Cuisine Eric

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...

Here's a fun riff on burgers for your Memorial Day cookout! Burger ingredients: 1 lb ground pork (or beef) 1 tsp garlic powder   1 tsp onion powder   1 tsp favorite no-salt Southwestern Chipotle seasoning (I used Good and Gather - Target) 1/2 tsp Kosher salt 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste   Freely ground black pepper to taste   1/2 tsp dried ground sage, or to taste (could also use thyme) 12 4-inch ‘Street’ tortillas 1/3-1/2 lb Monterey Pepper Jack cheese, grated (or favorite cheese) Garnish: 1/2 can corn kernels, drained   About 3-4 oz (4 palmfuls) arugula   4-6 Tbsp favorite salsa 4-6 Tbsp sour cream pickled jalapeño slices, if desired Mix together the burger ingredients in a bowl. Distribute meat evenly on six tortillas.   Use a sturdy, oiled spatula to flatten each clump of meat into an even, thin patty on each tortilla. Heat grill to medium high. Grill burgers, meat side down for about 3-5 minutes.  Spray tortilla side with oi...

My favorite clam chowder is served at the National Hotel on Block Island, Rhode Island. Bar none, this is the best chowder I have ever been served, in my opinion. And it's not just my opinion. It has won best chowder of the Island for years. My second in a series of 'soft food', this is a corn, cod and clam chowder inspired by the taste, consistency and mouth feel of National's piece of art. I've riffed off their work and you can riff off this with whatever seafood or other favorite ingredients you might love. Fool around and find out! 2 strips bacon, finely diced 4 Tbsp butter 1 large carrot, finely diced (1/8”) 3 stalks celery, finely diced (1/8“) 1 medium onion, finely diced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves, minced 1/2 tsp dried dill 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste 1/4 cup flour 1 bottle clam juice juice from 1 10-oz can clams 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup sherry 2 medium potatoes (tennis ball size), diced 1/4-inch, about 1-1/2 to 2 ...

I had some oral surgery lately and had to eat 'soft' food for a week or so afterwards.  The dentist's office suggested mashed potatoes or smoothies.  That's fine, but I need a real meal daily! So, I'm posting a series of delicious, nutritious 'soft' foods which were easy to chew on 'my good side' and posed no threat to my healing. These are not scaled-down dishes but real meals, that just happen to be soft. Enjoy them with or without dentistry! 1 red pepper, diced 1 onion diced 8 oz button mushrooms, thickly sliced   1 lb ground beef 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, to taste 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 Tbsp mixed fresh rosemary, thyme and oregano, minced 1 Tbsp Smokey Pimenton Spanish paprika 1 quart chicken stock 1/2 lb pasta 5 oz fresh baby spinach leaves 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 tsp Dijon mustard   2 Tbsp corn starch whisked into 2 Tbsp water 1/2 cup sour cream Sauté the mushrooms, pepper and onion in a dash of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch...