Guy Food

[alamut]

About a month ago npr had this great report on a new study (can't remember who published it, sorry) on the distinctions between men's and women's food cravings. Much of it sounds like stuff we already knew, but what interested me so much was how we all use food to alter our moods. Women are much more likely to use food to comfort them why they feel badly. "Comfort foods," is by far a feminine idea, and for women these foods tend to be high sugar, high fat, low fiber, low protein: chocolates. Us boys, on the other hand, crave certain food not to rehabilitate our mood, but to celebrate when we are already feeling on top of the world. Guy's king of the mountain foods are not surprisingly, high protein, high fat, high carbohydrate, low sugar, low fiber: Steaks & pasta. Although apparently neither of us are getting enough fiber (shocker), the way we eat is very telling. It's not that men don't have "comfort foods" or women don’t celebrate using food, these are of course just average trends.

Anyway I tend to celebrate with grilled hanger steak, pasta with bits of home cured bacon, the occasional White Castle, and bourbon.

[Pontormo]

Is this the story on NPR?

It's about comfort foods.

[Mike Hunt]

I'm Maltese - what you're talking about is called Timpana, which is a pasta pie (Atkins diet, my foot!) To be honest I'm not aware of Calves Brains being used as an ingredient, the normal stuff is basically pasta mixed with bolognaise, eggs, parmesan and encased in pastry.

It's man food alright - it settles in your stomach like a stone, AND it is at its best ordered from scruffy workmen's pubs!

Had a pasta dish in Malta a while back, 'timpani' I think.

Delicious......until I discovered the meat was calves brains.

Got over it and had more.

Nice texture, I recall.

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Checked with my good lady and she confirms that I was not under the influence and it was indeed calves brains with pasta.

Could be wrong about the name though

[Pan]

About a month ago npr had this great report on a new study (can't remember who published it, sorry) on the distinctions between men's and women's food cravings. Much of it sounds like stuff we already knew, but what interested me so much was how we all use food to alter our moods. Women are much more likely to use food to comfort them why they feel badly. "Comfort foods," is by far a feminine idea, and for women these foods tend to be high sugar, high fat, low fiber, low protein: chocolates. Us boys, on the other hand, crave certain food not to rehabilitate our mood, but to celebrate when we are already feeling on top of the world.[...]

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That does it! I'm definitely a hermaphrodite!

[IvanC]

Hmmmm.. might just be.. but then again, like a bolognaise, everyone has his own special recipe! Some people use pork and beef mince, some people only beef, some people swear by adding chicken livers, and some people add (tinned) corned beef.

Personally, I've tried brain fritters and they're very nice!

I'm Maltese - what you're talking about is called Timpana, which is a pasta pie (Atkins diet, my foot!) To be honest I'm not aware of Calves Brains being used as an ingredient, the normal stuff is basically pasta mixed with bolognaise, eggs, parmesan and encased in pastry.

It's man food alright - it settles in your stomach like a stone, AND it is at its best ordered from scruffy workmen's pubs!

Had a pasta dish in Malta a while back, 'timpani' I think.

Delicious......until I discovered the meat was calves brains.

Got over it and had more.

Nice texture, I recall.

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Checked with my good lady and she confirms that I was not under the influence and it was indeed calves brains with pasta.

Could be wrong about the name though

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[FabulousFoodBabe]

About a month ago npr had this great report on a new study (can't remember who published it, sorry) on the distinctions between men's and women's food cravings. Much of it sounds like stuff we already knew, but what interested me so much was how we all use food to alter our moods. Women are much more likely to use food to comfort them why they feel badly. ... Us boys, on the other hand, crave certain food not to rehabilitate our mood, but to celebrate when we are already feeling on top of the world.

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OMG. I wanted so badly to be snarky about this but this is SO right. When Mr. FB sinks a 50 foot putt up a hill, he wants his 10 and tonic, a steak, big glass of Cab, followed by a cigar and port. When I play well, I don't want anything.

BTW, I speak for my husband here often, but when I asked him for his favorite "guy" food he said, "Sandwiches." (Actually, he has a cute way of saying "sandwiches," but if I wrote it here you'd all think I was nuts. And OT.)

[marlowe]

Thank goodness they've invented the home defibrillator just in time:

No problem, honey! Kids stand back, CLEAR!

[Davydd]

Deep fried breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches that are as big as a dinner plate and hang over a bun. That's a man's sandwich.

[The Old Foodie]

I once read that men can only do three things (well, I thought of a fourth, but I think that is off-topic) - they hunt, they talk about hunting, and they stare into the flames (I think the modern equivalent of the latter may be a screen - computer, TV, whatever).

Could this be the explanation of what seems to be the carnivorous leanings of most men? Is is a biological urge that no amount of wifely nagging and anti-oxidant serving will divert?

[misgabi]

My husband regularly says he would be happy to eat steak and mash every day but as the "pesky" woman I require some variety.

Seeing Sklinseys photos - my husband would have eaten both steaks in one sitting (and has done) being the big, boofy rugby boy that he is.

I got him to eat quiche by telling him it was bacon pie!!

I have to "hide the vegetables" like he is a four year old - the amount of grating etc that goes on in this house is scary.

Although I think he would die of shock if he found out he at celeriac (mash), jerulem artichokes (roasted), cabbage (braised), cauliflour (roasted ) and the list goes on.

[Pontormo]

I'm surprised this hasn't been turned into its own thread, except for the fact it's a good day to be outside:

Why Guys Should Drink 17 Beers and Eat Pizza.

[mark922]

Speaking on behalf of my (overly? ) masculine husband...

A big plate of spaghetti with a meaty red sauce, garlic bread and half a bottle of red wine.

A mess of brats with sauerkraut and beer served in his special stein.

Thick beef stew with homemade biscuits and butter. 

A large weekend breakfast of three scrambled eggs, four-five slices of thick bacon, two slices of bread with butter, spicy potatoes fried with onions/red bell-pepper and a tall glass of orange juice. 

He loves grilled food, too. Especially hamburgers, prawns and chicken breasts.

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Definitely brats.

Also, the big breakfast. I don't know why, but when women want a big breakfast, they go for eggs benedict. Me, I'll take a big plate of eggs scrambled with chorizo, topped with a ton of melted cheese, hash browns, beans, hot sauce, and a basket full of steamy hot totillas to wrap the eggs and beans in.

And subs. And salami, just hacked off in chunks and eaten with some pretzels and mustard, washed down with beer.

[mark922]

My husband said "cheeseburger!!" before I even finished the question.

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I could eat cheeseburgers daily, but I don't really think they count as Man-Food. Cheeseburgers are universal.

[srhcb]

Cheeseburgers are universal, but I suspect only men would be inclined to eat them daily?

SB

[srhcb]

Definitely brats. 

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Maybe not a such good choice for disciples of the Brillat-Savarin/Chairman Kaga/Tiny Tim "You Are What You Eat" school of consumption?

SB (eats a lot of sweets)

[jsolomon]

Nah, real man food is baked beans, anything eaten with Nature's Own Utensils , wild game, and CHEAP BEER.

Lard knows I have consumed a veritable lake of Keystone, Milwaukee's Best, Schlitz, and Old Style.

I like it that way, sometimes.

[meyerboy]

OK, i know I am repeating, but my 2 cents:

Brats cooked with the beer boil

Any smoked meats......brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, tri tip, ham, bacon, chicken, duck, turducken, whatever

Anything smoked...period(like cheese and fish)

Obviously steaks

any brown spirit(bourbon specifically for this guy, but single malt will do in a pinch)

what about bread pudding???? am i the only one??????

[snowangel]

Eggs fried in a ton of bacon grease. I like them as much as Paul does.

[Raj Banerjee]

I was wondering, since so much mention has been made of red meat, has anyone mentioned Steak Tartare? With requisite raw egg yolk and cornichons and onions? Also preferably Charolais beef.

Certainly one of my faves...not sure if it classifies as "manly"? I will await judgement!

Raj

PS beer too, of course

[jsolomon]

Nah, not Charolais. They're girly cows. Men, manly men, only eat Texas Longhorns.

[Jason Perlow]

I've always felt that Brazilian churrascaria cuisine -- Rodizio -- was the ultimate representation of Guy Food. Not just meat, but a nonstop parade of of meat and cuts from pork, beef, and anything that walks, essentially. All roasted on a spit with a covering of kosher salt.

Edited June 26, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)

[Angela Alaimo]

I've always felt that Brazilian churrascaria cuisine -- Rodizio -- was the ultimate representation of Guy Food. Not just meat, but a nonstop parade of of meat and cuts from pork, beef, and anything that walks, essentially. All roasted on a spit with a covering of kosher salt.

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....And! It's on a big, sharp, he-man stick so you can put your eye out afterwards. Or be a ninja.

[Daddy-A]

The women of eGullet have their own special thread where they yearn for chocolate and Carbonara.

From time to time Fresser in a Dress shows up along with other amusing, curious men. 

However, it's really for women.  It's about their desires.

What about yours, though?

As Anna Freud famously asked, "What DO men want?"

Not just pizza and beer, surely.  There's lots of evidence here that says otherwise.

However, it would be interesting to explore what members of the other gender think of as distinctly masculine when it comes to their gastronomic appetites.

When do such cravings hit you?

What separates boys from men?

Girlz Allowed.  Okay?

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See, herein lies the difference:

Women want to talk about this stuff.

Men just want to eat.

Proof? A woman started this thread.

A.

[Ling]

See, herein lies the difference:

Women want to talk about this stuff.

Men just want to eat.

Proof?  A woman started this thread.

A.

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How do you explain all the men who replied to this thread, then? I guess you're calling them all women?

[Daddy-A]

How do you explain all the men who replied to this thread, then? I guess you're calling them all women? 

They were nagged into it by a woman?

Besides, I never said men didn't talk about food, just that we'd rather eat than over-think. Thinking hurts. (Note: I left that one wide open ... go ahead, knock it outta da park!)

A.

Edited June 28, 2006 by Daddy-A (log)