Steve

Take-out lo mein taken in to Gourmandistan, transformed by duck

March 21, 2016 by Steve

Over the years, there has been much debate in Gourmandistan over which Chinese food travels best. While it was never one of Michelle’s favorites because sameness, Steve usually asserted that lo mein was a reliable take-out choice. He felt the combination of noodles, sauce and assorted other things (mainly pork, in Steve’s preference) was always about the same quality at home as it was in the restaurant. However, this homemade version with duck may very well end the argument, as Steve agrees it […]

Categories: China, Cooking, Duck, Food, Mushrooms, Pasta

Soy-braised tofu begins Gourmandistan’s assimilation of Koreatown

March 6, 2016 by Steve

It’s not as if Gourmandistan hasn’t ventured Korean cuisine before. But now that we own Deuki Hong and Matt Rodbard’s Koreatown: A Cookbook, we’re pretty sure our realm will now frequently include meals with banchan, gochugaru and other good things out of the Hermit Kingdom and its more friendly neighbor to the south—quite possibly this soy-braised tofu dish called Dubu Jorim. Hong is a Korean-American chef who runs the restaurant Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong in New York’s Koreatown, and who previously worked in the kitchens […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Korea, Recipes, Restaurants, Tofu, Vegetarian

Pork and walnut crépinettes, because caul fat is amazing

February 19, 2016 by Steve

It is not a secret that Gourmandistan loves odd bits of animals, from oxtails to hog jowls to entire pig heads. Now, thanks to our badass local baker/pig farmer, we have another part to cherish—caul fat. This magical, membranous lipid has given us several memorable meals recently, including these delightful crépinettes. Caul fat, for those of you unfamiliar with it (we’re looking at you, most Americans), is a sheer membrane overlaying the stomach of some animals, including sheep, cows and pigs. We got […]

Categories: Food, Kale, Meats, Nose-to-tail, Nuts, Pork, Recipes

Improvised umami-mazing oxtail and ramen soup, now that we’re cooking with gas

February 2, 2016 by Steve

A period of unfortunately-timed icy weather last week saw Gourmandistan once again facing an empty heating fuel tank, forcing us to lower our thermostat to a fairly chilly 50° F, to take short showers and to avoid using our gas cooktop. (Steve has already set reminders to check the tank level more frequently next winter.) Thanks to a pan of lasagna made before we knew the house was running on fumes, we did not suffer too greatly. An “emergency” request to our propane […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Recipes, Soups & Stews

In Winter’s midst, we make meatballs (and put them in beef and barley soup)

January 24, 2016 by Steve

Gourmandistan was fortunate enough to escape most of the massive snowstorm that engulfed America’s east coast in the past few days. However, several inches of snow and a somewhat ice-clogged creek have reminded us that, as in winters past, we may become stranded at home with no food options but what we have on hand. With an eye towards the ugliness that February might bring, Michelle brought home some beef, veal and pork and spent some time making a batch […]

Categories: Barley, Basics, Cooking, Food, Kale, Meatballs, Recipes, Soups & Stews

Pork, potatoes and kale stage a battle between tacos and pizza

January 16, 2016 by Steve

The principal duelists: simple roast pork carnitas and a pan of sautéed kale and potatoes (both by way of Rick Bayless), a bag of corn tortillas and a ball of pizza dough. Seconds: tomatillo salsa, basic white sauce and some grated habanero Monterey Jack cheese. Winners? Michelle and Steve. We started with the idea of carnitas tacos, as Steve had bought a piece of locally-raised pork shoulder that was a bit too gnarly to simply roast. As potatoes and kale are some of our main […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Kale, Mexico, Pizza, Pork, Potatoes, Recipes

Bringing out the old to ring in the new with rabbit and some colored-eye soup

December 31, 2015 by Steve

Our version did not use black-eyed peas (instead it used yellow eyes), which we feel is OK because this post is not really about New Year’s. But, if you happen to have some dried beans, rabbit and bacon around when the calendar turns to 2016, we certainly think you’ll enjoy this dish. This “hearty and hospitable” soup was featured in a mid- to late-1980s food magazine, unnamed in the photocopied page contained in Michelle’s old three-ring binder that Steve found while recently cleaning […]

Categories: Beans, Christmas, Cooking, Food, New Year, Old cookbooks, Rabbit, Recipes, Restaurants, Soups & Stews

Kahlúa & coffee give West Coast brownies a kick

December 19, 2015 by Steve

Legendary dessert cookbook author Maida Heatter opined that her “West Coast Brownies” might be “more appreciated by adults than by children.” Whether or not these need to be segregated like the spiked eggnog, we definitely believe they deserve a place on the holiday buffet. Heatter wrote that her recipe was a variation on “Brownie Points,” something made in the late Seventies by a Southern California baker/businessman, Richard Melcombe, who called himself “Richmel” and sold his goods “in leading stores across the country.” “Brownie Points” apparently never made […]

Categories: Baking, Brownies, Christmas, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Old cookbooks, Recipes

King-size apple cake keeps us intrigued, well-buttered

December 8, 2015 by Steve

We have been enjoying this simple, old-fashioned apple cake from Susan Herrmann Loomis’ 1991 Farmhouse Cookbook for several days. Long before she began making everyone jealous with her tales of Rue Tatin in a small Norman town and rural French cooking, Loomis traveled across the U.S., interviewing farm wives and collecting their homey recipes. This “King-Size Apple Cake,” from one Alice Berner of Big Sandy, Montana, is a winner. It may be the seasonally-appropriate mix of cinnamon and allspice bumped up with some nice quality cocoa, but it’s most likely […]

Categories: Apples, Baking, Cake, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Fruit Desserts, Old cookbooks, Recipes