Meats | Gourmandistan

Dry-fried beef slivers defeat linguini with clams

April 2, 2011 by Michelle

Linguini with clam sauce was once Gourmandistan’s “can’t screw it up” champion. Other than (duh) clams and clam juice, the basic ingredients (garlic, olive oil, white wine, onions, black pepper, parsley) could be added in just about any proportion and the sauce would still taste great on any pasta (linguini or whatever) we had around. It was something that could be thrown together in (well, for Gourmandistan) a short amount of time, and didn’t make (again, at least from our […]

Categories: Beef, Celery, China, Cooking, Food, Recipes

Paella and surviving the Gourmandistan cookbook gauntlet

March 10, 2011 by Michelle

Hundreds, if not thousands, of cookbooks have seen their way in and out of Gourmandistan. The kitchen’s multiple shelves are nearly full, even though scores upon scores of volumes have been given away to friends and charities over the years and at least 50 others currently sit in an upstairs bookshelf purgatory, waiting for a decision on whether they stay or go. (We’re looking at you, Lee Brothers.) Gourmandistan’s general cookbook-keeping metric is simple: to keep a place in our […]

Categories: Chicken, Cooking, Food, Peas, Pork, Recipes, Restaurants, Rice, Spain

Puff pastry meat pies and a mountain of lamb

March 2, 2011 by Michelle

We received delivery of our second annual lamb from our neighbors, Gary and Joyce Keibler, of Hemmer Hill Farm. This year the Keiblers wisely chose Marksbury Farm as the processor (where Steve took our chickens on their last day last Fall, chronicled here and here), avoiding our awkward acceptance of many strange bits and chunks along with the usual legs and chops. This year’s lamb could have leapt from an illustrated chart, with clearly identifiable shoulders, ribs and shanks. No […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Lamb, Meat Pies, Recipes • Tags: Locavore

Modernity vs. nostalgia vs. pot pie

January 16, 2011 by Michelle

While Gourmandistan’s borders are stuffed full of scanners, digital cameras, electronic readers and other delightful devices of our electronic age, our population still clings to print, especially when it comes to cooking. Shopping lists are usually written on scraps of paper (although Steve sometimes transcribes them to his iPhone). Our shelves groan with heavy cookbooks, which Michelle recently reorganized to make room for more. As we had a lot of leftover poultry flesh from Steve’s recent rescue of the little […]

Categories: Chicken, Cooking, Food, Meat Pies, Old cookbooks, Recipes

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” kind of Thanksgiving in January

January 12, 2011 by Michelle

Steve felt sorry for the little 10-pound turkey, spotting it lodged awkwardly in the bottom of the Foxhollow Farm Store frozen meat case the week after Thanksgiving. As it sat there through December, Steve began to wonder if the bird had died in vain—and possibly, what Gourmandistan could do with a turkey. We’ve never been big fans of America’s almost-national bird, suffering through bland braised turkey breasts and, in Michelle’s case, a bad experience with brining early in the free-range […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Recipes, Thanksgiving, Turkey

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

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

France, Southern style

September 8, 2010 by Michelle

We invited our British neighbors-for-the-week over for drinks and hors d’oeuvres this evening, a reciprocation for their including us in poolside drinks on Monday. Initially, we planned on an assortment of sausages, cheeses and perhaps a tapenade to accompany bottles of local wines. Then Michelle had a moment of genius. Instead of serving French food to British people vacationing in France, why not instead serve them Southeast U.S. classics made with Southwest French ingredients? Thus were born two marvelous appetizers: […]

Categories: Appetizers, Cheese, Cooking, Duck, Food, France, Recipes

The almost-perfect Reuben

July 30, 2010 by Steve

From the first time Michelle picked up a jar of Geier sauerkraut from the Foxhollow Farm store, Steve started thinking about corning his own beef. He was a little dubious about using Michael Ruhlman’s recipe due to an unfortunate experience with short-rib “pastrami”—but the Charcuterie recipe seemed pretty straightforward, and so a brine was made where a Foxhollow brisket sat for five days, before a several-hour simmer made what Michelle declared was the best corned beef she ever ate. And […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Cured meats, Food, Recipes, Sandwiches