My Greek Table with Diane Kochilas

On Mykonos, Diane discovers the quiet life and food of its local farmers, in contrast to the reputation as a dazzling party island. She tastes onion pie, delicious cured pork, and one of the oldest cheeses in the world, kopanisti, still made on the island. In the kitchen, she makes a garlicky local pasta recipe, and a traditional Greek island fish soup.

The Athenian Riviera: Gorgeous cafes, bustling nightlife, yachting and water sports, just 20 minutes south of the Greek capital, Athens. Diane visits a fish market where the catch is right off the boat, sails the coast, and returns to her kitchen to create three delicious, contemporary Greek recipes, inspired by the cosmopolitan bustle and fun-loving spirit of the Athenian coast.

Tinos: Ancient Marble, Timeless Flavors: Diane visits a famous local marble sculptor en route to visit an old friend and great cook, where she learns the secrets of pinched sweet cheese cakes, ancient sesame-honey confections and more. Back in her own kitchen, she creates a luscious Tinos-style artichoke bread pudding and red mullet in caper sauce, both Tinos traditional specialties.

The Navarino Challenge: Diane and friend and ultramarathoner, Dean Karnazes, meet up for a run. He helps Diane hone her technique, sharing healthy eating tips. Together they make a simple Greek salad with local ingredients and enjoy perfect Mediterranean living. Back in her kitchen, Diane cooks up a very healthy plant-forward Messinian meal, with lots of olive oil, beans and greens.

Tasty Teardrops And Tomatoes: Chios: Diane explores everything from beguiling mastiha, to the local pasta to unique tomatoes, dangling like giant rubies against the renowned geometric patterns on medieval houses of Pyrgi. The flavors of historic Chios inspire her to cook up a succulent chicken and quince dish and an easy traditional black eyed pea salad with Mastiha vinaigrette.

Naxos: Meat & Potatoes Like You Never Had'em: Naxos is famed for the quality of its meats, its array of cow's milk and sheep-and-goats' milk cheeses and for its potatoes. Diane heads from the shore straight to a remote mountain hideaway with Alexis in tow, where two local cooks await them with a feast of stuffed lamb, potatoes, and a unique skillet pumpkin-onion pie.

A Meal In Messinia near the historic Bay of Navarino, blanketed by olive, citrus trees and home to historical culinary artifacts unearthed in prehistoric clay tablets at Pylos, Diane cooks with two village ladies, making a local pork and fig dish, and olive-oil fried bread. Inspired by the cornucopia of olive oil, oranges and other local delicacies, she cooks up a Messinian meal.

Evia - An Island Hiding In Plain Sight - the second-largest Greek island and an hour from Athens, Diane heads out in search of mushrooms with a local mushroom forager and cultivator. They cook a favorite local recipe "kritharoto," mushrooms with orzo. Diane makes three delectable dishes with mushrooms, wine and local ingrediants, inspired by the flavors of this nearby "secret" land.

Diane explores the rich, cuisine of Corfu, a mixture of Greek, Italian, French and others. A local cook makes a Venetian soffrito, and orange salad. In the market: Corfu's famous kumquats, ouzo-infused figs, local fish. Diane cooks up mixed braised greens with feta, an Italian fish stew called bourtheto and Venetian pastitsio, reworked for the modern cook.

To embrace the cosmopolitan aura of this island, Diane visits Alkis Downward, who created a sustainable agriculture project on one of Greece's most touristed Aegean islands. Discover the food of Paros and its local recipes: rabbit, skate salad and air-dried mackerel. Diane prepares a Greek island meal that will make you want to sail straight to the Aegean.

In Chios, a local ritual: the making of Chian firewater, Souma, distilled from fermented figs. In this foray through Chios's traditions, Diane discovers delicious desserts, all part of the table for this feast. Chios is for food lovers, and Diane returns to her kitchen for some great island-inspired dishes. Eggplant pilaf and an aromatic meat-filled omelet are on the menu.

Diane visits Lefkada, where she discovers Greece's tastiest, tenderest lentils, rosewater vinegar, and the art of local embroidery. A local cook imparts the secrets of the local lemony cod stew. Diane succumbs to the siren's call of flavors and history known as the Ionian Islands and prepares a bevy of dishes from several of these lush, delicious lands off Greece's western coast.

Diane introduces us to some of the islands' customs, landscapes and culinary delights: wine-soaked cheeses, grape leaves stuffed with everything, pasta with caramelized onions and a tart fermented cheese, sparkling wines, cumin-scented rusks and tiny, crunchy shrimp. These delectable recipes will have us all wanting to cook with the flavors of Dodecanese for dinner.