Roasted Acorn Squash, Purple Cauliflower, and Strip Steak

Last weekend Jamie and I stopped at Babinksi's farm stand in Bridgehampton to grab some veggies for dinner. I saw the most beautiful cauliflower I've ever seen. It was bright purple. I want my mom or sister to paint a picture of it for me! Along with the beautiful cauliflower, I got an acorn squash - such a great, homey fall side. I steamed the cauliflower and tossed it with oil and salt - be careful not to over steam! You want it tender but still with a bit of a crunch. Mushy cauliflower is the worst. I roasted the acorn squash (with bacon) and grilled the steak. This was a great fall dinner.

Cauliflower
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower
1-2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
salt

Directions:

Remove the outer leaves and break up cauliflower into florets, cutting the bigger florets in half. Steam the cauliflower for about 5-8 minutes, testing every few minutes to make sure they don't get mushy. Once just tender enough, turn off the heat and drain the water. Return the cauliflower to the pot and add 1 tbsp oil and salt to taste. (You may want more oil or salt.)

Acorn Squash
I usually do it with just butter and brown sugar or butter and maple syrup, but wanted to mix it up with the bacon. (I found the recipe in an old New York Times cook book.) Next time I might go with 1/4 strip of bacon as the squash is very bacony in this recipe.
Ingredients:
1 acorn squash, halved with the seeds scooped out (served 2 people)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 strip bacon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Put 1 tbsp of butter in each half of the squash and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put 1/2 strip of bacon over the butter and top with a tbsp of brown sugar. Roast for about 45 minutes until the flesh is tender when pricked with a fork, occasionally scooping up the butter in the middle and spreading it around the top and sides. Finish it off with a minute under the broiler.

Strip Steak
Ingredients:
1 8 oz strip steak
plenty of kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper

Directions:
A few hours before you plan to eat, bring the steak to room temperature and season liberally with salt and pepper. (I only use salt and pepper on really good steaks. For not as good steaks, I'd use a rub.) Grill on high heat 3 minutes on each side for a perfectly medium rare steak (still pretty juicy on the inside). Let it sit for a few minutes before cutting into it to let the juices re-absorb.