, some honey on top, brings me right in the courtyard with Grandma, but not necessarily only those memories of the times that were, even contemporary memory.

I like my pasta, my elegant food, but I like a good hamburger like anybody else.

But it has to be good.

It has to be juicy.

So when I kind of get that craving, it awakens memories of when I had it, where I had it, with whom I had it, how can I have it again.

Pan pizza.

What a better place to make pizza than in the garden?

Most of you get kind of apprehensive about the dough.

It's so easy, so you put a little bit of warm water, some yeast.

Then we're just going to activate the yeast with some sugar.

♪ Give it a mix.

And when it begins to be frothy, it's beginning to activate.

We'll put some salt in here.

♪ Just kind of mix it, and we'll put the flour right in the mixer.

♪ When the dough is made, we will put it in this bowl.

So just lightly with the oil, you brush the bowl, and this way, when the dough rises, it's easier for it to glide up.

Let's put the oil right in there.

And we can begin our dough.

Lock it into place.

Let's put the yeast.

Whenever you're kneading dough, always have a little bit of extra flour and a little bit of extra water on the side.

You never know how the dough will react.

So it may be too dry, you need a little bit of more water.

It may be too wet and sticky, you need a little bit more flour.

And add a little bit at the time 'cause once it's in there, you can't take it out anymore.

So here we go.

The dough looks good.

And I just pick this slowly up and the dough just kind of slides off the hook.

Don't do it too fast because it's going to go flying around the kitchen.

So just a little bit of flour.

♪ You see this?

Let's put it in the bowl.

Cover it with plastic wrap.

Keep it in a warm place, and in about an hour, it should double in size, even a little more, and then we'll shape our pizza.

That's how easy it is.

Here we are, in my library.

Benvenuti.

And here's where I answer all of your questions, so keep on sending them.

And here is a video from Nick.

Let's take a look.

NICK: Ciao, Lidia.

Nick here.

I was just wondering if you had any outstanding tips for us.

We love to cook pizza in our pizza oven, but it never seems to come out exactly right.

Perhaps you have better ideas of the best wood we should use or any ways to make it so it doesn't stick.

That would be fantastic, as well as any great wines to go with pizza.

Thank you.

LIDIA: Part of doing pizza in a wood-burning oven is building the heat.

As far as wood, I would use oak and maple.

Make sure it's really dry.

I remember my grandfather would save the -- When he trimmed the olive trees, he would save the big trunks, the big pieces, and use them for grilling and making pizza.

They bring a high temperature to the oven.

On the other hand, the pizza dough -- don't make it too hard.

You know, a loose pizza dough will rise easier.

Wine, you know, it's up to you what you like.

You know, I like a rosé wine with my pizza, you know, light.

But of course, if you're going on into the evening, a nice red wine.

Thanks for your question, Nick.

Good luck with that pizza.

The pizza dough is ready to go.

Let's make the sauce, and the sauce you want, an uncooked sauce, so get yourself some nice, ripe San Marzano tomatoes, plum, whole.

Crush it into a bowl, and you don't need all that much.

And let's put some garlic in there.

Just let's crush it so it releases its flavors, because we will pull it out.

Okay.

Just like that.

Put that in here.

Put some salt.

Some peperoncino.

I like it a little spicy.

And some dry oregano.

Get yourself a little bouquet like this of dry oregano, and you just wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

Like that.

We have enough.

Oil.

And this is the sauce, and it is delicious.

Now let's get back to the dough.

I'm going to just oil the tray a little bit.

Let's brush it in all the corners.

I don't want it to stick.

Okay, that's done.

And let's plop it right into the baking pan.

Now, at this point, the dough still has elasticity.

It will shrink a little bit, it will pull together, but you want to stretch it out.

Using your fingers like that, just go in the corner and push with your whole hand.

And if it still doesn't listen to you and doesn't do what it's supposed to, get both hands in there and just push them in the corner.

Now that the dough is stretched, let's reach for the toppings.

I chose a little bit of onions.

I chose a little bit of peppers.

Let's put some salt on it.

A little bit of oil.

♪ I will just toss it a little bit.

Okay.

♪ Some shredded mozzarella cheese.

♪ I like to add some grated cheese.

Whenever you have shredded cheese and it sort of sticks together, to separate it, a little bit of the grated cheese just does the trick.

Let's start the sauce.

And help yourself with the back of the spoon, and you just spread the sauce covering the whole pizza all over evenly.

And, you know, don't over-sauce said, over-dress it.

♪ Now we'll put the cheese.

And this is, as I said, shredded mozzarella and some grated Grana tossed together.

♪ Okay.

Let's do the peppers and the onions as the last.

That's... And you don't want to overdo it with the vegetables, either, because vegetables have their own water and the pizza would become wet.

Okay.

So I think that I will sprinkle some more cheese just to kind of give it that last layer of crunch, if you will.

Just a little bit like that.

So 450, 475, about 20 minutes, it should be done.

So let's put it in the oven.

I'll clean up and then we'll have some pizza in my garden.

Here's Andrea.

Let's take a look.

"Most fresh pasta and pizza dough recipes call for all-purpose flour.

I would like to substitute semolina.

Is the amount used in the recipe the same or does it require adjustments¿ Anything special I need to know about working with semolina?"

Semolina is a different texture of flour because it has more proteins in proportion to starches than regular grain, and hence the flours are different in that respect.

Regular flour is much softer.

If you feel you want to include semolina, mix a little bit of semolina and a little bit of soft flour, regular flour, maybe 1/3rd to 2/3rd, and also make sure that the dough is on the wet side so that you give it an opportunity to rise, even though it has those proteins in there.

Let me know.

Keep me posted, okay?

Alright.

The beauty is ready.

There's nothing like a hot pizza with oozing cheese, so I'm going to coax this beauty to come right -- right on this board.

Mm-hmm.

Here we are.

I'll cut it in pieces.

♪ There's pieces for you, for the family.

Anybody passing by will want a slice of this.

We are ready to serve this.

And here we are.

And you can't forget tasting for Lidia.

I love corner pieces.

You know, I love the crust.

Now, if I want some basil, just like that, that's great for me.

Let me taste this.

Mmm.

It's hot, crunchy.

The tomatoes, just fresh and nice.

The pepper I got and the onions are very sweet.

Just a little bit on the crunchy side.

A little piece of basil.

And of course, the cheese is holding it all together.

Don't mind me, I have to finish this piece.

And who knows?

Maybe another.

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

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

"Sharing Recipes: Crispy Baked Cutlets."

Hey, Miles, how are you doing?

MILES: I'm good.

How are you?

LIDIA: Alright.

How's the food situation in your kitchen?

MILES: Yeah, we definitely got to go out and get some more food.

We're running low.

We just made some crispy baked cutlets, the ones you used to make when we were younger.

LIDIA: They're are so easy to make.

You have the chicken breast, some garlic, some olive oil, bread crumbs, chopped parsley, salt, grated cheese.

Did you use the chicken breast or the tenders?

MILES: So I'm pretty sure we used the breast and we ended up slicing it up.

We got the slices right, 2 to 4 inches, and then putting it into the -- LIDIA: The bread crumbs.

MILES: We got the parsley, we got the salt, and we got the olive oil that we put on top.

LIDIA: And the cheese, of course.

You didn't forget that, did you?

Don't forget the cheese.

MILES: And the cheese.

LIDIA: You got the cheese.

MILES: We coated them with the breading, we cooked them on 10 minutes each side.

They're still sitting in our fridge now just in case we want to grab one.

LIDIA: You mean they last enough to be in the refrigerator with nine guys?

MILES: Not normally, but I make sure I keep a secret stash for myself just in case.

LIDIA: [ Laughs ] You do!

That's a great dish to make because you can make sandwiches.

If you have some sauce in the refrigerator, you can make a Parmagiana.

You put these little pieces, you put some sauce on top, some mozzarella, in the oven, and you get yourself a Parmagiana.

I love seeing what you are cooking.

You know, this recipes that I know we cook together and loved as you're growing up, and now you're cooking them on campus for your friends.

Just keep on sending me those pictures, and any questions, just call Grandma.

MILES: Okay, sounds like a plan.

LIDIA: Thanks for calling.

Love you.

Big hug.

MILES: Love you.

Ciao.

LIDIA: Okay.

Ciao, ciao.

Isn't that wonderful?

And I am so happy that they are cooking.

That's great.

Mozzarella cheeseburgers.

I love a good hamburger, but I like it a little bit on the Italian style, and that's what I'll do today.

Let's start with the bun.

I make it Italian by using a nice, crispy focaccia.

This is perfect.

And...right in here, I put the tomatoes, and I'm going to kind of cook them a little bit.

Almost like ketchup, just a little bit.

A little salt just to bring out that flavor.

Now we make the burgers themselves.

I have here some oregano.

I like these kind of little bouquets of oregano, wild oregano that's dried.

And you take it, you just kind of squeeze it a little bit.

This is enough, just like that.

And...into the mixture it goes.

Some fresh onion.

The onion brings a lot of flavor to a burger.

And in this case, I shred it and I mix it in the meat, so it almost disappears, but the flavor lingers.

Salt.

Right in here.

Some fresh pepper.

Grinding fresh pepper is always a good idea.

Okay.

Here we go.

And...my burgers are mixed.

Okay.

Equal size.

♪ ♪ The tomatoes, I think, are done.

Let's see.

Yeah.

Okay.

So a little bit of oil, just like that, so that the hamburgers don't stick.

[ Sizzling ] Good, good sound.

I like to hear that sound.

That means temperature is on.

But you see, I go like this.

The back of my hand, I guess I have a thermometer here.

I sense at which temperature the pan or the oil is at.

And we're going to use a low-moisture mozzarella.

When the hamburgers are halfway done, we'll flip them and we can add the cheese on it.

You know, being Italian, you got to have a little green, a little insalata, especially next to your burger.

So let me take two of these little peperoncino, and these are the Tuscan peperoncino.

You just cut the stem off and remove the seeds, and then you cut it in little strips.

And I'm looking forward to this little crunch here.

Put that there.

Let's see where the hamburgers are going.

Let me just flip it.

The temperature is pretty high.

I'm going to lower it now a little bit.

And I have these beautiful little cucumbers growing right out of the pot, and I just couldn't resist.

Just going to slice it just like that.

Oh, the smell that's coming out, it is delicious.

You know, that's one thing I can't give you through television is the aromas.

That tells you one thing -- you have to do it yourself.

You have to get these things and get cooking.

Okay, let's put this all right in here.

It's time to put the mozzarella on.

Do not over-pile it because then it's going to take longer to kind of melt.

And if you're concerned about melting, shredding the mozzarella really helps that.

I am going to cover this.

Maybe a little salt because the pickles.

Do I like it a little spicy?

Of course I do.

Little peperoncino.

Just like that.

Now there is a little bit of the brine right here.

Just like that.

Let's do a little bit -- just a little bit of the oil, not too much.

And let's toss this.

You don't want to make it too wet because you don't want to wet the bun.

So let's get ready for hamburger al Italiana.

Here we have a message from Holly, and she asks, "What is another interest of yours outside of cooking?"

Oh, my goodness.

Okay, good question.

Listening to classical music -- operas, symphonies.

I love sailing.

On cold nights, I like to play chess.

My grandkids always now keep on challenging me and they can't take it yet that Grandma can win them at the chess game.

Gardening is also a big one of mine when the weather and the seasons are right.

So these are some of the things that keep me busy when I'm out of the kitchen.

Keep on sending me questions, and we will meet again right here in my library.

Ciao!

Alright.

Look how good these look.

Okay, so... there is one.

There is two.

Mmm.

♪ There is three.

And there is -- Oh, that cheese.

Lidia's got the best one.

Tomatoes One... two... three.

A little bit of this insalata, whatever you want to call it, al Italiana.

Cucumber here.

Mm-hmm.

Just like that.

So let's cover them.

This is -- This is a little bigger one.

Gonna press it just a little bit.

♪ Okay, so I am ready to serve these.

Mmm.

And Lidia's.

Wow.

I got to be steady.

Steady, steady, steady.

Okay.

And okay.

I think I have a good use for my kitchen towel.

Get ready for these hamburgers al Italiana.

[ Chuckles ] ♪ Mmm.

♪ Mmm.

I can't talk to you and eat that, so I'm going to cheer to you, little sip of beer.

I'm going to invite you tutti a tavola a mangiare, and I am going to get to this table and continue to eat.

It's great to follow your nose to those cravings in the pizza place or in the pastry shop.

But, you know, you can satisfy your cravings sometimes, say, "Okay, I'm going to try to make it, and I'm going to try to make it as close as I can to what my craving is telling me," and it's fun.

It's a way of sort of working your memories and your food memories, taste memories that you have in a reality, and you'll be surprised how close you will come.

Having said that, is anybody craving a little song from Grandma?

I'm always ready for it.

ERMININA: [ Singing in Italian ] ♪ LIDIA AND ERMININA: [ Singing in Italian ] ♪ ♪ ♪ LIDIA: Okay, that was a good one.

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 1-800-PLAY-PBS or visit shop.pbs.org/lidia.

ANNOUNCER: 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.

♪ ♪ ♪ ANNOUNCER: 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.

ANNOUNCER: Closed captioning provided by San Benedetto.

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

♪ O0 C1 ♪ O0 C1 ♪