Cherries | Gourmandistan

Maraschino cherries meet Perugina chocolate ice cream as we reminisce about Italy

September 9, 2017 by Steve

It is September, which for many years has been the month for Gourmandistan to relocate to a different country than America. We are not doing so this year, as we decided to postpone our international travel in order to coincide with our 30th anniversary in January, when we’ll be going to Venice. That means we’re currently going through a bit of Euro-withrawal, looking forward to returning to the enchanting, sinking city and revisiting our old blog about Padua and the […]

Categories: Cherries, Chocolate, Dairy, Food, Fruit Desserts, Ice cream, Italy, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Vacation

Hand jive, hand pies, doin’ that crazy good sour cherry hand pie

June 13, 2017 by Steve

While we do host both felines and poultry, Gourmandistan does not have a cat named Way-Out Willie, or a cool little chick named Rockin’ Billie. We’ll let others do that hand jive all over town. We’ll keep scarfing sour cherry hand pies down. We spotted sour cherries at the market a while back, and once again bought every last remaining carton from the farmer. Steve sat down and made an afternoon out of pitting cherries, reserving most of the fruit for […]

Categories: Baking, Cherries, Cooking, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Fruit Desserts, Pies & Tarts, Recipes

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

Pot roast with Guinness and dried cherries (skip the sweet potatoes, go for the slaw)

March 26, 2015 by Michelle

We have been working our way through a batch of beef we bought from our biodynamic farm neighbors. While we enjoyed much of it, we were unsatisfied with the lean roast cuts (one rump, one sirloin tip). We tried several different methods with them, and in each the meat turned out to be dry and fairly tasteless. The experience left Steve ruing not experimenting with barding and larding, and left Michelle with the idea to send Steve out to buy a chuck roast. When Steve returned from the grocery, he […]

Categories: Beef, Cherries, Cooking, Food, Recipes, Sweet potatoes

Beef short ribs with bootlegged Michigan cherries

September 5, 2014 by Michelle

While we were in Michigan, we couldn’t stop buying cherries—a tic which continued even as we headed back to Kentucky. On our way down South we stopped at one last farmers’ market, buying up delicious fruit that we seldom find locally in the Bluegrass State. With a bag of ice in a cooler, the sacks of black cherries (the last of this year’s very late harvest) made it home safely, where they rested in the refrigerator until we could get to a market […]

Categories: Beef, Biscuits, Cherries, Cooking, Food, Recipes

Do Santa right with Dried Cherry Oatmeal Cookies.

December 21, 2013 by Steve

Spoiler alert: Gourmandistan doesn’t actually believe Santa exists. This year, we’ve not even pretended to be into Christmas. There’s not a single holiday decoration out in our house. And, there has been very, very little holiday baking. But if the jolly old elf with his judgmental list was real, this oatmeal cookie would guarantee some extra presents. Based on a 1980s Lee Bailey recipe, these cookies delightfully straddle the line between chewy and crispy, and come out of the oven […]

Categories: Cherries, Christmas, Cookies, Cooking, Food, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Vegetarian

Sweet Cherry Mostarda, the new Mmm in Michelle’s life

July 22, 2013 by Steve

Steve would like to think he’s the tastiest dish in Gourmandistan. Unfortunately, his illusions are often interrupted by sights and sounds suggesting he’s not, mostly around mealtimes. His latest rival arrived as a result of an unwise impulse buy of sweet cherries at last Saturday’s market. Steve snatched up both boxes without even looking at them, as these were the first locally grown sweet cherries we have ever seen around here. At home, he discovered that not only were half […]

Categories: Cherries, Cooking, Food, Italy, Pickles, Vegetarian

Cherishing the chore of (sour) cherry jam

June 4, 2013 by Steve

There are some who shirk hard labor, thinking it never leads to any reward. Some embrace whatever physical challenge is placed before them, knowing their efforts will lead to what is best in life. While Crom knows Gourmandistanis are not opposed to labor-saving devices, we also recognize that sometimes you have to put in the work. That is why Saturday saw Steve sitting at the kitchen table for three straight hours, pitting cherry after cherry after cherry until his hands […]

Categories: Cherries, Cooking, Food, Fruit, Jams & Preserves, Recipes, Vegetarian

Short Sour Cho Chweet Cherry Season

May 20, 2012 by Steve

About five minutes after his favorite fruit farmer, Sandi Deutsch, made a facebook post about picking sour cherries, Steve called and demanded her entire haul. The next afternoon we faced an all-to-perishable pile of crimson, scarlet and neon red cherries, perhaps six pounds in total, that needed to be dealt with quickly. We also knew it would likely be our only chance at local cherries in 2012. Tiny sour cherries, also known as “pie cherries,” have a very brief appearance […]

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

Gourmandistan

A fabled land of farmers, farm shares, fancy (and not so fancy) restaurants, family meals, food projects and more.

Category Archives: Cherries