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BY GEORGE DICKIE What book are you currently reading? "You know, I just finished Eric Ripert's '32 Yolks.' I wanted to (read) his biography. I just finished it." What did you have for dinner last night? "I'm (in Italy) and I went to visit a friend who's a winemaker and he's a hunter. ... He made a big kind of mound of polenta; he made a frico, which is a traditional dish around here; and then he roasted some sausages and wild boar. This is all on an open fire. That's what we had. We finished with a plum tart. Plums are in season." What is your next project? "My next project is actually my autobiography. That's why I read Eric Ripert's. I'm working on that, which should come out in 2018. But the immediate project is that I do once a year a special that we co-produce with WGBH, 'Lidia Celebrates America.' And this is American heroes. It's going to be on veterans and I interviewed some wonderful veterans." When was your last vacation, where and why? "You know where I went two months ago? Galapagos, and that was a real vacation. It was wonderful. It was wonderful because it is so genuine. And what's marvelous and kind of amazing is that these animals, they know it's their turf. They look at you and like to say, 'OK, what are you doing here?' And to see the animals so at peace with their surroundings, with themselves, it takes you back to almost the beginning of evolution." To speak with Lidia Bastianich, even over the phone, is to be inspired to cook. Indeed, the chef, author, restaurateur and host of PBS' "Lidia's Kitchen," which returns for its fourth season Saturday, Oct. 8 (check local listings), is also a teacher at heart who will casually rattle off the steps in preparing one of her recipes for anyone who asks, the goal being to get people into the kitchen and try making one themselves. "This season, we're really focused on technique," she explains, "and what we included ... is a master class. So one of the recipes has a master technique, and I take that technique and I kind of recite it for them step by step: 'In making this dish up, this is important. Choose the right rice. Have a great stock. The ratio of rice to stock takes one cup of rice to make two cups of finished risotto, and it takes about three cups of liquids to get there and about 14 minutes.' And so on down the line. You know, I kind of will recite the whole technique of what I'm going to show them." Probably the simplest technique that anyone can use to turn out a professional quality meal, Bastianich says, is searing – especially with shrimp. For this, you need a good, hot cast-iron pan – and some patience. "When you do this technique do not overcrowd the pan," she says, "because if you overcrowd the pan you get cooking and steaming and they'll release their waters and then that's finished. You want, whatever you put in that pan, to have enough space to get a crust. So if you do shrimps, do it in two or three batches. Just put them individually in in the hot pan, turn them around quickly because shrimps take two or three minutes to cook and then they're done. Scallops you can do that and so on down the line." Got that? Now get cooking. The focus is on technique in Season 4 of 'Lidia's Kitchen' Lidia Bastianich Page 8 October 3 - 9, 2016 9:30 p.m. GOLF Fiji Inter- national, Second Round. From Natadola Bay Golf & Country Club in Fiji Islands. (N) FRIDAY 3:00 p.m. GOLF Web. com Tour Championship (Final No. 4), Second Round. From the Atlantic Beach Country Club in Atlantic Beach, Fla. (N) 6:00 p.m. GOLF Cham- pions: Toshiba Classic, First Round. From the Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif. (N) 9:00 p.m. GOLF Fiji Inter- national, Third Round. From Natadola Bay Golf & Country Club in Fiji Islands. (N) SATURDAY 3:00 p.m. GOLF Web.com Tour Championship (Fi- nal No. 4), Third Round. From the Atlantic Beach Country Club in Atlantic Beach, Fla. (N) 6:00 p.m. GOLF Cham- pions: Toshiba Classic, Second Round. From the Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif. (N) 9:00 p.m. GOLF Fiji Inter- national, Final Round. From Natadola Bay Golf & Country Club in Fiji Islands. (N) SUNDAY 3:00 p.m. GOLF Web.com Tour Championship (Fi- nal No. 4), Final Round. From the Atlantic Beach Country Club in Atlantic Beach, Fla. (N) 5:00 p.m. ESPN2 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship, Final Round Highlights. From Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon, South Korea. 6:00 p.m. GOLF Cham- pions: Toshiba Classic, Final Round. From the Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif. (N) Hockey MONDAY 3:00 p.m. CSNCH NHL Preseason Hockey Chicago Blackhawks at Detroit Red Wings. From Joe Louis Arena in De- troit. Subject to Blackout TUESDAY 8:30 p.m. CSNCH NHL Preseason Hockey Detroit Red Wings at Chicago Blackhawks. From the United Center in Chicago. (N Subject to Blackout) On or Off - Site Catering All Occasions Dine under the glow of gas lanterns Breakfast and Lunch Meals also available Open Tuesday through Saturday ext. 303

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