Cuisine Eric

I love a creamy gratin dish and here is one inspired by a wonderful dish I had in Houston, Texas, where you can get great seafood. Several years ago, I had a creamy shellfish gratin at the famous, friendly and casual, Pappa's Seafood, which also had mushrooms and spinach in it - and I have been reverse engineering it ever since. Warm a cool late winter day with this. 8 oz mushrooms, sliced (or 1 can mushroom slices, drained) 2 green onions, sliced 1 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp oil 4 cups baby spinach leaves 2 eggs 1 cup heavy cream 1/3 lb sole fillets (2 small fillets) cut into 1-inch pieces 6 shrimp, peeled, deveined and quartered 1 cup (4 oz) cubed Monterrey Jack cheese dash salt and pepper to taste 1 clove garlic, minced about 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 1 Tbsp favorite hot sauce Topping: 1/4 cup panko 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp dried dill weed 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 1 Tbsp olive oil Preheat oven to 400F. Sa

I used to love fish sticks as a kid - and still do! Now, here's a vegetarian shout out to fond food memories, with a twist of Thai chili dipping sauce. Inspired by a recipe from the late Cooking Light magazine, which I really miss, I'll remember those pages for a long time with this dish. Dipping Sauce: 1/4 cup apricot jam 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 2Tbsp olive oil 1/4 tsp dried dill wed 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 1 Tbsp olive oil 1 brick tofu, cut into 1/2-inch sticks 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs 2 eggs, whisked 1/4 tsp dreid dill 1/2 cup flour Preheat oven to 425F. Arrange 3 small containers, just bigger than the tofu sticks, in a row. Place flour in one, egg and half the dill in the middle one, and the coconut, panko and half the dill in the third. Pat the tofu sticks dry with a paper towel (I lay several layers of paper towel and let them sit in between two cutting boards for a few minute

There are few dishes so comforting as a warming meat loaf.  Here I use ground lamb for extra oomph, extended with red kidney beans for texture and color contrast, and to make the dish a bit more flexitarian. Cooking a mirepoix (mix of onion, celery and carrot) adds a ton of flavor, so don't miss this step. I cooked this with a Thai sweet chili and tomato sauce for added richness and a bit of kick. Mirepoix mixture: 1 medium sweet yellow onion 2 carrot, peeled 1 stalk celery 1 tsp herbs de Provence, or Italian herbs Loaf ingredients: 1-1/2 lb ground lamb 1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained 2 eggs, whisked 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 lb Monterrey Jack Jalapeño cheese (or favorite), grated 1/4 cup salsa verde 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 1 can petite diced tomatoes 1/2 cup Ma Ploy sweet Thai chili sauce Preheat oven to 425F

During a recent visit to Barcelona, I tried half a dozen or so different paellas to get a good sampling of what should be considered a truly good paella. After sampling one especially good specimen, I had the opportunity one Sunday afternoon (the traditional time to eat paella in Spain), to watch the kitchen staff make dozens of paellas, through a glass window. I studied their approach and was taken by the high art and craft involved. No chef measured any volumes (I estimated in my mind) - but they adjusted often.  A key to their process was the prior preparation of the star actors - chicken, shrimp, clams, etc.  There was a stack of prepared paella pans behind the chefs with the prepped key ingredients.  After re-warming these prepped pans, and adding rice to toast over high heat and lots of shaking, a vigorous stovetop boiling of added stock from a massive nearby stockpot was used to cook the rice partially.  Then a very high oven was used to finish the dish. This is why Paell

No matter your orientation, culinary or otherwise, if you are at least pescatarian, you might love to make your Valentine this prep of salmon. I used a crust made from the Bagel Everything mix from Murray's Bagels, a popular joint in Chelsea, in NYC. I imagined, why not everything salmon? Despite lots of competition, do try Murray's Bagels - and coffee! I am a fan. Herb Butter: 1 clove garlic, quartered palmful fresh parsley leaves 1 stick butter, room temperature (at least an hour), cut into 6-8 pieces zest of 1 lime 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes 2 tsp fresh dill (or 1 tsp dry) leaves 1 lb salmon fillet cut into 2 portions 2 Tbsp Murray’s Chelsea Bagels Everything sprinkles Place the garlic and parsley in a small food processor.  Pulse several times to finely mince.  Place remaining herb butter ingredients in processor, and pulse, mixing with a spatula in between pulses, to mix the ingredients evenly.  Tip the herb butter onto a 12x12

This is a rif on Turkish lentil soup from Milk Street kitchens, but slanted more Indian. A great quick veg weeknight meal. 2 Tbsp ghee or olive oil 1 sweet yellow onion, diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1 Tbsp tomato paste 1/2 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp smoked Spanish Paprika 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder, or favorite chili powder 1-1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp crushed red chili flakes, or to taste 1 cup red lentils 2 Tbsp white rice (I used Basmati) 5 cups water 4 cups fresh baby spinach leaves Sauté the onion in the ghee or oil for about 8-10 minutes, until nicely colored, softened and aromatic.  Add the garlic and cook another 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, and the remaining spices.  Stir and cook another 3-5 minutes to darken the paste and develop its flavor. Add the lentils and rice and stir well.   Add the water and bring to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat to a low simmer, stir, cover and cook about 30 minutes. stirring every so of