Leah and I went to dinner with some friends last night at Cafe Dodici. As always, it was delicious. Aunt Rachel is in town for the weekend, so she offered to babysit for us. In appreciation, I wanted to make her a meal.
She likes (among other things) pasta with mushrooms, so I dug up a recipe from the latest “Joy” for porcini and red wine sauce. I think it turned out OK; I didn’t really get a chance to try it, as we were running out the door just as I was finishing the meal.
I also made a recipe from the latest issue of “Cook’s Illustrated” for roasted cauliflower. I love cauliflower, and this recipe looked simple, quick, and delicious all at the same time. Fortunately, it turned out to be all those things. Here it is:
- 1 medium head cauliflower (~2 lbs.)
- 1/r C. extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
Adjust the oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Trim outer leaves of cauliflower and cut stem flush with bottom. Cut head into eight equal wedges so that the core and florets remain intact (see photo). Place the wedges cut side down on foil- or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 T. oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper; gently rub to evenly distribute oil and seasonings. Gently flip cauliflower and season other cut side with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, salt, and pepper.
Cover baking sheet tightly with foil and cook for 10 minutes. Remove foil and continue to roast until bottoms of cauliflower pieces are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove sheet from oven, and, using spatula carefully flip wedges. Return sheet to oven and continue to roast until cauliflower is golden all over, 8 to 12 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with oil, and serve immediately.