No Fish Fry Tonight

Fried fish is wonderful, but it’s not worth all that oil.  Pity, as there’s no other way to get that crispy, golden crust.  If only there were a loophole, some way to indulge, to delight in the crunch, while reaping the benefits of clean, healthy baked fish. Leave it to Gourmet to find a way…

Wait, Isn’t It a White with Chicken?

A red wine with red meat and a white vintage is reserved for lighter-colored dishes, right?  Maybe, though if anyone is qualified to exceed that guideline it’s the French, and if one dish can make it work, Coq au Vin will do it.  Besides, after marinating in wine for a whole day, as this chicken…

Speeding to New Orleans

When rail travel’s most vibrant days still were yet to be, passengers aboard Illinois Central’s overnight service from Chicago to New Orleans savored fine dining before a contented drowsiness bid them to their cabins.  The evening got underway with a menu offering a variety of beguiling choices, including today’s entry, Shrimp Creole.  Indeed, the dish…

Lift the Lid

Removing the tagine’s conical lid overwhelms , a riot of colors and aromas rising to excite the senses.  Today’s picture gives an idea, perhaps, of the visuals, as four varieties of carrots, a wealth of greens, thin slices of fennel and, of course, the chicken itself excite nearly every imaginable shade. The aroma fully matches…

Never Too Many Almonds!

Today’s dessert is for almond lovers only, but isn’t that pretty much everyone?  As it is, few people have a greater affinity for almond than do the Spanish, who not only grow the nut in orchards throughout the country, but who also started California’s championship almond industry when they settled the territory.  It’s only fitting,…

Start of the Spice Road

Centuries before the outside world discovered chili peppers, traders devoted considerable time to bringing home peppercorns from Southeast Asia.  The journey was as arduous as it was lengthy, leading peppercorns, prized for their flavor and rarity, to be valued more than gold.  No matter whether peppercorns were loaded aboard a ship or transported by caravan…

A Curiosity

“Odd yet savory” works when describing tonight’s concoction, Mushrooms Fester.  As the dish’s title hints, this is among the recipes Addams Family creator Charles Addams collected and intended to put in a macabre-themed cookbook.  Unfortunately, Addams died before he could complete the project, yet his widow gathered what Addams had found, and published it in…