Ace Taylor DuMond, 1954-2010

Ace DuMond, a primary inspiration for this website, passed away Friday, May 7th, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. His beloved wife of nearly 25 years, Sallie, was with him when he died at home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Ace was born April 26, 1954 in Chadron, Nebraska, along with his twin brother Mark. Their parents were Lewis William DuMond and Ruth Lillian DuMond. Ruth passed on in 1986, and "Bill" died in 1994. The family moved to southern California in 1956, which is where the DuMond twins grew up to adulthood. Their home was on Windsor Place near Tustin, and the kids on the block back then became known as "The Windsor Weasels." Ace was able to keep track and stay in contact with some of the Weasels over the years and decades.

He moved to Oregon in the 1970s, becoming heavily involved in the stoneware business. He married Sallie in August of 1985. Their first son, Taylor, was born in 1988. Son number two, Keaton, came along in 1994. Taylor now lives and works in Bend, Oregon. Keaton is a student at the Jackson Hole Community School.

The DuMonds started their own stoneware business, Stoneplex, in the 1980s, and their home and business was located in a rural area in Boring, Oregon, east of Portland. They lived there until relocating to beautiful Jackson Hole. Ace got to live the last seven years of his life in the shadow of the stunning Teton Mountains.

There will be a celebration of Ace's life this coming Sunday near Jackson from 2:00-4:00 p.m. The family plans on another celebration later this summer, probably in the Portland, Oregon area.

Ace & Mark DuMond have some recipes to share!

When did work on this online collection of recipes and stories begin? In a way, on April 26, 1954. That's when Ace and Mark DuMond were born, a month early, in Chadron, Nebraska.

They didn't start cooking right away, of course. In fact, creating stuff in the kitchen came later in life, mostly separately and with the twins' wives, kids and friends. Occasionally, Mark and Ace get together and mess up kitchens simultaneously. So some of the recipes that will eventually end up on this site are Ace's, some are Mark's, and some of them belong to both (as well as being shared with a supporting cast of others).

We'll add recipes to this weblog gradually, along with stories and ruminations regarding family, friends, experiences and life in general. Feel free to comment on them, download them, print them and cook them. To us, recipes are to be shared with others.

Faux Gras (and our 100th post)

This is the 100th post on the DuMond Twins website. Here's to the next 100...

Last month, Sheri' and Mark DuMond put together a dinner party for eight (M & S included) with a French theme. Foie gras seemed like a good choice, but since the DuMonds are lacto-ovo-pesco-vegetarians, goose innards weren't going to make the menu. But they found a recipe and adapted it.

1 stick unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 sweet yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup tawny port
2 15-oz. cans garbanzo beans
2 tsp. white truffle oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Put half the butter in a small skillet and melt over medium heat. Crank the heat down to medium-low and saute the onions in the butter until caramelized and very well done. Add the port and stir well into the cooked onions.

Cook over medium heat until the port in the pan has reduced by about half. Take off the stove and cool completely down to room temperature.

Put the garbanzo beans in a food processor and add the onions and remaining liquid from the pan. Add the truffle oil and buzz the mixture until it becomes a thick paste. Add the remaining soft butter and process until very smooth. Use salt and pepper to season to your taste.

Put the finished product on a serving plate and chill until cold. (If you're serving individually to guests like we did, put a mound or quenelle on small plates and serve with small toasts they can put the faux gras on.)

Gado Gado Salad

The flavors of peanut and coconut were meant to go together. This Indonesian-inspired salad from Mark and Sheri' DuMond is one that can be changed depending on what you have on hand. We didn't include tofu, bean sprouts or cucumbers, but you certainly could.

Mesclun salad greens
1/2 cup soybeans, boiled, drained and cooled
1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup snow peas

1 cup light coconut milk
1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter
1 tsp. red curry paste
1 tsp. sriracha hot chili sauce
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. soy sauce

To make the dressing, put the ingredients from coconut milk through soy sauce in a blender and buzz until smooth. Add soy sauce, lime or whatever to get the flavor you desire.

Arrange on salad plates the greens, soybeans, chickpeas, egg, tomatoes and snow peas. Serve the salad with the dressing separate.

Ace DuMond's Hollandaise: Easy as 3-2-1

Ace DuMond's hollandaise sauce (and Eggs Florentine for that matter) is legendary. Have you ever met anyone who tasted Ace's hollandaise that didn't like it? Didn't think so...

It turns out his recipe is as simple as a quick formula: 3-2-1. As in three egg yolks, two tablespoons lemon juice, one stick of butter.

3 egg yolks
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
Salt & cayenne pepper, to taste

Put the egg yolks and lemon juice in a blender and buzz briefly. Melt the butter in a small saucepan or the microwave. Slowly pour the hot butter into the blender while it's running. Add a pinch of salt and cayenne pepper (you decide how much).

Serve immediately.

A new recipe from Ace & Sallie DuMond (inspired by the "Bucy Farm")

Here is a new one from the Wyoming DuMonds, created immediately following a visit to the Bucys in Wilder, Idaho. In Ace's words:

Sallie and I just made (from scratch) a dish we think is up to the standards of the twins site.

We took a large zucchini (fresh from the Bucy farm), cut 3" to 4" slabs of zucchini carved out leaving the base with 1/4 " of the pulp.

Take 1/3 lb. of ground buffalo and one link of red wine sausage, saute up 2 minutes, add 1/2 diced onion (fresh from Bucy farm) and saute till done.

Add 4 (fresh from the Bucy garlic garden) tomatoes, skinned.

Add to your liking: Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, garlic salt seasoning, oregano, celery salt, Emeril essence, parsley. Cool slightly.

Add about 1 cup of your favorite wild rice (I like Near East). Add 1 cup mozzarella cheese, stuff zucchini cups, top with asiago and parmesan cheese.

Bake 30 minutes, then broil a couple minutes to finish off.

We served with roasted garlic and butter mixed then put on top of rustic sour dough cut in 1/2. Perfect accompanied with salad of your choice.

Ace DuMond's Seattle visit

Last month, Ace DuMond flew to Seattle and stayed at the home of his twin brother Mark and sister-in-law Sheri'.

Longtime friends Twyla and Klaus came up from the Portland area and spent the night. The next morning the DuMonds prepared the classic eggs florentine, with Ace buzzing up his perfect rendition of fabulous hollandaise.

Here are some pics from the visit: