Creamy Cauliflower and Onion Gratin & Cumin-Roasted Cauliflower and Dates with Tahini and Pine Nuts by Alison Roman

I admit that cauliflower isn’t my favorite vegetable. It probably ranks #10 in my top ten. It has very little flavor and too much fiber for its own good. Cauliflower can only wow me if it’s been given a glow up by other definitive flavors. There are many ways to doctor up these bland little trees, and the two recipes mentioned here are perhaps the tastiest cauliflower recipes I’ve cooked to date. 

(Side note: I firmly believe cauliflower should not be “riced” — rice grains are rice. Don’t mess with a beautiful thing.)

The cauliflower gratin adds red pepper flakes and a whole lot of dairy to help spice things up. At first, I was intimidated by the way the cauliflower is cut — in half inch thick disks. The picture in the book shows a perfect spindly flower fitting into a 9inch cake pan, and I wondered if I could attempt the same thing. Turns out, it’s not that hard! You just need a long, sharp knife and steady hand. The cauliflower is layered with cheese and poured over with a mix of cream and melted butter. Once baked and bubbly, that’s really all there is to it. 

One miss for me is Alison‘s lack of salting directions. It’s not like her to skip telling you to add salt and pepper at pretty much every step in a recipe. Here, she didn’t add salt to the layers of cauliflower, (just to the cream and cheese) and I felt the dish was overall under salted. So feel free to add a small sprinkling of salt over each layer of cauliflower. 

I skipped the breadcrumbs in this go around, but would recommend adding them for textural contrast and added saltiness. Also, my cream mixture never solidified in any real way. I’m not sure if I didn’t keep in the oven for long enough, or if the cream should truly stay in liquid form, but beware if you plan to bake and then transport this dish to a Friendsgiving — cream WILL spill out the sides if you’re not careful. 

Above all, the cumin-roasted cauliflower recipe truly wins the contest (yep, it’s a contest now). I made it as our vegetable side dish for Thanksgiving, and much to my surprise, Jordan said it was his favorite part of the entire meal. We had Alison’s stuffing, a turkey, two kinds of potatoes, and still, he liked the cauliflower the most. Believe me when I say, that’s a powerful statement coming from him. 

What made the cumin roasted cauliflower so great was the variety of flavors and textures used. Cauliflower gets broken down into tiny florets and roasted with cumin seeds until crispy and charred in some places. Part way through, dates are added to the roasting sheet, bringing a sweetness that nicely contrasts with the acid from the white wine vinegar and creaminess of the tahini. Cilantro makes this dish sing. I admit to skipping mint and pine nuts due to cost, but in no way did I feel like this dish lacked anything. Mint and pine nuts would have only elevated it further. 

178 and 179 recipes cooked, 46 to go.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Hot Honey Butter and Beets with Buttermilk and Walnuts

“A Working Woman Makes Sides”

This is the story of a working woman who also has a slowly budding social life in a new city. Said woman has been invited with her husband to dinner at a friend's house. She was asked to bring one side dish, so naturally she opted to bring two of them. She chose Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Hot Honey Butter and Beets with Buttermilk and Walnuts by Alison Roman. 

Of course, this presents complications. With the dinner on a Friday in the city and her work out in the suburbs, she knew she’d have but 20 minutes to assemble the sides when she got home before travelling to dinner. The commute would take its toll once again. So she had to get creative. 

She chose to roast her beets in vinegar the night before. She let the little guys ooze their juices and soften while spending an hour in the oven. This, she thought, would put her in a good position for the next evening. 

The next evening arrived in the blink of an eye. Earlier that day, she asked her husband to put the sweet potatoes in the oven so they would be piping hot when she got home. He did this, kind man, but just as the working woman suspected, the oven turned into a big hot mess. This is no fault of the husband. He followed instructions to a tee. The issue stems from the woman not trusting her instincts. You see, the woman read a recipe that told her to put the sweet potatoes, poked by a fork all over, directly on the oven rack to roast. But in her heart she knew that the sugars from the potatoes would ooze out and burn, sticking to the oven with gusto. And she was right, and the oven became one hot mess, and it created many smoky problems for her the next day… but that’s another story for another time. 

The clock was now ticking to get things ready and whisked off to her friend's house. In a matter of minutes, she frantically completed the following tasks (though she’d like you to think she did this calmly and coolly with an heir of sophistication): 

• Toast walnuts on a baking sheet for ten minutes 

• Peel and slice the beets

• Measure buttermilk, yogurt and lemon juice in a bowl, stir and add salt and pepper

• Thinly slice a red onion and lightly pickle the slices in lemon juice and sumac 

• Melt butter and spices, adding vinegar and honey too

• Scrape out the meats of very hot sweet potatoes into a bowl, practically burning her fingertips in the process

• Place the beets in the bowl with buttermilk and sprinkle the onions over them

• Chop the toasted walnuts and sprinkle them over the beets too 

• Drizzle the butter mixture over the sweet potatoes and give them a good stir

• Add cumin seeds to the top of the bowl of beets and cover with saran wrap

• Cover the bowl of potatoes with foil and pack a half a lemon in a bag, along with flaky salt

• Decide she’ll worry about cleaning the oven later 

• Tell husband it’s time to go 

All these things she did in mere minutes. She feels some loss at the fact that these tasks bring her real joy and life, but she couldn’t find that joy because of the need to rush. She needed to rush because she works far away. And she wonders how to balance that work and that joy. Can the two meet, coexist? All this, she knew, would be figured out over time. For now, she chose to focus on the six friends in front of her and enjoy those slightly spicy, salty, sweet potatoes. She savored the night she had left. 

168 and 169 recipes cooked, 56 to go.

The Greatest Creamed Greens by Alison Roman

What can I say about creamed greens? Alison speaks of them like they’re classic American food. Like anyone who’s had a steak and a baked potato has also had creamed greens. Apparently every good steakhouse serves them? Either I’ve never been to a proper steakhouse, or my mother’s aversion to cooking anything with excess fat or olive oil has kept me from experiencing the richness of some creamed greens. 

But for a first eating of creamed greens, I’ll say Alisons’ were pretty great. 

The recipe begins with breadcrumbs, as all good recipes tend to do. Crisp up fresh crumbs in oil, salt and pepper to a golden perfection. I might go wild next time and add some Aleppo pepper to the crumbs for a bit more heat. 

Next, bring heavy cream to a simmer and drop in several smashed garlic cloves and a dash of nutmeg (yes, nutmeg). Alison calls for freshly grated nutmeg, but I want to know who, if anyone ever, has made this recipe with fresh nutmeg. Where would one find such a thing? And who has the time? I don’t think she’d mind using ground nutmeg… the title of her other cookbook is “nothing fancy” after all. This creamy deliciousness cooks down to a thicker sauce that truly tastes like Alfredo (even though no cheese is involved!). The whole process took about 20 minutes. 

In the meantime, cook down two bunches of Dino kale. At first, I thought, this is too much kale! But no. It’s perfect. It cooks down so much that you’re left with a medium sized bowl that’s halfway full of them by the end. The key here is to cook them in batches at a medium temp, so they don’t overcrowd or get browned. Once wilted, stir in the cream sauce and creme fraiche. 

Ah, creme fraiche. The golden ingredient of every recipe it’s in. If Alison can claim these are the “greatest” creamed greens, it’s because of this ingredient, which adds a tangy depth without making it all taste even heavier. Creme fraiche is unskippable, so don’t even think about jettison-ing it. A mandatory fancieness. 

164 recipes cooked, 61 to go.

All-Out-Alison Meal with Turmeric-Roasted Lamb, Sour Cream Flatbread, & Apple and Endive Salad

Another All-Out-Alison meal is in the books. I love making All-Out-Alison meals - who doesn’t want multiple Alison dishes in one sitting? But on days when I make these meals, I find myself in the kitchen for a stretch of hours, flitting between tasks and ingredient prep, and it’s really quite an ordeal. Today’s post will document my process. I’m guessing at the timestamps, but they’re close to being accurate. 

To indicate which dish each step belongs to, I’ll label them with [lamb - Turmeric-Roasted Lamb Shoulder and Carrots with All the Fixings], [flatbread - Sour Cream Flatbreads], [salad - Apple and Endive Salad with Parsley and Salted Almonds], and [salsa verde - Another Salsa Verde]. 

Oh wait, one note before we begin. Alison’s lamb instructions suggest a 3.5-4 lb. boneless lamb shoulder, but I could only find lamb leg (similar cut) that was much smaller or much bigger. Since we were having company, I went with the larger 5.5 lb. cut, which meant that I used more garlic/turmeric for the marinade, and had to cook the lamb longer than instructed. More on that in a bit… 

Let’s make a meal, shall we? 

8:40am: [lamb] Remove the lamb leg from the fridge to let it finish thawing on the counter

11:43am: [lamb] Peel and dice the fresh turmeric and excessive amount of garlic cloves - I used 13

11:53am: [lamb] Create the marinade by combining the turmeric and garlic with olive oil and cumin

11:57am: [lamb] Salt and pepper the lam, then rub the marinade all over, getting in all the cracks. 

12:03pm: [lamb] Search for butcher’s twine in the craft box hiding in my coat closet. I find only crafting string, but decide that it’ll do the job. 

12:08pm: [lamb] Use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the center of the lamb, so the whole thing can fold over like a book, allowing you to tie it like Alison says. 

12:09pm: [lamb] Use the found crafting string to tie the lamb, one inch apart. My hands get very yellow and oily from doing this. 

12:20pm: [lamb] Place the tied lamb on a baking sheet covered with tin foil and, with plastic wrap covering the meat, place it in the fridge to marinate. 

1:01pm: [flatbread] Stir the warm water, sugar, and yeast together until the yeast dissolves. Add four cups of flour and combine until no major dry spots remain. Cover, and let sit for ten minutes to hydrate the flour. 

1:20pm: [flatbread] Add the melted butter, salt, and sour cream to the dough using your hands. The dough feels wet and slimy. The goal is to fully incorporate the sour cream. Once done, cover the dough and let it rest for two hours. 

3:20pm: [flatbread] Uncover the dough bowl and punch down the dough, knocking some of the air out of it. I hear the air escape and it's kind of thrilling. Cover the dough back up and let it sit for another two hours. 

3:22pm: [salsa verde] Slice a shallot in half. Reserve one half in the fridge and dice the other half into the smallest pieces possible. 

3:24pm: [salsa verde] Slice a lemon and squeeze two tablespoons of lemon juice over the shallots. 

3:26pm: [salsa verde] Retrieve my herbs: cilantro, parsley, mint, and chives. Tiny dice two whole cups of herbs (which is a lot of herbs). Use mostly parsley and cilantro, but supplement with mint and chives. 

3:42pm: [salsa verde] Cover the bowl and store in the fridge. Alison’s Another Salsa Verde is complete.

4:00pm: [lamb] Turn on the oven. 

4:15pm: [lamb] Pull out the dutch oven and pour some oil into the base. Turn on the burner to medium heat. Remove the lamb from the fridge and place it in the dutch oven to brown the meat, turning the meat with your tongs every 4-6 minutes. 

4:35pm: [lamb] Place the carrots in the pot with the lamb, and toss the carrots in the excess fat at the bottom. 

4:40pm: [lamb] Lift the pot, with lamb and carrots inside, into the oven. Set a timer for one hour and ten minutes. Alison recommends one hour for a medium-cooked lamb. But given the size of the cut of meat, I know I’ll need more time. I just need to check and see how much extra time at the 1:10 mark. 

4:42pm: [salad] Quarter the endives lengthwise, and toss the leaves in a large bowl. Slice the other half of the shallot into very thin rounds, separating them as I lob them into the bowl. Trim several strands of parsley and mint, also adding them to the bowl. 

4:52pm: [salad] Pour out a pile of almonds on the cutting board and chop them into small bits. Place them into a bowl on the counter. 

4:58pm: CLEAN THE HOUSE - GUESTS ARE COMING OVER 

5:20pm: [flatbread] Pour the dough onto a cutting board, and using a dough cutter, create six equally sized balls of dough. Using just a modicum of flour to dust them so they don’t stick to your hands. Coax the first dough ball into a flat, mini pizza shape, letting the dough stretch over the back of my hands like Alison says. 

5:27pm: [flatbread] Get out the cast iron skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Pour out a bit of olive oil and lay the first dough round in there. I hear it sizzle, and within three to four minutes, just like Alison says, the dough is bubbly and golden. I flip the bread and let it heat for two minutes on the other side. Continue with the rest of the dough, rolling each one out just before the skillet frees up. Keep the flatbreads warm under two plates. One dish done! 

5:50pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb. Insert the meat thermometer. Oh boy, it’s still 95 degrees in the deepest part, and we’re aiming for between 145 and 160. Push it back in and set the time for another 30 minutes from now. 

5:56pm: [salad] Add olive oil to the bowl of almonds, along with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. 

5:59pm: [salad] Thinly slice the Honeycrisp apple into rounds. Then toss the apples with the endive and herb mixture, along with salt and lemon juice. 

6:05pm: [salad] Arrange the salad on a serving platter, then drizzle the almond mixture over the top. Quick! Take several fabulously lit pictures just before the sun goes down. Wrap the plate and place it on the table. Two dishes done! 

6:15pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb, and realize it still has another 15-25 degrees to go in several parts before it’s considered medium-rare. Slide it back in and set a new timer for 20 minutes. 

6:20pm: Get changed, remove your apron and brush your hair. 

6:30pm: Guests arrive! Friends from my hometown in Southern California. Marissa and Drew. Entertain them with a glass of wine (that they brought - it’s so good!). 

6:45pm: [lamb] Check on the lamb, and it’s done! Probably could have taken it out 8-10 minutes earlier… Oh well. It’s still soft and easy to chew. The flavor is incredibly rich but not too overpowering. The turmeric is less harsh and the garlic more potent than you expected. The lamb is delicious. A success! Just next time, try to get one in the right weight range. I think that’ll save lots of guesswork. 

6:50pm: Serve the lamb with garlicky yogurt, Alison’s Another Salsa Verde, and flaky salt. 

7:45pm: Transition from dinner to the gf apple crisp Marissa made, and enjoy every sweet bite. Even better? The company and conversation. 

I hope you enjoyed this play by play. Making meals can be a lot of work, but at least they’re rewarding. 

161 recipes cooked, 64 to go.

Roasted Squash with Yogurt and Spiced Buttered Pistachios by Alison Roman

Sometimes my brain works like Michael Scott’s in The Office. It thinks of one thing and, through a series of tiny logic jumps, ends on something completely different (but vaguely related). Like Michael’s name association game in Season 5, Episode “Lecture Circuit.” If you know, you know. Why am I mentioning this? Mostly for my own pleasure. Here’s how my brain thought about writing this essay… 

I need to write about the squash recipe → I used an acorn squash → I’m delighted by the way that acorn squash resembles a real acorn → acorn squash looks like someone pumped air into a real acorn until it was 1,000x its original size → you know who likes acorns, squirrels! → my friend Megan pointed out to me the other day that the only reason people tolerate squirrels is because of their bushy tails, otherwise squirrels would resemble rats and everyone would think they’re gross → I saw a squirrel prepare for winter in Pittsburgh, it gathered walnuts, stripped the walnuts of their protective shells using its front teeth, and stored the nuts underground.

See what I mean? 

Back to the acorn squash. I cut it first down the middle, lengthwise, and then sliced each half into one and a half inch slices. Minus the seeds, they looked like pieces of cantaloupe. Now per Alison’s suggestion, and remembering what I wished I’d done with her Caramelized Winter Squash recipe, I chose to keep the seeds in there for added texture and crunch. A fabulous choice, IMO. Like pumpkin seeds, they’re a little hard to chew - but they taste delightful. 

While the squash roasted in the oven, I sauteed chopped pistachios, turmeric and pepper flakes in browned butter. What makes this recipe so low maintenance is the use of pre-shelled pistachios. Trader Joes sells bags of pistachio meats for an affordable price, and I can’t recommend them enough. Also, the lemony yogurt is an essential part of this recipe. I think the strength of the turmeric flavor needs a slightly acidic mellowing, which the yogurt and lemon juice provide. 

I especially appreciated the addition of flaky salt at the end, making this a triple crunch recipe: pistachios, squash seeds, and flaky salt. This recipe can be made all winter long, but it’s especially perfect for the holidays, adding some flare to an otherwise traditional vegetable. Wow your relatives. Make this acorn squash. Maybe tell them my friend’s theory about squirrels. Or don’t. 

157 recipes cooked, 68 to go.