My Greek Table with Diane Kochilas

Diane discovers the history of her historic neighborhood in the heart of central Athens with the city's most renowned urban chronicler, and cooks up a delicious Spiced Roasted Chicken with Toasted Orzo Pilaf, Kale Caesar with Greek yogurt and a Crispy Phyllo Ice Cream Sundae with Honey, Nuts and Halva

Diane explores the fast-growing vegan trends in Athens, honing in on the transformation of Greek classics like moussaka rendered vegan! She invites the country's best-known vegan chef into her kitchen. The results are delightful: Vegan Moussaka, Vegan Galaktoboureko, even a Vegan Yiouvarlakia, a Rice-Meatball Soup. Hint: mushrooms and avocados are involved.

Diane and chef Carolina Doriti explore the street food scene in Athens, tasting their way through vegan treats, savory hand-held pies, overflowing sandwiches and hand-made gelato. Inspired, Diane creates some homemade street food: a Gyro-Stuffed Baked Bread Loaf, a Warm Green Bean Salad with Chopped Onion and Hazelnuts, and a Healthy Smoothie Bowl with Greek Yogurt.

No other city evokes the rich and complex history of Greek cuisine better than Thessaloniki, Greece's de facto culinary capital. Diane learns the secrets of bougatsa, an airy, creamy phyllo pastry, and boards a mussel boat just off the coast. In her kitchen she cooks up Feta-Stuffed Sweet Red Peppers and Mussel Pilaf.

Diane visits the home of 90-year-old Irini Pournara and her daughter Margarita, a journalist for the city's most respected daily paper. Eirini makes Athinaiki Mayioneza (poached fish and vegetables with homemade mayonnaise), and Diane cooks up A la Polita, a sophisticated artichoke dish, and a Meatloaf Wrapped in Grape Leaves.

Ioannina is a crossroads of the meat-and-cheese-centric cooking of the Pindus mountains as well as the culinary gifts of a lake in the northwestern corner of Greece. Diane focuses on this quaint old city's culinary and cultural lore: from a unique local version of baklava to hearty Clay-Baked Lamb to a Feta-Cheese Skillet Pie to a rare Clay-Tile-Baked Eel.

Diane visits a daughter of a Holocaust survivor for a tour of Thessaloniki's Jewish past and cook up Sephardic recipes, including Huevos Haminados (slow boiled spiced eggs) and Merenza Assada (grilled eggplant with meatballs in tomato sauce). Diane learns about Keftikas de Nogada (meatballs in walnut sauce) and at home, makes Chicken with Prunes.

With Athens as a backdrop, Diane explores the foods that so many of us have in common regardless of where we are from. Can soba noodles be grecophied? Can a classic spanakopita be a filling for an American baked potato? Diane answers these questions and ventures beyond tradition into the global world, embracing new ingredients, and christens new recipes.

Densely forested mountains, stone-cobbled villages, sheep, and greenery are the stuff of Epirus's mountainous terrain. Diane visits a traditional shepherding family and makes a feta cheese pie baked the way it's been done for centuries: over embers. At home, Diane makes two of her own pies: a Pleated, Buttery Feta Cheese Pie and a Chicken-Phyllo Pie, both inspired by this region.

Greece is a cornucopia of age-old natural superfoods. Diane invites a well-known dietician and together they prepare a healthy meal brimming with Greek superfoods including a Spiced Carrot Soup Three Ways, a Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Dried Figs, Pomegranate, EVOO and Herbs; and a dessert of wheat kernels, Greek honey, nuts, and dried fruits called Varvara.

Diane prepares a dinner party meal for a handful of her closest friends. Diane provides helpful tips to alleviate the stress that comes with planning a dinner party and provides easy recipes that are healthy and delicious. On the menu: Char-Broiled Cabbage "Steaks" with Pomegranate Seeds and Lemon Zest, Whole Baked Fish with Leeks, and Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta

Diane and Chef Lefteris Lazarou, often called the father of modern Greek cuisine, explore the fish market and Diane gets a few lessons on how to choose the best seafood. At his restaurant in Piraeus, Chef prepares a Pan-Seared Grouper and Whole Squid with Spanakopita Puree. Diane, inspired by Chef, creates seafood-stuffed cabbage rolls in her home.

Diane's artist daughter, Kyveli, invites a few gallerists and young artists for dinner in her studio in Exarcheia, a fascinating Athens neighborhood, and Diane cooks up the perfect meal to inspire their insightful conversation. On the menu: Braised Ouzo-Orange Octopus, Zucchini-Herb Phyllo Pie, and a Giant Bean Greek Salad.