gourmet

The word gourmet is usually applied to food (as in gourmet chocolate) or a place that offers such items (as in a gourmet restaurant or grocery store), but can sometimes be used to describe any high quality experience or pastime; often associated with sophisticated tastes. Since the 1980's, the consumption of gourmet food has been on the increase.

In some cases, gourmet meals can be more expensive to make than non-gourmet meals due to the cost of the ingredients used in recipe preparation. However, this is not always true. Some foods and meals are considered to be gourmet due to the quality or origin of their ingredients, their rarity, freshness, or because of their method of preparation (as in the case of some organic, artisanal, or ethnic foods). As a result, even such traditionally low cost and everyday foods as macaroni and cheese and pizza can be prepared in a ways that are often considered to be gourmet.

The word gourmet can also be used to describe someone knowledgeable and/or passionate about food, cooking, or culinary preparation (like a chef, cook, or food writer). You'll find plenty of information about gourmet dining at blogs like Cannelle et Vanille, Chocolate and Zucchini, and David Lebovitz.com.

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Latest blogosphere posts tagged “gourmet”

• Magical Flavor Of Gourmet Coffee Beans

  
  Food & Recipes Tips — Authority: 130
  If you drink coffee and have ever stopped to look at the different types of gourmet coffee beans, you might want to actually give some a try next time you’re shopping for coffee. Instead of grabbing that huge tube of…
  14 hours ago

• Queenies Treasury

  
  Queenie Takes Manhattan — Authority: 423
  Sorry that the Treasury is a bit late this week - I woke up this morning and was busy with housework (and lunch with the bro and sis-in-law) until...right now! (OK, I admit - I paused to mix myself a Manhattan.) First up this week, a truly awesome blog. Cherrypatter NYC is a look at fabulous things to do - and ...
  18 hours ago

• (RRGB) Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Fails to Lure Diners

  
  Stock Blog Hub — Authority: 532
  Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. ( RRGB ), the casual dining restaurant operator, recently reported dismal third-quarter 2009 results. The quarterly earnings of 37 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and fell 17.8% from 45 cents posted in the prior-year quarter. Total revenue tumbled 10.4% ...
  18 hours ago

• Discover How To Buy Coffee For Less

  
  Food & Recipes Tips — Authority: 130
  If you want to buy coffee for less, you could join a warehouse club and buy a case of the same old coffee you buy at the supermarket. You’ll get a discount ranging from a few pennies to several cents…
  1 day ago

• Vegan Tofu Lemon Cupcakes

  
  SHIZUOKA GOURMET — Authority: 429
  This is a slightly different version of the Japanese style vegan tofu cupcake I introduced a couple of days ago. It will give you an idea of how to play on that idea! INGREDIENTS: For about 16 cakes -Tofu (kinu tofu): 180 g -Sugar (of your choice): 0 g -Soy milk: 3 tablespoons -Lemon juice: 1 tablespoon -Olive ...
  1 day ago

• #1: KitchenAid Gourmet Essentials 12-Piece Nonstick Hard-Anodized Cookware Set

  
  SuperSave Price.com — Authority: 164
  KitchenAid Gourmet Essentials 12-Piece Nonstick Hard-Anodized Cookware Set KitchenAid 103 days in the top 100 (123) Buy new: $523.00 $174.95 6 used & new from $164.99 (Ranking is updated hourly. Visit the Bestsellers in Kitchen & Dining list for authoritative information on this product’s current rank.) ...
  1 day ago

• #2: KitchenAid Gourmet Essentials 12-Piece Nonstick Hard-Anodized Cookware Set

  
  SuperSave Price.com — Authority: 164
  KitchenAid Gourmet Essentials 12-Piece Nonstick Hard-Anodized Cookware Set KitchenAid 103 days in the top 100 (123) Buy new: $523.00 $164.99 6 used & new from $164.99 (Ranking is updated hourly. Visit the Bestsellers in Kitchen & Dining list for authoritative information on this product’s current rank.) ...
  1 day ago

• Seattle Washington in a Glance

  
  Travel Tips — Authority: 133
  If you’ve never experienced Seattle, Washington, now is as good a time as any to do so. Maybe now is the best time ever for a nice visit to Seattle. Whatever your interests, there is sure to be something here…
  1 day ago

• Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti

  
  Brown Eyed Baker — Authority: 461
  Man cannot live on sweets alone. Most of us will have to repeat this mantra to ourselves over and over again over the course of the next couple of months. Between leftover Halloween candy, pumpkin pie galore, and Christmas cookies by the tin, it’s possible that a lot of us will be in a sugar coma come January 1st. ...
  1 day ago

• Matcha Tofu Muffins

  
  SHIZUOKA GOURMET — Authority: 429
  Tofu and Matcha tea are considered for good reasons as health food here in Japan. They can also be combinedinto a very European/American style cake: Muffins! INGREDIENTS: For about 6 muffins -Tofu (kinu tofu): 150 g (no need to press waterout) -Egg: 1 -Wheat (use one of your preference): 4 tablespoons -Cornstarch: ...
  1 day ago

• Two California luxury hotels added to AAA’s 2010 Five Diamond Award list

  
  L.A. Times - Daily Travel Deal Blog — Authority: 618
  Open less than a year, the Resort at Pelican Hill, south of Laguna Beach, has struggled against the tides of a beleaguered economy. But that doesn’t mean it can’t take a great compliment. The luxury coastal property is one of two California resorts that have danced into the exclusive ranks of AAA’s just-released ...
  1 day ago

• Quick Cupcake Maker Review… kind of: The Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker

  
  THE BLARG — Authority: 429
  My dog ate my review, -Shady elhnOaOzgy4
  1 day ago

• Time Magazine Environmental Hero Casson Trenor

  
  North Atlantic Books Blog — Authority: 117
  Casson Trenor’s life passion is ocean conservation. With rising concern over unsustainable fishing practices and recent alerts about the rapidly shrinking bluefin tuna population worldwide, consumers may finally be waking up to the state of our oceans. Because of his involvement in opening one of North America’s ...
  1 day ago

• Coconut Pound Cake, Gourmet October 1973

  
  Eat The Blog — Authority: 133
  When I woke this morning I had no idea what I would be baking for Friday Cakeblogging. As I drank my coffee, I mindlessly flipped through an old issue of Gourmet (from the ancient collection) looking for inspiration. I wanted something plain, after all the frosted cakes of late. This pound cake sounded perfect, and as ...
  2 days ago

• Just us and a Wandering Goat

  
  RedEye — Authority: 627
  CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GALLERY OF PHOTOS Want to see something delicious? @redeyechicago attended last nights Wandering Goat dinner put on by Stephanie Izard - it was held at the home of Art Smith. The winner of our Virtual Kitchen Stadium contest, Mimi Medalle (@mi2medalle) got the chance to work alongside ...
  2 days ago

• I Love Gourmet Jelly Beans

  
  Authspot — Authority: 513
  Many colours you come in. Red. Green. Blue. Yellow. You come speckled and marbled. I love you all. Pop you in my mouth one by one. Butter popcorn is my favourite flavour. At $4 a packet, I save every cent. I eat you on a special day. With my special friends.
  2 days ago

• We Hear You, Monkey

  
  foodcourtlunch.com — Authority: 122
    It’s been one of those weeks, so I’m phoning it in with a simple image that may be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen this early into a November. And I know it’s probably been around for years, but something like this never goes out of style, does it?   A particular hat tip to Tao, whose chronicling of ...
  2 days ago

• Baked Tofu Cheese Cake

  
  SHIZUOKA GOURMET — Authority: 429
  One way to lighten your cheese cake and invest into a new taste is to introduce tofu! Here is a simple recipe that will please anyone woorying about unwanted calories: Baked Tofu Cheese Cake! INGREDIENTS: -Cream Cheese (Philadelphia): 230 g -Tofu (kinu tofu): 200g (before pressing water out) -Sugar: 70g (of your ...
  2 days ago

• Second class food?

  
  Tokyo photojournalist: photos and features from Japan. — Authority: 106
  Perhaps only Japan would have an event celebrating “2nd class food”? It’s probably something to do with the fact that even the fast food in Japan tends to be very good. This year the B1 Grand Prix was held in Yokote-city up in Akita prefecture. B1 stands for B-Class Gourmet, foods like yakisoba, okonomiyaki, ...
  2 days ago

• Today’s Lunch Box/Bento (’09/71): PC Crash Bento 2

  
  SHIZUOKA GOURMET — Authority: 429
  As of November 2nd, the Kojima Company had not called me back yet to announce that my laptop was finally ready for me to collect. I had been without it for 11 days by then and for all the time suddenly found to write and read, I was really beginning to suffer from hi-tec retrieval! I had requested the Missus to ...
  2 days ago

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