Cuisine Eric

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...

Breakfast burritos are one of my favorite breakfasts.  You can amp up the eggs with sausage or other savory flavors.  Here I use caramelized onions to give a deep rich umami flavor. This recipe is easy to multiply for a crowd.   2 Tbsp butter 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced 2 flour tortilla 2 slices Provolone (or favorite melty) cheese Chimichurri sauce 3 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (or other favorite) sour cream or plain Greek yogurt palmful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped favorite hot sauce to taste Sauté the onions in the butter over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes, stirring often.   Turn heat to low and continue cooking at least another 10 -15 minutes, to really caramelize the onions.   Watch carefully and adjust heat to avoid burning.   This is a slow labor of love. Place the cheese on one half of each tortilla and slather on chimichurri to taste.   Divide the onions on each tortilla. Now season the eggs with a dash of s...

We've been eating much more grass fed ground beef lately. It's easy to find "100% grass-fed", which is an important label that assures pasture raising and grass finishing. If the label only says "Grass Fed", the cattle could have been fed only a small amount of grass, not 100%; effectively a misrepresentation of the product you might expect it to be. There seems to be a higher premium on grass-fed beef steaks, however.  Recently our local grocer offered 100% grass-fed flank steaks on sale at a very deep discount, and I bought several. They freeze very well. My favorite way to cook flank steak is on the grill or on a grill pan.  Sliced on the bias it makes delicious filling for fajitas.  I had no bell peppers nor tortillas, so I just served the steak with Tex-Mex rice and refried beens, and a dollop of sour cream. It was Tex-Mex delicious in no time flat. 1/2 lb flank steak 1 Tbsp salt-free Southwestern spice (I use Good&Gather) salt and pepper to taste f...

I love southwestern meals accompanied by beans and rice.  Here is a great take on a red rice. 1 cup rice (I used parboiled) 1 8 oz can tomato sauce 1 4 oz can fire roasted diced green chilies (I used Trader Joe’s) 1 tsp salt-free Southwestern spice mix (I used Good&Gather) 1 large plum tomato finely diced (a bit less than 1/4-inch) Pour tomato sauce, green chilies and spice mix into a 2 cup measure and bring to 1-3/4 cups with water. Heat a drizzle of oil in a medium pot and tip in the rice.   Cook for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the liquid mix and a dash salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 tsp each). Bring to a gentle boil, reduce to the slightest simmer, stir, cover and cook for about 10 minutes. Then, gently stir in the plum tomatoes. Re-cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes until rice is fully cooked and fluffy. Allow to sit off the heat, covered, for about another 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Serves about 4 as a side dish.

Don't just eat eggs with toast, eat eggs on toast, and amp them up with a bit of southwestern style and kick.   1 slice Italian or sourdough bread 2 eggs, beaten 1 tsp minced chives 2 Tbsp cream cheese Dash chili powder or southwestern spice mix 1/2 avocado, diced Favorite hot sauce Lime wedges Lightly toast the bread.   Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, chives and a dash of salt and pepper to taste in a small bowl. Melt a tab of butter in a small skillet until hot and bubbly over medium-high heat.   Add the eggs and allow to set for about 30 seconds, until the edges begin to cook.   Gently pull in the sides, moving around the pan. Allow the uncooked egg to pour around the folds and re-cover the pan. Cook just until the egg solidifies. Fold omelette in half and remove from heat. Slather toast with the cream cheese and lightly flavor with chili powder or favorite southwestern spice mix. Distribute egg evenly over toast.   Top with avocado. Season with hot sauce to taste...

I lived in Colorado for about five years and grew to love Mexican food so much.  My favorite hole in the wall was a little restaurant 'across the tracks' in Fort Collins which served the best green and red chili made with pork. We'd sop it up with fresh flour tortillas before we headed back to the chem lab, trudging through our doctorates.  Every month we'd also bike over to another Mexican restaurant for margaritas after the monthly 2-hour evening cumulative exam. The next day they would post the 'topic' for the next 'cume' exam for which you would study your heart out for.  Pass 14 out of 21 months and you could continue in the doctorate program. Otherwise you were out - and I saw friends drop out...  I thank God for Chili and margaritas for helping me make it! You can serve this chili (really almost a stew) in a bowl with tortillas, on top of rice or as a basis for pork street carnitas, as shown below.  Whichever way, this is a real hit. I used three ...