Roasted Purple Cauliflower

Cauliflower is just more fun when it's bright purple, right? This is such an each and delicious way to prepare it, and the color looks awesome on your plate. I couldn't stop eating it.

Ingredients:

1 head purple cauliflower (white works too, just not as pretty)

a few glugs of olive oil

pinch herbs de Provence

plenty of salt and pepper

pecorino

Sautéed Bay Scallops on Cauliflower Purée

Bay scallops are the best. The season is November through March so Jamie and I always load up on them anytime we go to Southampton. They're sweeter and smaller than sea scallops. The flavor is so good so you don't need to add much. Simple butter and lemon is really all you need. Yum!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 lb bay scallops

1 tbsp butter

Zest and juice of half a lemon

1/4 cup flour

Salt and pepper

Cauliflower purée 

Roasted Cauliflower with Panko and Pecorino

Happy New Year! As with most early January weekends, I've had my nose in cook books - all my wonderful Christmas presents from the people who know me best. Every Christmas I amass several new books to add to my growing collection. My mother-in-law gave me Ina Garten's new "Make It Ahead" book. I love Ina, and pretty much everything she makes is good. Healthy, not always, but reliable and tasty, yes. This cauliflower is fantastic! Totally addicting. I will certainly be making it again. It's pretty simple and it will disappear quickly. 

Habanero Cauliflower Puree and Adobo-Marinated Flank Steak

I bought some pretty orange cauliflower at the Union Square market and still had some adobo sauce leftover so thought I'd make something Mexican. I bought a habenero and some flank steak, too, and decided to make a spicy cauliflower puree to go with it. It was delicious and all the flavors really go well together, especially with some good spicy salsa. 

Mustard-Crusted Pork Tenderloin

I got three wonderful cookbooks from my brother-in-law, Austen, this year (it's a tradition now) one being Pickles, Pigs, & Whiskey. Even though I was on vacation in Florida last week, I couldn't resist trying one of the recipes immediately - the Mustard-Crusted Pork Loin. Yum! It was so flavorful, and the mustard mixture that you rub on the pork is my new favorite condiment. I want to put it on hot dogs and sausages, and it would be fabulous for pigs in a blanket at a party. This makes a lot and we were eating it for days, so it would be a good dinner party main course. I served it with more couscous-style cauliflower (just switching up the seasonings a bit).

Serves 6 (recipe says 4, but I think it's more like 6)
Ingredients:
2 pork tenderloins, about 1 pound each
salt and pepper
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/3 cup grainy mustard
2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tbsp plus 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 cup grated shallots
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
3 cups panko breadcrumbs
5 tbsp clarified unsalted butter
3 tbsp chicken stock
1/4 cup apple cider
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cubed

Cauliflower Couscous

This is a sneaky way to eat cauliflower, and it's fabulous. It acts and looks like couscous, but it's just finely chopped cauliflower. I found the recipe on Food52 and plan to make it again soon, maybe switching up the seasoning (though the seasoning and ingredients here are fabulous). I served it to Jamie not saying what it was and he thought it was just regular couscous. Even when I told him it was cauliflower, he loved it and said he could eat it every day - quite a hit. I'm by no means gluten free, but this would be a good gluten-free alternative to couscous.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
5 oz roasted cashews, roughly chopped
3 oz golden raisins
5 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp minced parsley
1/2 tsp cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp lemon zest
salt and pepper

Directions:
Place raisins in a cup or bowl and cover with warm water. Let them plump for 15 minutes, then drain and discard the water.
Break the cauliflower into florets, leaving behind as much stem as possible. Break the florets into smaller pieces and add to a food processor. Pulse until all the pieces are finely chopped and resemble couscous (don't over process).

Cauliflower Pasta Sauce

I used the leftover cauliflower sauce on some tortellini and it was delicious! Just tossed it with a little grated pecorino. Yum!

Pan-Seared Bass in a Cauliflower Faux Cream Sauce with Sauteed Tomatoes and Pine Nuts

As part of bass week, I was crazing something a little more creamy. I'd seen something about a cauliflower sauce and wanted to try it. I had a great fish the other day at Montmartre that had a cream sauce, so that was my inspiration (plus wanting to try a cauliflower sauce). It was delicious. Jamie loved the cauliflower sauce and wants to put it on everything. The best part is, it's actually pretty healthy. Certainly way healthier than any cream sauce. The cooked tomatoes give a little brightness and the pine nuts add a good texture.

Ingredients:

2 big single servings of bass

1 small head cauliflower, broken into florets

4 cloves roasted garlic

8 cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp pine nuts

olive oil

salt and pepper

Directions:

Pat dry and season the fish with salt and pepper. Put the cauliflower a pot and cover with water and add salt. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender, about 10 minutes.

Cider-Glazed Lamb Chops and Buttery Cauliflower Puree

When Jamie started eating these lamb chops, he immediately demanded, "Are you going to put this on the blog? Will this be on the blog?" Needless to say, he loved them. They were so tender and tangy and just delicious. The reduced ginger-garlic-cider-soy-vinegar glaze is complex and sweet and salty and has a great zip from the vinegar. The cauliflower puree is a little sinful, but wow is it good. It's light and fluffy and rich.

Lamb Chops (from this recipe) it's supposed to serve 4 people, but Jamie and I ate it all
Ingredients:

1 cup apple cider

2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)

1 tablespoon honey

8 rib lamb chops (3/4 inch thick), cut from 1 rack

1 scallion, finely chopped

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, boil cider, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and honey until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10 to 12 minutes, and cool. Preheat broiler.

Herb-Marinated Lamb Chops with Purple Cauliflower Puree

While all of the summer veggies were dried up and Tim Burton-esque in my garden, the herbs were actually thriving - especially the mint. There was a ton! I brought a big bag of mint (along with two smaller bags of oregano and lavender) back into the city and was craving lamb chops. I made a tasty, herby marinade for a few little grocery store lamb chops and cooked them on the grill pan and they were incredible! Such great flavor, and an interesting twist on traditional mint jelly with the chops. I also had some leftover purple cauliflower, so I made a puree. Looks a little like play dough, but I think could look very cool under a piece of salmon or something. Maybe with a pesto swirled around. Yum!

Lamb
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mint leaves
1 big tbsp fresh oregano
2 cloves garlic