Gourmandistan

Some ’80s jams (mostly the strawberry kind) still rock.

May 27, 2013 by Steve

Being of a certain age means we Gourmandistanis often have to suffer what many in our cohort still call “Modern Rock,” as if the era which created Kajagoogoo ended hard-edged rockers forever. (Despite the nauseatingly endless careers of the Stones and Aerosmith, there are those who argued that it did.) We are also too often in close proximity to people who still believe crappy California surfer-style shorts look good on them. Some of these happen to be the same people. We feel especially […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Fruit, Jams & Preserves, Old cookbooks, Recipes, Strawberries, Vegetarian

Do do this ragout that we do so well.

May 20, 2013 by Steve

We’re not asking you join a great crusade to stamp out decency in the West. (After all, some would say there’s nothing left to do.) We’re simply asking you to start celebrating your fresh green vegetables with this simple, light “stew.” A while back, Michelle was hypnotized by some Whole Foods fava beans (a rarity in these parts), and found a recipe in Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Vegetables for Fava Bean Ragout. Alice indicated it was “great with Potato Gnocchi,” […]

Categories: Artichokes, Asparagus, Cooking, Food, Old cookbooks, Pasta, Peas, Recipes, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Garbure ≠ garbage + ordure; or you are what you etymologize

May 16, 2013 by Steve

The next time you’re eating “brunch” with a “spork,” you should stop for a moment and thank Lewis Carroll. (Perhaps you should then explore the idea of no longer brunching, especially if you frequent places providing sporks as utensils.) Carroll, one of Steve’s personal literary lions, introduced the idea of such “portmanteau words” in Through the Looking Glass, his sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Portmanteaus are everywhere these days, from “Brangelina” to “breathalyzer” to “bromance.” (While we’re not particularly […]

Categories: Beans, Cabbage, Cooking, Duck, Food, France, Recipes, Soups & Stews

(Re)iterating Bertolli’s baby artichokes, olives, meatballs and sage

May 11, 2013 by Steve

We found this recipe in Chez Panisse Cooking while looking for a creative way to use some semi-impulse-bought baby artichokes. (They were from Castroville and on special at Whole Foods. Even die-hard locavores couldn’t resist.) We were initially attracted by the interesting mix of ingredients, a step up from our previous effort. Then we were intrigued by Paul Bertolli’s perplexing introduction. Telling us his mother “used marinated artichokes and a type of green Spanish olive ” he “can’t find anymore,” Bertolli […]

Categories: Artichokes, Cooking, Food, Meatballs, Old cookbooks, Pasta, Recipes

Beginning Baking (Again) With Bernard Clayton’s Rich White Bread

May 4, 2013 by Steve

Steve was starting to think he was so big. He started to think he was a better baker than most. It may have begun with his pâte brisée, or perhaps his pizza dough. Maybe it was when he made that batch of bialys or his “perfect” Parker House Rolls. Perhaps it was time he was taken down a peg. Perhaps it was time for Bernard Clayton’s New Complete Book of Breads. Actually, Steve’s comedown didn’t start with Bernard Clayton—it started with […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Recipes, Vegetarian • Tags: Bread, Old cookbooks

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

Benedictine Arnold

April 28, 2013 by Steve

Once again, it’s Kentucky Derby time. Around here, locals like to tell Derby guests that Louisvillians love Benedictine. They are lying. Benedictine is boring, and often unpleasantly and artificially green. Yet somehow, it sits as a fixture of virtually every Derby buffet. In her Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, Fannie Farmer, who trained eponymous Benedictine inventor Jennie C. Benedict, offered several “cream cheese salads” that seem more interesting. Her student, Benedict, who brought the cucumber-flavored cream cheese spread to the world, on […]

Categories: Appetizers, Cooking, Cucumber, Food, Kentucky Derby, Recipes, Sandwiches, Vegetarian

Plagiarizing the Pistachio out of The Purple Pig’s Lemon Panna Cotta

April 12, 2013 by Steve

Providing Bon Appétit Magazine with a recipe for Lemon Panna Cotta with Lemon Marmalade was very nice of Jimmy Bannos, Jr. It may make us seem ungrateful to wish he had included in his published version the sugared pistachios that grace the dessert at The Purple Pig. We’ve enjoyed multiple meals at The Purple Pig, a seemingly always-packed place nestled at the southern tip of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. We’re usually torn between too many choices—from Turkey Leg Confit with Crispy Lentils to Pig’s […]

Categories: Cooking, Custards & Puddings, Food, Fruit Desserts, Jams & Preserves, Lemon, Nuts, Recipes, Restaurants

Trompe l’oink

April 1, 2013 by Steve

This is not a post about how to treat your family to plump, juicy pork chops without frying. It is instead about Nut Cutlets—or “nutlets,” as Steve insists on calling them. We found this recipe in Kitchenology with Principia Friends, a 1933 cookbook written by “St. Louis mothers” as a fundraising tool for Principia College. Perhaps because of Depression-era budgets, the book has an entire section on “Meat Substitutes”—with ideas like Mock Veal Loaf (broken spaghetti, chopped walnuts), Cheese Rarebit […]

Categories: Cooking, Food, Holidays & Events, Old cookbooks