- I learned at an early age that food is best when shared.

(guitar music) To invite my friends to cook with me is something I treasure.

Fantastico.

- [Jacques] You did better than me.

- I learned from the best.

(Jacques chuckling) - [Lidia] And to sit down, to enjoy a meal together, well, it could only be legendary.

(guitar music) "Cooking With Legends."

Lidia.

- [Jacques] And Jacques.

- Saluté.

- Saluté.

(jaunty upbeat music) - [Jacques] Oh, boy.

Here you are.

- [Lidia] Jacques.

How you doing?

- Okay.

- [Lidia] The door was open, so I just... - [Jacques] It's already open.

- It's... okay.

- So nice to see you.

(jaunty French music) Are you ready to cook?

- [Lidia] Sure.

What are you gonna cook?

- [Jacques] Fromage Fort.

Strong cheese.

Did you bring me any wine?

- (laughing) I certainly did.

- (chuckling) - [Lidia] Housewarming wine.

Some good wine.

I know you like this one.

- [Jacques] Yes, yes... Should I pour some to begin with?

- Yeah, exactly.

- Okay.

Here we go.

- Yes.

So I'm going to show you how to do maybe a bit of unusual dish, which is, uh... We call it Fromage Fort.

Strong cheese.

Which I learned from my father 80 years ago.

He used to take those leftover pieces of cheese, and he put some wine, white wine in it, and some bouillon, you know, from, from a soup.

And he'd, he let them ferment for like a week, week and a half in the cellar.

Put some garlic, put them through the food mill, and so forth.

Now we have that wonderful machine so we don't have to do that.

- [Lidia] That machine... You know, this is such a great idea.

Another great idea.

Us Italians, you know what we would do?

We would put it all in a pan, heat it up, and make it into a sauce for some sort of pasta or other.

- Right.

Exactly.

- But show me this.

- [Jacques] Here, we have a... clove of garlic.

Take the skin out of it.

- [Lidia] You want me to... - And crush it.

To remove the skin - [Lidia] Uh-huh.

Okay.

And that's...

I'm going to put them in the food processor that... - [Lidia] Right here?

Another one.

Okay.

(processor whirring) - [Jacques] That's good.

So, like that.

We don't have... big pieces of garlic.

- [Lidia] Yeah, I got it.

I got it.

- [Jacques] So I have here some Bouchon, some, uh... Mimolette.

You know, you can see.

- [Lidia] Uh-huh.

- [Jacques] The Manchego, right?

- [ Lidia] Any cheese will do, huh?

- Yes, exactly.

And you try to balance having some soft and some hard one.

- Right.

- And here, of course, you have a thing like this.

Then you start peeling the crust.

- [Lidia] Peeling, just like potatoes.

- [Jacques] And even sometime I have some mold, you know, another... - You know, mold is cheese.

- Well, it... - (chuckling) Yeah.

Cheese is made of mold, you know.

- Exactly, exactly.

- [Jacques] So look at this one here.

- [Lidia] A little bit.

- Throw the very large pieces... - Just big pieces like that?

- Yes.

That's good.

- Yeah.

What else?

- And this one, you see, we don't really have... Bouchon, don't really have to remove the skin.

It's fine.

- [Lidia] Mm-hmm.

People, you know, they see mold on cheese, they say, "Oh, it's no good."

- Yeah.

- It's not.

It's, it's good because mold actually, like, salami or whatever mold builds on it.

- [Jacques] Exactly.

- It's what you know, sorta gives it flavor.

So just cut it out.

- Yes, that's it.

- But, but it's okay.

The cheese is fine.

I'll help you with that.

How's that?

Just scrape it in?

- Yeah, that's, that... - Okay.

- I mean this is good.

- We have some American cheese.

- Uh-huh.

- [Jacques] After all, we're in America here so... - [Lidia] You see, here is a legend, and he knows his cheese is good, and let's use it.

If it's in his refrigerator... - Okay.

- [Lidia] ...that meant that you ate it, right?

- [Jacques] Yes, exactly.

(processor whirring) Start with this.

- A little vino?

- Okay.

Yeah.

You give me some wine.

- [Lidia] How much?

Tell me.

- [Jacques] So we'll put a little bit.

- [Lidia] A little bit at a time-- you tell me.

(processor whirring) - [Lidia] Nice and creamy... - [Jacques] Yeah.

- [Lidia] ...completely... and just the wine?

- Just the wine, pepper... yeah.

- [Lidia] What else do we put in here?

- [Jacques] I like thyme.

- [Lidia] Okay, let's do thyme.

- [Jacques] Yeah, sure, we put- That, the recipe... is very flexible.

In fact, you know that recipe, you will never do the same again.

You can do it, eh, 20 times in your life, it will always be different.

What's left in the refrigerator... - And, and, and it stays in the refrigerator?

- No, no, I put it in the freezer.

- In the freezer?

- Oh, yeah, that freeze very well, and when I have a party, I take it out, defrost it, we have that for... with drink.

- A little more, you think?

- I think maybe a dash more, yes.

Yes... - [Lidia] Yeah?

- [Jacques] Go ahead, huh?

Okay, good.

(closing processor) - Cheese and wine-- how can you go wrong?

- Yeah, exactly.

(Lidia laughing) And good bread.

- Good bread, that's it.

Well... cheers!

- Well... - To your Fromage... - ...Fort-- strong cheese.

- Okay-- strong cheese.

(processor whirring) - All right... that's creamy now.

Do you want to taste it?

(Lidia wiping hands) Is good?

- [Lidia] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-- it's good.

- [Jacques] Okay, so...

So, we're going to... - [Lidia] A little more?

- [Jacques] Put it, uh, yeah, a second more... and then we... - [Lidia] Okay.

- Uh, probably less.

- I'm your sous chef, you know.

- All right, good.

That's nice.

So this here... (soft guitar music) - [Lidia] And so you freeze it in little things, little ramekins like this?

- [Jacques] Yeah, yeah.

- You cover it?

- Yeah, yeah.

I cover it with a piece of aluminum foil or whatever, and it's, uh...

It doesn't change.

- [Lidia] It doesn't change, yeah?

And then when your guests come... - Yes.

- ...you pull it out.

It takes five, ten minutes, and it's ready to go.

But, you know, all of this would make a good pasta, you know?

- Oh, yes.

Yeah.

- (laughing) Yeah.

- No, you are not kidding.

I think I've, I've used it in pasta.

- There you go.

- Okay.

So we're gonna put some in there.

We're going to... do some bread.

(soft guitar music) (slicing bread) - [Lidia] Nice bread you got.

And how about if you have some blue cheese?

- Oh, yes.

Blue cheese is great.

- Yeah?

- [Jacques] But I didn't have any.

(soft music continuing) That's a bit more bread.

You can start.

Let me take a little bit of this here.

- [Lidia] You spread it like this?

- Yes.

- Would you ever toast the bread before you spread the cheese on it?

- Yeah, you could.

- [Lidia] You could do that too?

- [Jacques] Yeah...

So, you know, that should be enough to show you, and then we can do a plate with the one untoasted.

- Should I put this in the oven?

- Yes, that would be good.

- [Lidia] Under the broiler?

- [Jacques] Yeah.

Two, three minutes.

- And you'll continue.

Okay.

(soft music continuing) (oven door opening) (pan dropping on rack) - [Lidia] Okay, so we'll leave it in there for a few minutes.

Right?

- [Jacques] Right.

- [Lidia] Some foil paper ready, just like that?

- Yeah-- you want to fill that up with, uh... - Oh, you're going to fill that up?

Let-- so I'll fill it all up... - Go ahead.

- Okay.

Like this, is this enough?

- [Jacques] We have a spatula here, so... - [Lidia] I love this.

- Right there.

- I love this, you know?

Do you know which knife is what?

- [Jacques] Yeah.

(Lidia chuckling) - [Jacques] And then you cover it and put it in the freezer.

- Just like that.

- Yeah.

Let me take a look at that.

- Okay.

- [Lidia] Let's see.

(soft music continuing) Oh, nice.

You see, it bubbles?

It's, it's hot and it bubbles.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

- How beautiful it looks.

- [Jacques] Yeah-- good, yes.

So as you can see with...

I had one pound of cheese here.

See, with a little bit of leftover cheese, we got all of that for a party of 12, 15 people there.

Okay... (spreading and scraping) You have this here.

- [Lidia] Okay.

- [Jacques] There is no reason why you shouldn't use your leftover cheese.

Do that with the... - Absolutely!

Some good wine, and you're all set.

I'm gonna put it in the freezer, okay?

- Good, good.

(upbeat guitar music) - Oh, thank you.

- Take that one.

- So you give me that, I give you a little bit of this.

- Good.

That's nice.

You want to taste that one?

- Oh, I went for this one already.

- I want you to tell me which one you like the best-- toasted or not toasted.

(upbeat music continuing) - [Jacques] It different taste, this is much stronger.

- [Lidia] Mm-hmm.

Stronger, more complex.

- [Jacques] Mm-hmm.

- [Lidia] And it's good.

They're both delicious.

- [Jacques] It's much milder when it's toasted.

- [Lidia] Well, you know... you're right.

- [Jacques] So I drink to your Fromage Fort.

- I drink to your Fromage Fort.

Thank you for the lessons.

- Thank you.

- I'm sure they'll appreciate it Mmm, I'll take another piece.

Can I?

- [Jacques] (chuckling) Oh, yeah, huh... - [Lidia] Mmm.

(upbeat music continuing) - [Lidia] So, Jacques, your legendary menus... You know, I have your menus hanging in my house.

We've done... - No kidding.

Oh, yeah?

- ...we've done dinners before.

- Yes, yes.

But this is a beautiful book.

Is this your guest book?

- [Jacques] Yes, exactly.

I mean, I have... 12 books like this.

- Wow.

- 12 books.

That's going back 60 years.

So when people come to the house, we write the menu, they sign on the other side.

And many of them in my other book are just my wife and me.

Sometimes, we had a bottle of champagne, and a can of caviar and... - [Lidia] Did you?

- And we did the menu.

- How romantic.

- [Jacques] So you were at the house today, so maybe we should write it down.

- Oh, so you have like, like a blank slate for a menu?

- Yes.

(pages turning) - Oh, I like this one.

- We do this one.

Okay.

- Is, can I, can we write on this one?

- You can write on that one.

Yeah.

- [Lidia] All right.

- [Jacques] So... - [Lidia] So, should I make legendary menus?

- [Jacques] Yes... yeah, fine - Legendary menus...

Okay.

(cheerful jazzy music) - [Jacques] So now-- - [Lidia] All right.

- [Jacques] ...now we have to write ...all of the menu, wine and so forth, so... - Okay, so.

Well, the-- we already did Fromage Fort, which was delicious.

- Yes.

Okay.

- So it's your turn to write.

(jazzy music continuing) - [Jacques] My father would have been happy with that.

- [Lidia] I-- you know, we have something similar in Friuli, and it's called frico.

- Frico?

- Yeah.

And again, there's somewhat the left pieces of the cheese you grated, uh, traditionally or you bake it with potatoes.

But this frico that I do, you can make in a pan-- it becomes like a pancake.

- Oh.

- [Lidia] Frico.

Do you like that?

- Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

- [Lidia] Okay, and the salad reflects... - Yeah.

- ...my nonna.

You as a child, who was your influence?

What, what-- who made you what you are in food?

Who made you love food?

- Oh...

The war, I know.

- [Lidia] (laughing) There wasn't enough food.

- There was, there was not enough food.

So we ate everything.

- So, necessity actually shaped a lot of what you... - Yeah, of course, yeah.

- [Lidia] Me too.

You know, I was a little after you, but still... - [Jacques] Yeah.

- [Lidia] ...food was scarce where I came from.

And also the philosophy of, you know, I think when I watch you, I see, not wasting anything.

Uh, b-being seasonal.

It's so much of today, if you will.

- People should follow the season.

The food is less expensive and it's much, much better for you, you know.

- [Lidia] Right.

Let's eat them when they're in season.

- Absolutely.

- Absolutely.

Absolutely.

And so I'm going to make... in Italian.

Can I put Italian?

- Oh, that was Italian?

Oh, yeah.

(Lidia laughing) - [Jacques] That sounds good.

(upbeat guitar music) - [Lidia] So, Jacques, let's get cooking.

Legendary cooking.

- [Jacques] Yeah, that's it.

(upbeat music continuing) - [Jacques] I feel comfortable when I'm in the kitchen.

(laughing) - [Lidia] And then you know what the next best place is?

The table, with everybody.

- [Jacques] Exactly.

(upbeat music continuing) (background murmuring) - [Lidia] Frico con Insalata alla Nonna.

Jacques, we're no stranger to all of this.

We gotta get started.

Look at all those cameras.

- All of them, all those people - Ay-ay-ay.

That's true.

they call us "The Legends."

- (laughing) I don't know.

(Lidia laughing) - [Lidia] How many years are you on PBS?

- Oof.

I don't-- the first series I did on PBS was... 1982...

Yes.

- [Lidia] '82...

Okay, I'm- - In Jacksonville, Florida.

- [Lidia] You're kidding.

- First series.

- [Lidia] It's 50 years for me.

50 years in the restaurant business.

- (chuckling) Yeah, right.

(Lidia laughing) - 25 years, 26 years on public television.

Uh, and we love it when we're in the kitchen, we have a little good wine.

And I'm gonna show you how to make a frico.

- Okay.

- And it's very easy.

What I need from you is maybe-- this is Montasio cheese.

It's 100% cow's milk cheese... - [Jacques] Yeah.

- [Lidia] ...from Friuli.

- [Jacques] Oh.

- [Lidia] And medium age.

- [Jacques] Not too hard.

Yes?

- [Lidia] Not too hard-- and grate it for me.

And I'm gonna start with, with the base here.

I'm gonna put a little bit of oil.

The onions... You know, you're like me.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

- [Lidia] We kind of, grew up in a farm.

- [Jacques] Yes, well... - And, uh, cheese was always in a farm.

- [Jacques] Yep... What are you-- You cooking potato and onion there?

- [Lidia] I'm gonna cook potatoes and onion, just like when you do home fries, you know?

And, and this was done with the leftover pieces of the cheese.

- Okay.

- The ones that were too hard to eat or whatever.

They were grated-- put it in the polenta or make the frico just like this.

So let's get some of the potatoes in there.

And it's like making home fries, you know, nice and caramelized.

That's what you want.

- And what was that-- a dinner, lunch, more, or what?

- Whenever you were hungry, whenever there was nothing else to eat.

Montasio cheese is the traditional cheese.

It's a local cheese.

But you can make it-- I put a little peperoncino.

You know... up north, we use pepper, but I like peperoncino, do you- - [Jacques] Oh.

- Do you like, do you like peperoncino?

- Yeah, yeah.

Oh, yeah, sure.

- Yeah?

Well, let's... - [Jacques] And you said you could use Gruyère or whatever?

- Yeah, I think you could make... A cheese that holds a little bit but melts.

- Oh, yeah.

- And you'll see, it will hold it all together.

(peaceful guitar music) - [Lidia] Now, are you getting a little dry from talking?

- Uh, yes.

(Lidia laughing) - I'm already dry.

- You know.

You-- you're already dry, huh?

- [Jacques] Yeah.

- Okay, so I'll take the cheese and, and this is... - [Jacques] All right.

I'm gonna work with this and... Yeah, I think that's enough.

- You want some moisturizer?

- I do, absolutely.

- Okay.

I'll pour it.

- You know, so we can talk.

The words come easier.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

(wine pouring) (peaceful music continuing) - [Jacques] So, to you.

- Saluté.

- [Jacques] Saluté, yeah.

- [Lidia] Saluté.

Mmm.

(peaceful music continuing) - And?

- That's good.

- Okay, maybe you can clean some of this for me?

- [Jacques] Okay.

- [Lidia] And then, chop up them into here.

A little bit of the green.

And I'm gonna make the frico in here.

Just, like, a bottom layer of the cheese.

And I'm gonna put the... home fries, right in here, just like that.

Now, you know what's great about this dish is... that you can put anything you want in here.

Sometimes I put... shrimp to kind of, make it a little bit more fancy.

Sometimes I put an egg also, and it's great breakfast.

- Oh, yeah?

- Yeah.

And so, cheese on top.

- [Jacques] So, who was doing that at your house?

Your mother, your father, your aunt, your grandmother?

- My grandmother, everybody.

This is an old traditional recipe.

And this is the Friulian rendition of it.

And we're looking at, at the base.

- [Jacques] You want some of the scallion in there?

- Yeah, I think that would- - Some of the white?

- be good.

- [Jacques] Some of the white.

Some of the... - [Lidia] Exactly.

We'll save that for the salad.

We'll put a little bit on the salad.

- [Jacques] Oh, okay.

Good.

- Look.

How's that?

- All right.

- So I'm looking at this, and I'm looking when it kind of slides- - You're going to flip it over?

- [Lidia] Well... - [Jacques] This is a pretty good... Yeah.

- You want to try it?

- You want me flip it over?

- Of course.

Your technique.

That's... Fantastico!

Mamma mia!

And you see how it forms a nice little... - Yeah, It's beautiful.

- Isn't it?

A nice little crust.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

I'll drink to that.

- [Lidia] (laughing) Yeah.

Saluté!

I'm going to make some salad to go with it.

- [Jacques] Okay.

- [Lidia] And, you know, escarole.

- This is a beautiful escarole.

Wow.

- [Lidia] Isn't it nice?

Big one, too.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

- [Lidia] I'm going to remove the outer leaves here, the tough ones.

Grandma always used it for soups, but the center for a salad.

- Oh, yeah?

- Okay.

(slicing escarole) And I'm going to lower this... because I want it to loosen up.

(food sizzling) It's beautiful.

It's nice and crunchy.

Good to the last core.

- This I would put in the soup.

- [Lidia] Ab... (laughing) (both chuckling) Put, put the salad here.

- [Jacques] You want the scallion in there?

- [Lidia] Why not?

The scallion- - [Jacques] All right.

Here we are.

- [Lidia] The, the onions.

- [Jacques] Oh, the, the red onions?

- [Lidia] Yeah.

- [Jacques] All of it?

- [Lidia] Whatever you think is right.

And I'll put some- - [Jacques] Should be enough.

some warm beans.

The warm beans will... - [Jacques] Oh, look at that.

- Eh?

- They're... (food sizzling) - [Lidia] Why don't you dress it like a salad?

Just oil, simple oil and vinegar, what do you think?

- Okay, also pepper, oil and vinegar.

- [Lidia] Yeah.

- Okay.

(soft guitar music) - [Lidia] And I'm going to put this frico right here for us.

(soft music continuing) - Yeah, that's it.

What about the vinegar?

Right?

- Yeah, vinegar.

- Do you have oil?

- A little bit of oil.

- Yeah.

- [Lidia] Okay.

(soft music continuing) All right.

(soft music continuing) - Okay.

What about the capers and all that?

Does that goes inside?

- [Lidia] Absolutely.

Capers.

- [Jacques] Good.

(Lidia laughing) - [Jacques] Can I do that with my hand?

- That's the way I love to do it, you know.

In the kitchen, we always have our hands clean.

They're always in the water.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

- Oh, that looks good.

Just properly dress.

Let me taste it.

Mm-hmm.

Just right.

- [Jacques] Okay.

- [Lidia] Now, the mackerel.

- [Jacques] Okay.

And this could be a meal in itself.

- Yeah, no kidding.

It is a meal.

- Yeah.

(both chuckling) - [Lidia] Let me get the plates for you.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

- [Lidia] So look at this.

You can almost cut it like a pizza.

It's nice.

It's simple.

- [Jacques] Yeah, that's beautiful.

(soft music continuing) - [Lidia] Let me... put it close to you.

Okay, that's yours.

- [Jacques] Look at that.

Lidia, it looks terrific.

- Uh, you know, the restaurants, my kids run the restaurants now.

- Yes.

- But I still love to teach like you do, you know?

- [Jacques] Yes.

- [Lidia] We like to share because... - No value in the food unless it's shared.

- [Lidia] Exactly.

(bright guitar music) - [Jacques] Well, I'll toast first, and I'll toast after.

- (laughing) And in between.

- (chuckling) Yeah.

(glasses clinking) - Okay.

Saluté.

(bright music continuing) - That goes well, Lidia.

- Mmm.

- Yeah, I want to taste this particularly.

I'm very excited with that cheese.

Mmm, that's good.

- [Lidia] Simple, delicious.

You can make it for breakfast, lunch, dinner.

In there, you can put whatever you want.

- Yeah.

- You can put jamón.

- [Jacques] Oh!

- [Lidia] Mmm.

You like it?

- [Jacques] Yeah, I love it.

- [Lidia] All right.

You know, the first time I saw you with Julia on public television, that's the place that I got to meet you.

You know how many techniques I learned from you?

- I'm considered the quintessential French chef, you know, and then you open one of my book, and you have black bean soup with banana and cilantro on top.

Because my wife, born in New York, was Puerto Rican and Cuban.

Then I have a Southern fried chicken.

I'm probably the quintessential American chef.

- Absolutely.

You have the good base like I do.

I have my Italian base, and that's the base for any...

But we do... accept.

We, uh, I'm curious.

I love to travel.

I love to eat different foods.

- Right.

- And, you know, put different cultures, because... that's what America is.

It's all these different colors.

- [Jacques] Yeah, that's it.

And you know, what people don't realize is that when we did the show with Julia, we did a whole series.

And we had no recipe.

So she said, "Write down what you want to do."

So I did, like, a hundred things that I would like to do.

She did the same thing, and I think four of mine made it.

- (laughing) She was a tough lady.

- So, you know, we didn't have any recipes.

It's fun, it's like cooking with a friend.

- But you know what?

It was real, and it's real.

And I think public television can do that.

- Yes.

Yes.

Absolutely.

- [Lidia] Because, you know, it's the real communication of what people do.

So I'm very glad you like this.

- [Jacques] Yeah, I love it.

- [Lidia] Yeah?

Yeah?

- [Jacques] It's beautiful, too.

- [Lidia] Okay, mangia.

- Okay, I'll drink to you again.

- Mangiamo, again.

- Thank you.

Happy cooking.

- [Lidia] (laughing) Happy cooking.

(upbeat jazzy music) (music crescendoing and fading) (upbeat music) - [Narrator] "Cooking With Legends" brings together Lidia Bastianich and Jacques Pépin, two titans of the culinary world, to showcase their talent and celebrate their lifetimes of experience.

PBS provides you with a lifetime of experiences, too, and you can invest in even more transformative programming right now by making a contribution to your local PBS station.

Just scan the QR code or visit the onscreen website to give now.

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And with your qualifying membership, you'll be able to take advantage of an extraordinary member benefit called PBS Passport.

With PBS Passport, you'll enjoy access to an extended library with thousands of hours of programs.

There's always something new to learn-- somewhere new to go.

Legends like Lidia Bastianich and Jacques Pépin open a window into a world of culinary artistry.

They also show you how it's done so you can make magic happen in your kitchen, too.

Coming up, we'll have even more with Lidia and Jacques as they share recipes-- like a twist on clam chowder.

Only PBS has this intimate, trusted access to legends that you can welcome into your home, like Lidia and Jacques.

- You know how many years I'm in the restaurant business?

50 years.

- 50 years!

- More than 25 years on public television.

- Half a century, ay-ay-ay!

- [Narrator] We're so thankful that Lidia and Jacques have been with PBS for all these years.

And don't forget that with your qualifying membership, you can revisit "Cooking With Legends" and so much more.

So please make your investment in everything you love on PBS by scanning the QR code or going online to give to your local PBS station.

And now, let's return to "Cooking With Legends" and thank you for your support!

(upbeat guitar music) (background chattering) - [Lidia] All right, what are we doing now?

- [Jacques] Yeah, I'm ready.

- [Crew Member] Clam chowder, take one-- mark.

- [Jacques] The New England Clam Chowder.

- [Lidia] Jacques, are we ready - [Jacques] Are we on?

- Yes!

- Oh, we're on.

Oh, my God.

(Lidia laughing) - Okay, we're gonna do clam chowder.

New England clam chowder.

This is what we used to do at Howard Johnson.

So here we use... - Howard Johnson.

- ...either the large quahog.

- Yeah.

Or those, which is very large cherrystone, almost quahog, so first we have to open those.

Either you open them by hand, which is difficult... - Yes.

- Break them or, uh... yeah.

You put hot water in there, (water pouring) they come to a boil and they cook a couple of minutes and they should open.

- [Lidia] Okay.

- [Jacques] Meanwhile, I'm going to put a little bit of olive oil and some pancetta here.

- Yeah.

- Did you cut the pancetta for me?

- Of course.

- Okay, thank you.

- Yeah.

- Thank you very much.

- I see potatoes here.

Should I dice them?

- Now, the, the potato have to be diced... - Oh.

- ...also.

- [Jacques] Meanwhile, I have some leek.

I'm gonna cut the leek.

- Yeah, how long does the whole thing take?

I mean, now we see all the vegetables.

- [Jacques] Here is...

If you take an oyster, or a clam for that matter, cover it with liquid, and you boil it four or five minutes.

Then it become like a piece of rubber.

- Exactly.

- Then you have to cook it for an hour and a half to get it tender.

- Soft again.

- And that's why, basically, the clam chowder that we used to do at Howard Johnson, the clam was retorted.

That is cooked, you know, like you buy the clam in a can, it's cooked a long time.

- [Lidia] So tell me, you came from, from France?

- [Jacques] Yes.

- And where did you end up?

- Well, when I came from France, I work at the Pavillon in New York, considered... maybe the greatest restaurant in America at the time.

And it was, it was actually quite, quite nice.

That was 1959.

So I worked there in 1960, and Pierre Franey was the executive chef.

- [Lidia] All right.

- [Jacques] So here, you see, my pancetta are nice and browning.

So when I work at the Pavillon, in 1960, we all left.

Pierre Franey went to Howard Johnson, because Mr. Johnson, Mr. D. Johnson, the owner, the one who created the Howard Johnson Company, used to be a regular at the Pavillon.

He hired Pierre.

Pierre wanted me to go with him.

All right.

And now... we are putting onion.

(food sizzling) We have celery.

And a... a tablespoon of flour here.

- Yeah.

That sort of will pull it all together.

- [Jacques] Mix it a little bit.

And then here... - [Lidia] Mmm.

It smells good.

(spoon banging on pot) But this is not something... - And here we are.

- ...did you make in France?

- No.

- No.

- Not in France.

(chuckling) - So you learned this here, huh?

- [Jacques] Of course.

I told you, I'm an American chef.

I'm from Connecticut, you know.

- I know.

- Okay.

Now, two cup of chicken stock.

- Chicken stock?

- And remember, we're going to have the, a two cup of water here, from here, there.

- Right.

Right.

- Plus, the cream at the end... - Okay, let me check... - So we have enough.

- [Lidia] ...how is in here?

- That should be pretty close to... right.

As you can see, some... are open.

- [Lidia] So this is a little b open-- we, can... - So, that's it.

- We can fight with it.

- So we take it out.

- How about this?

This is a little open too?

- [Jacques] Yes.

(quiet jazzy music) - [Lidia] I'm gonna leave this here.

- Another minute or so.

- And I'm gonna move over.

Another minute or so.

- And let's see.

That's come to a boil.

- [Lidia] Let's see.

So this is hot, but... Just do them just like that, right?

- Yep.

- [Lidia] And then you can check on the other ones.

The juice.

- You see, the clam, at that point, is going to be coarsely like this.

And then put them in the food processor.

Hey, you're doing a good job here.

- You think so?

- All the hard work.

- Well, listen, (laughing)-- how many years?

(Jacques laughing) You know, you know how many years I'm in the restaurant business?

50 years.

- 50 years.

- More than 25 years on public television.

- Half a century.

Ay-ay-ay.

- [Lidia] And how about you?

What's your total... - [Jacques] Well.

- [Lidia] ...dedication to this?

- I was in apprenticeship in 1949, so, yes.

- Ah.

I was, I was a two-year-old at that time.

- And at that time when I went into apprenticeship, actually I came from my mother's restaurant.

(opening clam) - [Lidia] And so she had a restaurant in the town?

- [Jacques] Yeah, in Lyon.

Yeah.

- [Lidia] Is that where you started?

- [Jacques] Yes, working with my brother in the kitchen.

- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah, of course.

We came back from school.

You would never have said, "I'm bored."

My mother would say, "You're what?"

(chuckling) - "You're bored?"

- But there was always something to do here.

- [Lidia] Yeah, yeah.

Are the other ones finished?

- They haven't opened yet.

- They haven't opened.

Okay, we'll give it a hard time.

- [Jacques] Let's see.

I have that juice here that I'm going to add to the soup.

- [Lidia] It could have a little bit of sediment.

We have to be careful.

- Yeah, it will.

We show you the sediment.

Now, we let that rest for a minute or so.

- [Lidia] And you want to chop this a little bit more?

- [Jacques] You opened all of them now?

- [Lidia] I did.

- [Jacques] Wow, you did good there.

Now I want to chop this a little bit.

- You want them very fine or how do you want them?

- Yeah, you see, just boiling them a couple of minutes.

Now taste this.

This is tough.

(jazzy music continuing) - [Lidia] Yeah, it's a little tough, but it's sweet.

Delicious.

Mmm.

- So we have the taste here of all the chowder.

(jazzy music continuing) Put them in there.

(clams dropping) (processor whirring) - Let's see.

Let me show you.

Let me show you.

What, what do you think?

- Yeah, that's good.

- That's good?

- [Jacques] Yeah, I think... - [Lidia] Yeah, like that?

- [Jacques] ...put it in the bowl, yeah?

(jazzy music continuing) All right, and now, I have that juice here, and uh... the juice is really clear... but... - [Lidia] You see the sediment at the bottom?

Yeah, yeah?

- [Jacques] Yes.

Here I'm putting one bay leaf and a little bit of fresh thyme, yes?

- [Lidia] Yeah.

- This can go now in there.

(jazzy music continuing) I wait until the potato are cooked, then we'll add the cream, bring it to a boil, and that's it.

- I'm going to put a little bit - A little peperoncino-- - ...of that stuff.

- you're going Italian, huh?

Good for you.

- Oh, yeah.

Yeah.

- (chuckling) That's what I would do.

- All right.

Remember also that I have two cup of, uh, half-and-half.

- [Lidia] Half-and-half?

- Yes.

- [Jacques] You can also serve it just like this, without the cream.

- [Lidia] Yeah.

- You know, I had a restaurant on Fifth Avenue called La Potagerie.

- Ah, La Potagerie.

- You know, between 45, 46th Street.

- Uh-huh.

- I opened in 1970, where we serve about 1,200 people a day.

- Wow.

- And we seat 102 people.

So it was a fast turnover.

- A lot of soup?

- It was a... big bowl of soup, have different type of bread.

And I add a fork like that, through an apple into a piece of cheese.

No, through a piece of cheese, rather into an apple... - [Lidia] Wait, wait, wait.

- ...standing like this.

- Let's make La... - The thing was three-- - ...La Potagerie, like you had.

- Yeah.

- So, okay.

- And it was $3.75.

(utensils clanking) - $3.75?

- All-included.

Yeah.

(Lidia laughing) - Those were the good days, huh?

- [Jacques] Yes.

- [Lidia] So we have here some a nice piece of bread.

- [Jacques] Piece of bread, - [Lidia] Some butter.

And we have this kind of cheese A piece like that?

- [Jacques] Yes.

(soft piano music) So we just serve the thing like that and an apple.

- [Lidia] So let's see.

I can bring you a whole apple.

Oh, that's nice.

- We did it with an apple or a pear.

- Mm-hmm.

- So a different type of cheese and the bread, and the soup.

$3.75.

Tip, tax too, all included.

So... potato are about cooked now.

(spoon tapping pot) - [Lidia] Mmm.

- I'll put that in there.

(milk pouring) - [Lidia] So I'll put the... - [Jacques] This will serve eight people, I think.

- [Lidia] Eight people?

- [Jacques] Yeah, I would think.

- You're gonna recognize this.

- This is Howard Johnson.

- I know, I know.

- So you can, so you can, so you can serve.

- It's incredible.

But as I said, we used to serve a ten ounce bowl.

- [Lidia] So, so, so... - [Jacques] A big bowl of soup.

- [Lidia] This is the authentic from Howard Johnson?

- [Jacques] Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is.

- Look at this.

- Yeah.

- You know, I just came to America.

When I just came to America, which was in 1958.

So talking about 1960.

Where were you in 1960?

- Oh, I, I came in 1959.

So I came just... - [Lidia] Oh, at the same time.

But I was... 12 years old.

So, in the early '60s, we used to go to Howard Johnson.

That used to be a big treat.

- [Jacques] Oh, yes?

- Yeah.

- The clam chowder...

It was great.

And it was all over the country.

(upbeat guitar music) Okay, so this is it.

(upbeat music continuing) Yeah, I do it a little bit like that.

- [Lidia] This is really nice.

I'm gonna taste it, you know.

I'm not gonna wait for you.

- Well... (chuckling) Don't wait for me.

- [Lidia] Mmm, this is nice.

Look at all the vegetables in there.

- And the bowl like this.

Or maybe not quite as big as this one, but... - [Lidia] Mmm.

(upbeat music continuing) (dishes clattering) - [Jacques] The apple next to it.

- [Lidia] Like this?

- [Jacques] And the bread.

- [Lidia] That's a good meal.

Thank you.

- All right.

Let's see.

- This is delicious.

Really good.

(upbeat music continuing) - [Jacques] Re- very good, huh?

- [Lidia] Mm-hmm.

- Thank you for having me.

(Lidia laughing) - Thank you for this great bowl of soup.

- Thank you.

And happy cooking.

- [Lidia] But soups were always so important.

There wasn't a big meal at our house unless there was a soup first.

- [Jacques] Oh, yeah.

(upbeat music continuing) The New England Clam Chowder.

Howard Johnson.

(upbeat music concluding) Okay, so what are we going to cook next?

- [Lidia] Next, I think, you know, I'm gonna stick to my Friulian roots.

How about a little polenta?

- Oh, yes, we could, I love polenta.

- A little polenta?

Part of my childhood.

I grew up with polenta, you know?

You know, I'm thinking of being here with you.

You know, they call us legends, but why?

What led us to be legends?

Why?

Our passion for, for food.

And polenta was one of those leading for me.

And when I came here to the United States, I came here as a young girl, and I always, my food always kind of connected me, you know, I, I loved food.

I loved feeding people and sort of that kind of led me into what I love doing, is being on public television and teaching.

Did you sense that in your kind of evolution and when you got on public television?

Because then you reached a lot of people.

- Yes.

- [Lidia] Did you get a feeling of you are connecting with them?

- Uh, yes, it was very rewarding, too.

But I did not really realize exactly the, you know, the impact of it, so.

- But do you realize it now?

Do you see the big impact?

- Yeah.

- I mean, you know, you're not called a legend for nothing.

- Well... - Because you made a significant uh, uh, point in the American culinary history.

- (chuckling) Maybe.

Maybe a little bit.

- Yeah, you did, you did, you did, you did.

Absolutely.

It feels good, eh?

- So after the polenta, what are we eating?

We're finished?

- You're busy worrying about what you're gonna eat, eh?

So you love vegetables, too, I see that.

- [Jacques] Yes, yeah.

- [Lidia] So my granddaughter and I are going to make you a polenta you're going to love.

- [Jacques] I'm getting really full here.

(Lidia laughing) (background murmuring) - [Lidia] Polenta alla Friulana.

I am a polentone-- I love my polenta.

And I have somebody special that also loves polenta.

Come on in, this is my granddaughter, Julia.

Hi, Julieta.

- Hi!

Heard you needed a sous chef.

- I do.

I desperately need-- And you're gonna help me making some polenta, you know?

So put some salt.

There's just plain water there.

Put some salt.

I would say one teaspoon in there.

Okay, that's good.

Drizzle a little bit of oil in there.

Just a little bit.

Drizzle a little here for me too, okay.

Let's put two bay leaves in there.

And slowly you begin to... ...pour the polenta in there.

(speaking Italian) So you keep this in here.

- [Julia] So, I whisk when I... - [Lidia] You whisk, go ahead, go ahead, go ahead.

All right.

Okay.

- This is taking a lot of hand-eye coordination.

- That's okay.

And while she's doing that, I'm gonna start.

Lots of leeks there.

Okay.

- Should I keep mixing this?

- Yeah, slowly.

You know, you don't want to form the bubbles, there, you have to break them all down.

That's it.

Go around.

I'll put some salt in here.

Just like that.

A little peperoncino, and let's see.

I have-- I started the mushroom, but let me do some more mushrooms.

This is the oyster mushrooms.

Mushrooms are one of my favorite vegetables.

They're good for you, they're healthy.

There, let's see.

(food sizzling) Let me put all of this mushroom in here.

Just like that.

(food sizzling) Okay.

Put a little bay leaf.

(food sizzling) A little bit of rosemary.

Give it flavor.

A little chicken stock.

(pouring and sizzling) Okay.

(food sizzling) (placing cup on table) So the flavor...

The mushrooms should have plenty of flavor by the time they're finished.

Let that cook away.

Let it sweat.

Okay, so how are we doing there?

- It looks good.

- It looks good.

That's, it's coming along.

You have to go in the corners.

- [Julia] Yeah... - [Lidia] So what are your memories of polenta, you know?

- We've had it in your house.

And then I've also had it a lot when I go to Northern Italy.

- [Lidia] Well, this is a northern polenta.

You know, we come from close to Friuli, Trieste, Venice.

And the Friulani are called polentone, because we eat a lot of polenta.

The starch of choice in that area is polenta.

And when I opened my first restaurant, 1971, polenta wasn't on Italian restaurant menus.

And I says, "You know what?

I want to bring the traditional Italian cuisine, all of the regions, 20 regions, but especially the polenta from our area."

I says, "I want to bring it into the restaurant."

And you know what I used to do?

I used to make a big pot of polenta.

Now, I didn't put it on the menu because nobody would order it.

Nobody knew what polenta was.

And I would make, depends on the season, either some mushroom sauce or maybe sometimes even in the, in the winter, venison sauce.

- [Julia] Mm.

- And then I would take a little plate, a little tasting, and bring it to each table.

I put it on the side and said, "Taste it.

This is what I grew up on."

That's how I would introduce them to polenta.

You know, I did the same thing for risotto.

- I love your risotto.

- You do?

- Mm-hmm.

- Do you know how to make it?

- Mm...

I've made it at school before.

- [Lidia] Okay, so now, I'm gonna put this here.

And you're going to slowly mix this too for me.

Keep an eye on it.

It's very slow; you mix that.

- Got a lot of jobs today.

I'm starting to sweat.

(laughing) - [Lidia] Listen, you're my sous chef.

- Look.

- Two-fisted bandit!

(Lidia making stirring noises) (Julia laughing) Now we're gonna do the escarole.

Some escarole... Oil, big pot, lots of garlic.

How are my mushrooms doing?

- They look good.

- All right.

- So, this is the escarole.

You know, the outside?

You can make a salad with the inside, but the outside, the tough leaves... You wash it and you even leave it a little bit wet.

(food sizzling loudly) This is called strascinata.

And even a little bit of... of the water, salt... (sizzling intensifying) And peperoncino.

(sizzling continuing) Just like that.

And let's put this.

So can you handle the three pots of..?

- I don't know about three, but I got the two.

- [Lidia] All right.

I'm proud of you-- runs in the family, eh?

(Julia laughing) - [Lidia] So now you can bring the whole thing to the table like that, plop it on the table.

And then everybody can, sort of, help themselves.

- Easy enough.

- [Lidia] And you know, you can do this with spinach, with broccoli di rape.

Let me just flavor it.

I'm gonna throw in-- go ahead.

Just a little butter to give it some extra flavor.

A little cheese, also.

(stirring and sprinkling) Okay, you see?

You see?

It's like a volcano.

You know, you have to be careful with polenta.

- I know it has the bubbles.

- Yeah.

And it sort of perks up.

If it lands on you, it really burns.

So you see how the polenta pulls off the sides?

- Yeah.

- [Lidia] This is great.

Now I'm gonna shut it off.

You can do it with a ladle, but I think, you know... Look at this.

(cheerful jazzy music) - [Lidia] Is it all out?

- [Julia] Not from the bottom.

(jazzy music continuing) - All right.

Smells good, huh?

- It does.

Set enough.

- [Lidia] Okay.

I will remove the bay leaf and flavor it a little bit.

So just a little bit of... ...butter to give it some extra flavor and cheese-- now take the pan.

Let's set that here.

And you want to put the mushrooms on half?

Okay.

Go ahead.

Spoon the mushrooms on the half.

(jazzy music continuing) Mm, that looks good.

(jazzy music continuing) Doing a good job.

- [Julia] Thank you.

- So now when you go back to school, you can do this for your girls.

- It's true.

- Yeah?

- It would feed all six of us, for sure.

- [Lidia] So now, we have this in the center, that's it.

Let it be, wherever it may.

And let's sprinkle some cheese.

- [Julia] A lot more cheese than that.

- [Lidia] You do.

You do.

That's it, go on top over it.

There you go.

- Yes.

Is that enough?

- Well, it's up to you.

Whatever you-- - [Julia] I think it's good.

- [Lidia] I think it's fantastic.

I will get some vino.

(upbeat guitar music) (wine pouring) A little white wine, I think.

You put it right here.

Oh.

(upbeat music continuing) - [Lidia] So, do you want me to serve you?

- Sure.

- Okay, so, polenta.

(upbeat music continuing) (utensils clattering) Okay.

How about a little bit of the escarole?

- [Julia] Perfect.

- [Lidia] Okay.

Doesn't that look beautiful - Thank you.

It does.

- ...and delicious?

Okay.

A little bit for, for me.

(upbeat music continuing) Mm-hm.

You did most of the cooking, did you not?

- [Julia] (laughing) Couldn't have done it without you.

- [Lidia] Mm.

And let me know what you think about this.

(upbeat music continuing) - Mm!

- Is it good?

- [Julia] Mm-hm.

(upbeat music continuing) - [Lidia] The sweetness of the polenta, escarole is a little bitter.

The mushrooms are complex.

To be able to do this with me is the ultimate, so thank you.

And if you think this is finished, you have to come back because Jacques is coming, and we're going to make manicotti from crespelle.

- I'm very excited.

- All right.

Saluté!

(glasses clinking) - [Julia] Cheers.

(upbeat string music) - [Narrator] Lidia Bastianich and Jacques Pépin pair up in "Cooking With Legends," showcasing a lifetime of culinary knowledge.

And they're here for you to learn from thanks to your support for your local PBS station.

- [Lidia] I love to travel.

I love to eat different foods and, you know, put different cultures because that's what America is.

- [Narrator] This delicious showcase, featuring mouthwatering recipes and stories from behind the kitchen counter, was produced especially for you by you.

That's right.

The largest source of funding for your PBS station comes from you and other members of the community.

That support keeps recipes from foodie legends on the menu for you to enjoy.

Give to your local PBS station now to help keep programs like this coming your way, whether you watch on the PBS app, online or on TV.

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(whooshing sound) Coming up, Lidia shares a mouthwatering recipe for her beloved manicotti.

You're going to love it.

(whooshing sound) Now more than ever, your support is critical to keep these programs available for everyone.

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It's a vibrant and integral part of your life because of your support.

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Thank you.

Now, let's get back into the kitchen with Jacques and Lidia as we continue "Cooking With Legends."

(upbeat guitar music) (indistinct chatter) (upbeat guitar music) - [Lidia] Manicotti alla Lidia.

Jacques, this is my granddaughter, Julia.

She loves them; I know you have a granddaughter.

- Yeah, about the same age.

- They're our next legends.

- Yes.

- Correct?

- Absolutely.

- All right, so I thought, you know, I'd make something that you would be familiar, you know, French, Italian.

I'm gonna make manicotti, but we're gonna make them with crepes.

- Okay-- you mean "crespella"?

- Crespelle.

- Oh, I'm sorry, okay.

- You need a lesson or, are you okay?

- I'm fine.

- [Lidia] Okay, you go right ahead.

And, Julia, grate that cheese.

And I'm gonna make the stuffing.

So the stuffing is gonna be ricotta, provolone cheese, an egg.

Okay, well, I'll put it right in here.

You know what I do?

I always whisk the eggs.

(whisking sounds) So now the stuffing is very simple.

Ricotta.

- [Jacques] Ricotta.

- Some, some spinach, you know, chopped spinach.

Yeah.

- [Jacques] That's great.

- [Lidia] And Jacques, the crepes, that's your specialty.

- [Jacques] Okay.

All right.

And now we are putting... a little bit of melted butter.

And about-- what, about four ounces in the corner.

You spread it out so that it cover all of the... have to shake it.

- [Lidia] You like it nice and thin, right?

Like this?

- [Jacques] Yeah, those are beautiful.

But they need to have a little bit of...

So I can make the stuffing in there and roll it in.

- [Jacques] But, I mean, those are Italian ones.

I hope the French one are as good.

(chuckles) Better you wanted to say, yeah?

(both chuckle) Okay, let me put the cheese in here.

Okay, I think I have enough of that.

And mix, and whenever you're ready.

- How much of this cheese do you need?

- Oh, you keep on going-- you know, that's the provolone cheese.

That's cow's milk cheese.

- [Jacques] Yes.

-[Lidia] And it's kind of dried a little bit, but then it has a wax coating so it doesn't dry completely.

- [Jacques] Oh, I see.

- But it continues to kind of gain flavor.

Okay, so, Julia, you can throw the cheese in here and mix it, and..uh - [Jacques] You want some sauce - [Lidia] Yeah.

- Whoop.

- A little more.

And, you know, a nice, good tomato sauce, a marinara sauce.

- [Jacques] Yeah, that's how to be.

- All of it?

- All of it.

Okay-- oh, it's a lot of cheese.

- Wow.

That's a lot of cheese.

- [Lidia] That's a lot of cheese, huh?

Well, French guy, you like cheese?

- I love cheese.

- I love cheese, too.

Okay, Julia, give it a good mix.

- [Jacques] All right.

- [Lidia] You know, this is such a simple, and everybody loves it.

It's more of an Italian-American dish than it is really in Italy.

- Yeah?

- Yes.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Italian-American.

Simple, like this.

And what we're gonna do, you take a spoonful like this.

Do you do stuffed cabbage or things like that?

- Yeah, cabbage.

I love stuffed cabbage.

- [Lidia] I do, too, so it's as simple as, you know, is that you roll it up.

- [Jacques] Bring back the two side in.

- You bring the two side in.

- That's very nice.

- And we're gonna make... - You just rolled it.

- Yeah.

Now bring the side in.

Now halfway.

Bring the side in, nice.

And then you roll it some more.

- [Jacques] That's it.

- Good job.

Okay.

- Yours looks a little better than mine.

- Okay, because, you know, you just have to tighten it in.

And in cooking, something is not going, you just go at it again.

- Yep.

- That's it.

(sizzling) So how old were you when you started making crepes?

- Are you talking to your granddaughter or to me?

(laughter) - I'm talking to my grandson.

My young grandson.

How old were you when you started?

- She did a crepe, I remember during the war, my mother making crepe at that time.

We had... normally, it was mostly flour, an egg occasionally.

- [Lidia] If you had the egg.

And then if we had leftover bread, she would take a slice of bread and dip it in there to feed you.

- [Lidia] You had French toast and, uh, and uh, and crepes.

You know, this was our special treat.

We used to put either just sugar or jam.

- I remember.

- Yeah.

They still, my kids still.

Do you make it with your granddaughter?

Does she love it?

- [Jacques] Are you kidding?

With honey in it.

With different type of jam.

With... so forth.

That's what we did.

- With butter, sugar.

- Whipped cream.

And what was good about this is that you made them and we ate them hot.

Room temperature, or cold-- or reheated.

And then this is what you make Crepes Suzette, if you want to really... - Exactly.

- [Lidia] Yeah, so let's switch places.

- Oh, okay.

- I wanna, I wanna see how you roll.

You know, I'm always learning something.

Learning something from you.

- [Jacques] Oh, yeah.

(jaunty French music) - Okay.

- All right, in the corner, that's it.

So how many?

Two more?

- [Julia] Yes.

- Is this, is my technique okay?

- Your technique is incredible, amazing.

(Lidia laughs) - [Lidia] Ladies' man.

You're... (Julia laughs) You never lose an opportunity.

That's a smart man.

You know?

- Well, you know, in my family in France, I count 12 restaurants.

Twelve of them are run by women.

I was the first male to go into that business.

- Were you?

- So my... (chuckles) - So you have-- - My family in France, the women are pretty formidable woman.

I remember I was the chef to the President in France between '56, '58, and I go back from Paris to Lyon.

I go to see my aunt in the restaurant, get into the kitchen, she throw me out.

She said, "You use too much butter, get out."

(laughs) - [Lidia] Grandmas and aunts, they keep you straight.

- [Jacques] Okay, so where are you now?

- Um, I'm a senior at Georgetown - Okay, do you cook?

- Yes, I cook every single day at home.

- You, you have a kitchen?

- I do, and all my roommates cook, too.

It's really fun.

- That's what happened with my granddaughter.

They all cook, and I'm glad that they do.

- [Lidia] So your granddaughter loves to cook in school too, right?

- Oh, yeah, yeah, right.

- Ah, okay.

So you put a little bit more sauce just like that, and then top it with the grated cheese.

Julia, are you learning?

Are you gonna take something back?

- [Julia] Yes, I can make these for my roommates.

- [Jacques] There.

- [Lidia] There you go.

- And they're going to be very impressed.

- They will.

(laughs) - [Jacques] Okay.

Yeah, you could do a little bit of butter on top?

Let's do a little French blessing here.

- Okay.

All right.

- Okay.

So here we are, this is ready in a hot oven, 375.

And after about half an hour, you uncover it and let it be nice and crispy.

- That's it.

- And then we're gonna have some.

- And you serve that with what?

With a salad?

- We serve that with some red wine.

Some good red wine.

- [Jacques] That's good, too.

- [Lidia] How's that for you?

- Yeah, that's good.

Are you of age to drink wine?

- [Julia] Yes.

- [Jacques] Oh you are?

Okay.

- [Lidia] She is of age.

I'm gonna put this in the oven, and you serve the wine.

(upbeat music) - [Lidia] All right.

How does that look?

- [Jacques] Yeah, that's beauti - [Lidia] Mm.

Which one do you want?

- This one right there.

- This one.

Look at this.

- [Julia] Mm.

- That's the one I wanted.

(Julia laughs) - You can have it.

- Which one do you want, Jacques?

- Next one.

- Next one?

The next one, all right.

That's for you, Jacques.

Okay, take, take.

(upbeat guitar music) - [Jacques] And you... - You want some basil?

- Sure, we want the whole thing.

Okay so.

- [Jacques] Yeah, basil is good.

- [Lidia] That's for you, Jacques, okay.

- Is that good?

- That's beautiful.

Put it for Jacques right here.

Beautiful, mm.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

Look at that.

(gentle guitar strumming) - And?

- [Julia] Mm.

- [Jacques] Really, really good - [Lidia] You see how the crepe is nice and soft and airy and fluffy?

- [Jacques] The mixture inside, excellent.

And the tomato.

- [Julia] It's really good.

- They seem to be surprised that it's really good!

Lidia's cooking!

The legend is cooking!

We're cooking!

- [Jacques] You think your grandmother will give you the recipe?

(Julia and Lidia laugh) - I have the recipe from being here.

- [Lidia] You know, we dedicated our whole life to cooking... - [Jacques] Mm-hmm.

...to public television, to teaching out there.

But at home, it's very important, at least for me, to pass on the tradition.

You cook with your granddaughter too, huh?

- [Jacques] I do.

I do, I mean, when she was three years old, I said, we did parsley.

We go to the garden, she tastes, I said no, that's chive, that's tarragon, that's parsley.

We came back, we talk, and that establish a platform where we discuss, and then we sit down, ate the food and continued the conversation.

And, of course, the food itself was really the basic... - Connector.

...first connector for us in the family.

Same thing with my daughter, too.

- [Lidia] Tell us your feeling as a, as a granddaughter.

And my mother was alive, too, so we had four generations behind our kitchen stove.

- It was really nice-- every Saturday or Sunday, we would go to Noni's house and she would make some of the lunch.

But then we would also help her and go into her garden and get the basil and, yeah, it was really fun and really nice to have you guys so close.

- Making gnocchis, too, was nice - A lot of gnocchi.

Christmas cookies.

- [Lidia] Absolutely.

It's all about...

So keep on cooking, you keep on learning, and we keep on eating and drinking.

- Okay.

I'll drink to that, and happy cooking.

(gentle music) - [Lidia] So, menu of the legends.

- [Jacques] Yes.

- [Lidia] All right, Jacques, what brought us together was really food way back.

- Yeah, absolutely.

Yes.

- [Lidia] I admired you when I watched your shows.

Your techniques are impeccable.

Ultimately, you know, we- we- we took this, this, course of our lives where food was very meaningful.

Food brings everybody together.

Do you, do you get that feeling when you cook or when you feed people?

- Sure, I mean, you know, the beauty of it is that you cook to please, you know?

You know, a foundation that we have.

We teach people, “Everyone look the same in the eye of the stove.” And it's true, you know, at that point.

- That's your famous saying.

- Yes, food do bring people together.

- [Lidia] Absolutely.

Food has at least shaped me.

And, certainly, your life has been so fulfilled and so recognized.

- Well, thank you.

- You're a legend and out there, and I'm a little legend with you.

- Of course.

- But, but, you know, ah, ah, you are just wonderful.

And it's, as far as I'm concerned, it's food that got me there.

- Good, and I'm glad you came to my house again.

- I'm glad to be here, let's get cooking.

- [Jacques] Let's get cooking, okay.

- [Lidia] And what are you gonna do after this?

- I think we would do...

I was going to do classic crepe.

Crepes Suzette.

And I will show you how to do the batter.

See, I take a couple of tablespoon of butter here, put it in there.

By the time this is melted, I'm ready to do the crepe.

- Okay.

- So we have three-quarter of a cup... ...of flour here.

- [Lidia] Flour.

Eggs.

- [Jacques] We have two eggs.

- [Lidia] Two eggs, okay.

- [Jacques] Yeah.

- [Lidia] You can put it right in here, the shell.

- Here it is.

- Okay.

- I'm going to add a little dash of sugar here, a small dash of salt, and I have three-quarter of a cup of milk here, I put half of it, maybe not even half of it.

And the whole idea is that you see a thick batter like this, I mix it, and it smooths.

- [Lidia] Uh-huh.

- The point is that if you put all of the liquid in it, you mix it and then when you have lump, - Yeah, you get the little... - Yes.

But yeah, if you do that thick enough, then you have no lump.

- That's a good tip.

- Then you can put as much.

- Now you can put everything you want.

- As much liquid as you want.

See, this is very smooth now.

There is no... - [Lidia] Uh-huh.

- [Jacques] And I think I want it thinner than that.

So I put a bit of water.

So now, as you can see, it's very pretty liquid.

- Okay, do you want this butter in here?

- [Jacques] Yeah, go ahead, okay.

I'm starting the crepe now.

- Okay, go ahead.

- And you put the crepe about a quarter of a cup here.

And it has to go in the corner here.

And then you spread it out this way.

- [Lidia] You want it nice and thin, as thin as you can, right?

Very thin, yes.

And you will see what we call crepe dentelle.

- Crepe what?

- Dentelle.

Dentelle is a lace.

So crepe lace.

- Oh, lace.

- [Jacques] So we'll cook this about a minute and a half.

So you see, I put two tablespoon of butter in it.

- Right.

- So, theoretically, I don't have to butter the pan anymore.

I have enough butter.

- [Lidia] You have enough to keep on going.

That's a non-stick pan, right?

- [Jacques] (chuckles) Yes.

Are you kidding?

- [Lidia] In the old times, what did you have?

You had a crepe pan!

I mean, I have one of those.

Yeah, this way with a fork, grab it and turn it.

It should be a little browner than that.

Okay.

But the first one is for the dog, usually.

- For the dog?

- Yeah.

- [Lidia] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Okay.

- So we put them this way.

- [Lidia] That's one, okay.

- And now I want to show you there the important part of it that...

Okay, I have this.

Now you don't put it all over, you put it in one part here and then turn it.

Shake your pan.

- Shake it, shake it.

- Cover the whole thing.

- Shake it, shake it.

- [Jacques] When my granddaughter was small, I do that.

I put jar of raspberry preserve, apricot, some chocolate to grate on top, and they have breakfast.

- That was their breakfast.

- Yeah.

- My grandkids do the same thing We're, were in Italy, but we do the same thing.

That's everybody's favorite.

- [Jacques] That's getting to be about the right color.

- [Lidia] All right.

- [Jacques] This is the part that you want to show when you show the crepe.

So basically you flip it over again, so I can do it this way.

- [Lidia] Okay.

- [Jacques] So that when I fold it, I show that.

- [Lidia] A-ha.

- [Jacques] Let's see now.

- Let's see how this works.

- [Jacques] Yeah, so you really have to shake the pan.

- [Lidia] Mm-hm.

- [Jacques] You can see the side here.

- [Lidia] Uh-huh.

- [Jacques] You have little hole all over the place.

- [Lidia] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- And those little holes are like lace.

So that's what I call crepe dentelle.

"Lace" is "dentelle" in French.

And you should have even a little more hole.

So I need a little more water.

- [Lidia] You got it.

- [Jacques] Yeah, yeah.

Put the whole thing.

- [Lidia] All right.

- [Jacques] The way I did it before is perfectly fine, so you can adjust a little bit-- you want it a bit thinner?

- Sure, sure, sure.

- It's not like you throw it out.

- The eggs could be too big or the flour, yeah, yeah.

- [Jacques] Yeah, exactly.

- Now it's getting really... - In there.

- [Lidia] Okay, look at all the lace work there.

We used to use rosehip jam too, you know, rosehip jam?

- Okay.

- So you, you feel you're comfortable?

- [Jacques] We have enough now too.

Now if you want to do one.

Be my guest.

- You want me to?

- Yeah, if you want.

Go ahead.

- [Lidia] Oh, okay.

Let me see this, now I have the master, the legend here watching, ay-ay-ay, okay.

But you know.

- [Jacques] That's good.

That's good, you did very good there, putting it.

- [Lidia] Well... - There is absolutely nothing wrong about putting a couple of drop.

- [Lidia] Like this, if you're missing.

- [Jacques] But, you did it the right way that it's starting here.

It has to spread.

You have to let it roll itself.

- [Jacques] You did better than me.

- I learned from the best.

I made it since I was a kid, just like you.

- Oh, I'm sure.

- So we did that.

- [Jacques] And we have all many here.

Oh, my God.

They are like lace.

They're thin like lace.

They might be afraid to go in there with their hands.

Our fingers are... - [Jacques] Yeah, that's true.

That's true, you know.

- Think it's done on the inside?

- Oh, yeah, look at that.

It's all right.

It's cooked like that.

I mean, this is very, very thin, you know.

All right.

So here.

- [Lidia] Orange peel, You have all of the essential oil and most of the taste in the top of the skin.

So here... We'll press a little bit of juice.

- [Lidia] Squeeze the juice in?

- [Jacques] Yeah.

So we have probably like three, three tablespoons of juice.

All right, and now, put sugar in there, like, a tablespoon and the butter.

Maybe I do the whole thing.

(plastic lid clattering) (food processor whirring) (jaunty violin music) You have beautiful butter, as you can see here.

The liquid has been incorporated in it because of the speed and old cognac.

I mean, if you want to do it without alcohol, without flambé, it's perfectly fine.

So the mixture is in there.

Maybe two, so you see, if you done this, they are flavored.

- [Lidia] A-ha.

- [Jacques] You understand?

- [Lidia] I get it.

- [Jacques] And then this way, and then this way.

So they are flavored all over.

So cook that one minute or two.

- [Lidia] Uh-huh.

- So the way I put them in, all the side are flavored with the butter.

- [Lidia] Yeah, yeah, I see that.

And they absorbed it inside.

(uptempo guitar) (sizzling) - [Lidia] Ah!

All right.

(uptempo guitar) - [Jacques] It's...

I put the three like that.

- [Lidia] This looks nice.

- [Jacques] Yeah, we gotta taste it.

- So, a la saluté.

- A la saluté.

- A votre santé.

Another kiss.

Oh, I love these kisses.

- Thank you very much.

And now we taste the crepe.

- [Lidia] Oh, that's a big piec but here it goes.

- This is good (upbeat guitar) - [Lidia] Mm, perfect, not too sweet, just enough alcohol.

Very good.

Mm.

- Bon appetit and happy cooking.

- And I'm going to continue eating because it's delicious.

- [Jacques] Good.

- [Lidia] Mm!

- [Lidia] Jacques, here we are again in the kitchen.

- You're a legend.

- [Lidia] Yeah, you're a legend You know, we dedicated our whole TV career to public television.

- Yes, and I think it's a good thing to cook for people, to bring people to the table to share food.

It's a lot of love.

You cannot cook any differently.

- And you know what?

We reached out to a lot of people.

Public television reaches out to all America, and I love that.

- And you can learn a lot.

So don't forget to thank public television.

- Listen to the legend here.

And don't forget Cooking with the Legends!

- [Jacques] Yes.

That's what they call us.

(laughs) - [Narrator] Pull up a chair.

Pour a glass of wine.

Settle in for the stories and recipes that only legends can share.

- Lidia's cooking, the legend is cooking-- we're cooking!

(Jacques chuckling) (whooshing sound) - [Narrator] "Cooking With Legends" is what you expect when it comes to cooking specials on PBS.

And it's only available because of your support.

Your investment in your local PBS station right now helps PBS continue to share legendary stories from culinary icons like Lidia Bastianich and Jacques Pépin.

- [Lidia] I think public television is the real communication of what people do.

- [Narrator] Your donation right now is "the real communication."

It opens up a door for you to explore even more.

That's right!

When you become a qualifying member, you can enjoy an exclusive member benefit called PBS Passport with access to stream thousands of hours of PBS programming right at your fingertips.

Anytime you like.

- [Lidia] When I watch your shows your techniques are impeccable.

Food brings everybody together.

- [Jacques] We teach people "Everyone look the same in the eye of the stove."

- [Narrator] Thanks to your support, Lidia and Jacques have been able to share their stories, their love of food, and their incredible techniques and recipes for years on PBS.

PBS is their home, just like it's your home.

And these programs-- your programs-- are made for you because of your support.

Your contribution right now continues the legacy of these legends of the kitchen.

Go to the website or scan the QR code right now to give to your local PBS station.

And when you become a qualifying member, you'll enjoy access to our exclusive member benefit, PBS Passport.

PBS Passport's an expansive universe of programs providing a window to wonder, - I think it's a good thing to cook for people, to bring people to the table.

- Public television reaches out to all America.

And I love that.

- [Narrator] And Lidia, Jacques and PBS couldn't do any of it without your support.

Please give to your local PBS station now.

Thank you!

(jaunty guitar music)