Beef | Gourmandistan

Leftover steak leads to lovely salad

April 11, 2014 by Steve

As spring teases us with delightful hints of warmer weather and local produce, like many we’ve begun to crave fresher tastes. One of our current favorites is this simple steak salad, which began with a bit of leftover steak that happened to occupy our house at the same time as a slightly overripe avocado and some of the first local radishes of the year. As we contemplated our time-sensitive ingredients, we thought about the usual steak + sides, but Michelle has […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Radishes, Salad, Watercress

Is it odd to aid a carbonnade with marmalade?

February 23, 2014 by Michelle

If you’re Daniel Boulud, the answer to the question is, apparently not. And while we weren’t previously familiar with the practice, we’re pretty sure it will reappear in Gourmandistan. Looking around for something stew-ish, we once again turned to the overlooked Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine for inspiration. We found a recipe for “Carbonnade à la Flamande,” which called for an entire beef shoulder roast marinated overnight in crème fraîche, then braised with crumbled gingersnaps and marmalade. While we did […]

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

Oxtail Ragout with Olives (and additional cooking time)

January 17, 2014 by Michelle

Gourmandistan is a big supporter of grass-fed beef, so much we sometimes wave at the cows grazing the fields of nearby Foxhollow Farm, knowing we’ll likely see some of them on our dinner plates one day. All that ruminating and roaming keeps “our” cows in shape—something we’ve learned to adjust for in cooking dishes like this delicious Oxtail Ragout with Olives. We debone the tails before serving, as it both makes the dish easier to enjoy and spares Michelle the […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Meats, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Restaurants, Soups & Stews

Braise Boulud for pot roast with watermelon radish and miso.

December 30, 2013 by Steve

We have a refrigerator full of root vegetables from our farmer friend, Pavel. Since we vaguely recall agreeing to continue our farm share through the winter, we’ll most likely have even more daikon, black and/or watermelon radishes. With a pot roast recipe like this, we’re actually happy about it. We’ve detailed several times our sometimes desperate search to whittle down our winter veg. Nonetheless, we’re still looking for new ways to do it—especially for watermelon radishes. Like our beloved Hakurei turnips, these […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Meats, Radishes, Recipes

Antique Worcestershire sauce makes our current brisket favorite.

December 5, 2013 by Steve

We found a century plus-old recipe for Worcestershire sauce while we were in England that seemed surprisingly easy to make. So of course, once we returned home Steve had to make some. Like just about every other adequately-equipped American cooking household, we have a bottle of Lea & Perrins located in our cupboard, ready to be added to soups, sprinkled on steaks or, in a Turner family tradition, dropped onto baked potato skins. (It’s delicious.) The Worcestershire sauce recipe, copied […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Cucumber, England, Food, Old cookbooks, Pickles, Recipes, Sandwiches

We gladly fat our Tuesday for your hamburger today.

June 8, 2013 by Steve

Unlike certain other sidekicks, Michelle is not usually a big fan of hamburgers. While the humble burger is usually held forth as an American icon, for Michelle it holds multiple potential failure points. The bun could be too toasted, too wet, too gummy or too stale. At a restaurant, it could arrive “dressed” with limp, lukewarm (possibly worm-carrying) lettuce, or perhaps a pale and/or tasteless tomato slice. The meat could be greasy, gamey, dry, or simply dull. Additionally, Michelle disdains […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Recipes, Sandwiches, Yeast breads

Saying “Bon Voyage” with Bollito

April 30, 2013 by Michelle

Katie from Katie At The Kitchen Door is a Boston-based blog friend who posts gorgeous photographs, writes insightful cookbook reviews and brims with youthful enthusiasm. She asked us to help out with a guest post while she is on vacation in Italy, hinting that she would like something Italian-themed. We decided to honor one of the only things we enjoyed about Florence, a bollito sandwich. Link here to Katie’s site for the recipe, as well as a tale of our miserable trip to […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Italy, Recipes, Restaurants, Sandwiches

Ravioli, Tortelli, Mezzalune, a Marriage

January 14, 2013 by Steve

It’s an unseasonably warm mid-January afternoon in 1988. Michelle is stomping around Louisville’s downtown, where we lived at the time, in a wedding outfit. People are driving by, honking their horns and hooting congratulations. Michelle is angry. She is angry with Steve, who has both sets of keys. Steve took Michelle’s keys when he drove back to the apartment from the wedding site to get the marriage license, which he had forgotten. He then forgot he already had his keys […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Italy, Old cookbooks, Pasta, Potatoes, Recipes

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