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Author Archives: Allison Poindexter

Kemp’s Kitchen: A Honey of a Cake

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of A Honey of a Cake by Kemp Minifie appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live and online.  Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Honey Cake

Photo: Kimberly Sentner

Yet the cake cried out for a glaze to top it off, the way an artfully placed scarf turns a dress into an outfit. My motto has long been that just about everything goes better with chocolate, and in all seriousness, chocolate and spice do make a dynamic duo. Ganache, that sublime mixture of chocolate and cream, would have been my choice to drizzle over the cake, but dietary laws rule out the cream. I consulted a baker friend well versed in kashruth, who recommended unsweetened coconut milk. It provides the creamy liquid that ganache requires, while the coconut flavor is completely masked by the chocolate. A little light corn syrup provides a gloss that doesn’t wane, and when the glaze is slowly poured over the golden brown ring, it drapes like molten velvet over the cake’s curves and valleys.

Gourmet Live’s resident expert Kemp Minifie reveals the inside story on a sublime dessert that’s ideal for Rosh Hashanah—and everything else on your calendar.

Read the full story online and get the recipe for Kemp’s Honey Cake on our sister site, Epicurious.

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Snack Attack

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Allison Poindexter
The full-length feature version of Snack Attack by Casey Barber appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Regional Snack Foods

In this age of corporate conglomeration and instant gratification—not to mention the groundswell of food nostalgia gripping the nation—it’s not surprising to see snacks that used to be local–only treasures popping up in supermarkets across the country. Nowadays, a North Carolina transplant just might discover Cheerwine soda in Utah; a born–and–bred Chicagoan may delightedly devour a bag of Gardetto’s snack mix at a Texas rest stop. It’s more shocking today to come across a few snack food producers sticking loyally to their core markets, letting their regional legions of believers keep the flame alive. Throughout the United States, you’ll still find cult snack foods that continue to use the same family recipes and small–batch production methods that they did in the days of their inception. Here are three of the best.

Gourmet Live guest columnist Casey Barber tracks down the best regional snacks turned cult favorites in the United States.

Download the free Gourmet Live app for the full story and more.

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Meet Mr. Meatless Monday

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of Meet Mr. Meatless Monday by Michael Y. Park appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Sid Lerner

Photo: The Monday Campaigns

The challenge makes Lerner’s smile grow even bigger. “Some die–hard people who never get out to vote, but you try to get them to stop eating meat at every meal and they act like you’re taking away their constitutional rights. Somehow they always make a larger thing out of it—that it’s the beginning of a nanny state that tells you what do with your life,” he says. “We can take care of ourselves, but we obviously aren’t taking care of ourselves. People forget that you can have a car that does 120 mph, but you don’t have to do 120 mph. You stop at red lights, you wear seat belts, you look left and right before you cross an intersection. That’s not an infringement of your liberties.”

Gourmet Live guest columnist Michael Y. Park chats with Sid Lerner, the man who’s bringing Meatless Mondays to millions of tables.

Download the free Gourmet Live app for the full story and more.

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10 Questions for Dr. Brian Wansink

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of 10 Questions for Dr. Brian Wansink appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live and online.  Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Brian Wansink

Photo: Gilberto Taday

He’s been called the Sherlock Holmes of food, having conducted more than 600 experiments focused on eating behaviors and the psychology of consumption. And for Brian Wansink, Ph.D., it’s a question of learning not only what people are eating but how much. As a professor of consumer behavior at the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University, and author of Mindless Eating, Dr. Wansink has devoted his entire career to researching how environment influences our eating habits. He weighed in with his most surprising finds, kid–friendly tricks for balanced meals, and what influence the USDA’s recent switch from a food pyramid to a plate has on our diet.

Gourmet Live caught up with Dr. Brian Wansink, a consumer–behavior and nutrition professor, and best–selling author, to discover how subtle cues can dramatically affect what—and how much—we eat.

Read the full version of 10 Questions for Dr. Brian Wansink online then download the free Gourmet Live app for the full story and more.

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Weekly Roundup: Hearty Fall Favorites

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

Borscht

Cuddle up to autumn with this week’s roundup of hearty fall favorites. From Pumpkin Muffins to Fennel and Apple Gratin, each recipe will ease you into the freshest post-summer produce.

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Getting the Blues

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of Getting the Blues by Garrett McCord appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Blue Cheese

Photo: Garrett McCord

In the same way that few ever start drinking coffee black—beginning instead with plenty of milk and sugar—or cooking with habañeros before trying milder peppers, most people generally have to edge their way slowly into strong blue cheese. You can’t just jump into the deep end; any blue newbie will quickly learn that a chunk of piquant Cabrales will slap you in the mouth so hard your tongue will curl into the back of your throat. This, while amusing, certainly wouldn’t help win over Brian, so I decided to start him on some tamer blue cheeses.
Gourmet Live guest columnist Garrett McCord tries to convert a moldy–cheese hater with a selection of “beginner blues.” Download the free Gourmet Live app for the full story and more.
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Image of the Day: Homemade Hot Buttery Lobster Roll

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

Lobster Roll

Chez Us’ classic Homemade Hot Buttery Lobster Rolls, made with lemon, celery, and green onion, are the ultimate summer send-off sandwich. Whether you spice them up with mayonnaise and relish, or simply serve yours with butter, each bite will bring you back to warm weather bliss.
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Road Trip: Chicago

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

This month on the Gourmet Live & BlogHer Road Trip, we’re hitting the streets of Chicago with the locals’ guide to some of the best eats being served up in the Windy City.

Check out a few of our exclusive tips below from local bloggers in Chicago, then download the free Gourmet Live app and visit BlogHer for the full insider’s guide to the city’s best cuisine.

Chicago

Photo: Adam Jones/Getty Images

What’s the best brunch spot with a view?

The Signature Room at the Ninety–Fifth on top of the Hancock building has the best view. It’s a bit pricey, but there is such a great selection of different kinds of delicious food, and the views of the city and the lake from the 95th floor are incredible!

— Kathy Benson, Four of a Kind

Where would you send a vegetarian or vegan?

I would send them to Green Zebra. They offer vegetarian small plates that are creative, satisfying, and always involving seasonal produce. It’s a cool, date–appropriate restaurant, yet the prices are reasonable for the high–end style of cooking. Though we’re both omnivores, my husband and I consider the Green Zebra one of our favorite restaurants.

— Julie O’Hara, A Mingling of Tastes

For more exclusive tips, download the free Gourmet Live app and visit BlogHer.

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Weekly Roundup: Labor Day Desserts

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

Creme Brulee

Satisfy your sweet tooth this Labor Day weekend with a few sugary treats that will have your friends and family hovering around the dessert table. From Brown Butter Plum Cobbler to Oatmeal Rum Raisin Cookies with Wildflower Honey Ice Cream, each recipe is simple, sweet, and sure to please.
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Image of the Day: Heirloom Tomatoes

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

Heirloom Tomatoes

Is the combination of historic weather and the dwindling days of summer getting you down? Turn to Fresh Local Best for instant culinary inspiration in the form of a no-cook summer favorite: thick slices of heirloom tomatoes sprinkled with salt and cracked black pepper. Up the flavor ante with an optional drizzle of tangy balsamic syrup and a handful of blue cheese crumbles.

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Five Ham Finds

Posted on August 30, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of Five Ham Finds by Kelly Senyei appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Ham Hickory

Photo: Kimberly Setner

Whether you want to get a head start on winter–holiday menu–planning or are looking for an easy, crowd–friendly option for entertaining year–round, one of our five favorite ready–to–eat mail–order hams will likely fit the bill. We sliced and sampled until every last piece was tasted and every ham bone was spoken for and ready to star in a batch of collard greens or a summer rendition of split pea soup. And although not everyone here at Gourmet Live shared my predilection for the HoneyBaked brand, everybody was eager to claim their own favorite flavor or texture among the selections.

Gourmet Live’s Kelly Senyei headed up a taste test of spiral-sliced, smoked, and sugar-coated mail–order hams to find the best ones around.

Download the free Gourmet Live app to see her five, pig-perfect picks.

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Bringing Home the Bacon … With a Rifle

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of On the Hunt by Hank Shaw appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live and online. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Wil Boar

Photo: Holly A. Heyser

First I removed the limbs. Front legs are not attached to the body by bone, so they are easily removed. The back legs are attached by a ball–and–socket joint, and it takes a little skill not to massacre the hams while doing this. Fortunately I’d studied the classic book Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game by John Mettler. The backstrap (loins) I deboned—I did not feel like breaking out the hacksaw to split the backbone to make proper pork chops, which can be tricky. Sawing off the shanks and ribs was much easier. Love me some wild boar ribs. That left a lot of stray bits all over what remained of the carcass. Sausage meat!

Gourmet Live guest columnist, hunter, gatherer, and cook Hank Shaw heads to the hills of California to show us what it’s like to stalk, kill, and cook wild boar.

Read the full-length version of Bringing Home the Bacon … With a Rifle then download the free Gourmet Live app for recipes and more.


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10 Questions for Chris Cosentino

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of 10 Questions for Chris Cosentino appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live and online. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Chris Cosentino

GL: With your restaurant Incanto’s menu including everything from Leg of Beast to Blood Pappardelle, is there a single dish you consider the most extreme?

CC: I don’t like the word extreme because it reflects a personality or trend versus what we’re actually doing at the restaurant, which is just serving good food with California ingredients (including offal) firmly rooted in Italian traditions. Also, what may be adventurous for an American diner is completely normal for another person from a different culture, so extreme is a relative term. I put food on the menu for flavor, not shock value.

Gourmet Live caught up with offal pioneer Chris Cosentino, who’s taking snout–to–tail cooking (and eating) to all new heights.

Read the full-length version of 10 Questions for Chris Cosentino then download the free Gourmet Live app for recipes and more.

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Weekly Roundup: Bring on the Bacon

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

Bacon Grits

Juicy, smoky, sweet, salty, and crispy, bacon is one of those meats that make carnivores swoon. From classic sandwiches to bacon-inspired sweets, this week’s roundup highlights the versatility of our favorite cured pork product.

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Spain’s Foie Gras

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of Spain’s Foie Gras by Gerry Dawes appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Spanish Ham

Different types of jamón Ibérico in La Boquería market in Barcelona. Photo: Gerry Dawes©2011/gerrydawes@aol.com.

Indeed, jamón Ibérico de bellota, from free–range pata negra (black hoof) Ibérico pigs fattened on acorns, is to Spain what foie gras is to France—except that this luxury food item is available in even modest bars, stores, and restaurants all over the country. Named for the acorn (bellota) element of the Ibérico pig’s diet, this delicacy is at the top of Spain’s ham hierarchy, with prices to match. (In Europe, it goes for the equivalent of roughly $30 per pound at entry level to about five times that.) Less costly versions—made from pigs fattened on fewer days of free–range acorn foraging to supplement a cereal diet (jamón de recebo), or little or no acorn consumption (jamón de cebo)—can still be delicious yet don’t send pork partisans into the same heights of gastronomic ecstasy as do the top–of–the–line Ibérico de bellota hams.

Gourmet Live guest columnist Gerry Dawes takes a look at the pampered gluttonous lives of the celebrated Ibérico hams, the Spanish equivalent of France’s Foie Gras.

Download the free Gourmet Live app for the full story and more.

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The Pigs Are Alright

Posted on August 25, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of The Pigs Are Alright by Kristin Kimball appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live and online.  Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Kimball Pig

Photo: Kristin Kimball

And what meat. Of the animals we raise for eating, pigs are my favorite on the plate. The traditional scale of luxury runs from high on the hog to low: loin, chop, belly, feet, and offal. But if you ask me, when it comes to pork, there is no relation between price per pound and enjoyment. In fact, I’d take a cheap piece of fresh pig liver, transmogrified into pâté, over a slice of expensive loin any day. And I’m always amazed by how even a tiny bit of pork fat, combined with salt, makes magic with other food. If you think you don’t like kale, or Brussels sprouts, or cabbage—or cardboard—come over to our house and I’ll cook some for you with a little fatback or pancetta, and then tell me what you think.

Gourmet Live guest columnist and farmer extraordinaire Kristin Kimball reveals how her family can raise and care for pigs and kill and eat them at the same time.

Read the full-length version of The Pigs are Alright then download the free Gourmet Live app for recipes and more.

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Image of the Day: Beetroot, Zucchini & Apple Salad

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

Apple_beetroot_zucchini

Green Kitchen Stories’ earthy and delicious Beetroot, Zucchini & Apple Salad, topped with macadamia nuts, Queso Manchego, and herb and mustard dressing, is the perfect end-of-summer salad. Marinated, grilled zucchini contrasts with raw beets and apples, giving this healthy creation a great textural contrast.

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A Summertime Bounty in Southwestern France

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of A Summertime Bounty in Southwestern France by Sara Bonisteel appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

France Farmers Market Radishes

French breakfast radishes, with their slender red roots tipped with white, have a mild peppery flavor that pairs perfectly with fresh sweet cream butter and a couple of grains of coarse sea salt for an appetizer or bar snack, which is how I first learned to eat them Stateside, at a gastropub in Brooklyn. In the Dordogne, we sliced them in chunks for our salad, served with a homemade Dijon vinaigrette.

Gourmet Live guest columnist Sara Bonisteel snaps and samples her way through France’s Le Bugue on the Dordogne’s gorgeous, gluttony-inspiring farmers’ market while making stops for radishes, cheese, sour cherries, eggs, and more.

Download the free Gourmet Live app for the full story and more.

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A Corny Story

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of A Corn Story by Kristin Kimball appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Corn

Photo: Francesca Yorke/Getty Images

I’m thinking about that as I choose my ears for dinner. In summer’s decline, I crave ears that are as mature as the season feels now, the kind of corn you find for sale on a street corner in Chiapas: ears with hulking kernels that I can sink my teeth into, with a complex corn character. Most farmers here grow the corn that American tastes demand, the extra–sugary hybrid varieties with kernels that pop off into your mouth when you bite. When picked at just the right stage, and eaten very fresh, I guess they deserve their celebrity. But as soon as their sweetness begins to fade, I find there’s nothing to back it up. These modern varieties have gained extra Brix points—the standard measure for sugar content—but lost their substance, the nourishing, nutty depth that makes corn more than a vehicle for salt and butter.

Gourmet Live guest columnist, and New York farmer extraordinaire, Kristin Kimball sings the praises of the controversial yet delectable over-grown grass, and darling of farmers’ markets across the country, corn.

Download the free Gourmet Live app for the full story and more.


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Market Man Rides Again

Posted on August 22, 2011 by Allison Poindexter

The full-length feature version of Market Man Rides Again by Jane Lear appears in the current issue of Gourmet Live. Download the free Gourmet Live app for this story and more.

Peter Hoffman

Photo: Michael Harlan Turkell, http://harlanturk.com

Like Alice Waters, at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, Hoffman had found inspiration in France as well as in his own backyard; his early mentors included the teacher and author Madeleine Kamman, who trained him in Paris and encouraged his interest in regional cooking, and Chris Letts, a Hudson River fisherman (and now educator) who introduced him to the natural world and the concept of foraging. At Savoy, the young chef’s cooking (Rosenfeld ran the front of the house and made the pastries) was down–to–earth yet visionary; to many, the fact that he wasn’t afraid to fail was constantly intriguing. Dishes such as grilled tuna sauced Catalan style, with ground nuts, peppers, and tomatoes, and served with knock–‘em–dead all–American onion rings, soon put his kitchen on the map. It was pioneer food, the sort that began to change the way America ate. Ruth Reichl, who wrote about the California food scene before she began reviewing for The New York Times, knew what she was seeing and tasting, and, in 1995, awarded Savoy two stars.

Gourmet Live guest columnist Jane Lear looks back and forward at the farm-to-table movement with Peter Hoffman, New York’s original locavore chef.

Download the free Gourmet Live app for the full story and more.


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