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.

-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, handcrafted provolone, made in Italy.

-Olitalia.

From chef to chef.

-Chicken is always a crowd-pleaser, so let's give it a show.

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

In just 30 minutes, pull together this impressive dish of sautéed chicken dressed in a bright lemon sauce served over spinach.

As the saying goes, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner."

One of the sources of food that just about every house that had a little bit of land had were chickens.

So chicken is the number-one searched recipe on the Internet, and in Italy, almost expected to be seen in the courtyard.

Free-range and pasture-raised.

Well, that was a given in my times.

So we depended on our chickens.

They were the basis of our nutritional protein source.

But we respected the animal.

Here in America, chicken is bound to be found on every table in cooked form.

In Italy, chicken is bound to be found in every courtyard to be cooked.

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 is 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.

[ Oil sizzling ] So, we want this chicken to caramelize quick.

High-temperature, seared.

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 it 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.

It's just like that.

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 peperoncino.

Give that a stir.

And I am going to cover it.

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

That's quick.

Not even half an hour.

Hi.

Besides the kitchen, this is my other favorite place.

It's my library.

And I find my peace here.

And I find you on the Internet here.

And I look forward to that.

Here's Joe.

And he writes, "I would like to know when to use a stainless steel frying pan vs. a non-stick and with which proteins."

That's a good question, because let's talk about how does the nonstick work?

A nonstick pan will prevent from the proteins to stick to the pan.

So it's a good venue if you need to do, let's say, a fish -- get a crust on a fish.

The stainless-steel, on the other hand -- it is not good if you just barely wet the surface with oil or butter or fat and you put a protein in there.

Most likely, it will stick.

But what you will have in a stainless-steel pan is most likely bits and pieces of whatever protein or flour, whatever, stuck to the bottom.

And when you remove your proteins, you can make a nice pan sauce out of that.

So I hope, Joe, this helps.

And the rest is, you know -- it's a question of, what do you want to do with the protein that you have?

Test it a little bit.

Play with it.

You'll see, and you can use it, then, to your advantage.

So, I'm going to cut the scallions, and the white part, I'm going to put it 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.

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 of balsamic, if you want.

And I'm going to shut the heat off, cover it, keep it warm.

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

Here, I have Shimmy.

He says, "Hi Lidia.

Although I have been cooking for years, I have yet to master the food flipping technique.

Can you give me a wrist movement hint to improve this skill?

Otherwise I'm considered a good cook."

Oh, great, Shimmy.

You're doing a lot of cooking.

You're flipping.

It's fun.

The physics is, first of all, that whatever you're cooking is loosened up from the bottom.

So you have to kind of swivel it around.

Maybe, with a fork or a knife or a little spatula, you go around it and you loosen whatever is stuck.

You raise it off the fire, and you give it a push out.

That means that the food slides up, and then you flip it up a little bit and go underneath, and catch it as it flips over.

Keep on cooking.

Love your questions, and keep on writing.

Ciao.

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 that 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.

Mmm!

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.

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

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

Chicken legs with artichokes and cider vinegar.

You know how much I love connecting with my grandkids, and it's so convenient in these days.

They call me when they need a recipe, when they need some guidance.

So I'm waiting.

I'm waiting for Miles.

He needs a question answered.

[ Computer chimes ] Hey, here.

Here's Miles.

Hi, Miles.

-Hi, Nonni.

-How are you doing?

-I'm great.

How are you?

-All right.

What's up, Miles?

What are you cooking these days?

-We just got finished with a soccer game, so we're about to cook some chicken.

-How do you normally cook the chicken?

-Normally, around here, we'll probably just either throw it in the oven, or we'll cut it up and throw it into a salad with some eggs, maybe.

But I think the most popular way is just with a lot of hot sauce to cover how dry it really is.

-I would prefer, for this recipe, that you make the thighs and the drumsticks with artichokes.

Now, you're going to say, "Grandma, I'm not cleaning artichokes."

Well, go and buy some frozen artichokes, some chicken parts -- the dark parts, some garlic, and some cider vinegar.

And it's as simple as that.

You brown the chicken parts.

Salt, a little pepper, peperoncino.

You brown it nice inside, then garlic cloves crushed in there.

And once it's all browned, the frozen artichokes -- you leave them out to defrost, and you throw them in the pan, as well.

Mix cider vinegar.

Put the lid on, and slowly let it all cook.

And it caramelizes, and it's going to be delicious.

How many are you going to be there?

-We're probably only going to cook for five, but my house is 15, so... -You're going to cook for 15 or for five?

-No, for five.

-Oh, for five.

Okay.

But in case they decide to join you, you know, you can do this in the oven, too.

You brown the chicken and all that, and then you put it all into a baking sheet pan.

You put the vinegar and the artichokes and everything, and you can put it in the oven, turn it now and then, and you can get, you know, a meal for 10 of you guys.

What are you going to serve with it?

-Maybe we'll make some pasta with your tomato sauce.

-Oh, that's nice.

Yeah, I forget how hungry you guys are and how much you can eat.

So a plate of pasta first will kind of seal the hunger, and then you can go on with your chicken and artichokes.

-No, that sounds amazing.

It sounds like something I'm definitely going to have to crank out and try.

-So, Miles, you just came from a soccer game, did you say?

-Yes.

We just did.

-All right.

So you're ready to eat.

But the important things -- did you win?

-Of course we won.

We always win.

-All right.

So then you deserve it.

If you won the game, you deserve a good meal.

So congratulations and buon appetito.

I hope to see you soon, and just keep on calling.

Love you.

Say hello to everybody.

-Love you.

I will.

-Ciao.

Chicken Scaloppine in Lemon Caper Sauce with Spinach.

This is a simple recipe.

It's delicious, and it's light, and it's easy to make.

So let's start -- a nice chicken breast, and we're going to cut it into scaloppine.

Scaloppine is usually a cut of meat that is cut very thin.

It's cut a little bit on the bias, and this -- I'm going to just pound it, and it's going to be fine.

Let's do this one.

Sometimes, you get chicken cut into scaloppine and you can buy that if that's easier for you.

Okay.

So, two nice size of chicken breasts.

Now we're going to pound it just a little bit.

Plastic wrap usually helps the situation so you don't break it up.

Okay.

Let me do the the flat side here.

And as you can see, I do it slowly, and I kind of push it a little bit to the side, just like that.

Oh, okay.

So, that's here.

So, we're going to need a little bit of flour, some oil, and I put a little bit of butter in there.

You know, butter sort of lowers the heat in the pan.

Olive oil gets to a little higher temperature than butter does.

So if you put the two of them, usually, it works just fine.

Let's just put it like this.

I want to salt it a little bit, and I can do it right here.

Just like that.

And just like that.

Just a little bit because we'll salt the sauce.

Lightly flour it.

And I don't want to overcrowd it because this way, each piece will cook quicker.

And so, you don't have to fully cook the meat in this step.

You're going to make the sauce.

You're going to make a pan sauce.

You're going to re-enter the meat into the sauce.

And it's going to be done.

And mild heat will really leave the chicken tender.

And of course, the question is not to overcook it, but you want the chicken cooked, but you don't want to overcook it.

♪ Yes.

Okay.

So the first step is done.

So let me clean up.

Let me get the next ingredients and we'll continue with this quick and easy recipe.

Okay, it looks like Giada sent me a video asking a question.

Giada.

Giada.

That's a nice Italian name.

Let's see what she wants to know.

-Ciao, Lidia, my name is Giada, and I am a Friulana living in the UK.

Could you give me some ideas for chicken and beef recipes so I can include them in my Britalian kitchen YouTube channel and then, tutti a tavola a mangiare.

Ciao.

-Brava, Giada.

Ciao.

That's wonderful.

She is reaching out from the UK, and she is from Friuli.

So, chicken or beef?

A guazzetto technique for both is quite good.

Beef guazzetto, you cut pieces of meat, some onions, some tomato paste, some wine, some cloves, some porcini, and you add stock or water, and you let it cook, for even two hours.

Depends on the toughness of the meat.

When the meat is kind of, to the fork, tender, then you're done, and you use that.

You can eat the pieces of meat, the guazzetto, with some boiled potatoes, with some mashed potatoes.

But also, it's a great way of dressing pasta.

I happen to like vinegar with chicken.

A recipe of a chicken scarpariello -- chicken with garlic and then ultimately vinegar, and letting it braise until it really falls off the bone.

So, Giada, those recipes, I think you can relate to.

You can mention Lidia gave them to you, by all means.

Keep in touch.

Stay well.

Ciao, Giada.

Let's do the spinach now and just finish the chicken.

And so, spinach... You know, you can get smaller-leaf spinach, whatever's in season.

I like this.

Make sure you wash it well.

And you know, you're going to say, "Oh, can I use frozen spinach?"

You could.

You could, but you have to give it some flavor, even if you have the frozen spinach.

Here we go.

Flavor it like this with some garlic, and get the garlic just a little bit golden.

And this will give a lot of flavor to the spinach.

Let's put the spinach right in here.

[ Sizzling ] Vegetables done like this in the pan -- it's called strascinati in Italian, which means "dragged in the pan."

Let's add some salt.

Some peperoncino, just to give it a little flavor.

And so I am looking over -- the spinach let out their own water.

So let's cover it... and let it just kind of wilt.

And the sauce will be made out of these ingredients.

And this spinach is done.

It's that easy.

So I'm going to put it right -- since this is a quick recipe -- right in the spot where it's going to be.

And I leave it all on a mound so it doesn't cool.

So let's put some butter.

Let's get the sauce going.

Just a little bit of oil.

And I'm going to put the lemon slices in there.

I kind of like to find a cooked or a brown little lemon slice with my chicken in the dish.

Okay.

Let's put the lemon juice right in here.

A little bit of wine.

Capers.

Mm-hmm.

So, right in the pan -- all that's remained from frying the chicken.

Even the garlic from the spinach.

It all is part of this delicious sauce.

Salt.

I need to put some salt.

I need to season that.

A little bit of stock.

And we're going to slide the chicken right back in there and let the chicken finish cooking right in the sauce.

So, what's next?

Parsley.

Let's chop the parsley.

And I like to use the flat Italian parsley.

I think it has more flavor.

So let's put the parsley in there.

And you put the parsley in the last kind of few minutes because you don't want it to change color.

And, you know, it's a good habit to taste your sauce.

Mmm!

Nice.

Puckery good.

I'm going to close the heat.

I am making sure that all of the chicken is flavored.

I am going to spread my spinach.

Just like that.

And where's Lidia's plate?

Just like that.

Let me put a little bit of spinach, just for Lidia.

Now, you see, you know, the spinach reduces itself a lot.

So if you want more, just add more spinach.

So, I'm going to layer this like that.

Lemon.

♪ Let's put Lidia's piece right here, and Lidia's piece of lemon, and the sauce.

You see, the sauce is quite nice.

♪ Mmm!

This looks good.

So, let me bring this to the table, because it's finished, because it's delicious, because it's hot.

Let's sauce Lidia's piece.

Just like that.

And you can see, the pieces of lemon and capers bring a lot of flavor to this dish.

I have some lemon, some chicken.

Where's the spinach?

Delicious.

This is refreshing.

Nice acidity.

Mouthful of lemon.

The sweetness of spinach.

And the chicken is nice and moist.

So I'm talking, talking, but I really want to invite you, too, because there's plenty here.

So, tutti a tavola a mangiare!

Come!

I will continue to eat and drink until you get here.

Get here fast.

As a chef, what I see is the big request for chicken breasts, and certainly, it's a delicious piece of meat prepared many ways.

But there's so much more deliciousness in the whole chicken.

And when I'm talking about the whole chicken, I mean, you know, cut it up, use it up.

I taught you how.

Make the pieces into a juicy chicken cacciatore or a guazzetto.

Whether you go to the drumstick, whether you go to the thigh, to the wings.

Grandma, for example, would only eat the wings of the chicken, and it caramelizes.

It gave her a lot of more flavor, a lot of more gelatinous kind of texture.

And so don't always just go for the clean breast piece, although when you're in a hurry, that works.

-Bevevano i nostri padri?

-Si!

-Bevevan le nostre madri?

-Si!

-[ 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, 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.

-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.

♪ ♪