Tag Archives: Blue Apron

News and Reviews: Pie Successes and Failures, Hello Fresh, Chef’s Table, and Cookbooks I am Reading


Episode 014-  This show has a lot of news and reviews that you can use!

Program Note:   If you have a favorite MRE, call the listener line and tell me about your favorite! (716) 427-GUYS (4897).

If you served in the military, you’ve enjoyed field rations.  Okay, “enjoyed” is most assuredly not the best word but you have at least eaten them.  The anniversary of my enlistment date into the Marine Corps is coming up so I am preparing a show on MREs, C-Rations, etc.  Please include:

  • Your name
  • Where you’re calling from
  • Branch and years of service
  • Your favorite MRE and why

If you don’t want to call, create a voice memo on your smartphone and email it to gabe@guysandfood.com.  I will include your comments in this future episode.

Update how my food sacrifices have been going during Lent.

This presented some challenges while as my family did a test drive of the Hello Fresh meal delivery service.  You’ll recall, I did a review of Blue Apron in Episode 010 of Guys and Food.

I just started watching Chef’s Table on Netflix and I can heartily recommend it.  I will tell you why.

Because my brother-in-law is German, while at a library sale I picked up The New German Cookbook by Jean Anderson and Hedy Wűrtz. I review that book and tell you about about a newly discovered food  that is now a family favorite.

I finally got to bake the Maple Cream Pie (page 152) from Pies and Tarts by Kristina Peterson Migoya that I’ve been discussing.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I had a problem with my first attempt at the the all butter pie crust, so I will tell you what I did to fix that.

One pie is never enough and since March 14th was Pi Day (3.14 get it?!) I also made a Chocolate Silk Pie with a Graham Cracker Crust (page 502) from Pie by Ken Haedrich. 

I tucked into Art of the Pie by Kate McDermott. You’ll hear my review of that.   Incidentally, this book was nominated for a James Beard Award.

Also nominated for a James Beard Award, is The Sporkful. The show’s host, Dan Pashman was on Episode 005 of the Guys and Food podcast.  Kudos to a really nice guy!


All of the links here are for your use and enjoyment.  None are affiliate links.

What Would Harry Potter Eat?, Blue Apron Test Drive, Celebrating a Milestone, and Other Musings


Episode 010- It’s a milestone tenth episode of the podcast! Thanks to you if you’ve taken the time to listen to any of the Guys and Food podcasts or read any of my blog posts.  This is truly a labor of love and I appreciate your help in building the Guys and Food community.

There are lots of ways to connect:

  • Go to the contact page.
  • Email info@guysandfood.com
  • Leave a message on the listener line:  716-427-GUYS (4897)

I will  tell you about my recent trip to Florida.  This included a few days at Universal specifically to spend time at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  We ate at The Three Broomsticks and The Leaky Cauldron, two British pub-like places.  Interestingly, the food defied my expectations.  Considering the throngs of people these establishments serve, the chow was delicious and served in a timely fashion.

You will also hear my reflections on two drinks inspired by the Harry Potter books, Butterbeer and the lesser known Pumpkin Juice.  There is a recent interview in Bon Appetit with the guy behind the Harry Potter themed food at Universal, Steve Jayson. The recipe for Butter Beer is secret ( I know because before I saw this article, I tried to pry it from the public relations folks at Universal) but there are plenty of people on the internet who have their own take on how to make it.  

After that, we drove to our usual winter getaway, a place called Marco Island.  We normally lay around, read, go to the beach, and eat.  It’s a very causal time on the island but every year my wife and I go to a fancier place that serves classic French cuisine called The Island Cafe.  My lovely bride and I use this meal as our little romantic getaway together.  This time, however, we decided to take my mother-in-law and our ten-year-old son.  I will talk about his experience eating escargot and mussels for the first time.

After we got home, we caught up on our food show viewing including the finale of The Great American Baking Show.   You’ll recall that in episode 004 of the podcast, I made my guess on who I thought was going to win.  SPOILER Alert–I will let you know who won and how close my guesses were to being correct.

During Christmas, our friends gifted us Blue Apron. We had the delivery of two meals this week, Hosin Chicken Steam Buns with broccoli and marinated carrots and Mexican-spiced Beef and Rice Casserole.  I will weigh-in on the experience.

Finally, I’ll tell you about the interviews that are coming up in future episodes!


By the way, any of the links above are for your use and enjoyment.  None of these are affiliate links.