Lidia Celebrates America

At Ironbound Farm in Asbury Township, New Jersey, Head Chef, Gunnar Bentley, shows Lidia how to cook mushrooms as well as chicken on what they call the “mother fire,” an incredible 30-foot-tall outdoor grill. Opened as a cidery only a few years ago, the Farm has a big mission: training members of chronically underemployed populations with valuable farming skills to bring back to their communities.

In Madisonville, Tennessee, Lidia catches up with Allan Benton, of Benton’s Smoky Mountain Country Hams, who has spent 45 years mastering the art of curing meat and making traditional country ham, slow-smoked bacon and sausage using century-old techniques rather than modern technology—customs that spring from his Appalachian upbringing.

In Napa Valley, California, Lidia meets Ramiro Herrera, one of only a few dozen master coopers in the world. Herrera, of Caldwell Vineyard shows Lidia how he assembles American oak into barrels by hand, and also demonstrates the complex art of toasting a barrel.

In Wasau, WI, Lidia joins Lee Lor, to prepare Pork and Mustard Greens, a traditional dish of the Hmong community, refugees from Southeast Asia. Lidia Bastianich's latest special A Heartland Holiday Feast, shows her traveling cross-country, and meeting Americans with diverse heritages and culinary traditions.

In Bethlehem, PA, Bonnie Boyer and her grandson Adam show Lidia how to make shoofly pie. Bonnie is locally renowned for her Pennsylvania Dutch recipes; she has the reputation for making some of the best shoofly pie in the area. In her latest special A Heartland Holiday Feast, Lidia Bastianich travels cross-country meeting Americans with diverse heritages and culinary traditions.

In rural Pennsylvania, Lidia hosts a celebratory meal for the family and friends she connected with on her journey through America's heartland. Here she toasts her friends, and a guest sings a beautiful operatic song. In her latest special A Heartland Holiday Feast, Lidia Bastianich travels cross-country meeting Americans with diverse heritages and culinary traditions.

At Milpa’s Kitchen, in Denton, TX, Lidia connects with owner Jorge Landeros and his cousin Cecilia. Together they make some of the legendary tamales that Milpa's is known for. In her latest special A Heartland Holiday Feast, Lidia Bastianich travels cross-country meeting Americans with diverse heritages and culinary traditions.

On the frozen Leech lake in Walker, MN, Lidia and her grandson Miles meet Jason Rylander, an expert eelpout fisherman. He helps them catch the elusive fish, and because it's an eelpout fishing tradition they each give the fish a kiss! In her latest special A Heartland Holiday Feast, Lidia Bastianich travels cross-country meeting Americans with diverse heritages and culinary traditions.

As part of her latest special A Heartland Holiday Feast, Lidia Bastianich travels to Lawton, OK, and learns the history of the Buffalo soldiers, and their role in the 1800s, making the West safe for settlement. Lidia and Wallace, a soldier who works to keep the history of the Buffalo Soldiers alive, share cornbread, some dumplings, baked beans, and coffee, cooking everything over an open fire.

In rural Pennsylvania, Lidia hosts a celebratory meal for the family and friends she connected with on her journey through America's heartland. Here she makes an Italian Risotto for her guests. A Heartland Holiday Feast is Lidia Bastianich's latest special, in which she travels cross-country meeting Americans with diverse heritages and culinary traditions.

While in Denton, Texas, Lidia spends time with Kate Swan, age 12, who raises pigs and shows them at the State Fair. Kate show's Lidia how to wash brush, and feed the pigs, getting them ready for showing. In her latest special A Heartland Holiday Feast, Lidia Bastianich travels cross-country meeting Americans with diverse heritages and culinary traditions.

Watch the preview for Lidia Celebrates America: A Heartland Holiday Feast. In her latest documentary special A Heartland Holiday Feast, Lidia Bastianich takes viewers on a cross-country journey. She explores how Americans representing diverse heritages are both preserving their own culinary traditions and transforming local cuisine.