-Buongiorno.

I'm Lidia Bastianich.

And teaching you about Italian food has always been my passion.

Just like that.

You got that right.

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

For me, food is about gathering around the table to enjoy loved ones.

Your family is going to love it.

Share a delicious meal and make memories.

Tutti a tavola a mangiare.

"Lidia's Kitchen: Meals & Memories."

-Funding provided by... -Every can of Cento tomatoes is born in Italy, where they are grown and ripened in sun-drenched fields and then harvested by local farmers who select them just for us.

Cento -- Trust your family with our family.

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

-Authentically Italian Prosecco DOC.

-For over 140 years, Auricchio traditional handcrafted provolone Made in Italy.

♪♪ -Olitalia -- from chef to chef.

-Dinner doesn't have to feel like you're juggling.

It could be as graceful as it can be.

Just follow my lead.

This was one of our best-selling salads at Felidia, and it became part of our family meals at home.

The soft texture of the avocado and the crunchy nuts create a playful medley.

I make it all the time for Olivia, Ethan, Miles, Lorenzo, and Julia.

They all love it.

This is my go-to sauce.

It's quick and easy, and I use it in countless ways.

Do you know how to make it?

-I know how to make it, but it's always easier to come pick them up from you.

-The jars, huh?

I always have a few pints of it in my freezer because it's an easy anchor to start so many meals.

Chicken wings are always welcome in my house.

And you see all these little things that are kind of attached to it.

That's delicious, crunchy cheese.

These are just as crispy and delicious as fried wings with half the mess.

We're ready in five, six, seven, eight.

Left foot.

Right foot.

Let's dance.

The dinner dance.

How do you pull together an Italian meal?

It could be simple as a salad and a plate of pasta.

It could be a bit more complicated -- a little antipasto and then pasta as a main course with some proteins, whether it's seafood or meat.

Or it could be soup.

A meal, an Italian meal, elaborated meal, you go to three or four portatas, shall we say, or servings.

But even a frittata, a good frittata with a little salad or a slice of prosciutto will do for an Italian meal.

That's the beauty of an Italian meal, because it's very versatile.

Italian cuisine is very versatile.

Insalata di cavolo nero con avocado e pistacchi.

To prepare a salad is always a great way to begin a dinner.

And this salad is Olivia, my granddaughter's, favorite.

It's a kale salad with some avocado, some eggs, and a great dressing.

Here is the curly kale, which we're gonna be using in this salad.

And it's rather tender, but you still want to take it off the stem, just like that.

Let's see.

Let me take this out.

And just like that.

This is the cavolo nero, the black kale, that we use a lot in Italy and Tuscany.

But they're different textures.

So either you make it with this -- and this is a little tougher -- or you make it with the curly kale.

I'm gonna make it with the curly kale tonight.

So let me just break it up a little bit.

And you can cut it, but you know I like to use my hands.

I want to be gentle to my vegetables.

I'm gonna put it in a bowl.

And this is the bowl that I'm gonna dress it in.

And it could be also the bowl that you present it to the table unless you want to plate it.

My granddaughter Olivia, she loves this.

And she says, "Grandma, when you make your salad, you got to massage the kale."

So now I massage the kale.

What does that mean?

It really tenderizes it.

You can see that it's already kind of relaxed in the bowl.

So let's make the dressing -- garlic... ...some mustard... ...and I like to put the egg yolks in my dressing, salad dressing, because they give that creaminess and body to the dressing.

I'm gonna save the white part because I'm gonna chop it up and put it in the salad, you know?

♪♪ Okay.

I'm gonna put a little bit of salt... and vinegar.

So you always ask -- How much vinegar versus oil?

I like it maybe half and half, maybe 40% vinegar, 60% olive oil.

But it's up to you.

Just... Let's give it a whirl.

Okay.

It's nice and smooth.

So let me chop the egg whites so we are all ready when I begin to dress my salad.

Okay.

So let's put the eggs in there.

And I am going to add pistachio.

I love pistachio nuts, and I love nuts in a salad.

If you're dealing with Italian pistachio, pistacchio di Bronte -- Bronte is a town in Sicily, and it is the best pistachios that you can get -- sweet, delicious, and that kind of pistachio nut.

So I'm gonna toast them lightly, because that brings out the flavor of it.

So let's dress this salad, just like that.

And a good way of toasting nuts is just in a pan on top of the stove.

You can put them in the oven, but like this, you can keep it under control.

So I'm gonna toss this.

There's enough dressing.

Everything is -- mmm!

-- juicy.

All right.

Let's work the avocado.

It's not traditional Italian, but now everybody loves it.

And southern Italy has a nice climate conducive to growing avocados.

So I usually do just like that.

You twist it around.

And again.

Let's see this one.

Let's remove.

And, you know, you can pull it out and chop it.

But you know what I do?

I do it kind of the easy way.

I just take a little spoon, and I just do little pieces of the avocado.

It is easy, and you get the whole avocado, everything, out of it.

So let me check.

Okay.

They're toasty.

Let's just let them cool a little bit, let me finish the avocado.

♪♪ Okay.

That looks yummy.

Let's chop the pistachio just roughly.

You can give them a quick whirl in the mini chopper before you make the salad.

Let me throw this right in.

Okay.

And let me toss it.

So, you know, if you feel that you need some more dressing -- I see everything dressed.

You know, the leaves are dressed, there's a moisture to it.

But you can always add a little bit of oil, a little bit of vinegar.

Even if you're short on your dressing, that's okay.

So if you feel like you want to make it, you know, for a buffet, absolutely.

It is a good salad to do that.

It has resilience.

And maybe a little pepper.

Let's add the Lidia touch here.

This could be a whole meal.

With a nice piece of country bread, a slice of prosciutto, just like I have here, and you're done.

I am going to plate this.

And a little plate for me.

Now, you can plate it with a fork, but also these tongs are really great because they get you a nice portion full.

And I'm gonna put this one right here.

Another one right...here.

Mmm!

A little bit for Lidia.

Wow.

Let's collect a little bit of the richness of the products that have -- Sometimes when you make salad and you have pieces of nuts or something, they tend to fall to the bottom.

But then you just top your salad with it, just like that.

And let's bring it to the table.

And...that's done.

So let me taste it.

I want to get a piece of the avocado.

I want to get the kale.

♪♪ Mmm.

The acidity in there -- really good.

The pistachios kind of crunch.

It's easy.

I make it all the time for Olivia, of course.

But that's not to say that Ethan, Miles, Lorenzo, and Julia don't love it.

They all love it.

So a big bowl like that could even make a lunch.

With a few slices of prosciutto, we're done.

♪♪ Marinara.

When something is cooking, guess who appears.

And this time, it's my grandson Ethan!

-Hello.

-You came from college?

-I did, and I brought you a little gift.

-Ah!

Mamma mia!

Ooh.

I love you.

Love you.

[ Smooches ] Oh, I love this.

I can cook anything now.

All right.

Let's see.

Do we have a little vase here?

Yeah.

Maybe we'll put it right here.

So I thought, you know, you like to cook, you're away in college.

Marinara sauce -- the simplest sauce and the best thing.

You love it, and I made it a thousand and one times.

Do you know how to make it?

-I know how to make it, but it's always easier to come pick them up from you.

-The jars, huh?

You like the jars?

But I'm gonna give you a once-over again because I want you to make it.

Your friends, I'm sure, like it.

It's so simple.

So empty the tomatoes -- San Marzano tomatoes.

Let me give you this.

You know how Nonni -- Wait.

Where are you going with that?

You know that Nonni doesn't like to -- Go ahead.

Slosh everything.

That's it.

Put it in there.

I made you wash your hands.

Now squash it.

You know how Grandma does it.

In the meantime, I will begin the sauce.

So just a little simple olive oil.

Keep an eye here, too, you know?

Good olive oil.

Not too much.

All right.

Some...garlic.

All right.

Let's get the garlic just golden.

You know those tomatoes?

-Yeah.

-What are they?

-San Marzano?

-Oh.

You're on top of things.

And what makes the San Marzano tomatoes so good?

Thin skin, a lot of pulp, not too much juice, not too many seeds.

That's what makes it all so good.

Okay.

Pour it right in here.

And always pour away from you.

[ Oil sizzling ] Go ahead.

Go, go, go, go!

All of it.

Now we're gonna season this.

Some salt.

Let me see how much, you think, salt you might need.

I think that's good.

We all like our peperoncino.

-I like the marinara sauce spicy.

-Yeah?

Okay.

I like some basil.

Give me two branches of basil.

A whole branch, with lots of leaves.

Go ahead.

Throw it right in there.

I always put the branch like that, and so this basil really lets out all the flavor.

-I can smell it.

-Yeah.

-It smells good.

-Then I pull that out.

And at the end, I just shred some fresh.

I want you to go in the oven, because I made some cauliflower nice and crunchy.

So get it out of the oven, bring it here, and we'll put it on that plate.

♪♪ You dress your vegetables -- bread crumbs, grated cheese, some seasoning, oregano, a little bit of oil.

And 10 minutes in the oven, it's done.

Yeah.

I think, you know -- Why don't you arrange it?

Nice and easy.

Elegant.

That's it.

That looks good.

And you can make this in school instead of those bags of chips or whatever else.

-I don't buy chips.

-That's my boy.

[ Laughs ] Mm!

Okay.

-The easiest things to cook are something that you can just throw in a pan and throw in the oven, in my opinion.

-Isn't it?

And a piece of bread.

You know, when I was a little girl and the sauce was perking on the stove -- You know, you're hungry.

You can smell it.

I always used to -- -Give it a little taste?

Steal -- Here.

Yeah.

Okay.

You want to?

Go ahead.

You do it.

I'll do it my corner.

-You got to do it with me.

-Oh.

You got to do this together, huh?

Grandma and grandson.

[ Exhales sharply ] Mmm.

Twenty minutes, and it's done.

Even like this.

You like the freshness?

-Yeah.

-Just like that.

Okay.

Get some sauce in there.

♪♪ That's it.

Oh, okay.

A little more or what?

That looks good.

And this, you know, when you're making it, you can let it cool, but then you can put it in a jar.

You can put it in the refrigerator.

It stays for a week or two, no problema.

And to make this beautiful, clip a little basil and put it somewhere.

Yeah.

Put the leaf in the sauce and this right here.

Can we have a fork?

Can we taste this?

-I don't think we need a fork for this.

-Oh, no?

-I think we just kind of go... -Is that what you do at college?

-...and dip it.

-You know, I love to touch my food with my hands.

-It's the best utensils.

-That's it.

You got it.

So let's do it this way.

Forget the forks.

-Forget about it.

-Forget about it.

Mmm.

And just like that, you got marinara sauce.

-Just like that.

I'm gonna need a few jars to take home.

-[ Chuckles ] I have a stash for you, as always.

But you know what?

I have five grandchildren.

That makes a big stash.

♪♪ Alette di pollo al formaggio al forno.

Crispy chicken wings.

Who doesn't like that?

I know all my grandkids love it, and, of course, one thinks of those fried, crispy chicken wings.

Well, you know, I'm a little aware of the nutritional element, so I bake the chicken wings to a nice crisp.

And I want to share that with you.

In order to do that, I need some grated cheese.

And this is another tip I want to share with you.

So you buy a nice chunk of cheese.

It's always good if you can grate your own cheese as close as possible to whatever you're doing.

Plus, you cut off the rind -- easy -- and you save this rind.

This rind is great for soups.

A little plastic bag.

Put it in.

And you just keep on storing them and freeze them.

They're great.

When you make that soup, you just put it on.

So I have the processor here.

Let's make small pieces.

Okay.

I should have enough here.

Let's see.

And you can grate any cheese this way -- that is, dry cheese.

So let's... Let's see where we are.

Yeah.

This is nice and fine.

I need about 1/2 cup for my chicken wings right here.

Yeah.

Okay.

That's a little more than 1/2 cup, but I like that.

And I'm gonna save the rest.

So here you have your freshly grated cheese, and you can grate as much as you want when you need it.

You know, it's always good to certainly seal it.

And then "grated grana" so you know what you have in there.

Grated cheese also -- Let's say you go on vacation and you have some left.

You can freeze it.

It's okay.

But it keeps like this even for a month and more.

No problem.

Put the date on so you know when you did it, and in the refrigerator it goes.

So let's finish this cheesy crumb coating for the wings.

We're gonna put a little bit of salt because the cheese is salted, bread crumbs.

Garlic powder.

To give it a little bit of herb taste, oregano.

So here is the oregano -- dry oregano.

And you buy it like this, in a little bouquet.

It is the best.

You store it, you keep it in a bag, and you pull it out.

Not in the refrigerator.

Outside.

And all you have to do is just kind of massage it a little bit.

I think I have enough here.

So let me just put this right in here.

Mmm.

The aroma is beautiful.

And I have here, mix it well, and okay.

Now let's address the chicken wing.

And I've done some because I didn't want to keep you here all this time.

I just want to give you the good parts of it.

Here are the chicken wings.

You usually buy them just like that.

Cut off the tip.

If you have problems with the tip, just give a bang to the knife.

You look for those joints where there's the cartilage, and the knife will go right through.

There we go.

Save these as well.

You can see there's a soup in the making here.

So here I have all the tips.

I have my rind right here.

Put some carrots, celery, onions, and I got myself a soup.

So save.

You can freeze these, and you can collect more and more until you have enough to really make a big soup.

♪♪ Let me cut this in portion size.

♪♪ Okay.

Just a little bit of salt.

And here I have some melted butter.

♪♪ Just like that.

Let's collect it all.

Toss it all so that all of the chicken gets coated with the butter.

And this is where the bread crumbs will adhere to.

Could you coat them with olive oil and do that?

Yes, you could.

But butter really does a great job in coating it, and everything sticks to it.

Let me make sure.

Okay.

So now a parchment paper right on your baking sheet, pan, whatever you have will save you all the cleaning thereafter.

And it's great for baking, so let's toss it right in here.

And yeah, I could use the tongs again, but there's nothing like the hands.

Okay.

I'm pressing a little bit because I want the topping to really adhere to it.

And let's get going here.

Give them enough space.

See?

It's easy as this.

You can make two trays.

♪♪ Okay.

♪♪ If you have any of the breading left, it had the chicken in it, so you can use it for the next chicken, but don't wait too long.

You can put it in a plastic container, put it in the refrigerator, and use it within a week.

And it's all done.

A preheated 425-degree oven, 35 to 40 minutes, they'll be nice and crisp.

You don't need to turn, and you don't need to do anything.

Just let them crisp in there.

If you're looking at it and it's not the color that you like, leave them in a few minutes.

♪♪ I got some time, and I love hearing from you guys, so let's see what's in my inbox.

Lee -- "I'd like to use more herbs, but how do I pair them with different meats and vegetables?

I'm not much of a gardener, so I normally use dried.

Which are okay to use dried versus fresh?"

Well, Lee, if you're talking about herbs like basil, like sage, like rosemary, like bay leaves, if you can get them fresh, nothing beats that.

You really get the freshness.

Sometimes you can buy them and if you have too many, you can freeze the fresh ones, and they're better than the dry ones, as far as I'm concerned.

To freeze it, you submerge whatever you have left, whether it's basil leaves or branches of rosemary, in a little container with water so that they freeze like in an ice cube, and they stay fresh until you defrost them and throw them in your sauce.

Now, as far as dried herbs -- have their place in the kitchen as well.

For example, oregano -- I love it dry much better than the fresh.

It brings much more flavor to the dish itself.

So stay fresh if you can.

Thank you, Lee.

Another one.

Roman.

Hi, Roman.

"I'm 9 years old..." Oh, how wonderful.

I love to hear from you, Roman.

"...and I want to be a professional soccer player."

Okay.

That's good.

That's Italian.

"I know I need to eat super healthy.

What do you think my mom should cook for me?"

Roman, you know, eating healthy means eating a balanced meal -- lots of vegetables, lots of fruit, some proteins, and, of course, carbohydrates -- beans, legumes, lentils.

They're all good for you.

So tell your mom to make you a diversified Italian meal.

Now, when you're going onto that field and you want that energy, you know, carbohydrates will do.

So a nice plate of pasta maybe an hour before you go on that field or an hour and a half -- all that surge of spaghetti energy on the field.

Have a good time.

Thank you for writing.

Look at these great chicken wings.

Beautiful color.

Ready to go.

Let's serve them up.

And you see all these little things that are kind of attached to it.

That's delicious, crunchy cheese.

You just leave it.

So, are you tempted to kind of really line them up like soldiers?

No, no, no.

Just pile them up.

I think the occasion calls for kind of a relaxed setting.

Beautiful and good.

And, you know, everybody loves these.

Yeah, my grandkids love them, but who wouldn't love something like that?

Crispy, nice, simple, baked -- but the feeling of crunchiness, of being fried.

And, of course, I am going to leave this one for me.

Let's bring this one to the table.

I have a little bit of fresh oregano here.

Yeah.

That looks good.

Of course, it needs some dipping sauce.

Some nice, hot dipping sauce here.

And I like it spicy.

And this is a simple marinara.

I put extra spices in there.

And, you know, have a little extra, because this is gonna go.

Maybe you can put two of these at the table.

Okay.

And, of course, what goes with this?

I'm gonna crack open a beer.

And I like my beer now and then.

Absolutely.

[ Air hisses ] And you know what?

I don't like too much foam on my beer.

That looks perfect.

Okay.

So now let me taste.

Look how nice and crunchy.

This little edge is all good.

I'm gonna dunk it right into the sauce.

And... [ Exhales sharply ] ♪♪ Mmm.

Good.

Crunchy.

Cheesy.

I'm 100% sure you're gonna make them, you're gonna enjoy them, and your family's gonna have a great time.

So I'm gonna cheer to the anticipation of you making this dish.

But as well, I'm gonna invite you to my house, because I'm going to start eating these.

So tutti a tavola a mangiare.

E berre, as Nonna would say.

Mmm.

♪♪ I have been cooking for 50 years, and it's a gift.

And along the way, many people have contributed, making me understand.

And still to this day, I travel, I always pick something up.

I love going to small towns and in the kitchen of families.

And there's always -- I mean always, always I pick something up and I take it away.

Do I take it as is?

Sometimes yes.

But sometimes it stimulates in me a new creation or a new idea.

And I feel that, you know, I need to share it evermore like people have shared with me, because that gift, that knowledge is not mine to keep.

It needs to be passed on.

[ Singing in Italian ] [ Singing continues ] [ Speaking Italian ] -[ Speaking Italian ] -The food from this series is a celebration of the Italian dishes Lidia cooks for the ones she loves the most, from the traditional recipes of her childhood to the new creations she feeds her family today.

All of these easy-to-prepare recipes can be found in Lidia's latest cookbook, "From Our Family Table to Yours," available for $35.

To purchase this cookbook and any of her additional products, call 1-800-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... -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.

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

-And by...