From Erik's Kitchen: Asparagus

Just a simple hint if you're a fan of asparagus like me.  Take a pound of asparagus, trim off the ends, place them on one end of a few paper towels that are still together.  Spray some water on the paper towels (or soak them first and wring them out so they're just damp).  Wrap the paper towels around the asparagus like a paper towel burrito.  Microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, and you'll get perfectly cooked asparagus that' still crisp, bright green, and delicious.

From Erik's Kitchen: 10 Egg Tips

It's said that the 100 folds in a chef's toque (read: hat) are all different ways the chef has learned to cook and/or prepare an egg.  And yet, for many people I know, cooking a decent egg is really hard to do.

So, in an attempt to type up something quickly an attempt to help people prepare better eggs, I'm providing ten tips that I've found have greatly increased my ability to make a decent egg.

From Erik's Kitchen: Salmon, Spinach, and Beans!

Ever want to make a simple dinner that only takes five minutes to cook?  Well, now you can!

More after the jump.

From Erik's Kitchen: Gazpacho

All right, I think most of the people I work with have gone to bed (not that many of them read this anyway), so it's safe to post this.

When I was little, I hated tomatoes.  I would pick them out of salads, I'd pick large ones off of pizzas, and I was always leery of homemade pasta sauces.  I wouldn't eat tomato soup, no matter how sick I got.  I wised up over time, and now I've essentially cut ketchup out of my diet completely with the thinking of "if I want something that tastes "tomatoey," I'll just put on a tomato.

Plus, they work as a great base for sauces and soups.

Like gazpacho.

From Erik's Kitchen: Tuna Melts!

Right, a lot of people I know either don't like fish or they don't like mayonnaise.

I can understand the second one.  Maybe you like Cool Whip.  Maybe you'd like homemade mayo (which is awesome and really easy, by the way).  Either way, I get it.

But fish?  To simply say "I don't like fish" is like saying "I don't like vegetables" when there's such a wide variety of tastes, textures, colors, and styles of preparing them.  This is one of those things that, try as I might, my brain is never actually able to comprehend.

From Erik's Kitchen: Hard-cooked Eggs

I thought for this rendition of cooking and recipes, I'd go with something basic: cooking an egg.  I think a perfectly cooked egg is delicious, while one even slightly under- or over-done is possibly one of the worst things a person can eat while it's still classified as "food."


So here's a few techniques I picked up to get great eggs every time.  Granted, your cooking times may vary depending on your cooking utensil, but once you tweak it a bit, you'll get it to work.

From Erik's Kitchen: Crema

I enjoy cooking, but it's hard for me to really classify it in my head.  Baking is a science, I know that.  Measurements have to be precise to get things to come out perfect, if at all.  Cooking, though?  People have different tastes, so not everybody would want the same flavors.  We have scientific classifications of flavors, so we know how people taste things, but again, preference overrides precise balancing of flavor.  It's not really simply an "art" since we know there are basic rules that need to be followed, such as meat temperatures, heat application, and food safety.

Now, for this edition of From Erik's Kitchen, we're looking at an accessory ingredient that many people probably won't want to use because they'll think it's disgusting.  And they're right.

From Erik's Kitchen: Watermelon Salsa

So it's gotten warm, which means it's time for the people who were just complaining earlier this week about how cold it was to now complain about the heat.  Sure, the humidity might be a factor in comfort, but I've only had a few times in my life where it was unbearable (and all of those times were in Virginia).

But hey, if you want something that's nice and refreshing (as the people at my office hopefully enjoyed today), here's a relatively simple (relative in the sense that you can chop things to a size you prefer) recip for watermelon salsa that I got from Food Network Magazine (and, to be completely accurate, Trisha Yearwood).

From Erik's Kitchen: Turkey Meatloaf

So, normally on Mondays people would get to see me slog through another episode of My Little Pony.  However, due to some technical issues with the blogging software, that will have to wait for tomorrow (hopefully), so after fighting the coding and twisting things around, I decided it was time to take another look at something I enjoy cooking.

It's simple, it's fast, and dear god it's delicious, it's Giada De Laurentiis' turkey meatloaf with sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese.

Sigh.  Giada's so gorgeous.  And I'll admit, I love the way she emphasizes Italian words.

"Pan-schet-ta."

From Erik's Kitchen: Quesadilla Tips

So, the blogging software has been a bit twitchy lately, so today's post will be short and brief.

I'm going to explain how I make great quesadillas

From Erik's Kitchen: Grilled Brussels Sprouts

With Sundays being my slower days to have readers pay attention to my little blog, I figured I might use this as a bit of an "experimentation" day, try out a few ideas, see which ones work or not.

Today, I'm going to post a recipe I regularly prepare.  I enjoy using ingredients or techniques that a lot of people would never list as their "favorite," but I always love trying new methods and flavors when I'm preparing foods to keep it exciting and fresh.

Today's victim of societal prejudice?  Brussels sprouts.

So, I'm not going to go into the history of the Brussels sprout, or focus on any of the interesting scientific information about them, but instead simply describe how I get them to taste like how I want to eat them.  This technique, by the way, was adapted from my favorite television chef, Alton Brown.

First thing first, heat up a grill or a grill pan while you prepare the sprouts.

Now, let's pretend you have one pound of sprouts, preferably about the same size.  Clean them of any blemished leaves on the outside and trim off some of the stem so all you have is "fresh" sprout.  Put them into a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave them for three minutes.

While that's happening, mix together two tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon of minced garlic, one teaspoon of dry mustard, one teaspoon smoked paprika, one teaspoon of salt (I use kosher for pretty much everything), one half teaspoon pepper. 

Now, from here, you can adapt the recipe to blend better with whatever else you're using.  I've tried (to varying success) to add in pinches of cayenne pepper, five spice, or ginger in order to convert it over to other cuisines.  Adapt the flavors accordingly, and don't be afraid to experiment.

When the Brussels sprouts are done cooking (and you can handle them), place them onto skewers, leaving about a half inch of space between them.  I can usually get five or six onto a skewer, but for larger sprouts I don't try to do more than four. 

Grill the skewers on the pan for about 8-10 minutes.  I tend to rotate them more than Alton recommends, but I like a nice even char on all sides.

Then eat and enjoy!  It's really that simple!

And hey, if I can get even one person to change their mind about Brussels sprouts, imagine what I could do for tofu.