Cauliflower-Cheese Pie

This is a good 'comfort food' dish that makes a nice presentation.  It is easy to make ahead of time for a large meal, or is nice to take to a pot-luck type gathering.  The grated potato crust is unique and really delicious.  It is fun to experiment with other vegetables along with, or in place of the cauliflower.  The picture above is one with quartered brussels sprouts added in place of about 1/2 of the cauliflower, which turned out to be a really nice twist!

The recipe is derived from the one in the Moosewood Cookbook.

Crust:
2 cups grated raw potato
1/4 cup grated onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten
flour for your fingers
a little oil

Filling:
1 tablespoons olive oil or butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 medium cauliflower head, cut into small pieces
2 eggs (or 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white)
1/4 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
paprika

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Oil a 9-inch pie pan.

Combine grated potato and onion, salt, and egg white in a small bowl and mix well.  Transfer to the pie pan and pat into place, creating a thick edge for the pie.

Bake for 30 minutes, then brush the crust with a little oil and bake it 10 more minutes.

Adjust the oven temperature to 375°F.

Heat the olive oil (or butter) in a large skillet.  Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs.  Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower, stir, and cover.  Cook until just tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Spread 1/2 the cheese onto the baked crust.  Spoon the sauteed vegetables on top, then sprinkle on the remaining cheese.  Beat the eggs and milk together, and pour over the top.  Dust lightly with paprika.

Bake 35-40 minutes, or until set.

Moosewood Cookbook

by Mollie Katzen, who was part owner of the Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY when she originally published the book in 1978.   It is a classic vegetarian cookbook.  There are some great recipes, one of our favorites is the Cauliflower-Cheese Pie.

The restaurant is still open today, and won the James Beard Foundation "American Classic" award in 2000.

find the book

Brussels Sprouts Braised in Butter

This is my interpretation of a method described for cooking braised Brussels Sprouts described in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. There are a few steps involved, but is not that time consuming and will result in perfectly cooked Brussels Sprouts; they never come out grey-ish, limp, or bitter tasting.

Obtain the freshest Brussels sprouts possible.  Peak season in the US is September through February.  If you can find fresh, locally grown Brussels sprouts, you will taste the difference.  Using similar sized heads will ensure that they are all cooked consistently - the larger ones take longer to cook.  If you purchase a whole branch, you will have varying sized heads and my want to cook them in separate batches.

1 to 2 pounds Brussels Sprouts
4-5 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper

Prepare the Brussels sprouts by trimming the base off of each sprout.  Some of the outer leaves will fall away - discard these (our dogs love them!).  Remove any wilted or yellowish leaves.  Pierce a cross in the base so that it cooks evenly.

Bring a large kettle of salted water to a rapid boil.   Julia's recipe calls for 1-1/2 teaspoons of salt per quart of water.  If the large kettle holds 8 quarts, this would be 4 tablespoons of salt.  We use much less salt than that (if any).

Blanch the sprouts by dropping them into the rapidly boiling water and letting them cook for 6-8 minutes, until very green and almost tender.  The time will vary with the size and the age of the sprouts.  Drain the sprouts in a colander, and spread them out on a cloth (not touching) to cool.  This allows them to cool quickly to retain their color an texture (Julia's book says that the texture of the sprouts is better cooled with this method rather than rinsing them with cold water).  Once cooled they can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before completing the cooking.  If they are to be used immediately, let them cool on the towel for about 20-30 minutes before continuing.

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Smear 1-1/2 tablespoons softened butter in a casserole or baking dish that can be used on the stove and in the oven.  Smear the butter on the bottom and up the sides, as high as the Brussels sprout will touch.  Line the Brussels sprouts in 1 layer in the dish, stems down (a second layer can be used if the dish is too small, but I think it works best with 1 layer).   Sprinkle with salt and pepper and distribute 2-4 tablespoons of melted butter over the heads.  Cover and heat on the stove until they begin to sizzle, then place in the middle of the preheated oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes until tender.  Serve immediately.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

The classic by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck.

I'll have to admit that we didn't own the book until after seeing the movie Julie & Julia. The book has a reputation for being complicated, which is probably why I never owned it before. Although we haven't prepared any of the meat recipes from the book, I haven't found most recipes to be that complicated. The book describes the recipes more as a process, not just a list of ingredients with instructions. Once I got used to this, I found that I love using and just reading the book.

Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin

Had these over the holidays and loved them. I've seen similar recipes that include leeks and Gruyere cheese, which also sounds great.

1 pound Brussels sprouts
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup white cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt and pepper

Cut the base off the Brussels sprouts, pull off the outer leaves. Cut a 1/4 inch deep cross in the base of the sprouts. Blanch in boiling water for about 6 to 8 minutes, until almost tender. Drain, let cool by spreading them (not touching) on a towel, then cut each into 4 pieces.

Mix the sprouts, cream, cheese, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper together and pour into a shallow buttered baking dish. Top with bread crumbs and bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.