Cooking | Gourmandistan

Simmering a bit more summeriness into beef pot roast

July 5, 2016 by Steve

Pot roast is something we usually associate with colder months here in Gourmandistan. But we had a really cool 4th of July weekend, and even as the weather increasingly becomes hot and sticky around here, we cannot stop buying beef from our biodynamic neighbors up the road. A slab of chuck roast recently caught our eye and demanded we do something with it. With the help of Alice Waters and Bradley Ogden, Michelle came up with this lighter-than-expected pot roast. She […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Dumplings, Food, Recipes

Saying goodbye to Fil with sukiyaki

June 26, 2016 by Michelle

After 94 years of curiosity, crossword puzzles, conversations, travel and more, Steve’s “mom,” Filomena DeMarzo Farley, died last week. Fil was the older sister of Steve’s real mother, who died when he was a toddler. Fil was born in Orange, New Jersey and grew up as part of a large, interrelated Italian family. Gourmandistan has brought you bits of Fil’s childhood before, told through stories of struffoli and eggplant parmesan, and we may very well visit Mechanic Street again. But on the […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Family, Food, Japan, Onions, Recipes, Tofu

Roasted green bean, corn and okra salad, our shrimpless salute to Dewees Island

June 2, 2016 by Steve

Yet another Dewees Island trip is drawing to a close. As we do at the shore, we indulged ourselves in local seafood, particularly shrimp, which Michelle managed to eat for at least one meal every day but one. Much as the local fishmongers might argue to the contrary, however, one cannot exist completely on shrimp. Instead, we present you with this delightful green bean, corn and okra salad. Before we gift you with the recipe, we will again relate the loveliness of […]

Categories: Cooking, Corn, Family, Food, Green beans, Okra, Salad, Vacation, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Celebrating an understandable Indian cookbook with asparagus, cauliflower, cashew and coconut curry

May 8, 2016 by Steve

While we have not completely pushed Pushpesh Pant out of our kitchen, Gourmandistan’s latest Indian lodestone is definitely Meera Sodha’s Made in India, the runner-up in this year’s Piglet cookbook competition. We were charmed by the book almost from the moment we picked it up. Michelle was captivated by Sodha’s personal story of growing up in Lincolnshire, England with Ugandan-Indian parents and Steve by the recipe for Chili Paneer on page 27. We’ve spent the last couple of weeks making many delicious things, […]

Categories: Asparagus, Cauliflower, Cooking, Food, India, Nuts, Recipes, Vegetarian

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

Boozy cherry almond biscotti demonstrate thinking inside and outside the box

February 14, 2016 by Michelle

Many years ago, Steve had his first day at a new advertising agency, receiving a t-shirt with the company logo and the slogan, “think outside the box.” Steve received it politely but did not wear the shirt in public, as the clichéd slogan struck him as kind of silly. (They weren’t alone in their platitudes, as Steve’s previous agency liked to boast it “put the client at the center of everything we do.”) However, a recent batch of biscotti Michelle whipped up […]

Categories: Baking, Cherries, Cookies, Cooking, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Nuts, 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