Cuisine Eric

Here is my riff off of the famous Marcella Hazan's tomato sauce.  She uses onion and butter, but I add a few tasty bits to kick it up a notch.  Very simple and easy and oh, so fantastic. I am appalled by the prices of some of the fancier tomato sauces in the grocery today.  As much as $6-9 for 24 oz. This makes almost three times that amount for the same price, and is so much more fresh. And you know what's in it - only the best! I was inspired to make this after eating at Gia Batta Alimentari in Tivoli, NY.  Owned and operated by descendants of the Buitoni family, famous for their pasta, they serve the very best fettuccini with red sauce I have ever had, either here or in Italy. This comes close to a high fidelity reverse engineering of their sauce, I'd say. 4 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 large onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp favorite fresh aromatic herbs such as thyme or oregano (I also use a bit of rosemary), minced Dash crushed red pepper flak...

A classic French potato salad is served at room temperature and does not typically contain mayonnaise, but is dressed with vinaigrette. It's light and aromatic and goes very well with summer outdoor dining!  Here's one with lots of aromatics. Summer's coming so let's go! 12-16 oz waxy potatoes (I did not peel), cut into 3/4-inch pieces Dressing: 2 small stalks celery, finely diced 1/2 red Fresno pepper, finely minced 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 2 green onions, finely minced 1 Tbsp capers, finely minced small palmful cilantro or parsley, finely minced 1/3 cup favorite French vinaigrette Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until fork tender. Drain and allow to come to room temperature. Meanwhile, mix together the dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Fold the room temperature potatoes into the dressing and allow to marinate at least an hour, stirring often. Serves 4-6 as a side dish.

These are not your store-bought lemon-pepper flavor, but a rich melange of fresh lemon, butter, garlic and honey, kicked up by slightly piquant melange of red Fresno pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and black pepper.  Mixing small amounts of different peppers really brings out the aromatic side of pepper, while managing the bite. A garnish of cilantro brings a fresh finishing note. And, by the way, yes, these are soft! But I'm over a week after surgery so I think I'm gonna have a nice juicy steak tonight! Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/4 cup white wine 1 tsp honey 1 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 lb bay scallops 2 cloves garlic, finely minced Zest of 1 lemon 1/2 red Fresno pepper, minced Dried red chili flakes, to taste Dash freshly ground black pepper 1 Tbsp butter Cilantro, minced, for garnish Dissolve the honey in the lemon juice and wine. Melt the butter in the oil in a skillet. Add the scallops and the next five ingredients to the skillet over high heat and cook, stirring, for...

Our daughter-in-law's mother is a fantastic cook and taught me how to make dumplings.  Here is what we did, though I have now made them with many fillings and many cooking techniques. Dumplings are comfort food; enjoy. And by the way, these are the next in my series of soft foods if you steam or boil. 1 lb ground pork 3 green onions, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, minced ½ inch fresh ginger, minced 1-1/2 cups savoy cabbage, diced 1/2-inch 1 egg 1 Tbsp soy sauce 2 tsp sesame oil dash crushed red pepper flakes to taste   14-oz package circular dumpling or wonton wrappers   Dipping Sauce: 2 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp rice vinegar 2 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp sugar ¼ tsp red pepper flakes or chili oil   Mix together the pork and the next 8 ingredients.    Fill a small cup with some water. With your finger, moisten the edges of a dumpling wrapper.   Add about 2 tsp of the pork filling onto the middle of each wrapper. Gather and pinch edges of wrappers together. Steam ...

There's nothing so comforting - and soft - as a warm banana blueberry muffin in the morning! I offer this for my third in the 'soft food' series. Beside scrambled eggs which are a soft staple around here, these can kick your morning up a notch. Dry ingredients: 2-1/4 cups all purpose flour 1-1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda Wet ingredients: 2 eggs 1/2 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I used whole fat) 1/4 cup whole milk 4 Tbsp butter, melted 3/4 cup sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 banana, finely diced, 1/4 inch 3/4 cup small wild blueberries (I thawed Trader Joe’s frozen) Coarse Turbinado sugar for topping Preheat oven to 375F. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl. Beat together the wet ingredients in a mixer’s bowl.  Mix in the dry ingredients. The batter will be very stiff and sticky.  Fold in the banana with a spatula.    Then gently fold in the blueberries. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups - I used lightly oil-sprayed silicone.   Top each...