Jason Colucci rings in 2012 with a lively episode of The Morning After. First he sits down and chats with Daniel Holzman and Michael Chernow, the guys behind everybody's favorite late night restaurant chain in New York, The Meatball Shop. Hear what challenges they are faced with running three locations and why they chose meatballs as their main focus. Also hear from sommelier Michael Conway of Forgione. Later on the show, singer/songwriter Idgy Dean performs live! This episode was sponsored by Whole Foods Market

"You can't be three places at once. If you want to have three successful restaurants you better trust somebody else."

--Daniel Holzman of The Meatball Shop on The Morning After

"Why meatballs? Why not? They're delicious and everybody loves them."

--Michael Chernow of The Meatball Shop on The Morning After

This week on Let's Eat In, Cathy Erway is joined by Michael J Cirino of A Razor A Shiny Knife and Mike Lee of Studio Feast supper club. They talk about "NYC Dining Car", the recent 6-course mobile gourmet meal served on the L train in New York City. Learn how they pulled off this haute cuisine performance piece and how reactions have been surprisingly overwhelming. Find out more about collaborative cooking and supper clubs in NY and how dinner parties have been transformed in this day and age. This episode was sponsored by Fairway Market

Italian food is every food. This week on The Main Course, Patrick Martins is joined in the studio by Tomas Curi, chef at Corsino in The West Village. Learn why Tomas decided to go into food and hospitality, and hear what chefs instilled him with kitchen skills and ideals. Patrick and Tomas chat about home cooking in New York City, and why Tomas' hometown of Houston, Texas is the epitome of the American melting pot. Tomas talks about his time learning to cook in Italy, and why Italian food is so universal. Why is eating horse an acceptable practice in Italy? Hear some of the parallels between cooking and jazz! Later, Patrick calls up Allan Benton to talk about the history of American curing. Find out why Allan began using quality pork for his bacon and hams instead of feedlot animals. This episode has been sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons.

"Nothing can prepare your for cooking in a restaurant other than cooking in a restaurant." [7:50]

"There's a way to get every flavor profile with what Saxelby has, so why not (use American cheeses)?" [23:45]

"Jazz is kind of like food; you have to start with basics. You need to know your scales, but from there, you can open it up." [29:10]

-- Tomas Curi on The Main Course