Food: TV’s Lidia Bastianich and son Joe prove charming in person, too
TV chef Lidia Bastianich and her son, restaurateur and vineyard owner Joe Bastianich, blew through Providence last week with the speed of a blustery spring wind. Still they found time to charm everyone in their wake with their passion for food, wine and family.
Many of us feel a connection with people who appear on TV, especially those like Lidia who come into our homes and cook. We feel like we know them. But in real life they may project a different persona. Not so with Lidia, who appears on PBS’ Lidia’s Italy each weekend, and Joe, who is a regular contributor as wine expert on NBC’s Today show.
At a dinner at Bacaro, hosted by co-owners Brian Kingsford and Jennifer Matta, Lidia talked about coming to the United States (in the late ’50s) with her mother from what was then Istria, Italy.
She was curious what chef Kingsford would choose to cook from her cookbook. But she wasn’t watching with a stern eye and seemed rather pleased that he modified the recipes to suit his way of cooking.
“I was interested to see how he played with my food,” she joked.
Being serious, she said a recipe should not be dictated by people.
“A recipe is set by the season and culture,” she said.
You can always say, “ ‘Lidia would approve of this,’ because I would,” she said.
As a restaurant owner, Felidia and Del Posto in New York among them, Kingsford said he and Jennifer have been influenced by Lidia’s work in the industry. For her part, Lidia said she very much likes playing that role.
“You cook and cook in a restaurant and then its time to become the mentor,” she said.
She said Joe was just 3 years old when the family opened their first restaurant in Queens. On Sundays, a big family day, her mother Erminia would bring the kids (Joe and sister Tanya) to the restaurant for Sunday dinner. She would put a milk crate in front of the sink and he’d wash the dishes.
When he was a teenager, she warned him that he would not be working in the restaurant but going to school.
“Grandma brought us here to get an education,” she told him. So he went off to Boston College and then to Wall Street to work. Tanya went to Oxford in England for her Ph.D.
“Now they both work in the business,” she said with a laugh. “But they brought it to new heights.”
Joe co-owns restaurants including several with celebrity chef Mario Batali, and his mother. Tanya works on the television show and the cookbooks.
But wine has always been Joe’s passion, she added, and she’s glad he shares it with the business he is building. It was MS Walker, distributors of the Bastianich wines, that brought the pair to Rhode Island.
The wines were served at the Bacaro dinner with Kingsford describing how he reviewed the wine notes from the Bastianich portfolio to help create the dinner, which included a shaved fennel and mango salad with shrimp, blood orange oil paired with 2008 Bastianich Sauvignon “B”; lobster with spring vegetables and black truffle paired with 2006 Bastianich Vespa Bianco; a crespelle stuffed with mushrooms in a rabbit ragu with 2006 La Mozza I Perazzi Morelino di Scansano (a Sangiovese); and a wood-grilled beef brasato with a 2004 La Mozza Aragone (a Super Tuscan).
Joe talked about his wines, especially the whites from the Friuli region northeast of Venice. This is the premier white wine region of Italy, with both international varietals (Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) and indigenous grapes (Tocai Friuliano).
“In Italy, it’s important to celebrate those indigenous grapes,” he said, as they best express the terroir, matching grapes to environment.
The Bastianich Tocai Friuliano is a perfect match with prosciutto and pairs well with seafood, veal, pork and spicy Asian dishes. His Bastianich Tocai Plus is a dessert wine that was served with an orange and ricotta tart.
Joe also has vineyards in Tuscany, where he makes the red wines.
He said, “I feel like I am a guardian of wine,” rather than a maker. “You let the land and grapes speak and guide you to the bottle.”
The dinner was the pair’s third appearance of the day. They began with lunch at Tini, Johanne Killeen and George Germon’s new small plates, 20-seat bar/restaurant across from Trinity Rep. That was an invitation-only lunch with chefs, restaurant owners and wine industry folks getting to meet the Bastianichs.
There was also a public appearance from 3 to 6 at Farmstead and La Laiterie, the cheese shop and bistro in Wayland Square, hosted by owners Kate and Matt Jennings. There they signed their most recent books, Lidia’s Italy and Joe’s Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy.
Lidia’s Italy airs Sundays at 5 p.m. on Ch. 36 and Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. on Ch. 2.
Recipe: Penne with Cherry Tomatoes, Basil and Mozzarella1
PENNE WITH CHERRY TOMATOES, BASIL AND MOZZARELLA — PENNE ALLA CAPRESE IN CRUDO
1 pound cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of hot crushed red pepper
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 pound penne pasta
10 fresh basil leaves, shredded
1/2 pound bocconcini (bite-size fresh mozzarella)
Rinse, dry and cut the tomatoes in half.
Toss the tomatoes, olive oil, sea salt and crushed red pepper together in a large bowl. Whack the garlic with the side of a knife and toss it into the bowl. Let marinate at room temperature, tossing once or twice, for 30 minutes.
While the tomatoes are marinating, bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat. Stir the penne into the boiling water. Return to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, 10 to 12 minutes.
Remove the garlic from the marinated tomatoes and toss in the basil.
Drain the pasta, add it to the bowl, and toss well to mix. Check the seasoning, adding salt and more crushed red pepper if necessary.
Cut the bocconcini in half. Gently stir in to pasta and serve.
Serves 6.
— From the James Beard Foundation, adapted from Lidia’s Italian-American
Lidia Bastianich’s son Joe is a restaurant co-owner, wine- master and author of Vino Italiano: The Regional Wines of Italy.
james beard foundation