Cuisine Eric

This is a nice and simple side dish when grilling. Herbs, olive oil and spices - not much more needed for superb grilled peppers. 1 red bell pepper 1 green bell pepper 1 orange (or yellow) bell pepper 1/4 cup olive oil 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes or to taste 1/2 tsp garlic powder Plenty of freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 tsp Italian herbs (dried or fresh) Slice and seed peppers into 1-1/2 inch slices. Toss in a large bowl with olive oil and seasonings.   Heat grill to high. Grill pepper slices on both sides to desired level of char. Baste with left-over olive oil mix as grilling. Cook’s Notes: I prefer a good bit of char on my peppers, but you can adjust to taste. If you have no extra olive oil oil after removing peppers from the bowl, add a bit more to the bowl for basting - it produces a good flame char - so baste CAREFULLY!

This is a delicious home-made BBQ sauce, which can be used with so many grilled foods. One of the attractions of this sauce is that you know exactly what is in it and can adjust to your taste. I'm not a big fan of some of the high-fructose adds and fillers in so many prepared foods. Here I used it on pork chops. 1 shallot, minced 3 cloves garlic, pressed through a garlic press 1 cup canned crushed pineapple 3 Tbsp red miso 1 cup ketchup Juice of 1 lemon 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1/4 cup honey 2 Tbsp favorite hot sauce, or to taste In a medium pot, sweat shallots in a dash of olive oil, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.   Bring to a gentle boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook another 10-15 minutes. Makes about 3 cups sauce. Cook's Notes: Made for a feast along with corn on the cob, sauerkraut and Nancy's famous potato salad. Always serve extra sauce on the side. Notice Amanda...

Trader Joe's used to offer a delicious spice mix called Ajika, originating from Georgia in Eastern Europe. It is a chili powder mix containing - and this is critical - coriander and fenugreek powders. These give the mix almost a buttery flavor, which complements the kick from the various chili and pepper accents. Don't fret about the Kashmiri chili - it's notoriously mild. If you can't find Turkish Aleppo pepper, you could substitute Korean ground chili powder. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's decided to cancel the mix, and so I reverse engineered it based on my last bottle. This works well on all kinds of grilled foods and savory dishes. But I didn't add any salt because I like to control salt in dishes, which is difficult if not impossible to do when the spice mixes you use contain salt. Stay tuned for its use in this blog! 1 Tbsp Kashmiri chili 1 Tbsp smoked paprika 2 Tbsp sweet paprika 1/4 cup fenugreek powder 2 Tbsp garlic granules 1 Tbsp dried minced chives 2 T...

Mincing half the fish with half diced fish adds so much texture! And puréeing the shrimp eliminates the need for adding egg for binding. Chilling most definitely helps. These are crispy on the outside and meaty on the inside, and taste like the sea. A simple bed of muffin and spinach, and a garnish with sauce and tomato is all you need. Serve these over a salad mix instead - a great option. But the mix of purée and diced seafood adds a whole texture dimension to these patties. Shrimp Cakes 8 oz shrimp, peeled and deveined   4 oz fillet of tilapia, or other white fish 1 large clove garlic, peeled and quartered   1/2 tsp dried dill 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried) 1/4 tsp crushed red chili flakes   1 green onion 1/2 cup panko crumbs Thousand Island Sauce   1/4 cup good real mayonnaise 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt   1 Tbsp ketchup and/or favorite hot sauce, to taste 1 Tbsp prepared horseradish   1 Tbsp sweet India relish About 2-3 oz fresh baby spinac...

Summer is peach time, and I do love a nice hot bubbly crisp. Here I combine delicious summer ripened peaches with blueberries and a crispy granola-walnut topping. As I sliced the peaches, their aroma wafted all around me. That's the thing about summer ripened peaches - they have such a great bouquet. The only thing that could make this any better would be ice cream! Filling 4 large ripe peaches, pitted and sliced 1 pint blueberries 4 Tbsp butter, melted Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp cornstarch Crisp Topping 6 Tbsp butter, room temperature, not melted 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup favorite granola 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped 1/2 cup brown sugar Preheat oven to 375F.   Mix together the filling ingredients and let the fruit macerate while you prepare the topping. Use a fork to mix together the topping ingredients in a bowl.   Butter a 9x13-inch dish. Pour in the fruit mixture and distribute evenly. Distribute the topping evenly over the frui...

This is one of the most satisfying ways to prepare grilled swordfish. A soft bed of sautéed spinach for a nicely grilled piece of swordfish garnished with a creamy tangy sauce bolstered by mild green chilies, all enhanced by sautéed cherry tomatoes, make for a fine summer BBQ offering. 5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves 2 Tbsp butter plus 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 shallot, finely minced 4 cloves garlic, minced About 6-8 oz cherry (or grape) tomatoes (I used cherry on the vine) 1/2 cup heavy cream Palmful fresh parsley, minced 1 4 oz can diced green chilies, drained 1/4 cup dry white wine Zest of 1 lemon Juice of 1/2 lemon 1 lb fresh swordfish fillet (ideally at least 1-inch thick) Preheat the BBQ grill. Season the swordfish on both sides with salt and pepper to taste. Generously, pour olive oil over fish and flip fish several times. Wilt the spinach in a large skillet with a dash of olive oil. Set wilted leaves aside. In same skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil. Sauté the shallot for about ...