Michelle

Moroccan Harira Makes Merguez Meatballs Mandatory

February 3, 2014 by Michelle

We really enjoyed this chickpea- and lentil-laden North African soup, whose “sophistication” (per Daniel Boulud) can be found in its “haunting taste and rich textures.” We were also happy to find an alternative way to use merguez beyond grilling the sausage and stuffing it into some sort of bread. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) Boulud’s version of harira uses merguez mini-meatballs, which not only gave us a deliciously different way to use them but also gave Steve a frisson […]

Categories: Beans, Cooking, Food, Lamb, Meatballs, Morocco, Recipes, Soups & Stews

Oxtail Ragout with Olives (and additional cooking time)

January 17, 2014 by Michelle

Gourmandistan is a big supporter of grass-fed beef, so much we sometimes wave at the cows grazing the fields of nearby Foxhollow Farm, knowing we’ll likely see some of them on our dinner plates one day. All that ruminating and roaming keeps “our” cows in shape—something we’ve learned to adjust for in cooking dishes like this delicious Oxtail Ragout with Olives. We debone the tails before serving, as it both makes the dish easier to enjoy and spares Michelle the […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Meats, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Restaurants, Soups & Stews

Lamb pilaf parlays leftovers into more leftovers.

December 13, 2013 by Michelle

We knew our final leg of local lamb was going to be like the rest of the animal—stringy and lean. We ended up liking it better as leftovers, then even more leftovers. For the first round we cooked it slowly and wine-fully, following a traditional French braising method. The resulting meat was pleasant-tasting and tender, but we couldn’t finish it. We discussed hashing the remainder, or perhaps making Scotch broth, but we felt the urge for something different. Perusing one […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Grains, Lamb, Meats, Recipes, Rice

Have a Hot Brown (and perhaps visit Hereford).

September 19, 2013 by Michelle

Hello, readers! We’re actually not near Louisville this month, as we’ve travelled to England for a vacation. While we’re away, we’re hoping a few of our friends will be guest bloggers as promised (hint, hint, hint!) and maybe we’ll even cook something and photograph it here before darkness falls (which hasn’t happened yet). But for now, in case you missed it, we thought you might enjoy a post we did about Louisville for Raymund at Ang Sarap a while back. […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Sandwiches

Saying “Bon Voyage” with Bollito

April 30, 2013 by Michelle

Katie from Katie At The Kitchen Door is a Boston-based blog friend who posts gorgeous photographs, writes insightful cookbook reviews and brims with youthful enthusiasm. She asked us to help out with a guest post while she is on vacation in Italy, hinting that she would like something Italian-themed. We decided to honor one of the only things we enjoyed about Florence, a bollito sandwich. Link here to Katie’s site for the recipe, as well as a tale of our miserable trip to […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Italy, Recipes, Restaurants, Sandwiches

Vacation and verse.

September 19, 2012 by Michelle

Gourmandistan has temporarily relocated to Normandy, and we are taking a brief break from food blogging while we enjoy the fruits (mostly apples, if you’re curious) of a French vacation. Once again, we’ve given our good friend and Michelle’s college chum, Susan Thomsen, the solemn duty of maintaining our presence on the World Wide Web. Since 2005, Susan has written about children’s books at her delightful blog, Chicken Spaghetti, which she named after a favorite Southern casserole. (She’s originally from […]

Categories: Food

In France, In a contest, Incensed at the Internet

September 3, 2012 by Michelle

We’re back in France, and we’re very happy about it. We’re also happy to be nominated for the Country Living Magazine “Best Food Blog.” We’re not so happy about our current Internet situation, where we’re limited to an extremely expensive and incredibly slow 3G connection. (Both of us are having AOL International flashbacks, which are not pleasant.) So while we urge you to go to CountryLiving.com and vote for our blog (every day for the next week or two please!), […]

Categories: Food, Fruit Desserts, Strawberries

Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Carbon Copy

February 17, 2012 by Michelle

We could say we shared ideas with Alice Medrich at one of her famed Bay Area Cocolat stores back in the Seventies or Eighties. We would be lying. We could say we “tweaked” this recipe for Apricot Lemon Bars from Medrich’s latest cookbook, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-In-Your-Mouth Cookies. We could tell you how our tweak made it so much better. Again, this would be an untruth. We did substitute walnuts for hazelnuts—only because, while Steve usually has enough nuts […]

Categories: Apricots, Cookies, Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Lemon, Recipes, Vegetarian

The agony and the apricot-y

December 10, 2011 by Michelle

Once upon a time, when much younger and much more energetic, Michelle made cookies to share with friends and family for the holidays. Of course, Michelle being who she is, these cookies were very, very good—but also took up very, very much of her time. Within a few years she was spending virtually the entire month between Thanksgiving and Christmas obsessively thinking about cookies, making cookies, packaging cookies and distributing cookies to a growing number of people, constantly trying to […]

Categories: Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, Cooking, Food, Jams & Preserves, Nuts, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Vegetarian