Steve

Gluten it be nice

April 20, 2012 by Steve

Gourmandistanis are generally a tolerant lot, especially when it comes to food. (Fools, on the other hand, we struggle to abide.) While we sympathize with those who must avoid shellfish, peanuts, wheat or meat for religious or health reasons, our little world is blissfully free of dietary laws—though Steve must occasionally be reminded that “no kidneys, no livers” is a strong preference, not an actual law. That gives us license to explore cuisines, cultures and creative ways of going meatless, […]

Categories: China, Cooking, Food, Nuts, Recipes, Seitan, Vegetarian

Piña colada in pie form

April 16, 2012 by Steve

Gourmandistanis are not really fond of either piña coladas or getting caught in the rain. (We’re also really not that fond of the late 1970s, a period we both endured when this horrible song and its dismal disco brethren were about the only things available on local radio.) But we do rather like pie, and this incredibly easy coconut-pineapple confection from François Payard is indeed a tasty piece of tart. We made one recently to use up some more of our […]

Categories: Coconut, Cooking, Food, Fruit Desserts, Pies & Tarts, Pineapple, Recipes, Vegetarian

Overdo your Easter Eggs with Oeufs aux Champignons

April 8, 2012 by Steve

You may, given the season, happen to have several hard-boiled eggs literally lying around your house. Or, should you not be bunny-inclined, you may simply be in the mood for a very rich, creamy, mushroomy and bacony egg dish. This one from the Junior League of New Orleans’ 1972 Plantation Cookbook has been on holiday tables in Michelle’s family for decades. We modernized it a bit this time, using less bacon and cheese and more interesting mushrooms. Still, Oeufs aux […]

Categories: Cooking, Easter, Eggs, Food, Mushrooms, Recipes

Morris and the matzo brei

April 4, 2012 by Steve

Steve didn’t get a lot of food traditions from his father. Morris, a somewhat joyless eater who demanded his beef be “burnt to a crisp,” snacked on pickled herring and hated cheese, had mostly wandered away from the Jewish traditions of his Lower East Side upbringing. His kashrut contained exceptions for bacon and Virginia ham, though he avoided shellfish (calling lobster, clams and scallops “bugs that eat sewage”). A widower hosting his Louisville-residing son in various New York apartments during summers and holidays, […]

Categories: Cooking, Crackers, Eggs, Family, Food, Passover, Recipes, Vegetarian

Lady and the ramp

March 27, 2012 by Steve

We have been almost desperately waiting for local greens, especially with this spring’s too-warm start. Last Saturday, as Steve was off wallowing in the depths of March Madness, Michelle spied some ramps at our local farm store. As Steve returned later that afternoon, gluing his eyes back to televised basketball, Michelle busied herself finding a good way to celebrate the arrival of these delicate, oniony sprigs. What are ramps, you might ask? Let’s let some nice horticulturists explain: Ramps, (Allium tricoccum or Allium tricoccum var. burdickii, […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Muffins & quick breads, Ramps, Recipes, Soups & Stews

A somewhat painful endorsement of canned fruit (pear, ginger & walnut muffins)

March 21, 2012 by Steve

Steve has given up on fresh pears and their fickle ripening. The stage between crisp-and-tasteless and mushy-and-black is infinitesimal, and always happens when he isn’t around to enjoy it. While fresh pears have been declared fructus non grata in Gourmandistan, Michelle recently snuck in some canned pears under the guise of “muffin-making supplies.” (Usually vigilant as to the house fruit stores, Steve may have been distracted by the unearthing of a cache of last season’s blueberries in the freezer.) Michelle […]

Categories: Breakfast, Cooking, Food, Muffins & quick breads, Pears, Recipes, Vegetarian

Oatcakes and the origin of species

March 15, 2012 by Steve

St. Patrick’s Day is upon us, which means some small part of Michelle’s DNA demands recognition. Exactly which part is unclear, since her Kentucky lineage includes all sorts of pale folk from various areas of both Ierne and Albion who spent the past few centuries emigrating, intermixing and occasionally dallying with Native Americans for an extra bit of “flava.” Nonetheless, like many Americans, Michelle feels obligated to act Irish in mid-March—even though she disdains whiskey, seldom fights and is mostly […]

Categories: Appetizers, Cooking, Crackers, Family, Food, Grains, Ireland, Recipes, St. Patrick's Day, Vegetarian

Thai veg curry and the vagaries of culling

March 12, 2012 by Steve

As a hedge against hoarding, Michelle’s cookbook space in Gourmandistan has been limited to specific spaces, mostly in the kitchen, though there have been slight containment breaches reported along a few isolated shelves elsewhere in the house and frequently around Michelle’s side of the bed. This means that every so often Michelle must purge her beloved panoply of chefs, cuisines and countries, assuring Steve he won’t face a future trapped under a collapsed column of cookbooks, and at the same […]

Categories: Coconut, Cooking, Food, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Thailand, Tofu, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Camille Glenn, coconut custard, chickens and coyotes

March 3, 2012 by Steve

Camille Glenn is a name instantly recognized by most food-inclined Kentuckians and even by some Yankees. The caterer, cooking teacher and food writer was, as noted in the Village Voice when she died at the age of 100 a couple of years ago, an “avid promoter of local, seasonal produce long before it became fashionable.” Glenn’s The Heritage of Southern Cooking has been one of our most-used volumes and most-given wedding gifts for decades. Michelle recently came upon a copy […]

Categories: Chicken keeping, Coconut, Cooking, Custards & Puddings, Food, Jams & Preserves, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Vegetarian