I cook with wine…

I was tasked with bringing something healthy and vegetarian to a Super Bowl party this past Sunday. I had already planned a big trip to the farmers market on Saturday, so I also chose to stick with seasonally appropriate ingredients. Here were the delicious results of this quest. Apologies for the lack of pictures, I was running a little too late to take time to photograph.

Ingredients:

Salad

1 head cauliflower, chopped into small florets

2 large carrots, sliced into ½ inch thick disks

1 pound (approximately) Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and sliced in half

5-6 medium-sized golden Yukon potatoes

2 bunches kale, cut into approximately 2-inch squares

Olive oil

Sea salt

Dressing

1 head garlic

Juice of three lemons

2 tablespoons sesame tahini

¼ cup grated parmesan

1 red onion, diced

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Slice the top off of the garlic, exposing the tips of the cloves. Place in a large enough square of aluminum foil to cover and pour a tablespoon of olive oil on top. Wrap foil around garlic and place in the oven. Roast for approximately 45 minutes or until cloves are soft and light brown in color.

Meanwhile, toss the kale with approximately 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a few dashes of sea salt. Spread evenly over two large baking sheets and cook in the preheated over for 8 to 10 minutes, or until crisp. Remove kale from oven, place in a large bowl to cool.

Toss the rest of the vegetables with approximately 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a few more dashes of sea salt. Spread evenly over the two baking sheets. Roast in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until cauliflower begins to brown and potatoes are soft. Remove from over and let cool.

Heat two tablespoons olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent. Chop roasted garlic into very small pieces. Mix onion and garlic with lemon juice, tahini, and parmesan. Add salt and pepper and adjust any other elements of the dressing to suit your specific taste.

Combine vegetables and dressing in a large bowl and toss to coat. Serve with an additional sprinkling of parmesan cheese, if desired. Can be served warm or cold.

Now, I generally try to stick to relatively healthy recipes, but this one, which is incredibly indulgent, just needed to be shared. I do not recommend eating this every day, or even often, but on those really bad days, or just when the cold weather is getting to you, these potatoes can brighten your night. The ultimate in comfort food, I like to save these for desperate times. And once you taste them, you’ll know why I chose the phrase “heaven-topped”.

Ingredients:

5 medium-sized potatoes, halved lengthwise

6 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup grated asiago cheese (you could substitute a number of delicious cheese here, mozzarella, cheddar, even gruyere)

1/2 stick melted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place potatoes, round side down, in a baking pan of appropriate size, so the potatoes are relatively close together or touching. I used a 9 x 9 glass dish. Bake potatoes alone for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mix together the other ingredients, saving the butter for last. Add salt and pepper to taste, if you wish. Spoon this mixture on top of potatoes and put them into the oven for another 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is brown and bubbly. Let cool slightly, serve and enjoy!

This dish melds all the warm, gooey deliciousness of scalloped potatoes with the nutritional benefits of cauliflower. I served once alongside basil-and-balsamic-marinated heirloom tomatoes and mint-and-honey-marinated peaches for a vegetarian meal, then I served the leftovers with cherry-thyme pork chops and roasted tomatoes with oregano. Paired equally well with both. Trust me, they’ll come back for seconds!

Cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, kale, cabbage etc.) are primarily known to prevent cancer. They contain phytonutrients that promote liver detoxification (making them very helpful to me!) and fight free radicals that can harm your body’s DNA and cause cancer. Additionally, cauliflower has a very high percentage of vitamin C (91.5% of daily value in one cup) and thus carries all the health benefits of vitamin C as well. So be sure to work in plenty of cauliflower during this upcoming flu season!

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, sliced into pencil-thick slices (these will likely fall apart, no worries, just toss them all into the bowl)

4-5 red potatoes, thinly sliced

5 cloves garlic, chopped

2 shallots, chopped

¼ cup butter, melted

Salt and pepper to taste

2 cups mozzarella, grated

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 cup milk

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the potatoes, cauliflower, garlic, shallots, butter and salt in pepper in a large bowl. Toss to coat the vegetables with all the flavor-containing goodness. In another bowl, mix together the cheeses, milk and eggs. Spread the potato-cauliflower mixture in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Top with cheese mixture, be sure to spread evenly with a spoon. Bake for 35 minutes covered, then 25 minutes uncovered or until top gets brown and bubbly.

Last Sunday was the season three premiere of Mad Men and some lovely friends of mine hosted a themed get-together for the occasion. In addition to drinking Tom Collinses and playing classic games like charades, each couple was charged with bringing at least one traditional appetizer from that era. I chose pigs-in-a-blanket. However, given my new obsession with cooking experimentation, I felt a bit more ambitious than wieners and crescent rolls. Here is my updated version of pigs-in-a-blanket, comprised of all-natural jalapeno-beef sausages and cheddar cheese wrapped in honey-cornmeal rolls. They were a hit!

Ingredients:

5 sausages of your choice, sliced in half width-wise (mine were approximately 1-inch wide, if you choose larger ones, you might want to increase the amount of dough you make and the baking time)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (a number of others would probably work here as well, choose one that complements your sausage)

1 cup flour

¼ cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter

¼ cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon honey

1 egg yolk

Directions:

Grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, honey and egg yolk. Add this mixture to the crumbs, stir until blended. On a well-floured surface, knead the dough in the flour until it stops sticking to your fingers. Roll out on a lightly-floured cutting board into an approximately 8 x 10 inch square. Slice dough into 10 4 x 2 inch squares and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Roll sausage-halves tightly in dough and place on baking sheet, seam-side down. Bake in middle rack of oven for 15 minutes, or until dough turns light brown and crispy on the outside.