Gourmandistan

The somewhat delayed satisfaction of sesame sticks

February 28, 2017 by Steve

Perhaps it was the miso caramel ice cream we’re still working on. (Trust us, Whole Foods’ so-called “mellow” miso is not white and is way too salty.) But, for some reason, these nutty, buttery sticks did not appeal to Michelle at first. While she initially found them kind of “meh,” Michelle grew impressed by the sesame sticks’ staying power along with their flavor. Alice Medrich, who once again led us to something delicious, calls these cookies “addictively crunchy yet delicate” and […]

Categories: Baking, Cookies, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Recipes

Tahini chocolate chip cookies saltily show the sweeter side of sesame

February 11, 2017 by Steve

While we’re not unfamiliar with sesame paste candies, they weren’t the sweets Gourmandistan usually looked for. It may have been our jealous guarding of tahini stocks for use in Middle Eastern-style dinners. Or perhaps it was Steve’s shuddery childhood memories of the dusty, dried out bars of Joyva Halvah he was forced to sample out of politeness. Whatever the reason, we’re now re-evaluating our search parameters. Michelle found this Danielle Oron recipe in The New York Times (which is obviously popular as it keeps making the rounds […]

Categories: Baking, Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Recipes

Crunchy, funky pasta with charred Brussels sprouts and cauliflower

January 25, 2017 by Michelle

We found this recipe through Food & Wine Magazine, where they credit Philadelphia chef Marc Vetri with the idea of charring cauliflower and Brussels sprouts along with anchovies, garlic, onion and rosemary. We first tried this combination the Chef Vetri way, tossed with thick strands of bucatini pasta. We liked the hearty zing of anchovy and crushed pepper, but didn’t think the bucatini (even made by Steve on his new pasta press!) was a benefit, and actually buried the nicely charred cauliflower and sprouts. We […]

Categories: Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, Food, Pasta, Recipes

Baked rice with egg crust beats paella, at least in Gourmandistan

January 17, 2017 by Michelle

We don’t know if arroz con costra is viewed as superior to paella in Spain, as Gourmandistan’s travels to that country have been mostly limited to sojourns in Basque country where we stuffed ourselves silly on pintxos and one brief foray into Catalonia. This dish, which is basically rice, meat and broth baked and served under an egg crust, may be from Valencia, which Claudia Roden (who we got the idea from) credits for its creation. Or it may be from Murcia, a neighboring region […]

Categories: Chicken, Cooking, Eggs, Food, Pork, Recipes, Rice, Spain

Black-eyed pea cakes because we need all the luck we can use

January 1, 2017 by Steve

So that’s it for 2016, a year that we couldn’t possibly sum up any better than Charlie Brooker did. (Do watch it: it will be the best hour you spend today.) That particular annus horribilis had shaken Michelle’s belief in the power of New Year’s Day black-eyed peas and greens, which, here in the South, supposedly ensure luck in the coming year. Reflecting on the challenges ahead for ourselves, American democracy and the future of our planet, Michelle realized that even the smallest chance for […]

Categories: Beans, Cooking, Food, Holidays & Events, Kale, New Year, Recipes, Vegetarian

Fruitcake icebox cookies for a traveling holiday

December 12, 2016 by Steve

Gourmandistan will be on the move for the upcoming holiday season. With stops planned in Madisonville, Memphis and Jackson before pushing on to New Orleans, Michelle wanted some sweets that could survive the trip, were good enough to gift, and non-messy enough for snacks on the road. Along with a few other selections (do not ask about the sugar cookie decorations gone horribly wrong), these icebox cookies made the cut. Michelle has been baking from Maida Heatter’s Book of Great Cookies since around […]

Categories: Baking, Christmas, Cookies, Desserts & Sweets, Food, Holidays & Events, Old cookbooks, Recipes

Making things a bit sunnier by adding apricots to lentils with sausage and prunes

November 28, 2016 by Steve

Gourmandistan’s old Kentucky home is once again undergoing the Commonwealth’s standard version of Winter, where “the sun shines bright” line in the official state song seems only a bitter, damp and cloudy joke. Looking to brighten things up a bit while avoiding all the heavy work we did while preparing for Thanksgiving, Michelle updated this Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall lentil dish with a dash of dried apricots. We really enjoyed the way the apricots’ tartness added to the savory lentils and sweet […]

Categories: Apricots, Beans, Cooking, Food, Pork, Prunes, Recipes

Korean Fried Broccoli because we need some mind-altering substances at the moment

November 18, 2016 by Steve

Amanda Cohen’s Dirt Candy menu describes this dish as “crack in broccoli form.” We’re not about to disagree. We’re losing track of the nights we’ve made this Korean Fried Broccoli as we’ve watched anything but the news, which at the moment is too distressing and disorienting to bear. Steve has been delighted to discover that stove-top smoking actually works, and adds another layer of robustness to this in-your-face, extra-crunchy-despite-sauce idea. If you have the ingredients at hand (and a way to smoke something) […]

Categories: Broccoli, Cooking, Food, Korea, Recipes

Strong beef sparks stunning salad with silky shallot vinaigrette

November 12, 2016 by Steve

Recently we have been happily patronizing Red Hog, a craft butchery and restaurant opened by our friend Bob Hancock of Blue Dog Bakery. Their meat has the kind of impeccable sourcing and careful trimming we’ve come to expect from England and Italy. We’ve quickly learned to depend on the sausages, roasts, chops and other meats we’ve picked up on several visits. We’ve also learned Michelle needs a bit of adjustment to dry-aged beef. We’re certainly no strangers to finely-aged beef, having enjoyed many meat courses at some […]

Categories: Beef, Cooking, Food, Lettuce, Meats, Recipes, Salad

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