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On Demand

The Leonard Lopate Show

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
  • Julie Powell, Food in the City

    Using What You've Got

    Julie Powell, author of Julie and Julia, joins us for our Food in the City series, sharing her tricks for cooking using just the ingredients you have on hand in your kitchen. Kathleen Collins traces the history of food television. Then, Colum McCann discusses his latest novel, Let the Great World Spin, which is set against the backdrop of Philippe Petit's tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974. And Suzanne Simons gives us an inside look at the company formerly known as Blackwater, and the man who founded it.

    We Want Your Recipes!
    Do you have a secret ingredient that transforms a recipe? A favorite dish that you’ve made your own? The Lopate Show is collecting your adapted recipes! Chef Michael Lomonaco will be reading them all, and he’ll be here in July to pick his favorite dish and cook it with the winner! It’s all part of our Food in the City series. Submit your recipe here. The deadline is July 1—that’s tomorrow!

Cooking with What You Have on Hand with Julie Powell

Hold off on that take-out tonight. You can cook a delicious meal with ingredients you already have in your kitchen. Part four of our Food in the City series continues with Julie Powell. She's the author of Julie and Julia, which is set to be released as a major motion picture. Julie will offer tips on how to cook cheap and easy meals using what you already have on hand.

Julie's adapted recipe for Spanish Tortilla with Peppers and Chipotle Mayo

4 eggs
2 potatoes
1 Anaheim chile
1/2onion
3 tablespoons olive oil + 2 tablespoons olive oil for later
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 jarred chipotle chile
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Peel potatoes and slice as thinly as possible.
Slice onions into thin half rounds.
Saute onions and potatoes until softened but not brown.
Lightly beat eggs, adding a dash of water or broth, and salt & pepper to taste. Toss potato mixture with eggs and let sit 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, char pepper over gas flame or under broiler. Let sit in a covered bowl for 5 minutes, then scrape off charred skin. Split open, take out the seeds, and dice the chile. Toss in with the egg potato mixture.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons in skillet over medium high heat. Pour mixture into skillet, cook without stirring until top is still quite wet but set, running spatula beneath to keep from sticking. Place a plate atop the skillet and flip tortilla onto it, then slip it back on the skillet to brown the other side, just a couple of minutes. Slide onto plate.

To make chipotle pepper, simply chop up pepper and mix into mayonnaise. Dollop atop tortilla and serve.

Serves 4

Watching What We Eat

Chefs have been on TV long before the Food Network. Kathleen Collins traces the history of food television shows and the rise of celebrity chefs in her book Watching What We Eat.

Spinning Between the Towers

On an August morning in 1974 a mysterious tightrope walker suspended himself between the Twin Towers. That event has become the backdrop for Colum McCann's latest novel Let the Great World Spin.

Events: Colum McCann will be reading and signing books
Tuesday, June 30, at 7:00 pm
Barnes & Noble Union Square
33 East 17th Street

Colum Mc Cann will be reading and signing books
Thursday, July 2 at 7:00 pm
BookCourt
163 Court Street
Brooklyn

Erik Prince

Master of War

Suzanne Simons takes us on a first-ever inside look at Blackwater USA, the world's largest private military contractor, and takes a close look at its founder, Erik Prince. Her book Master of War: Blackwater USA’s Erik Prince and the Business of War reveals that Blackwater USA, now called Xe, is just one of Erik Prince's private security contracting businesses.

National Book Award Winners

The Leonard Lopate Show

A number of this year’s National Book Award winners have appeared on The Leonard Lopate Show. Click here to see the list!

Tributes: Jeanne-Claude

The Leonard Lopate Show

Jeanne-Claude created environmental works of art with her husband and fellow-conspirator/collaborator Christo. Together, they wrapped the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont-Neuf in Paris, and created The Gates, with billowy orange drapes, in Central Park. Jeanne-Claude just died at the age of 74. You can hear Leonard Lopate’s last interview with them both, from July 19, 1999.

Please Explain: Eco-Labels

The Leonard Lopate Show

Your broccoli, shampoo, and air conditioner might bear labels declaring them to be organic, cruelty-free, or energy efficient, but what do those labels mean and are they true? Dr. Urvashi Rangan, Project Director for Consumer Reports' GreenerChoices.org and Consumers Union’s Senior Scientist for Policy Initiatives, and Dara O'Rourke, founder and CEO of GoodGuide.com, took a look at what eco-labels indicate, how standards are set, and what they mean for consumers and manufacturers around the world.

Our 3-ingredient Challenge wins a James Beard Award

The Leonard Lopate Show

On May 3, the Lopate Show won its third James Beard Award for our 3-ingredient challenge. In August, we asked our listeners to call in and name 3 ingredients and then challenged New York chef and 3-ingredient expert Rozanne Gold to whip up a recipe! You can listen to the 3-ingredient challenge and get some inspiration for simple, delicious, and unexpected dishes.