Cuisine Eric

This is a delicious home-made tomato soup I made quite a while ago at my sister's house (scanning the archives) that is simple to make and so rewarding! Tomato soup is comfort food - especially if accompanied by a grilled cheese sandwich, for example! We should all make this more often. 2 pints grape tomatoes 2 medium onions, peeled and diced 6 whole cloves garlic, peeled 1 tsp dried herbes de Provence (or Italian herbs) 1/4 cup olive oil 1 tsp kosher salt A good dash black pepper, to taste 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste Preheat oven to 400F.   Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl. Transfer to a large baking sheet and spread evenly.  Roast for about 30 minutes, or until tomatoes have wrinkled and onions are cooked through. You can stir half way through.   Extend cooking time as necessary. Slightly blackening the tomatoes will only give greater depth and flavor to the soup! Meanwhile, bring the sherry to a boil in a small pot on the stove.   C...

This is a simple yet suculent way to roast fish. Here I use haddock, but you could use most any fish including cod or tilapia, or as I did on the west coast, wild-caught Rockfish (delicious). The tomatoes offer a fresh flavor complement to the fish slathered with a rich aioli topping. This is a quick, easy way to prepare fish on a busy weeknight. 1-1/2 lb haddock fillet (Captain’s cut preferred - thicker), patted dry Aioli: 1/4 cup good real mayonnaise 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 Tbsp favorite hot sauce 1 pint grape tomatoes 1/2 tsp dried dill weed Fresh parsley, minced, for garnish Lemon wedges for garnish Preheat oven to 375F. Oil a medium baking dish (about 7x10-inch). Lay haddock fillet in dish. Whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard and hot sauce in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, cover the fillet evenly with the aioli sauce. Toss the tomatoes with a dash of olive oil and scatter them over the fish. Season with dill and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Bake fish for about 20 mi...

These are crunchy and jammy delights. A dash of coarse cornmeal gives them crackle, nuts give them flavor and jam gives them comfort. They are especially easy to prepare last minute, because the butter should be refrigerator-cold (no waiting for butter to get to room temperature!), so they are a go-to recipe for last minute cookie needs! 1/3 cup mixed nuts (or nuts of choice) 1/3 cup sugar 1-1/4 cup flour 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 cup coarse cornmeal (polenta) 1 stick cold butter, cut into 20-24 cubes 1 egg, well beaten 1 Tsp vanilla ~1 Tbsp ice water, or as needed 1/3 cup raspberry (or favorite) jam Confectioner’s sugar for garnish Preheat oven to 350F. Carefully pulse the mixed nuts in a food processor about a dozen times or so, until coarse chunks (size good for cookies), but not a floury meal. Remove to a bowl. Add the next group of ingredients to the food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add the cold butter and pulse 12-15 times, just to incorporate the butter - you should still hav...

This is definitely a crowd pleaser. I have made this for so many people who love shellfish and I enjoyed every single ahhhhh! There are so many great variations - every time I make this it is different and wonderful. Have fun and make it your own, you basically can't go wrong. The classic presentation is over linguini, but I only had spaghetti on hand. As my mother always told us "Improvise!". 4 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 large leek, cleaned and diced 1 onion, diced 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and sliced 1 link Andouille sausage, diced (or bacon or pancetta, or Italian sausage) 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 lb fresh mussels 8 littleneck clams 1/2 lb bay scallops, haved 1 cup dry white wine 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 Tbsp sundried tomatoes, minced (or 2 plum tomatoes, halved and then quartered, or 1 pint grape tomatoes) 1/2 lb favorite pasta 1 Tbsp capers, drained Palmful fresh parsley, minced Get a medium pot of well-salted water to the boil for the pasta. In...