Nuts | Gourmandistan

Mock(ing) Derby Pie

May 3, 2012 by Steve

We must say quite emphatically that the pictures you see are not Derby-Pie®. The fine, upstanding, industrious and only slightly litigious folk at Kern’s Kitchen may believe we’re invoking the holy trademarked name. And we do not want any confusion, for the Kern’s folk (or their attorneys) will gladly tell you: “There’s only one Derby-Pie®. When you see the name Derby-Pie® and the registered trademark symbol, you know you’re getting the pie produced exclusively by Kern’s Kitchen…” We Gourmandistanis cannot condemn either […]

Categories: Chocolate, Cooking, Food, Kentucky Derby, Nuts, Pies & Tarts, Recipes, Vegetarian

Gluten it be nice

April 20, 2012 by Steve

Gourmandistanis are generally a tolerant lot, especially when it comes to food. (Fools, on the other hand, we struggle to abide.) While we sympathize with those who must avoid shellfish, peanuts, wheat or meat for religious or health reasons, our little world is blissfully free of dietary laws—though Steve must occasionally be reminded that “no kidneys, no livers” is a strong preference, not an actual law. That gives us license to explore cuisines, cultures and creative ways of going meatless, […]

Categories: China, Cooking, Food, Nuts, Recipes, Seitan, Vegetarian

Pro-cress-ive Dinner

February 21, 2012 by Steve

As we creep towards our true Spring, while our local farmers tantalizingly talk of tender shoots, we rely on trips to Whole Foods for anything approximating a green vegetable. Fortunately WF has been stocking some local hydroponic watercress, allowing us to make one of our favorite salads—something Michelle created via a series of inspirations and ideas. The path to this salad began a decade ago at Fish La Boissonnerie, a lovely little bistro on Rue de Seine in Paris. Featuring baby […]

Categories: Cooking, Dates, Food, Nuts, Orange, Recipes, Salad, Vegetarian, Watercress

Linzer Hearts still beating after all these years

December 17, 2011 by Steve

Michelle’s spattered and battered paperback edition of The Silver Palate Cookbook is full of notes, as during the Eighties it was one of our most-used volumes. We don’t turn to it much these days, as it seems a bit dated (Brie cheese baked in phyllo and a pound of butter, anyone?) and a bit embarrassing (why on earth did we note that baked garlic was “strange”?). But we keep the volume on our bookshelves, in large part because of these […]

Categories: Christmas, Cookies, Cooking, Food, Jams & Preserves, Nuts, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Vegetarian

The agony and the apricot-y

December 10, 2011 by Michelle

Once upon a time, when much younger and much more energetic, Michelle made cookies to share with friends and family for the holidays. Of course, Michelle being who she is, these cookies were very, very good—but also took up very, very much of her time. Within a few years she was spending virtually the entire month between Thanksgiving and Christmas obsessively thinking about cookies, making cookies, packaging cookies and distributing cookies to a growing number of people, constantly trying to […]

Categories: Chocolate, Christmas, Cookies, Cooking, Food, Jams & Preserves, Nuts, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Vegetarian

An “au revoir/auf wiedersehen” to apples

December 4, 2011 by Michelle

Steve has probably purchased his last batch of local apples for the year, and since he snacks on several per day (there are many, many doctors out there, after all) he’ll soon be buying what he calls “crapples” at the grocery. Michelle, however, has higher standards, and refuses to cook with the flown- and trucked-in Braeburns, Fujis or sappy-sweet HoneyCrisps that Steve brings home. While that means Tarte Tatin and apple clafoutis must wait until next fall, Michelle recently managed […]

Categories: Apples, Cooking, Food, France, Fruit Desserts, Nuts, Pies & Tarts, Recipes

Italy, it’s not.

October 14, 2011 by Steve

This meal sort of started with finding some beautiful (and local) Grateful Greens watercress at Whole Foods. But it also began during our failed attempts to find decent Asian food in Italy. In France, her slew of South Asian colonials-turned-citizens generously offering porc au caramel, riz nature and nems, we’ve found many lovely Asian dishes. In the Veneto we couldn’t find anything better than bland Cantonese fare lamely Italian-izing itself with menu columns featuring “Antipasti,” “Primi” and “Secondi.” In addition […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Japan, Nuts, Recipes, Watercress

Creamed carrots, a cookbook, and the customs of Gourmandistan.

July 23, 2011 by Michelle

“I don’t think these are all that good” said Pavel, our Foxhollow CSA farmer, as he handed us a fat bunch of carrots at a recent market. We accepted the ill-omened roots as part of our share graciously, as the laws and customs of Gourmandistan forbid the flinging of substandard produce back into a farmer’s face. (Beware, visitor: unless you are a farmer, you have no absolute guarantee this custom will hold for you.) We like Pavel and his products, […]

Categories: Carrots, Cooking, Food, Nuts, Recipes, Vegetarian

Birthday and brittle

March 14, 2011 by Michelle

In 1911, Amundsen’s expedition reached the South Pole, Hiram Bingham “discovered” Machu Picchu and the first Indianapolis 500 took off at the Brickyard. That same year in Paradise, Kentucky, Brucie and Coza Dee Smith welcomed a little brother—Michelle’s grandfather, R.T. Smith, born 100 years ago today. 21 years later, R.T. eloped with the daughter of a wealthy neighbor. The young couple started out sharecropping on a few acres in Hopkins County known as “The Switch Place” (as it was near […]

Categories: Candy, Cooking, Desserts & Sweets, Family, Food, Nuts, Recipes, Vegetarian