-Buongiorno.

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

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

I'm showing off.

Does this look like a good meal?

So make it.

For me, food is about gathering around the table to enjoy loved ones, share a meal, and make memories.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare!

-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.

♪ ♪ -Authentic Italian cured meats.

Paolo Rovagnati -- The true Italian tradition.

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

♪ -Olitalia... [ Timer dings ] ...from chef to chef.

-Dining in could be a chance to practice cooking those dishes that you love eating out, only eating in.

A hearty mix of winter vegetables is roasted, then tossed with bread and kale to make one impressive salad.

Mussels are an excellent choice for a weeknight's one-pot cooking.

And this dish is fortified with sausage and potatoes for a flavorful, packed dinner.

I'm here to share tips from my restaurant.

You can make a meal at home equivalent, maybe even better than a meal eaten outside.

My career is based on tradition and kind of presenting it the right way.

I developed it into a business of restaurants, and people loved it.

But as I traveled and evolved, so did my art and my cooking style.

You know, going to Trieste and cooking with my Aunt Nina, who was a professional cook, already elevated me.

But it's all rooted in the base, which is my culture, my home, my grandma's kitchen, my mother's kitchen, and the message that came with that food.

This is real food from a culture to a family, to people that we love.

Panzanella is such an iconic Italian salad.

What it means is a salad with some bread, bread that you have left over.

It sort of absorbs all the dressing and makes a delicious salad.

So, here, I have cauliflower, Brussels sprouts.

We will season them and roast all of this and then we'll make the salad with it.

So, here I have a washed delicata squash, but you can put any squash -- butternut squash, acorn squash.

Mix it up a little bit.

And I'm going to leave the skin, because the skin in the delicata usually cooks soft.

And it's good.

It's an added element.

So, you would take away the seeds, just like that.

Okay.

Okay.

Cut it in cubes.

Okay.

So, these are the roasted vegetables, but we will also add some kale in here and lighten it up.

This is thyme.

I want to season the vegetables.

Let's chop it.

Let's put some salt so that the vegetables, when they're roasted, they're going to be flavorful.

Let's put some olive oil.

And sheet pans -- two.

We'll roast it.

You want to give the vegetables space in the oven because you want them nice and crunchy and crispy all around.

Let me see.

Maybe just a little bit more.

Not too much, but just a little bit.

Preheated oven -- 425 degrees, nice and hot.

And 20 minutes to half an hour, until they're soft inside but have a nice little crust on the outside.

♪ The vegetables are roasting, so let's get the bread going.

Whole-wheat bread, a nice, hearty bread, a bread that's yesterday's bread.

It's perfectly fine.

And I think that maybe even half of this is enough.

Cubes.

I like to leave the crust right on, just like that.

And I like the crust in the salad.

Okay.

So, here we are.

I think we have enough.

I'm gonna just wait for the vegetables to finish roasting, and we're going to be ready to make the salad.

Buongiorno.

Benvenuti to my library.

Here is where I read your e-mails and answer you.

And, here, I have a video from Tracy, so let's take a look.

-Hi, Lidia.

I'm Tracy from New Jersey, and I want to make gnocchi.

I see you do it on TV all the time, and it looks so easy, but I'm wondering, should I make ricotta gnocchi or potato gnocchi?

What's better?

What's easier?

Let me know.

-Tracy, thank you very much for this e-mail.

It looks like you are going to pick up the kids from school and you decided that you wanted to ask Lidia a question.

I love that.

I love to be part of your everyday life.

And you want to make gnocchis.

Well, there's two different things.

The potato gnocchis are the traditional gnocchis, and they take just a little bit more time.

You need to boil the potatoes, rice them, and let them cool completely before you knead the flour in.

Whereas, the ricotta gnocchi, the important thing is to drain the ricotta, and then you add the flour and the eggs and you just make it.

So if you're in a pinch and in a hurry, the ricotta gnocchi are the answer.

So, thank you for the question, Tracy.

We are ready to assemble this delicious salad.

The vegetables are soft inside, but have a nice little crust.

So, here, put them right in the bowl, where we will dress them.

Look how great these vegetables look.

You can use them for any meal.

Roast the vegetables in the oven, put something on the grill, and you're done.

But, here, I'm making a panzanella salad.

So, let's add the bread -- it's known for its bread -- and the greens.

Here, I have kale because we're sort of in a wintry mood.

Let's dress this.

Salt.

The bread is going to soak up a lot of the juices, the dressing, so we have to be aware of that.

Oil.

So, if you're looking at me, says, "Lidia, too much dressing," the bread takes it in.

This is apple-cider vinegar.

Mmm-mmm-mmm!

And let's toss this.

You see the bread is already absorbing.

I'm going to let the bread steep in the juices and absorb the juices a few minutes.

So, when you make your salad, you know, the kale is resilient, and it will sort of hold up.

So don't worry about making it a little bit ahead of time and let that bread soak in the goods.

So, walnuts.

Let's just chop some walnuts.

Always toast your walnuts or nuts that you use for baking, for dressing, or whatever.

Toast them before because it sort of lets the oils come out.

Okay.

And I always tell you, dough scraper is a lifesaver for me.

So, let's give it a good toss.

You can just build and build with different vegetables, but also with proteins, you know?

You could put hard-boiled eggs in here.

You could put a little tuna in here.

And then it really becomes a main course.

I'm going to taste the kale... hmm!

-- and the bread.

What I like about panzanella is exactly what happened.

The bread has taken in the oil and vinegar, and when you bite into it, it squirts that dressing in your mouth.

Boy, is it delicious.

So, let me serve you some.

You can bring the bowl to the table.

You know, this is a big one.

This could be a main course.

And that looks good.

Mmm!

I mean, I've tasted it, but I want to taste some more.

Mmm!

The sweetness of the delicata.

Mmm!

And I know when you go out and eat, you order those salads that sort of impress you, but you can make your own impressive salad just like this.

-Salute!

-It always brings me such joy to connect through food.

My friends are everywhere, from Italy to New York.

We always end up discussing all things delicious We're going to Kansas City today, in the Midwest.

I'm expecting a call from Chef Cody Hogan.

He is the chef at Lidia's in Kansas City, and we always share ideas.

So, here he is.

He's calling.

How are you doing?

-Hello.

Fine.

Thank you.

Welcome to my kitchen.

-Oh, looks great.

I love those pots hanging all over.

I have it in my kitchen.

You just turn around and take what you need, right?

-Just what you need.

Yeah, exactly.

-Right, right.

So, you and I -- we connect all the time like this, discuss recipes for the restaurant.

And, you know, there, we have our three pasta specials.

But one of the pastas that everybody loves and that could be easily made at home is cacio e pepe.

So, I want your rendition of cacio e pepe.

Three ingredients.

How do you make them work?

-It's very simple, but it's all the details that make the difference when you're cooking it.

You want to have good spaghetti.

You want to have fresh peppercorns.

You don't want to have pre-ground peppercorns, those that sit around in the pantry for months and months, because they lose all their -- They lose their life.

-So, the pasta's cooking, and what have you done before to prepare for the finished product?

-I have grated the Pecorino.

-Pecorino is a sheep's-milk cheese, and cacio e pepe is a Roman dish.

And the Romans love their Pecorino.

But it is, you know, full of flavor.

-You know, for some people, they find that cheese a little strong.

You could also use a little grana, if you wanted to mix the two together to mellow the flavors a little bit.

And then fresh peppercorns.

If you have a good pepper mill that you can adjust the settings on and make it really, really coarse, I like to do that.

If you have a mortar and pestle, that makes a really nice coarse pepper, as well.

You can do that.

At the restaurant, when we're trying to do a lot of pepper at one time or if I'm here at home and I'm in a hurry, I like to use a skillet to crush my pepper.

So, I have the peppercorns.

I just put them directly on the cutting board.

And then, with the skillet, just a little of your body weight.

Just give it a good crush.

It really comes to life.

It also is more coarse this way, and when you bite, it has a great texture that comes through.

-And this dish requires quite a bit of pepper.

When you are looking at your pasta, it should be like a leopard -- spotted with pepper all over, even inside.

-And then I like this with spaghetti, but you can do this with any pasta you have at home, too.

At the restaurant, sometimes, we'll do this with tonnarelli, which is a big square spaghetti, or trenette, which is a fresh pasta, which is nice, too.

That's another little variation.

-And in Rome, they use the tonnarelli a lot to make the cacio e pepe.

-So a thick spaghetti would be a good substitute if they can find those.

-Another thing we do in the restaurant is, we always prepare this in skillets.

At home, I like to dirty as little as possible.

I like to just toss this in a bowl.

It's easier to wash a bowl than to scrub up a skillet you've been cooking in.

So, I like to put some of the hot pasta water in the bowl.

Get it nice and hot.

When the pasta comes in, it doesn't start losing temperature.

It stays fresh and hot.

I do the same thing with the bowl that I'm going to serve it in.

I warm that up a little bit, too.

So, your hand will tell you when it's getting hot.

And I just put that back in.

-Great tips.

-And my spaghetti is right where I want it.

I like it nice and al dente.

I'm just gonna take some out right into the bowl.

You want a little of the pasta water in there.

That's part of the sauce.

Then I've got my peppercorns here and the Pecorino.

And you want to move that around.

It emulsifies the cheese as it melts with the water.

And then I see I want a little more water in here now.

-The pasta cooking water, it helps to loosen up when -- Sometimes, you know, as you toss in your pasta, it gets dry.

The cheese is absorbing it.

Just to make it flow.

So if you drain your pasta, make sure you save some of that water.

-Save some.

Here we go.

And it's becoming creamy.

-Come on, give me a plateful already.

-Oh, okay.

I'll make you a plate.

-You can taste it for me and tell me.

-Lidia, you got to try this.

-Oh, well, I can't wait.

I can't wait to try it.

Cody, I'm tasting it.

[ Both laugh ] -It doesn't get any better than this.

-Well, Cody, thank you for this spectacular lesson.

I hope to come out soon, and then you can make one of these for me, okay?

-I'd love to.

-Thanks, Cody.

Ciao.

-Thank you.

-He's just great.

Simple, straightforward.

I think we've been working together over 20 years.

He came as a pastry chef.

He now leads the kitchen at Lidia's Kansas City.

Just the best.

Mussels, sausage, and potatoes in white wine.

When you cook a dish like this, potatoes, mussels, sausages, you think you're dining out, but it's so simple.

So, the potatoes first.

That's the base starch.

Get them nice and caramelized in olive oil.

And, here, I have sausage out of the casing.

It's about three links.

You can get your sausages, you can pull them out of the casing, or you can buy sausage out of the casing.

And let's spread it around.

Let's get the sausage just to render a little bit.

In the meantime, we'll put some onions.

And all of this on a medium heat.

So, what am I doing here?

I'm holding like a bridge here.

And then I go in with the tip of a sharp knife and just cut slices into it and then, of course, dice it on the other side, keeping the tip of my fingers away from the knife.

Always the knuckles.

I'll put just a little bit of white wine to render it a little bit, loosen up all the little bits and pieces that have caramelized on the side.

And then we'll add the flavorings.

But let's talk mussels.

I know with all the restaurants, we sell a lot of mussels.

People love mussels, but, somehow, people are reluctant to cook mussels.

Well, let me tell you... mussels are delicious, they're inexpensive, and they're easy to cook.

They cook very quickly.

Now more than ever, the mussels that you buy, they're mostly cultivated.

You don't need to clean them.

When I would go musseling with my uncle, Uncle Emilio -- He was a fisherman.

He would drop us kids on the rocks around the coastline before he went out with his little boat.

And the mussels grew attached to the rocks.

So I knew how to pick my mussels.

And, certainly, I know how to cook my mussels.

And I want you to cook mussels.

You know that my grandson Lorenzo -- He's now on the West Coast.

And he sends me these pictures.

Him and some friends there on the rocks, picking the mussels.

And that's wonderful to see.

So, let me season this.

I'm going to salt just the potatoes and the sausages.

Peperoncino.

I like it spicy for the mussels and the potatoes and everything else.

And thyme.

Thyme goes very good with mussels.

Okay.

The potatoes are almost cooked.

The sausages are rendered.

Now let me just dump the mussels right in here.

Put the thyme.

Okay.

Put some more wine.

Oil.

I started with oil, but I'm going to dress it up a little bit now.

Okay.

And I'm going to cover it.

Let it cook for about 10, 15 minutes.

I'll check on it.

And we'll be ready to enjoy dinner.

And you have a full meal out of one pot.

Here, I have another e-mail.

Keep them coming.

Eli and Olin have sent the following.

And here is what they say.

"I caught these Red Rock crabs with my son at our local beach.

I typically boil the legs and body and serve it with garlic butter, but was curious how you would prepare them."

Oh, I love crabs.

I used to go crabbing all the time.

On, the rocks, we used to chase the crabs because they hide very quickly.

Alright, let's take a look at these crabs.

Alright!

This looks like a beautiful crab.

It's a big one.

You have two here, I think.

You can make a great pasta sauce from these.

You have to clean them.

You have to pull up the cap, and, underneath, you find the gills.

You remove those gills and the head.

That's usually where the digestive tract ends.

You cut that out and then you break it in half, the body, and you make sauce.

A little bit of garlic and onion, some crushed tomatoes.

Put the crabs in there, a little peperoncino, and you've got yourself a nice sauce for your pasta.

Keep on foraging for them.

You and your son.

How wonderful is that?

The mussels are almost done.

And, of course, you need some bread to dunk in the juice.

Let's see.

Let me put some bread here.

It has to also look nice, you know, the whole presentation.

Okay, let's check on the mussels.

[ Sniffs ] Mmm!

What an aroma.

Let me chop some parsley.

I have to get going quickly here.

Let's get it all in.

Mmm!

Just like that.

I'm going to put some oil in there.

Now the last touches here.

Mmm!

Look at the potatoes, this juice.

And you see how nice and plump they are.

This is how you want your mussels.

Okay.

We are ready to serve.

Just like that.

The pot is hot.

Don't forget to put the empty plates or little bowls to put the shells.

Okay, that goes on the table.

So, let's serve up this mangiata.

But you see?

You see this plumpness here?

This is what you want.

You do not want to overcook those mussels.

Look at this beauty right here.

Mamma mia.

Che bellezza.

Now we put the potatoes in the center.

Okay, so, that's one plate.

The other.

Okay.

If a mussel doesn't open, throw it out.

Mm-hmm.

This one looks good.

Oh, they're so beautiful, so plump.

So, that's what I'm telling you -- get going cooking mussels.

You can get some wonderful results out of mussels.

Mmm!

Can't get enough of these beauties.

Let me bring them steaming to the table.

Mmm-mmm!

And here's Lidia.

A beauty for Lidia.

Some sauce.

Okay.

Some sausages.

There you go.

And one, two, and three.

Mamma mia!

The rest -- you can bring it right to the table.

They can help themselves to more.

On a trivet, you put it on the table.

Now, first of all, I put some oil.

Now on this one.

And on Lidia's.

Okay.

Now a little bit of parsley.

A little bouquet, just like that.

And just like that.

I'm going to put another one for shells.

So don't you forget to put one for the shells at the table, you know, a bowl.

Between every two, three people, you put an empty bowl.

Wine.

A nice, white, crispy wine.

A Sauvignon from Friuli is beautiful.

But not a sweet wine, crisp and not too complex.

This is a light meal, and you want some great fresh wine.

So, let me taste.

Do you feel I'm rushing?

I am.

I don't want it to get cold.

♪ Mmm!

So, you know what we used to do?

We used to go like this and grab some sauce and some sausages or whatever, and you just slurp it in.

Mmm!

I want you to come.

Come quick.

I don't want it to get cold.

I don't want mine to get cold.

So, as I always do, there's plenty of mussels here for everyone.

Come and join me.

And, as I always say, tutti a tavola a mangiare.

Mmm!

Salute!

Cooking Italian -- it's not about the chefs.

It really is about the product.

The best product, seasonal products.

You know, cook regionally.

You are by the sea, of course, fresh seafood, great clams, little garlic and oil and parsley, you've got it with pasta.

You're up in the mountains, great cheese, some mushrooms.

Absolutely, make that polenta with that mushroom sauce.

The underlying technique of cooking Italian is really simplicity.

Yes, you can follow my recipes and techniques, but stay simple, do not over-elaborate, and success will come, because that is the philosophy of Italian cooking.

[ Singing in Italian ] ♪ ♪ -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... ♪ 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... ♪ "Lidia's Kitchen" studio provided by Clarke, New England's official Sub-Zero and Wolf showroom and test kitchen.

♪ ♪