-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.

-Locatelli Pecorino Romano cheese from Italy -- handcrafted from 100% sheep's milk.

♪ -Olitalia -- From chef to chef.

-One secret to stretching to meal is learning how to repurpose the leftovers.

My take on the classic combination.

But here I use hot sausages with a rainbow of peppers.

This classic combination makes for great leftovers and can be made into frittatas or a quick sandwich.

So when you try these hot sausages and peppers, make a double batch.

If you're lucky enough to have leftover risotto in the fridge, you can have this dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes.

Why reheat if you can reinvent?

Stretch your meal.

I know, leftovers is almost an immediate reheat and eat, but it wasn't so in grandma's house.

Grandpa Giovanni would never accept a reheated meal, so you had to be creative and inventive.

We had some pasta left.

It would turn into a frittata.

We had some polenta left.

Next day, would fry it with some cheese.

The prosciutto.

So when she got to the very end of the prosciutto legs, all those little bits and ends of the prosciutto, with a few tomatoes in there right from the garden, would be made into a delicious pasta sauce.

Leftover bread into desserts.

Grandma would do it all the time.

She'd add a little milk from the goat.

And then we were -- bread pudding.

So the reusing of leftovers made a whole meal Onions, peppers, sausages -- an Italian marriage made in heaven.

Who doesn't love that?

So I just puncture the sausages so that the skin doesn't rupture.

So you have a whole sausage, a little bit of oil, and let's put these sausages to cook.

[ Sizzling ] Let's cut the onions now.

And you can use white onions.

You can use red onions.

I always tell you my recipes are kind of a guide for you.

Yours to keep and yours to change.

Absolutely.

So, here, these are the peppers.

Plenty of peppers.

And the more color you have, the better it is.

You know, a lot of times, I get asked, "Lidia, why don't you use the green peppers?"

And by all means.

But what these peppers will give you, they'll give you a sweetness and they have a meatiness to it.

And what this keeps is the colors.

The green usually changes, whereas the yellow, the red really keep the color.

Okay.

So I have a lot of peppers here, but this is one of those recipes that keeps on giving.

Sausage and pepper for dinner.

Next day could be a sausage and pepper sandwich.

Could be a breakfast.

Sausages, peppers, some scrambled eggs.

Absolutely.

So, I use the traditional pork sausages here.

You can have turkey sausages, chicken sausages, vegetable sausages.

Just keep in mind the cooking time if you have chicken sausage or turkey sausage.

Those take a little less to cook than pork sausages.

I want to get a nice color on them.

One exploded on me, but that's okay.

Maybe I missed that one talking to you, you know?

Everybody makes mistakes, including Lidia.

So don't fret if, in your kitchen, your sausage explodes or you do some other mistakes.

Don't fret.

It's okay.

[ Sizzling ] Okay.

This looks nice and caramelized.

Let's put the onion right in.

Wow.

These Italian sausages are pretty spiffy.

Look what they did to me.

But that's in the kitchen.

What are you going to do?

Let me just crack some garlic.

All right.

So I'm looking at this.

There's a lot of caramelization on the bottom.

And I want to deglaze that.

I'm going to put a little bit of wine.

Whenever you're browning something and those little bits and pieces stick to the bottom, those are flavor elements.

At this point, let me put the peppers in.

Alright.

Going to put some peperoncino, spiciness, put some salt.

And I'm going to add just a little bit of the tomato paste.

Okay.

I like a little bit of tomato in my sausages, onions, and pepper, but I don't want to make it wet because that's another dish.

That's pizzaiola, if you will.

But tomato paste, you see, it sort of gives it the flavor of tomato and a little bit of color.

And I'm going to let this cook just like that.

In the meantime, let me chop some basil.

Just kind of cut it in strips like that, which we will add at the end.

Just for the aroma, for the flavor, but also for color.

Let me put back the sausages right in.

Mm.

And they will cook together now.

So I don't want to add any more liquid because I like the sweetness of the peppers when they cook and the intensity of the sausages.

I'm going to cover it, going to lower the flame.

Nice and gentle, cook all together.

I want the flavors of the pepper to penetrate in the sausages, the sausages with the peppers.

And a little tomato and simmer it.

And I'll let it cook like this about 10 minutes.

10 minutes at a low flame.

Everything should be ready.

We'll add the basil and we'll enjoy.

Welcome to my library.

Here is where I receive your e-mail, read your questions, and I answer them.

And here is an e-mail from Bernadette.

"What is the difference between mild, sweet, and hot sausage?

Would appreciate an answer.

Thank you."

Basically, a mild or sweet is more of the same.

When it's hot, that means that a lot of peperoncino is added to the mix, and that is the difference.

But the flavor of sausages go way beyond that.

The Italians are known for their fennel seed sausage.

I happen not to like the seed itself, so I look for sausages that have fennel powder in their mix.

So, it's simple.

It's the intensity of heat or peperoncino in the sausage mix.

Enjoy your sausages because there's many ways to prepare sausage al Italiana.

Thank you.

So here is an e-mail and it is from Becky.

"My question is when to use pepper for recipes.

I see you cooking with salt and red pepper, but not too often with black pepper.

How do you know when to use which?

Fondly, Becky."

Becky, that's a good observation.

I come from a region of Italy, which is north of Venice, where black pepper is king.

But I fell in love with peperoncino, with red pepper, which is basically the pepper seasoning of the south of Italy.

So which one do you use when?

Usually, a recipe will follow that rule when it comes to classics.

If I do a calf's liver Veneziana, which is a liver with lots of onion, bay leaves, and black pepper, I use black pepper.

But if I make a brodetto, a stew of different fishes, and I want some zest to it, I will add peperoncino because it fits in.

But I am of black pepper origin.

And when you're cooking or adding black pepper, remember to always add it at the end.

That's why you see the pepper mills on the tables.

Peppercorn is basically a seed, and it has tannins.

And if you cook pepper for a long time in a stew or braised it, it will release those tannins and it will become a little bitter, the sauce.

So, if you do choose to use black pepper, which is delicious, always add it at the end to your dish.

Look at me.

I'm going to have to change for dinner.

But it's okay.

It's all about cooking.

So, let's see.

I think we are there.

Everything is nice and shiny and glazed and that's that.

So let's think about Lidia, since I deserve this time.

[ Chuckles ] Let me get the funky one here.

The one that gave me all that trouble.

I'm going to get even.

I'm going to eat it.

So, a little pepper.

Okay.

That's Lidia.

Now, for you guys, a platter for everybody to enjoy.

Let me sort of start with some of the sausages.

The rest are okay.

And you just pile them on a plate.

Let the goodness flow.

Mm-mm-mm.

Imagine everybody is at the table and you come with this tempting platter of delicious sausage and peppers.

So here we are.

That's ready to deliver.

Okay.

Now, let's... Mm-hmm.

A little onion, a little peppers.

[ Blowing ] It's really good.

After he gave me all that trouble, it's really good.

So, a little Schioppettino.

Schioppettino is a red varietal from Friuli.

It's fruity, and it's going to go just great with this.

Delicious Schioppettino.

Mm!

Goes good with the sausage.

In the last minute, I'm going to add the basil, because when you introduce it to heat, it changes, it becomes black.

So put it on the last minute just like that.

Bring it to the table, and everybody's going to... ♪ 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.

It's one of those special mornings.

I got a notice that Lorenzo is going to call me.

He has some questions, and here he is.

Hi, Lorenzo.

How you doing?

-Ciao, Nonna!

I'm doing well.

How are you doing?

-Okay.

Nice to see you.

Nice to talk to you.

And I'm sure that some of the questions you have for me are about cooking something.

Have you been cooking lately?

-Yeah, I have been.

I mean, it's a bit tough because I'm pretty busy with work and, you know, trying to be social with friends and doing all of that.

But I have been using a lot of your recipes where I can, like, store stuff and use it later.

One of those is the grated pasta soup I made recently.

I'm never surprised that one of your recipes is delicious, but I didn't know this could be this good.

It's really, really cool that you can just make this dough and keep it in the freezer for a long time.

-Right.

But what do you make?

Chicken stock?

-Yeah, usually chicken stock.

Or I also have a good amount of vegetable stock because I have a lot of vegetarian friends.

-The dough is very neat.

So, you make this dough and it has, you know, flour and lots of eggs and an abundance of grated cheese.

And you knead it into a dough and then you freeze it.

And then, you use this frozen stock.

You pull it out, bringing to a boiling point, and you have this frozen piece of dough.

You pull it out maybe 10 minutes before, just to give it a little bit of softening.

And then you grate it on a box grater and you'll get flakes, if you will, of dough, which you throw in the boiling stock.

And it's done.

Now, to this boiling pasta shreds, you can add many things.

You can add more vegetables if you have some peas, some scallions, some leeks, if you like.

You know what's also good?

Just you whisk an egg.

And it's like an egg drop soup or a stracciatella.

-One thing I always like to do, even though the dough has a lot of cheese in it, I always like to add extra cheese.

Is that okay?

I know what Nonna Mima would say, but I want to hear what you think.

-[ Laughs ] She loved cheese.

Yeah, absolutely.

I think, you know, you have to follow your profile, what you like.

Don't override the semolina flour, and then it begins to crumble on you.

-Got it.

I made it the other night for my friends, and it was perfect, and now I'm thinking maybe this would be good for, like, one of my dinner parties.

Because I remember, at your house, we always had a antipasti and then a soup and then some sort of entrée and then dessert.

So this would actually be a really good and easy way, I think, to just make the dinner party even better.

-I think that's a great idea.

As I remember, even as a child, soup was such an important part of a meal, especially if you have a celebratory meal.

So, yeah, antipasto.

And then, the soup, they always said that kind of the saying was that the soups prepared your body for the receiving of the solid food.

And I think that's the case.

And you can make it before, even a week before.

Freeze it, and then you're ready to go when the party starts.

But I am delighted that you're intrigued that you love this frozen dough situation.

What do your friends think about it?

-Well, they really like it.

My roommates in particular.

You know, every time, I'll notice, like, a pint of soup is gone or something.

-They go into your stash and make themself at home?

Do you mind?

-I don't mind at all.

If I want something for myself, I will label it.

But I don't usually do that because I make a lot of food.

So, you know, that's the whole point.

It's my contribution to the house.

-That's nice.

So let me ask the question the other way around.

Do they cook anything?

Do they bring anything for you?

-They cook things, yeah.

No, definitely.

I mean, Richard makes an excellent guacamole.

Really, really good.

It's his dad's recipe.

He makes it whenever we have dinner parties.

I'm definitely the person who does the most cooking around here, but Richard does a lot of good cooking, as well.

-But recently, you remember on the last call we had, you were telling me you had 25 people over for dinner.

-[ Laughs ] I had a dinner party, so I cooked three courses for 27 people.

-Whoa.

-It was quite the show.

-Tell me, what did you cook.

Your pasta salad as an appetizer.

I doubled the recipe, though.

I made mushroom and onion and a cheese crostata on puff pastry.

Your recipe again, as well.

And then, I also made your cucumber salad.

That was really good.

Then I made two lasagnas from the "Felidia" cookbook and two meat loafs -- my mom's recipe.

And then, I made your chocolate ricotta cheesecake and an orange sponge cake.

-That's your recipe.

I like it when you make it when you're here.

when we have an event.

-Oh, well.

-I like your calculations there.

You used the oven for two of the major dishes.

Yes.

And both of them could be prepared before and then put in the oven when you're ready to serve.

So I am very proud of you.

-[ Chuckles ] -Keep on asking questions.

Just call Nonna, call Grandma.

She's waiting for you.

Okay?

-I will.

-Ciao, bello.

Love you.

-Ciao, Nonna.

-That's a feat.

25 people.

Reminds me of me.

Hmm.

He's taking after grandma.

I love that.

Here's the leftover risotto, and we'll make risotto cakes out of it.

I'm going to add some zucchini, and I shred the zucchini just like that.

We'll put in an egg to bind it.

A little bit of salt.

Just a little bit.

♪ Some chopped parsley, some chives.

And depends on the density of your risotto if you need to bind it.

Always keep in mind there's two things, and that is you have the cheese and we have an egg to bind the whole thing.

So let's put some cheese.

And I'm looking at it, and the zucchini looks like they have some water in them, and it's a little wet.

So let's put some breadcrumbs.

And breadcrumbs, you know, arbitrarily, as much as you think you need so you can fry it.

Let me get in there with my hands.

I always say my best tools in the kitchen are my hands.

And I think I should get about six risotto cakes out of this.

These risotto cakes are delicious.

Eat them for dinner with a salad.

They're also delicious in the morning for breakfast.

If you have risotto patties, you put a poached egg on top of it.

And if you have a brunch, you have your meal planned out.

So let me clean up and we'll be ready to fry them.

I look forward to your questions.

So, let's see.

Mary has a good question here.

"I struggle with planning to use my leftovers.

How do I plan ahead for those things in my meals?

Seems I have a refrigerator or freezer full of parts and pieces and no plans to use them."

If the leftovers are in a sauce, then you reserve some of the sauce for it.

Don't just freeze the chunk of meat.

If a chicken cacciatore is made in a sauce, reserve some of that sauce and some of those vegetables.

Then you take it out, and you make a great risotto.

Get the chicken meat off the bones, shred it into the sauce, and begin your risotto and finish your risotto with some cheese.

And voilà, you got a great meal and emptied that freezer out.

The risotto cakes have chilled.

They're nice and firm.

We'll just pass them in the bread crumbs.

No egg, no flour.

Just a little bread crumbs.

I have here vegetable oil.

The temperature -- Not yet.

Just about.

So we'll wait to put these in.

I'll bread them in the meantime.

You know, these little things are good.

You can also freeze them.

Make the patties like this.

You wrap them in cellophane paper and then you freeze them.

I think the oil is hot enough.

Yes.

Okay.

And you know, you don't need that much oil, just you want the crust to form.

Yes, there is an egg in there, but that will cook, and the zucchini will also cook in this heat.

That's plenty.

So, let them fry.

And of course, we got to make a salad to go with these cakes.

So, oil, vinegar.

I like red wine vinegar.

I know balsamic has been in vogue.

A lot of people like it, but I like wine vinegar.

Some salt.

Some mustard.

The question a lot of times -- what is the ratio of oil to vinegar?

Usually anywhere from 1/3 of vinegar to 2/3 of oil, or maybe a little bit more vinegar if you like it acidic.

Let me check how these are doing.

These look good.

They're getting nice and golden.

Let them get a little browner.

And let's get back to the salad.

So I have here a lot of dressing, and I think it could be a little bit even too much for the whole thing, so I'm going to put what I think is right.

Let me toss it.

This is plenty, you know, because if you overdress the salad, the salad becomes heavy.

Ground pepper.

♪ And that looks good.

So let's get back to those cakes.

I think this one is done.

And I'm going to put to drain.

This one is done.

And I think they are all done.

So, let's plate.

Oh, right.

That looks good.

So this is number one, and that's one portion.

And where is Lidia's portion?

That's for Lidia.

And additional guests or whomever might come, you have an additional four or five.

♪ I would serve mine just like that.

Now let's bring them to the table.

This is for that special guest.

Here.

For those extra guests, little salad on the side.

Family style.

Let me taste this.

Mm, it's delicious.

It really is.

It's sweet, it's crunchy.

The corn, the peas, and the salad with a little rughetta in there.

Mm.

It's delicious.

And now let me try a little bit of the Sauvignon.

Indeed.

So this is leftover turned into another meal.

And tutti a tavola a mangiare.

Let's go.

Mangiare.

I know some of you out there feel, "Oh, I'm not going to do this recipe because it makes a big batch, we're not going to eat it all," or whatever.

Well, don't think that way.

That leftover, that big batch can turn in two, three different other meals.

You have braising of meat.

Reinvent it.

Add carrots, potatoes, and make it a stew with vegetables.

You have that braised meat -- make a pasta sauce.

And it's a great way to have food ready for you and make it into two, three meals out of one cooking pot.

And if you're really doubtful, ask Lidia.

I'm here.

[ 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.

♪ ♪