Monthly Archives: December 2016

Podcast Episodes

James Glucksman- A Food Guy Who Followed His Passion!

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Episode 007- Many food guys share their dreams about one day lining up their passion for food into some sort of food-related business.  James Glucksman is a guy who did just that.

After years of kicking the idea around, this native New Yorker wound up leaving his job as a business consultant and opening up a lodge on the other side of the world!  It’s called Pen-y-bryn Lodge in Oamaru, New Zealand.  He does all the cooking for the place including making many of the operation’s own cheeses, sausages, etc. He’ll share his story of how all that happened and he’ll also share the story behind his mother’s fruitcake recipe.

You’ll recall that in Episode 004  I explained how I had a hankering to make fruitcake for the holidays this year.  When my mother could not find her recipe, I asked some folks in a Facebook  group called Cookbook Junkies for suggestions. Glucksman suggested his mom’s recipe.  It sounded intriguing, so I chose that one to make.  After weeks of lovingly fortifying it with cognac and letting it mature, I finally got to eat it.  In this week’s show, you get my reaction and the reaction of my decidedly non-fruitcake liking family.

I also used new recipes for an Italian holiday treat called struffoli and for molasses cookies.  On Christmas morning, I also made a ham and cheese strata for breakfast.  It is a very easy, hands-off recipe that is perfect for breakfast or brunch.  For Christmas dinner we had lasagna. We still have quarts of sauce and leftovers in the refrigerator.

Santa brought me two books that I have been wanting too! The Mad Feast|An Ecstatic Tour Through America’s Food by Matthew Gavin Frank and Food 52 Genius Recipes by Kristen Miglore.

If you would like to be a guest on the show, go to guysandfood.com to find out more!

Note: Any links above are not affiliate links

 

 

 

Podcast Episodes

A Sparkling Wine Guide for Celebrations of the Season or any Time of Year!


Episode 006-It is fitting and proper during the time of celebrations that champagnes, prosecco, and other  sparkling wines are offered to give toasts or merely to enjoy during a party. Howard Riedel is our wine guy and he has some very helpful recommendations for you.  You’ll learn the origins and differences between all those sparkling wines. Here are Howard’s suggestions:

High End Champagnes ($150-300)

Mid-Level Champagnes ($40-60)

California Sparkling Wines ($15-25)

Spanish Cava

Jaume Serra Cristalino

You’ll also hear about the latest of my baking and cooking adventures in the wake of my cold. You’ll remember from previous episodes that I wanted to make a molasses cookies for my wife.  Not having a recipe, I searched the online tool that I use to organize my growing cookbook library called Eat Your Books. You’ll hear an interesting story on why I ultimately chose this molasses cookie recipe from the All-American Cookie Book by Nancy Baggett.

I also mention my recipe for old school tomato sauce that was recently published in a magazine.  I will be using this for my traditional Christmas Lasagna.

Note: None of these links included above are affiliate links

Podcast Episodes

Dan Pashman from The Sporkful, a Food Guy You Should Know!

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Episode 005- Dan Pashman is my kind of food guy.  He is smart, thoughtful, and funny! He also knows his food.  Once you listen to his podcast from WNYC called The Sporkful you’ll understand why it is not only my favorite food-related podcasts, but my favorite podcasts in general. You may also see Dan on You’re Eating It Wrong on the Cooking Channel. Maybe you caught him recently with Guy Fieri on the Food Network.

He was very gracious of him to come on the show.  While I admit that I am a bit of a Sporkful fanboy, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t take Dan to task for his approach to my hometown food, the chicken wing (aka Buffalo wings by rookies) during our talk. Here is video demonstrating his (and other) wing eating techniques.

Incidentally, this is not the first time that Dan and I have been on a podcast together.  Dan interviewed me for The Sporkful’s Veterans Day show. Take a listen!

Other things on the show: I keep you up-to-date on my Christmas baking including some discussion about egg nog and a  recipe I posted from Popular Mechanics on the Guys and Food Facebook page. If you enjoy the tastes associated with eggnog, pie expert and cookbook author Ken Haedrich has an eggnog cream pie that looks interesting.

In other news, I was interviewed about Guys and Food recently by my good friend Howie Greene on his radio program called Speak Your Mind.

Podcast Episodes

Your Cookware Buyer’s Guide

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Episode 004  Pots and pan choices can be overwhelming!  What do you really need compared to what is merely nice to have? After you’ve decided the pieces that you need, what materials are best for cooking?  Scotty Harris is an expert authority on the subject. He is a chef instructor at the Niagara Falls Culinary Institute in Niagara Falls, New York.  He also opines on his blog Cooking in Theory and Practice. Scotty will give you his cost /benefit analysis on cookware and he’ll also tell you us about his food journey.  After being an amateur chef for many years, he left a career as an attorney and transitioned to cooking as a profession. You’ll hear about that too!

My mom couldn’t find her recipes, so my holiday baking list will include someone else’s  mother’s fruit cake.  I saw this recipe in a Facebook group that I am on called Cookbook Junkies.  The guy who offered the recipe is James Glucksman and he is the owner of Pen-y-bryn Lodge in Oamaru, New Zealand.  He was nice enough to give me pointers too.  In addition to James’ mom’s fruitcake, I will be making  and Italian holiday treat called struffoli and molasses cookies.  What kind of baking will you be doing for the upcoming holidays?  Let us know!

I give my reaction to the season premieres of Top Chef and The Great American Baking Show and I give my guess who will win both competitions.

A few weeks ago, I got the charter issue of Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Magazine.  I finally got to cook from it!

Finally, I want to get you ideas for upcoming episodes.  I asked on the Guys and Food Facebook page, and got some good suggestions.  If you have suggestions for the show, let me know.  Email me at gabe@guysandfood.com or call 716-427-GUYS (4897).

Also, if you (or some guy that you know) would be a good guest on the podcast, let me know!

 

 

 

Podcast Episodes

Food Books for the Holidays (or Anytime of Year)


Episode 003 – Jonathan Welch is the co-owner of Talking Leaves Books, an independent bookseller with two locations in Buffalo, New York.   He gives you ideas on what cookbooks and other food-related books make great gifts to give (and to receive) this holiday season.

He also makes a very good case on why you might want to support your local independent bookstore.  In our conversation, he mentions a resource called Indiebound, to help find an independent book store in your town.

A book to consider is Dinner Pie by a  recent guest, noted cookbook author and authority on pie, Ken Haedrich. (This is not an affiliate link)

I do a debrief on how Thanksgiving went.  This includes how I used Marmite in the meal. Incidentally, this is my first time using it.

On a whim, I whipped up a coffee cake from Warren Brown’s United Cakes of America but I had a few challenges with substitutions.

I also discuss the season premieres of Top Chef and The Great American Baking Show.

Finally, what kind of baking will you be doing for the upcoming holidays?  Let us know!