Sensible Sun Exposure

Yelp reviews

Crispy cauliflower, cauliflower cream sauce, fusilli

Crispy cauliflower, cauliflower cream sauce (vegan), fusilli 

Here's another play on the 2 very different personalities of cauliflower, crispy & creamy.  The first time I made a cauliflower cream sauce it actually came out tasting like vanilla custard.  I used almond milk in place of regular milk.  I  pressure cooked the stems in the almond milk and pureed it.  Yep...tasted like a dessert and was unbelievably creamy.  I'll save that for another healthy dessert recipe and will definitely need to revisit.

In place of almond milk I now use veggie stock and it still comes out incredibly creamy.  In fact if you didn't know you would probably think you were eating a cream sauce, except you wouldn't feel bloated afterwards.

Crispy Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower
olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic

salt

pepper

Lay the cauliflower on its side and slice down a 1/4" from the edge.  Rotate and continue to do so until you reach the stems.

Saute on medium high heat stirring occasionally until the florets are brown and crispy.  Finely mince the garlic and add at the very end.  If you add before the cauliflower is cooked it will burn since we're cooking on pretty high heat.  I also add some anchovy paste or a few finely chopped anchovy fillets at the end.  Just go easy on the salt if you do this since anchovies already have a lot of salt.  Anchovies really give the dish amazing flavor but this is of course optional.

Cauliflower Puree
remaining cauliflower stems
2 cups veggie stock
2-3 cloves garlic
Italian parsley
salt
pepper

Pressure cook the cauliflower stems and garlic in the veggie stock on medium heat for 5 minutes.  Strain (reserve liquid) and puree, adding remaining liquid to achieve desired consistency.  Season with salt & pepper.

Serve with your favorite pasta or rice.  Mix in the cauliflower cream sauce with your pasta, add crispy florets, and garnish with chopped Italian parsley.

Cauliflower soup, pan fried cauliflower, deep fried oyster

Cauliflower soup, crispy cauliflower florets, deep fried oyster

Crispy Cauliflower Florets
1 head cauliflower
olive oil
salt
pepper

Cut some large florets off of the cauliflower and with the bottom of  the florets facing up get 10 vertical cuts that are about 3/8" thick.  Save remaining cauliflower for soup including the stem.  Saute on medium-high heat and season with salt & pepper.  Cauliflower can take a good amount of heat so cook about 5 minutes per side until you get it nice and brown and crispy.  Try not to move it too much and just let it do its thing.

Cauliflower Soup
remaining cauliflower

1 large white potato

1 medium vidalia onion

2 cups veggie stock

olive oil

salt pepper

Cut the cauliflower into 1/2" pieces.  Peel and cut the potato into 1/2" pieces.  Cook the cauliflower and potato in veggie stock until soft (about 10 minutes).  Dice the onion and saute in olive oil until soft and slightly caramelized.  Puree the cauliflower, potato, and sauteed onion, and season with salt and pepper.

Fried Oysters

8 oysters

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup panko

1 egg

cayenne pepper
salt
pepper

Dry the oysters and roll in seasoned flour and shake of excess.  Dip in egg and then in seasoned panko crumbs.  Deep fry in 350 degree oil until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.

Ladle soup in a shallow bowl, add crispy cauliflower florets, and place firied oysters on top of the florets

Exploration of Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a great vegetable that is often underrated. I've been experimenting with it lately and have some recipes that pack a lot of flavor and are very healthy to boot offering numerous benefits. It's very low cal, is packed with nutrients, is full of anti-oxidants, helps the body detox, is anti-inflammatory, and provides cardiovascular support to name a few.  It's a very diverse vegetable and can be prepared in several ways from light and crispy to creamy.

Cauliflower Steaks in Cauliflower Puree with Seared Scallops in White Bean Puree

Cauliflower
1 head cauliflower
2-3 cloves garlic
2 cups veggie stock
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350F.  With the stem facing up, slice 3/4" steaks from the cauliflower and cut the remaining into 1/2" pieces.  Lightly coat the steaks with olive oil, salt & pepper.  Using an oven proof frying pan, saute on med-high for about 5 minutes a side.  You want each side to be brown and crispy.  When both sides are nicely browned bake in oven for 10 minutes.

Put the remaining cauliflower and garlic in a pressure cooker and just cover with veggie stock and pressure cook for 5 minutes (alternatively boil about 10 minutes until nice & soft).  Strain and put cauliflower in blender and add remaining liquid a little at a time to get the desired consistency.  Season to taste.


White Bean Pureee & Scallops
1 cup cannellini beans (2 cups if using canned)
fresh rosemary
juice of a lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
8 scallops
cumin
salt
pepper


For the bean puree I make my own beans but canned beans come out pretty good too.  A lot of people soak their beans overnight prior to cooking but I use a pressure cooker to prep them instead.  Add a cup of beans, cover with about an inch of water, and add a sprinkle of salt.  I then let the pressure build until the pressure cooker starts steaming and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.  Let the pressure dissipate and rinse your beans.  Then put back in the pressure cooker, cover with 2 inches of water, 1 tbsp chopped rosemary. Cover and let the pressure build up and cook over medium heat for 50 minutes.  Let the pressure dissipate, and drain beans (save the cooking liquid).  Puree beans in a food processor, add some chopped fresh rosemary, add 1-2 tbsp olive oil, add cooking liquid as needed to achieve desired consistency, and season with salt & pepper to taste.  Add the juice of 1/2-1 lemon at the very end.

Whenever you sear scallops make sure they are nice and dry.  If they contain moisture they will not brown.  Season with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Sear in hot oil for a minute per side.

To serve, ladle the cauliflower puree onto your plate and put a cauliflower steak over it.  Ladle the white bean puree onto your plate and place your scallops in it.

Iron Chef Ming

We have a hidden treasure in Fairfax, VA (aka funfax) called Sakura.  Sakura is a chain restaurant in a strip mall (of course) with hibachi on one side and sushi on the other.  Now I normally do not frequent chain restaurants but the sushi side is independently run so that's my disclaimer.  What makes Sakura so good is its head sushi chef, Ming.  I call him Iron Chef Ming because he constantly comes up with new creations and is very innovative.  In fact celebrity chef Emeril was known to frequent Sakura when he was filming his show Emeril Green on the Planet Green Network in the Fairfax Whole Foods.  So next time you happen to be in Fairfax, VA and crave some good sushi be sure to swing by Sakura.  I'll post pictures of Ming's creation and update with new pictures as I get them.

Marina & Emeril at Sakura

fried clam

Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking [Hardcover]

It's here, the holy bible of cookbooks. Only $461.62 at Amazon.com and already sold out. Anyone looking for gift ideas for me, here you go. ;-)

A sampling of what you'll discover:

• Why plunging food in ice water doesn't stop the cooking process
• When boiling cooks faster than steaming
• Why raising the grill doesn't lower the heat
• How low-cost pots and pans can perform better than expensive ones
• Why baking is mostly a drying process
• Why deep-fried food tastes best and browns better when the oil is older
• How modern cooking techniques can achieve ideal results without the perfect timing or good luck that traditional methods demand

Many invaluable features include:

• Insights into the surprising science behind traditional food preparation methods such as grilling, smoking, and stir-frying
• The most comprehensive guide yet published on cooking sous vide, including the best options for water baths, packaging materials, and sealing equipment; cooking strategies; and troubleshooting tips
• More than 256 pages on meat and seafood and 130 pages on fruits, vegetables, and grains, including hundreds of parametric recipes and step-by-step techniques
• Extensive chapters explaining how to achieve amazing results by using modern thickeners, gels, emulsions, and foams, including example recipes and many formulas
• More than 300 pages of new recipes for plated dishes suitable for service at top-tier restaurants, plus recipes adapted from master chefs including Grant Achatz, Ferran Adrià , Heston Blumenthal, David Chang, Wylie Dufresne, David Kinch, and many others

From the professional chef to the home cook, Modernist Cuisine is an indispensable guide for anyone who is passionate about the art and science of cooking.

Apparently there is an entire chapter dedicated to water.  So if you want to take your cooking to a new level and learn things you never knew about food this is your book.