Cuisine Eric

Here is a French classic taught to me by my French cousin as she prepared this dish for us many years ago in their summer home in southwestern France. A Daube is a French name for a Dutch oven and a general classification for stews made in a Dutch oven.  This one is sweeter by caramelized peppers and kicked up a bit with Moroccan harissa paste. The flavorful sauce is best mopped up with egg noodles or a good bread such as homemade oatmeal wheat bread, for example. 3.5-4 lb chuck beef, cut into 1x3-inch pieces 1/2 yellow sweet onion, diced 1 carrot, peeled and diced 1 leek, cleaned and diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp fresh rosemary and thyme 1 15 oz can petite diced tomatoes 1 quart beef broth 2 Tbsp harissa paste (I used Cavo, fresh - Wholefoods) 1 red pepper cut into 1-inch pieces 1 yellow pepper cut into 1-inch pieces Preheat oven to 375.   Brown the beef well in a dash of olive oil in a large oven-going Dutch oven. Cook ...

I love bread but find most industrial grocery-bought breads too sweet.  Here is a great savory alternative with ingredients you know and recognize, and not too many of them - simple bread with oatmeal. When you are cooped up sheltering in place whether for a sickness or a pandemic, baking bread makes the house smell so good and you're around to tend to all the different rising. Few things can make you feel more comfortable stuck at home than baking bread. 3 cups white flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup rolled oats 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast 2 tsp active dry yeast 2 tsp salt 2 tsp sugar 1 Tbsp olive oil 1-1/2 cup very warm water (105F) Mix together the flours, oats, yeasts, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.  I use a Kitchen Aid mixer with a dough hook, but you could also mix this manually with a wooden spoon - a great workout! Turn on the mixer and add the oil.  Then start adding the water in a slow stream to allow the mixer to incorpor...

Spicy cajun shrimp kicked up with three different peppers - a true Cajun twist emphasized by the late chef Paul Prudhomme who swore that a mixture of peppers were greater than the sum of their flavor parts. The kick of the peppers is nicely offset by a creamy smooth polenta (or grits if you prefer), and the soft velvety backdrop of simply sautéed spinach. 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined Marinade: 3 cloves garlic 1 Tbsp favorite Cajun Bayou seasoning mix 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste 1/8 tsp white pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne red pepper 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, minced 1 tsp fresh dill weed, minced 1 Tbsp favorite hot sauce (I used Texas Pete’s) 1 Tbsp olive oil juice of 1 lime 10 oz fresh baby spinach leaves Polenta: 1/2 cup coarse yellow corn meal (polenta) or white hominy grits 2 cups chicken broth 1 cup grated Cheddar cheese (I used half Munster, half Cheddar) Mix shrimp with the marinade ingredients in a bowl....

More experimenting with plant-based crumbles.  The Impossible burger adds protein and very good texture to this vegetarian ragu dish. 1 eggplant, diced 1 sweet yellow onion, diced 1 lb Impossible burger plant based protein 2 cloves garlic, minced dash crushed red pepper flakes, to taste 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary (or thyme), minced 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained 1 24 oz jar favorite tomato spaghetti sauce 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes 8 oz favorite pasta - I used rigatoni garnish: grated parmesan cheese fresh parsley Sauté the onion in a dash of olive oil in a skillet.  Cook for about 5-8 minutes.  Add the Impossible burger protein, crumbled and brown in the skillet for about 5 minutes. Add the garbanzos, garlic, rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the spaghetti sauce and crushed tomatoes to the crumble mixture and bring to a gentle boil.  Stir and reduce to a simmer.  Cook, cove...

This is two meals worth of cooking.  While you could make the casserole without roasting the chicken the day before as indicated below, you will miss the incredible flavors of the roasted carrot and onion and the chicken juices used to flavor the casserole sauce. Both the roasted chicken and the casserole are indeed classifiable as comfort foods! Chicken: 3 carrots, peeled and sliced 1 sweet yellow onion, sliced 1 roasting chicken, cleaned and patted dry 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp dried dill weed White sauce: 2 Tbsp reserved chicken fat (or olive oil if preferred) 2 Tbsp butter 1/4 cup white flour about 2-1/2 to 3 cups milk 3/4 cup reserved chicken jus 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1/4 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp garlic powder Casserole: 8 oz favorite pasta shape 3 cups small broccoli flowerets about 2-3 cups roasted chicken, shredded 8 oz ham, cubed (I used Dietz and Watson steak) 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese ...

Chorizo, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and roasted artichokes impart rich umami warmth to pasta shells for this great comfort food dish. 2 links smoked chorizo sausage 8 oz mushrooms, sliced 2 cloves garlic 2 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes (ideally oil packed) thinly sliced or minced 1 12 oz jar roasted artichoke hearts, packed in oil (Trader Joe’s), drained and quartered 8 oz pasta shells Garnish: grated parmesan cheese fresh parsley leaves, minced crushed red pepper flakes Sauté the chorizo for about 5 minutes, until starting to brown.  Add the mushrooms and a dash of olive oil, if necessary, and sauté with stirring, until they release what water they will, and start to brown up a bit. Add the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and cook another 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile heat 3 quarts well-salted water in a medium pot for the pasta.  Add the pasta and cook just al dente.  Add the artichoke hearts to the chorizo mixture and heat through. Reserve 1...

This is a global vegetarian, and actually vegan stew (or soup?), that is incredibly satisfying and filling. A Mediterranean mirepoix base, flavored with Indian spices, along with Asian miso, pull together a flavor connection from across the globe.  It goes especially well with a rich, crusty bread - like rosemary blue corn buckwheat focaccia, for example…  I’m just sayin’… 1/2 yellow sweet onion, finely diced 2 carrots, finely diced 2 stalks celery, finely diced 1 Tbsp panchpuran Indian spice mix (see Cook’s note) 1 leek, washed and finely diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/3 cup Massor lentils (Indian brown lentils) 1/3 cup Indian Horse Gram lentils 1/4 cup Toor dal (split pigeon pea) 1/4 cup barley 8 cups water 2 Tbsp red miso paste 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste 4 cups kale leaves, trimmed from ribs and cut into small pieces Soak the horse gram lentils in a pot of water overnight, and until ready to cook - this is im...

Blue corn meal and buckwheat flour make this focaccia slightly heavier than its pure white flour kin, but much richer and flavorful. Be generous with the oil, herbs and "Everything" topping - it really makes this focaccia special. 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup buckwheat flour 2 cups white flour 1/4 cup blue cornmeal 1 Tbsp black toasted sesame seeds (optional) 2 tsp salt 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp active dry yeast 1 Tbsp olive oil 1-1/2 cup very warm water (at 105F) 2 Tbsp olive oil 1-2 Tbsp “Everything” topping (see Cook's Note) 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary and thyme, minced Stir together the first eight ingredients in a mixer, fitted with a dough hook.  Turn the mixer on a slow speed and add the oil and then the water slowly, allowing the dough hook to incorporate the water well. Allow the dough to come together as a stretchy ball, and knead with the dough hook on a slow speed for five minutes. Gather the dough together as a ball and add a t...