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Fighting frosty weather with fennel, radish, citrus and pistachio salad
It’s been an overall mild winter in Gourmandistan, and we’re certainly not in the same boat as those unfortunates in Boston. Lately we’ve even seen tiny signs (increased egg laying, daffodil buds...
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Summer returns in orange-filled triple ginger oatmeal sandwich cookies
During the warmer months we often write about our near-maniacal gathering of local goods, which we (OK, mostly Michelle) make into jams, frozen meals and other lovely things. While candying, drying and...
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Distinctive desiccation dazzles in apricot, date and nut loaf
While we still await our area’s first bits of fresh fruit (please hurry, strawberries!), we have made a nice discovery: apricots from Apricot King Orchards in Hollister, California, a farm in the...
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Relative temperature in raspberry jam shortbread brownies
The baseline is clear: these brownies are very, very good. But at what temperature? Starting with some seedless raspberry preserves left after a cake proved disappointing, Michelle decided jam might be...
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Al dente adjustment to a Jacques Pépin lentil, cabbage and bacon salad
Like most who inhabit this food-centric segment of the global web, Gourmandistan is not going to question the legendary Jacques Pépin. But we will cheekily update his recipe to add a bit more crunch....
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Pot roast with Guinness and dried cherries (skip the sweet potatoes, go for...
We have been working our way through a batch of beef we bought from our biodynamic farm neighbors. While we enjoyed much of it, we were unsatisfied with the lean roast cuts (one rump, one sirloin tip)....
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Pecan Kumquat Tarts spring from salad, parking shortage
These lovely bits of sweet and citrus began with a recipe from Tartine, a bakery in San Francisco we were unable to visit last time we were there because there was no place to park, a problem the...
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Deliciously dumbing down duck curry
Michelle has been revisiting David Thompson’s Thai Food, a cookbook we’ve had for many years. In addition to enjoying the stories about Thai culture and history, she has also been searching for some...
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Grits, shrimp and baby artichoke casserole can’t replace Best Derby Ever
We very much like this casserole, which is a fancied-up, fresher-tasting version of the boring grits and cheese concoctions usually found on Derby buffets. But we don’t like it nearly as much as last...
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Strawberry delight just one of many found on Dewees
Gourmandistan has once again been lucky enough to decamp with Michelle’s family to Dewees Island, a little eco-slice of paradise just off Charleston, South Carolina. The week we have been here has...
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Besting the queen with blueberry-ginger ice cream pie
We have quite often catalogued the various nature-related nuisances of where Gourmandistan is most often located: our sometimes raging and/or icebound creek, roaming bands of garden-gobbling deer,...
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Crispy okra fries make us yearn for Chai Pani, possibly larger okra.
When Gourmandistan had a larger garden, we once planted several rows of okra. We dreamt of the days we’d spend enjoying Southern cormeal-battered, deep fried tiny pods. Unfortunately, our okra seemed...
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Wild blackberry curd and buttercream make a lovely wedding (cake)
The wedding that eventually led to Gourmandistan happened many years ago, and it has been quite a while since we’ve attended anyone else’s. However, a combination of Michelle’s imagination and Steve’s...
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Easy guinea hen gets less greasy
Gourmandistan was happy to learn that our favorite baker and pork supplier had decided to raise a flock of guineas and offer them for sale at our local market. We’re fans of the better-than-chicken...
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Kentuckifying pasta with corn, country ham, butter and peppers
We are big fans of the late Judy Rodgers, even though we find some of the recipes in her fabulous Zuni Cafe Cookbook a bit confusing. However, Rodgers’ delicious “Pasta with Corn, Pancetta, Butter...
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Off for a bit of Bordering
Should our readers wonder where we’ve wandered off to over the next month or so, rest assured we have not forever abandoned our realm of Gourmandistan, nor our two lovely British Shorthair cats. We...
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Easy lamb chops with onion and rosemary, a holiday cottage hero
Gourmandistan is back from its month in England and Scotland. (It was 28 days to be exact, as a somewhat-still-bitter-at-United Airlines Michelle will tell you.) While we were thrilled to swap our...
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Merguez stew somewhat reduces bean surplus
Having snapped up quite a few containers at a recent farmers’ market, Gourmandistan currently has a surfeit of dried beans. Trying to decide what to do with some of them, Michelle came across a recipe...
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A strong friendship continues in salt cod gratin
Nashville, Fall 1977. Two very different girls meet in a Vanderbilt University dormitory. One is visually-inclined, artistic, soft-spoken and sweet. The other is verbal, irreverent and opinionated. One...
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Boozy cherry almond biscotti demonstrate thinking inside and outside the box
Many years ago, Steve had his first day at a new advertising agency, receiving a t-shirt with the company logo and the slogan, “think outside the box.” Steve received it politely but did not wear the...
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