Cutting Cauliflower and Ina Love

Last Friday,  I had my cooking chums over. We enlisted the help of Jenna Helwig of Rosaberry who merges our recipe requests and designs a delicious menu. Everyone assembled at my apartment at 11am and we got to work on our first recipe. Jenna took out the ingredients for Balsamic Parmesan Cauliflower. Before she could say a word, three of us asked, “what’s the best way to cut cauliflower?” It seems I wasn’t the only one who had botched this task ending up with odd shapes and tons of cauliflower confetti.  There actually is a right way to cut cauliflower and because I didn't capture Jenna's technique on camera I had her explain:

First remove the leaves. Next stand the cauliflower on its base and cut into quarters. Cut the florets from the stalk. To make smaller florets, don't cut from the top of each cauliflower cluster; that makes too big a mess. Instead cut the stems and the florets will break apart much more cleanly.

The key here is to cut florets from the base of the cauliflower not from the top. Directing your knife where the cauliflower branch meets the base and voila’, no more mess. Another good tip is to wash the cauliflower after you cut it when you can access all surfaces. Perhaps you, my savvy readers already had correct cauliflower cutting down pat but this was news to our group. I am now wondering how many other prep jobs I'm mangling in the kitchen. 

cooking snacks: fennel and finger radishes

As we cooked, we talked about our favorite recipes and ingredients. When it came oregano, my friend C asked Jenna “I see you’re using fresh oregano but Ina (Garten) prefers dry, it’s the only herb she prefers dry.” It soon became clear C knows an awful lot about Ina. We tried to stump her reciting Ina recipes we loved and she knew and had made them all. Roasted Shrimp Cocktail Yum. Brisket? Of course. Butternut Squash Soup? A classic. First there was Julie and Julia and now C and the Contessa. I asked C for her top 3 Ina inspirations, her reply “only three? Herb Marinated Pork Tenderloin, Lemon Chicken and Garlic Cauliflower.” I agree wholeheartedly about the Lemon Chicken but personally would have to add Roasted Brussels Sprouts to the Greatest Hits list.

After a couple of hours, our cooking was complete and we sat down to eat. We made spaghetti squash with olives and cilantro, a lemony red lentil soup, parsley-Dijon salmon, coconut kale and of course our cauliflower. We tasted everything and commented. First place, if I recall, went to the soup and the salmon with the cauliflower close behind. Can’t wait for next time.

Kale Goodness

Spaghetti Squash or Tushy Squash?

Cauliflower before being balsamic-ed

Balsamic-Parmesan Cauliflower

(adapted from Cooking Light)

1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 Tablespoons EVOO

½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place cauliflower on the baking sheet cut side down and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes or until starts to brown.

Stir the balsamic vinegar and Parmesan into the cauliflower and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Yield: not enough cauliflower for five veggie-loving women, you may want to double the recipe depending on your audience.

Be honest, did you already know how to properly dismember your cauliflower? Are you an Ina-phile? Favorite Ina recipe? Favorite cookbook? Favorite cauliflower preparation? 

Cooking Fish Sans Smell

Ichthyophobia is the fear of fish. This applies to eating fish or seeing dead fish. Galeophobia is the fear of sharks. I propose urban pescephobia the extreme fear of cooking fish in small apartments due to the potentially intense, traumatizing and lingering odor. Eating fish provides omega 3’s, an excellent source of lean protein and, in my opinion, assistance with the weight loss process.  However, it’s hard to convince a cooking pescephobe to “get back in the water” after they’ve experienced days of eau du fish. There’s no coincidence that fishy has 2 meanings. One meaning is “suggestive of fish” and the other “suspicious”.  In addition to cracking a kitchen window or using the exhaust on your stove here are some ideas to help conquer your fish cooking fears.

My two preferred ways to minimize odors when cooking fish are to steam fish or cook en papilliote (hows that for a fancy term). I have a calphalon steamer that sits fits into a pot and gets covered. For "en papilliote" I like to make parcels of fish and vegetables with a drizzle of white wine and cook in parchment paper.  I asked a few cooking friends for their suggestions:

Jenna Helwig from Rosaberry and our recent Cooking Company post offered this advice:

“I love roasting fish in the oven instead of cooking it on the stovetop. That really cuts down on the fishy smell, and it's so simple. Line a pan with parchment paper, drizzle the fish with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake at 400 until just cooked through. Spritz with lemon after it comes out of the oven.”

Julie Negrin, author of Easy Meals to Cook With Kids suggests “two cooking techniques that usually don't cause as much of a "fishy" smell are steaming in bamboo steamers - Asian style and poaching.” Jennifer Clair  of homecookingny points out that the type of fish can make a difference.  “Lean fish cuts down the amount of fish oils in the air which make odors stick around longer. Salmon trout swordfish out, tilapia tuna and cod in.”

Some other ideas:

• Place a dish of white vinegar next to the stove. The vinegar will evaporate taking odor with it.

• In the “if you can’t beat it mask it” category, a few cinnamon sticks in water boiled in the stove seems to be a popular remedy.

• Salt crusting is a method of cooking fish (the salt is not consumed in case you’re a sodium-phobe too) that is rather odorless.

 On one of the boards, a commenter enthusiastically wrote, “I learned from Alton Brown that frying fish in Crisco produces no odors.” This to me is replacing one problem with another and not Foodtrainers-approved but pretty funny. 

Do you suffer from urban pescephobia? Does this exist in the suburbs too? Any tips or techniques you use to mitigate fishiness?  Are you going to try to conquer your fear?

Cooking Company

 I discovered that you never cook with someone else without learning something. In every case, there’s a two-way transfer of knowledge. If they know less than you do, you grow from teaching. If more, of course, you grow from learning.

-Mark Bittman

Over a year ago I wrote a post entitled Kids and Kale , which, it seems, none of you read (guilt intentional) and so I’ll remind you what I said. I wrote that I think most people can easily fall into a cooking rut. No matter how much you enjoy cooking, when pressed you go for the crowd-pleasing recipes you know by heart. I recruited a few friends and chef Jenna Helwig and we dished up some interesting, family-friendly recipes.

I’m happy to report that last time around we each found a recipe or two that made it into our families’ regular rotation but that was 2009. While we now all have improved standby selections we found ourselves, once again, craving new ideas. So the email went out to Jenna and we picked a date after the holidays. That date was last week and we all trudged through the snow, toting our knives and cutting boards, to my friend T’s apartment.

The menu was fantastic. We got started with Jena’s “Crowd-Pleasing Chili.” After a round of “not-it” my friend Z and I were put on onion chopping duty.  The others browned the meat and measured the spices. While some women compare purses, we talked knives. I have a minor obsession with Global stainless steel knives. Jenna and my friend S prefer the knives with a beveled edge and T was enjoying a new Kuhn Rikon ceramic knife in her favorite color purple 

With the chili simmering, next up was meatloaf with sage. We used oats versus breadcrumbs for this recipe.  A great tip of Jenna’s was to make little test patties, the size of a quarter and heat them in a pan to assess the seasoning of the loaf. With the seasonings approved, we moved onto the quinoa salad. 

On the subject of timesaving secrets, T told us that her mother used to make larger batches of seasonings for recipes she cooked often. She would then label them “chili seasoning” or “meatloaf mixture” and not have to measure away each time. If you ask me that’s genius and something that would never have occurred to me.

For our vegetable dish, Jenna jazzed up potentially boring broccoli with lemon zest and garlic. We mixed all the ingredients on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, for easier cleanup. The final recipe was a ginger shrimp dish. For this we prepared a brine which was something I hadn’t done before. My only prior brine association was pickles but I was thrilled to try something new.

 A couple of our friends had to run to school pick up but a few of us lingered and sat down to eat. We learned a lot and everything was delicious.

 Jenna calls this Crowd pleasing Chili but to be it’s Cinnamon Chili, either way it’s a good family recipe and a great Super Bowl option:

CROWD-PLEASING CHILI

This is a great make-ahead meal, and it freezes very well.

Ingredients:  1 Tablespoon canola oil (if using ground turkey)

2 pounds ground beef, ground turkey, or a combo

                        2 small (or 1 large) onions, chopped

                        2 garlic cloves, minced

                        1 Tablespoon chili powder

                        1 tsp. cumin

                        1/4 tsp. cinnamon

                        1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

                        3/4 cup ketchup

                        28 oz. diced tomatoes and their juices

                        1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

                        1 tsp. red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar

                        2 plum tomatoes, chopped

1. If using ground turkey, add the canola oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the ground meat with the onions and garlic. If using ground beef, once the meat is browned, drain. You can generally skip this step if using ground turkey.
2. Return the mixture to the pot and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Raise heat to high and bring chili to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for at least an hour, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and/or pepper if necessary.
3. If desired, garnish with chopped avocado, shredded cheese, or chopped scallion.

 What are your favorite crowd-pleasing recipes to make? Who do you like to cook with? What knives do you like best? Can you relate to our dinner rut?