Grim-Grinning Gourmet

When everything outside feels like an oven, maybe it's just a matter of changing our perspective, right? This week, Dickie takes on the story behind the things that hiss, gurgle, and drop mad ice: REFRIGERATORS!

Listen to Your Favorite Himbo™️ talk through scientists, preservation methods, and technological developments that made the fridge what it is today. He's got an okay command on the cultural commentary, but yeah, you can definitely plan on him fumbling through refrigeration physics. (His dad's an engineer--no need to pile on too much extra embarrassment)

Joey Chestnut's story continues, too. He went to Texas. It was a whole thing for sure.

So who's ready for full-frontal frigeration? You are, dear listener. Stop pretending like you aren't.

Hit us up at [email protected] or on Instagram @gggourmetpod. Our MERCH site is also up if you want to check out the "Know Where It's Been" line, or support us on Patreon HERE.

It's about to get gassy, bloated, and a little vinegary. But no, this isn't about Dickie's last experience with barbecue takeout on UberEats. When does Hot Himbo Summer start again?

In 2020, social medialites flooded feeds with sourdough starter videos, effectively stripping every grocery store of bread flour. Four years on, we'll take a look back at the much-meme'd phenomenon of sourdough, and beyond, we peel back the layers of science and history behind this rather simple, yet alchemical combination of flour and water.

Dickie shares a baking tip that will help you get the most bang for your buck when it comes to cookies.

Hit us up at [email protected] or on Instagram @gggourmetpod. Our MERCH site is also up if you want to check out the "Know Where It's Been" line, or support us on Patreon HERE.

Sourdough resources and links to the virtual version of the Sourdough Library:

King Arthur Baking Co: Sourdough Guide

Virtual Tour: Puratos Sourdough Library

Ready to unpack and unload some traditions and nonsense around wedding cakes? Dickey sure is!

From the humble, head-smashing origins of mustaceum in Ancient Rome to the tiered confections we see today, there sure are some odd twists and turns before we get to $20 a slice. Special shout-out to Yorkshire for having some absolutely bonkers wedding cake tradishes, and for those 1700s icing recipes that call for literal whale intestine lining and musk.

NDJ announces the ban of a hot dog champ. Oh, the VEGANITY!

Hit us up at [email protected] or on Instagram @gggourmetpod. Our MERCH site is also up if you want to check out the "Know Where It's Been" line, or support us on Patreon HERE.

It's not bitter, sweet, sour, or salty: monosodium glutamate is in a category all her own. (And it might as well be "Icons")

Born of Japanese chemist Ikeda Kikunae and a metric shitton of kelp, we'll chat through MSG's story, including journeys through Chinese, Taiwanese, Japanese, and American food byways.

By the end, will we conclude MSG is the culprit behind the headaches, palpitations, and indigestion described by Chinese Restaurant Syndrome? Glutamic justice proves to be rougher than Dickie imagined, but perhaps discoveries about the Fifth Taste, umami, can provide a clean slate for more measured discussions around tastes and additives.

News du Jour is wondering what the heck is going on with Poppi Soda. They're getting sued, so maybe we just shout "Curtain up!" and see where the cards fall? Whomst is in, yo? LFG!

Join us this week for Dickie's thrilling conclusion to the Titanic Meals series, where he narrows focus on the menus served in the Titanic's final hours afloat.

Whether you're in the mood for a bowl of Cockie Leekie or Lamb Collops in First Class, some Yarmouth Bloaters in Second, or some Jacket Potatoes in Third, you oughta know what that stuff is before you commit to those bits.

NDJ is about sugar this week. Spoiler alert: sugar isn't real.

In the wake of Victoria's death in 1901, the ascendant King Edward VII has a bit of a different agenda in mind for his Empire. #Edward'sVersion

Part two of our Titanic series illuminates the Edwardian culture and puts Dickie's portraits of three Titanic crew in perspective. How did these three crew defy or adhere to these new ideals? Which cities experienced the most loss in the wake of the sinking? Does the heart truly go on?

Plus, Dickie shares a weird food experience that involves meeting strangers, and he talks with said strangers. What a friggen weirdo.

Y'all aboard! This week, Dickie is offering up a blousy, guided tour of the infamous RMS Titanic on the first of a three-part series.

This week, we'll answer...

What that ship do?

Where did they cook things?

Where did they eat these things?

Where did they store the things before things was eaten?

What color did they paint the Third Class Dining Saloon?

Are you ready to fantasize about the ship's 2nd Butcher and Confectioner bunking up together?

All shall be revealed in due time, plus some troublingly grim news-du-jour about exported Indian spices.

What happens when you cross two French words--mélange and menagerie-- that kinda mean the same thing? Well, that's what Dickie is calling a Grim-Grinning Gourmet Melangerie: a quicker-paced, more informal episode that gets you an introduction to some of food and bev's cult classic recipes and genres.

This week, we'll cover fluffy, saccharine world of Dessert Salads. From Ambrosia to Watergate, you're sure to find something colorful and sweet, even if it happens to be sharing a table with casseroles and baked potatoes. These decidedly un-salads will delight the kids at your Memorial Day get-together and earn you the ire of their dentists!

And if that wasn't sweet enough, Dickey nixes a current events nod and instead reviews PuChao Cola candies. This episode is nutritionally deficient in every way possible, and perhaps that's just what you need this week.

Check out this listicle for some sweet salad inspo!

Dickie the Dandy sticks a feather in his cap and calls it...MACARONI [and cheese]! 

Our story will take us through the wheatfields and dairy pastures of history in search of macaroni and cheese's origin story. Whether you enjoy the boxed version or love putting together a casserole of the stuff, you'll no doubt find new inspiration and appreciation for this ever-so-comforting, ooey-gooey culinary masterwork.

You'll meet a plagiarizing legend of domesticity in London, Europe's first celebrity chef of the 14th century, as well as an enterprising, Depression-era salesman from St. Louis.

News du jour is about microplastics, sorry in advance, and we'll include a recipe card here in the show notes if we caught your attention with the Modernist Cuisine mention!

Does Macaroni and Cheese mean something special for y'all? Make sure to tag us on Insta @gggourmetpod or email us at [email protected] to let us know! We're also accepting news du jour leads, if you want to spotlight some weirdness in the world of F&B. (That's short for food and beverage, IYKYK)

In this Very Special Episode™️, Dickie takes a look at the history and folklore behind America's most favorite salad dressing: RANCH! That's right, and whether you fall in love with its ready-made origins in the Alaskan bush or the pairings that made ranch famous--or perhaps Dickie's borderline erotic gush about it--someone at your table is sure to find something to love!

News du jour is about free wine in Italy this week, like, in case you were, like wondering out loud or whatever.

Does ranch mean something to you? Make sure to tag us on Insta @gggourmetpod or email us at [email protected] to let us know! We're also accepting news du jour leads, if you want to spotlight some weirdness in the world of F&B. (That's short for food and beverage, IYKYK)

Copycat recipe from Modern Honey - Chuy's Creamy Jalapeño