Eric Cooks

These recipes are great for when you’re out camping with your buddies, or if you’re just looking for a quick and easy, effortless meal that’s as delicious as it is filling. Or if you’re a fucking cowboy. A real westerner doesn’t have room to carry endless supplies of cooking utensils and ingredients, so that’s where this meal comes from. For the rustic, utile man (or woman):

You’ll need
a campfire
a frying pan or two
a fishing rod (or a few trout fillets)
a can opener
olive oil
salt and pepper
red fingerling potatoes
1 can baked beans
1 lemon
flour

Firstly, wake up early after a good night’s rest–early enough to catch the sunrise with your buddies–and take a boat out to go fishing. Catch some browns and bring ‘em home.

The beans will take the longest, which isn’t saying much ’cause they heat up in no time. Open the can of baked beans and pop it onto a frying pan (if you’re at home and don’t want to do dishes, place the can directly onto the stovetop–but be careful not to burn yourself). This is a bit dangerous if you’re not careful, but that’s the fun part. I always feel badass when I do this in the basement kitchen with my beans. Be sure to stir frequently so as to not burn the beans at the bottom of the can (direct heat means quick burning).

The potatoes are the best part, especially if you use red fingerling potatoes–they’re waxier and studier than the average starchy (mealy) brown crap. I make this as a side dish all the time. Cube the potatoes into bite-size pieces, throw them into a frying pan with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and pan fry for a good few minutes until nicely browned all around. They’re way better than roasted potatoes because they’re crispier, and the pan sear offers a salty crust for a nice bite. As a general rule, high heat means great flavor (but don’t burn anything).

Now you’re probably wondering what to do with the trout. Gut it, scale it, and wash it (or buy a few fillets at the local Whole Foods). Salt and pepper the fish. Put some flour into a plastic bag, throw the fillets in, close the bag, toss it around a bit and bread the fish nice and evenly. Fry the suckers in some heated olive oil until light brown (don’t overcook fish ever!). Squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the fillets and enjoy (don’t skip out on the lemon juice; it’s essential for balancing out the heartiness of the rest of the meal). My uncle used to make this for my cousins and me when we went to the mountains. It’s salty, fried, and so good.

Happy camping,
Eric

Friend, I have something to confess–I’ve been trying way too hard to make this blog just like every other one out there (with pretty pictures, graceful and elegant like a cupcake store). But the truth of the matter is, I’m a dirty, nasty college student who loves to eat. And because I don’t have a kitchen, or the patience to take pictures of my dishes before I devour them, I am going to continue–with the next few posts, at least–as I had originally started Eric Cooks: cheap, classless food from an 18-year-old (with stolen images from Google).

the secret ingredient

You’ll need:
Ragu Pasta Sauce
Your favorite cheese dip (Tostitos is always standard and safe)
Tostitos Lime Chips

Pour some of the pasta sauce into a microwaveable bowl, add some of the cheese dip in the middle (do NOT stir), and microwave for two minutes or so. Yeah, the “salsa” component is missing, but for me, the sweet spaghetti flavor hits the spot so much better than regular tomato salsa. Besides, the salty-sour lime chip offers that hint of freshness, a luxuriously refreshing contrast against the sweet and hearty Ragu. And isn’t “salsa” the Spanish word for “sauce” anyway?

Idea: Try dolloping a few spoonfuls of cold ricotta cheese into the dip.

Happy eating (but don’t eat too much, it’s still junk food),
Eric

It’s funny ’cause not many people seem to know about Starbucks’s Caramel Apple Spice. It’s delicious: hot apple cider, whipped cream, caramel sauce. (The overpriced lattes and frappuccinos overshadow the humble autumn beverage. And yet, even the Apple Spice is a silly $3). Thus, make it at home, cricket.

You’ll need:
Apple juice
Whipped cream

That’s it. Of course, you could buy a caramel sauce or even use real apple cider (but hey, even Starbucks cheats a little; watch them–they totally use store bought apple juice). Heat the apple juice/cider/fake apple beverage in a saucepan or pot, pour into mugs, and top with whipped cream. Serve as a light dessert after a meal. Think of autumn and red leaves, or cozy winter nights by the fire. Enjoy in solitude because let’s face it–no one loves you.

Be warm,
Eric

Apologies for the lack of updates, foodies. It’s been difficult to write because the only time I get to cook is on the occasional weekend visit to my brother’s place in Brooklyn, and my restaurant outings are usually pretty impromptu (thus, I never have a camera with me). However, despite the lack of stovetop serenity in this current lifestyle I now lead, I still manage to visit Magnolia at least every other weekend for that red velvet dream I keep writing about.

Anyway, on the recipe: One evening this past November I roasted a few roots and they turned out amazing. The potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and squashes looked perfect together, especially in the fall–warm oranges, browns, and yellows like the changing foliage. It was a light meal despite the starches because we served them over a bed of mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and an olive oil/lemon juice vinaigrette. (Fine, we had the french bread with goat cheese and honey as well. Had some red wine too, and a good time.)

To make the roots: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Chop up all your roots into nice, hearty chunks (quarter the potatoes). Generously drizzle the roots with olive oil, a lot of salt, and even more pepper. Sound familiar? Throw them into the oven for a while–until the potatoes, squashes, and carrots look nice and brown (maybe half an hour to an hour). (You can tell when they’re done by testing the carrots; they should be nice and soft and yummy.)

Roasted roots are so delicious because starches like potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots (ah, especially carrots) are sweet, so they contrast beautifully with the salt–but only if you season well. It’s rustic, organic, and too easy.

Enjoy,
Eric

My brother’s girlfriend taught me this amazingly tasty recipe. The goat cheese and honey combination is ingenious: The cheese is tangy and savory, the honey is sweet, the juxtaposition is groundbreaking. Not much more to say about it.

To make it: Toast up a few slices of french bread (maybe with some butter) in the oven. Take them out of the oven, smear with goat cheese, and pop them under the broiler for a short few minutes to melt the cheese slightly. Take them out again, drizzle some honey on top, and serve.

Cheers,
Eric

Another New York trend I’ve noticed in the short four months I’ve been here–roasted brussels sprouts. A fancier twist on the old-fashioned kid-unfriendly vegetable, the green bulb loses its bitterness when boiled in water; however, texture goes along with it as well. Thus, roasting is the way to go: It’s innovative and simple (leave it in the oven and let it go), tasty (the bitterness “leaves”–ha–the vegetable as it cooks), and ornate (the bulbs gain a nice brown, charred color and a shiny gloss). Restaurants everywhere have caught on and now include it in their menus.

So how to do it? Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (normally vegetables are roasted at 400, but brussels sprouts are delicate–the leaves are thin and can burn easily). Spread raw brussels sprouts evenly onto a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper generously. Roast in the oven for about half an hour, very roughly (I honestly don’t remember how long they were in there, but just until they gain some nice color).

And that’s it. A few leaves may fall off and crisp up, but those are especially tasty. I found that my friends nibbled on those before our Christmas dinner and thoroughly enjoyed them–like healthy, gas-inducing chips.

Cheers,

Eric