Steve

Basque in the afterglow: garlic, sausage & red pepper soup

August 29, 2011 by Steve

Possibly the saddest lie Michelle has ever told involves a pony, the Pyrenées and picture-taking. Steve had asked to stop on a narrow, guardrail-less road winding its way towards St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port so he could photograph a Basque pony, one of a small herd climbing the steep mountainside. Michelle, a raging acrophobic, suffered Steve only a few shots before declaring she was worried he would “fill up the card” on the digital camera. Steve, who has much experience with Michelle’s fear of […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, France, Peppers, Pork, Recipes, Soups & Stews

Pork chop paragon.

August 13, 2011 by Steve

“Respect the product” is a somewhat shopworn phrase in cooking circles. But our recent gift from Bob Hancock of Blue Dog Bakery underscored the reality behind the banality. Blue Dog now transforms into Red Hog Tapas every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, highlighting Bob’s charcuterie made with pork from his own Red Wattle hogs. Bob shows his pigs respect from farrowing to their final day, giving them plenty of room to roam and minimizing their stress on their way to […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Pork, Recipes

Are you smarter than a four-year-old?

April 18, 2011 by Steve

On a recent prowl through an antique shop Michelle spied a copy of The Cooking of Provincial France, a 1968 Time-Life “Foods of the World” edition. Initially Michelle thought it would be a nostalgic and campy romp, but then she noticed that the author was M.F.K. Fisher. Fisher’s spirit hovers over all food writers (except those obsessed with airplane meals, the McRib, Peeps, etc., who are driven by much scarier spirits). Fisher’s prose is marvelous, her joy in food transparent. […]

Categories: Breads & Crackers, Butter, Cooking, Food, France, Old cookbooks, Radishes, Vegetarian

Finding our own farçou

November 30, 2010 by Steve

In 2009, visiting market after market across the wildly beautiful Aveyron region of Southern France, we ate a wide variety of farçous. The chard-laced pancakes from our local town’s market stall were small and sort of thick, while vendors in other towns turned out thinner, wider and crispier versions. We enjoyed them all, and have often wished we could recreate the experience in Gourmandistan—especially in early Summer when buried in farm share chard. Then, this Fall, just as we began […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, France, Swiss chard, Vegetarian

Halve a tart, save an apple.

November 18, 2010 by Steve

Winter is slowly, inexorably grinding its way into Gourmandistan, and our supply of local crops is dwindling. We’ve been told there are only a couple of more weeks left for local apples. While we have them, we’re occasionally enjoying one of our favorite desserts, tarte Tatin—or, as we make it, half a tarte Tatin. This tart takes a fairly long time to make, because the apples need to slowly caramelize over low heat before going into the oven. Steve contributes […]

Categories: Apples, Cooking, Food, France, Fruit Desserts, Pies & Tarts, Recipes

Gourmandistan-to-go: Bacon, egg & cheese “biscuits”

November 10, 2010 by Steve

Michelle’s family was leaving Gourmandistan in 30 minutes or so, and we knew their plans for dinner didn’t include slowing down much before reaching their Western Kentucky home. We despaired at the thought of Mom, Dad and Sister dining on fast food. Then we thought, “Why not make our own?” We had several of Mrs. Gritton’s potato rolls in the freezer, a few nubs of home-cured bacon, a little mayo, some melty (local-ish!) cheese and our usual surfeit of eggs. […]

Categories: Breads & Crackers, Cooking, Cured meats, Eggs, Food • Tags: Locavore

Not-so-scary Halloween Winter Squash Panade

October 31, 2010 by Steve

Gourmandistan gets no trick-or-treaters on Halloween, since our land is remote, inaccessible and surrounded by old people. So we have no bowls of candy, and no pumpkin carved into a frightening jack-o’-lantern. What we did have this evening were a number of winter squashes, a good amount of chicken stock, and half a loaf of day-old no-knead bread. And that, plus onions, is pretty much all you need for a squash panade. Panades have an established place in Gourmandistan, usually […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Halloween, Recipes, Winter squash

Stock & eggs — the circle of life is complete.

October 17, 2010 by Steve

Faithful readers may recall that before Gourmandistan left for Gascony our nation’s population declined by 18—at least in spirit. The flesh of our flock remains in freezers, awaiting our final tribute to our former chickens. Steve is eager to try coq au vin, but he’ll have to wait for a visit from his friend Bill because Michelle has no interest in tenderizing tough yard birds. She thinks the best way to use them is simply making very delicious batches of […]

Categories: Basics, Chicken, Chicken keeping, Cooking, Food, Recipes

Amis and apple clafoutis

October 10, 2010 by Steve

Apples are one of Gourmandistan’s favorite fruits, especially now that, through vigorous research in several countries, we’ve honed in on a few favorites. We’re big fans of crisp, tart apples (although Steve, in a pinch, will eat just about any apple). In France, we prefer thick-skinned Boskoop or Canada varieties. In the U.S., we love GoldRush, developed at Indiana’s Purdue University and grown in large quantities at nearby Huber’s Orchard. Steve will happily gnaw his way through several a day, […]

Categories: Apples, Cooking, Food, France, Fruit Desserts, Recipes, Vegetarian