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December 22, 2001 Lidia Bastianich: Always CookingFiled at 1:13 p.m. EST By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) -- There's always something cooking in Lidia Bastianich's kitchen. Bastianich won the 1999 James Beard Award as top chef in New York for her duties at Felidia, an elegant midtown restaurant that serves northern Italian cuisine. She is also co-owner of Frico Bar and Becco, and Lidia's restaurant in Kansas City, Mo. She is among the 26 chefs featured in ``Great Kitchens: At Home With America's Top Chefs'' (The Taunton Press, $34.95). The chefs share their secrets on how the proper kitchen can enhance the entire culinary experience. Bastianich is also featured in ``A Celebration of Women Chefs'' by Julie Stillman (Ten Speed Press, $29.95), which showcases the talents of 30 culinary masters including Joyce Goldstein of San Francisco, Johanne Killeen of Providence, R.I., and Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of Santa Monica, Calif. Several weeks each year, Bastianich uses the kitchen of her home to tape her PBS cooking show ``Lidia's Italian Table.'' Thirteen new episodes begin airing in January. ``Lidia's Italian Table,'' the companion cookbook to the TV series, was published by William Morrow. Bastianich is also co-author of ``La Cucina di Lidia'' (Doubleday, 1990), which is filled with recipes from northeastern Italy. ``It's so very gratifying that people can savor me through the restaurants, the television show and the books,'' she said. This year's James Beard Awards -- the equivalent of the food-industry Oscars -- were a double win for the Bastianich family. Babbo, co-owned by her son Joseph Bastianich and chef Mario Batali, was honored as the best new restaurant in the nation. ``There is no greater reward or affirmation than to have your children follow you and follow your passions,'' Bastianich said. The latest Zagat survey lists Babbo and Felidia as the second and third most popular Italian restaurants in Manhattan, behind Il Mulino. Both are on Zagat's list of the city's top 50 most popular restaurants; a list that includes Le Bernardin, Union Square Cafe, Four Seasons, Le Cirque 2000 and Vong. ``I know my profession and I know it well, but there is a certain amount of humbleness to it. Cooking is a wonderful art and profession, but someone who develops the vaccine for AIDS is someone special. My job is part of a good time and good experience, which makes it easier. There are people whose jobs focus on the tragedies. They deserve credit,'' the 52-year-old Bastianich said. Bastianich describes her cooking ``quest'' as an endless journey to return to the flavors of the fresh ingredients she recalls from her childhood in Istria, a region that is now part of Croatia. She moved to the United States in 1958. When she opened her first restaurant in New York in 1971, her culinary training consisted primarily of doing odd jobs in restaurants while she was in high school. Signature dishes at Felidia, which Bastianich opened in 1981, include an octopus, potato and red onion salad; homemade stuffed pastas; and a diamond-shaped pasta with a light seafood and tomato sauce. Zagat's reviewers praise the restaurant for its ``refined'' regional cooking and ``divine'' wine list. ``I've developed a trust with my customers. People will let me serve them brains because they know I've taken the time with it and this is not a whim; it's good food,'' she said. But what she enjoys most is preparing food for the people she loves. ``I always do the cooking,'' said Bastianich as she grilled vegetables in the kitchen of her Tudor-style home, located in the affluent Douglaston area of Queens. ``But I'm a good delegator and I'll get everyone involved. Even the little ones.'' Douglaston's greenery, the view of Long Island Sound and her herb garden remind Bastianich of life's simple pleasures, which can easily be forgotten in the frantic pace of Manhattan, she said. It is not uncommon for 15 or so members of her extended family to drop by for lunch. ``They don't have to be invited,'' she said. ``There's always some pasta or sauce I can make.'' |
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