Michelle

Potato and egg salad pleasantly pinpricks plussed-up farm share

July 12, 2019 by Michelle

Before they created Gourmandistan, Michelle and Steve begat a blog called “Farm Share Squared,” in which they attempted to chronicle the travails of two people who somewhat unadvisedly signed up for two separate farm shares. The early, iWeb-based effort was a struggle on several levels (Michelle is so happy that the horrible photos were lost forever when Apple jettisoned the platform), not the least of which was what to do with all the produce. Now, simply because of Steve’s fanciful […]

Categories: Cooking, Eggs, Food, Independence Day, Potatoes, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Putting effort into pork cracklings pays off for A. Wong siu mai

February 27, 2019 by Michelle

Our recent trip to London raised our expectations for dim sum, and definitely reinforced our desire to explore more of the higher ends of Chinese dining. At Yauatcha Soho, where we enjoyed both lunch and dinner dim sum, we were introduced to venison puffs, lobster dumplings with caviar and cheung fun with crunchy tofu skin. We enjoyed the restaurant’s aquarium-bordered, sparkly-lit subterranean dining area, with its hip music and hipper waiters. However A. Wong, an equally-Michelin-starred but less bedazzled establishment, […]

Categories: China, Cooking, Dim sum, Food, Pork, Recipes, Restaurants, Shrimp, Vacation

Cardamom apricot oatmeal cookies delightfully dispose of white chocolate

December 5, 2018 by Michelle

Many delightful things lie in wait within Gourmandistan’s various freezers, fridges, pantries and cabinets. Most of them shuttle in and out, and are replaced frequently. But some things seem to stay, long past the time we remember why we bought them. Miniature white chocolate chips were one such ingredient—but we finally found a great way to get rid of them. Michelle doesn’t remember every detail of her decision to bring white chocolate into our home. While the substance does have […]

Categories: Apricots, Baking, Cookies, Desserts & Sweets, Old cookbooks, Recipes

Not Derby-Pie® ice cream notably improves on the inspiration

May 3, 2018 by Michelle

We have amply described in a previous post why we’re unable to call this dish Derby-Pie® Ice Cream (and why we always include the hyphen and the “®”). But as it is once again time for “the fastest two minutes in sports,” we were inspired to imbue the flavors of this Derby confection into ice cream. Rule Number One was simple: do not use Derby-Pie®. Not that we’re dismissing the Kerns’ creativity—after all, they were quite helpful when we wrote […]

Categories: Chocolate, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Ice cream, Kentucky Derby, Nuts, Recipes

Combining caramelization with a bit more crunch creates a quite nice apple crisp

November 2, 2017 by Michelle

In Gourmandistan it is once again the season for apples (or as Michelle likes to say, “It’s decorative gourd season, motherfuckers“). Steve has begun his tradition of hauling home about as many GoldRushes (along with Stayman Winesaps and the end of the Paula Reds) as he can carry, while Michelle continues her habit of figuring out better things to do with apples than simply eat them out of hand. Steve, who likes snacking on apples, would like to say that’s at least […]

Categories: Apples, Baking, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Fruit, Fruit Desserts, Recipes

Sort of celebrating American independence with Southern fried chicken

July 3, 2017 by Michelle

It’s once again time for America’s 4th of July holiday, which this year finds Gourmandistan (like many U.S. citizens) wondering what the hell is going on with the country. After years of supporting the idea of “letting your freak flag fly,” watching this idea played out by our current head of state is somewhat discomfiting. Instead of celebrating the day we blew everything up, perhaps Americans should make a bigger deal out of September 17, honoring the day when we […]

Categories: Chicken, Cooking, Food, Independence Day, Recipes, Southern Food

Crunchy, funky pasta with charred Brussels sprouts and cauliflower

January 25, 2017 by Michelle

We found this recipe through Food & Wine Magazine, where they credit Philadelphia chef Marc Vetri with the idea of charring cauliflower and Brussels sprouts along with anchovies, garlic, onion and rosemary. We first tried this combination the Chef Vetri way, tossed with thick strands of bucatini pasta. We liked the hearty zing of anchovy and crushed pepper, but didn’t think the bucatini (even made by Steve on his new pasta press!) was a benefit, and actually buried the nicely charred cauliflower and sprouts. We […]

Categories: Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, Food, Pasta, Recipes

Baked rice with egg crust beats paella, at least in Gourmandistan

January 17, 2017 by Michelle

We don’t know if arroz con costra is viewed as superior to paella in Spain, as Gourmandistan’s travels to that country have been mostly limited to sojourns in Basque country where we stuffed ourselves silly on pintxos and one brief foray into Catalonia. This dish, which is basically rice, meat and broth baked and served under an egg crust, may be from Valencia, which Claudia Roden (who we got the idea from) credits for its creation. Or it may be from Murcia, a neighboring region […]

Categories: Chicken, Cooking, Eggs, Food, Pork, Recipes, Rice, Spain

Pepita cake with chocolate-espresso glaze puts the Southwest in perspective

October 8, 2016 by Michelle

Gourmandistan has returned from a trip to the American West with photographs, a somewhat-reduced fear of heights and a strong urge to enjoy food made with our own hands. Thanks to the generosity of one of Michelle’s law partners, we gained the opportunity for a free stay in Sedona, Arizona, which we turned into a trip around the Four Corners region of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. While both had been to various states west of the Rocky Mountains, neither Steve […]

Categories: Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Recipes, Restaurants, Vacation