Cooking with Legends Lidia Bastianich & Jacques Pepin

Join longtime friends and chefs Lidia Bastianich and Jacques Pépin for mouth-watering recipes and personal family stories. Their combined knowledge doubles the fun when they come together to share the recipes that made their careers.

Lidia’s Chocolate Chip Ricotta Cookies

Lidia’s Crespelle Baked Manicotti

Lidia’s Prosciutto, Scallion, Egg Sandwich

______________________________________________________________

Jacques Pépin’s New England Clam Chowder

5 Quahog Clams or 10 to 12 large cherrystone clams
2 cups chicken stock
4 ounces pancetta, cut into 1-inch pieces (about ¾ cup)
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 leek, chopped
1 large onion (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (1 ½ cups)
2 teaspoons garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf 2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice (2 ½ cups)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Fresh parsley, for garnish option

Place pancetta in pan with oil over medium heat, and cook gently stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes. Add the onion, celery, leek and garlic, and continue cooking, stirring, for 10 seconds. Add the flour, mix it in well, and cook for 10 seconds. Add 2 cups chicken stock, the thyme, and the potatoes. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook gently for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the clams. Wash the clams well under cold water, and put them in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil (this will take about 5 minutes), and boil gently for 10 minutes. Drain off and reserve the cooking liquid, remove the clams from their shells and cut the clams into ½-inch pieces (1 ½ cups). Put the clam pieces in a bowl, then carefully pour the cooking liquid into another bowl, leaving behind any sediment or dirt. (You should have about 3 ½ cups of stock.) Set aside the stock and clams.

At serving time, add the reserved cooking liquid, chopped clams, cream, milk and pepper, bring to a boil and serve. (Note: no salt should be needed because of the clam juice and pancetta, but taste and season to your liking.)

_________________________________________________________________

Frico with Potatoes and Montasio Cheese

Frico con le Patate Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine pg 110
1 medium baking potato, ½ pound
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, sliced (½ cup)
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ pound Montasio cheese, shredded

Cook the potato in a pan of gently boiling water just until it is easily pierced with a sharp knife, all the way through, but still intact and not mushy. Drain and cool the potato, remove the skin, and slice it into neat ¼-inch thick rounds.

Pour the olive oil into the skillet, set over medium heat, and scatter in the sliced onion and scallions. Cook for a minute then scatter the potato rounds in the pan. Toss and tumble the potatoes with the onion and scallions and season with the salt and grinds of black pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes, tossing frequently, until the potato rounds are lightly crisped and golden.

Pile the shredded Montasio on top of the vegetables. Slide a metal spatula under some of the potatoes and flip them over, incorporating some of the cheese. Turn all the slices over and over this way, until the cheese shreds are well distributed. With the spatula, clean the sides of the skillet and smooth the vegetables and cheese into a neat pancake-like disk, filling the pan bottom. 

Lower the heat and let the frico cook, undisturbed, as the cheese melts and crisps, until the bottom is very brown and nicely crusted, about 5 minutes. Shake the pan to loosen the disk, put a large plate on top and invert, dropping the frico onto the plate, then slide it back in the skillet, top side down. Cook until the second side is crisp and brown, about 5 minutes more.

Slide (or invert) the frico onto the plate and blot up excess oil from the cheese with a paper towel. Slice into 6 wedges and serve immediately.