Speaking of cauliflower. . .

I love it. So do the bacteria that live in my intestines however, which makes for a deadly combination.
Moving on to more appetizing thoughts, cauliflower is damn delicious. As a child, some brilliant woman (my grandmother) convinced me cauliflower was some sort of indulgent treat and I used to sneak into the kitchen and break chunks off when no one was looking. I didn't catch on for several years and then didn't eat cauliflower until oh, 10 years ago or so. Man, what I was missing. Here are a couple of my favorite cauliflower recipes.

Pan Roasted Cauliflower
Easiest. Recipe. Ever.
1 head of cauliflower, cleaned and broken/cut up into florets
Garli Garni (or if you must, garlic powder, DON'T USE GARLIC SALT!)
olive oil
Heat oven to 500.

Spread the cauli out on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and top with copious amounts of Garni. Seriously, like a lot a lot. More than that. Keep going. A tiny bit more. Okay, good.

Pop in the oven until fork tender and brown on the edges. If it gets tender but not very brown, I put it under the broiler for a few. The crispy, garlicky bits are like the yummiest garlic bread. I can eat an entire head of cauliflower this way, much to Eel's dismay. Sorry baby.

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Caulimash
4 cups of cauli florets
1 oz I can't believe it's not butter
1 oz ff half and half
salt & pepper

Steam cauli til soft. Puree in a food processor adding butter and half and half to taste. Season with s&p. No, you won't really think it's potatoes, but it's a good stand in.

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Cauliflower Soup
2 heads of cauli, separated into florets
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
3 c chook broth
1 c water
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
2 cups heavy cream (OR TJ's ff half and half of course)
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. In a large bowl (or in your roasting pan) toss cauli, oil, garlic and shallots. Roast til tender; 30 minutes or so.
When done, transfer to a large soup pot and pour in chook broth and water. Season with thyme and bay and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes and remove the bay leaf.
Puree using an immersion blender (so much easier than doing batches in the blender) and return to pot. Stir in cream, s&p and taste. Heat through for serving but do not allow to boil. Serve with yummy crusty bread and/or those delicious little parmesan crisps.

Carbonara

So I was hanging out with Jamie Oliver this weekend - in my bed if you can believe it! (Yes, fine, he was on tv, I was in my bed, whatever spoilsport.)
The point is, Jamie was making carbonara, which is a pasta dish I've never made. As a kid, I didn't like peas believe it or not, so it never really called out to me. As an adult, I don't really like to be fat, so I avoided it still. But Jamie, as he does, made it look so damn easy and delicious, and fresh, and somehow healthy, that I had to give it a shot. My recipe, thrown together as most of my recipes are: one part actual recipe, one part, "I think this is what I remembered him doing. . . approximately," turned out really really well if someone's three helpings are any indication (don't look at me, I only had one).
Penne ala Carbonara - serves "2"

• whole wheat penne pasta - enough for 2 people; feel free to ignore petulant comments about it being "so little" - it'll be plenty, even for three helpings it seems
• 1 small yellow squash - Jamie said to, "Cut out and discard any fluffy middle bits, and slice the courgettes at an angle into pieces roughly the same size and shape as the penne," so I did
• 7-8 cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 5 stalks of broccolini
• 1 clove of garlic, diced
• 2 oz chopped pancetta
• 2 egg yolks
• parmesan cheese - a handful
• olive oil
• TJ's ff 1/2 & 1/2
• red pepper flakes
• s&p

Again, this is a TJ's meal. The prechopped pancetta is a godsend, and they almost always have my beloved broccolini, and well, everything else.

Get the pasta water going, salt it, cook it, etc. You know the drill - but it'd be perfect if the pasta was done right around the same time as the sauce. Be sure to reserve a bit of the cooking water in case your sauce needs thinning.
I tossed a small glug of olive oil into a pan and let it heat up, then added the pancetta. Once it was maybe half way "done" I threw in the garlic and kept chopping all the rest of my veggies, then threw them in as well. This I let cook until it was all just tender and took it off the heat.
If I was smart, I would've started the sauce as soon as I put the veggies in, but I forgot.
So if you try, you'll need to multitask - keeping an eye on the pasta, the veggies, and creating the sauce.
Get your yolks into a medium sized bowl and add a handful or so of the parmesan cheese and whisk. Get it all stuck in the whisk and realize you also need to add the 1/2 and 1/2. Do so, and whisk some more - you can also add olive oil if you like. I only seasoned with pepper since (Jamie and) I think there is plenty of salt in the pancetta and cheese, but that's up to you. I'd wait until the very end on that however. Get the sauce into the still hot (but off the heat) pan of veggies and stir constantly so the egg can cook. Because I waited, I put the heat back on low and stirred for a while to be sure the sauce was cooked through, and tossed in a little pinch of red pepper flakes, you know, all BAM! like.
If you have not taste tested at this point, and there is no royal taster to do so for you, grab a nibble and decide on seasoning and doneness. Drain the pasta, adding a bit of the cooking water to the sauce to thin if needed. Add the cooked pasta into the pan with the sauce and veggies and stir to coat.
If you're planning on leftovers, you may want to put them away first, before serving any hungry people. If you just did it for two, you're good to pig out.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Q makes this for me sometimes. I love love love it. It's a great introduction to Indian food for folks that think they don't like Indian Food.
Some learnings from last night - the ff 1/2 & 1/2 from TJs does work, but doesn't thicken as well. Chopped tomatoes aren't as good a substitution as crushed as they don't melt down as much. Lowfat yogurt is fine (plus preparing it with the yogurt makes the tastiest, moistest chook you'll have, even if you decide not to do the masala sauce).
Also, who knew you could totally fake not only garam masala, but cardamom! Thanks interwebs!!!
This recipe was lifted from someone who posted it on Chowhound.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This dish is best when prepared with whole-milk yogurt, but low-fat yogurt can be substituted. For a spicier dish, do not remove the ribs and seeds from the chile. If you prefer, substitute 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper for the garam masala. The sauce can be made ahead, refrigerated for up to 4 days in an airtight container, and gently reheated before adding the hot chicken. Serve with basmati rice.

Serves 4 to 6

Chicken Tikka

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon table salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts , trimmed of fat
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (see note above)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Masala Sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion , diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh serrano chile , ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced (see note above)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon garam masala (see note above)
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1. FOR THE CHICKEN: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adheres. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic, and ginger; set aside.

2. FOR THE SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.

3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil-lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.

4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1-inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve.

Curried scallops

To go with my simple pan seared scallops, I wanted something Indian inspired, preferably featuring curry.
To that end, I pilfered this from one of Emeril's recipes:

1 tbsp unsalted butter
½ c finely chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
4 tsps curry powder
1 c chicken stock
½ c oj
1 c heavy cream

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, and curry powder, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and orange juice, and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by 1/2, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cream and cook until thickened, about 1 minute.

Don’t make my mistake and use old spices – I forgot to grab mine from home and used some very old curry powder at Q’s house. The flavor was a mere ghost of how vibrant curry should be. Heartbreaking.
I think I’ll try to lighten this one up a little the next time I make it. Perhaps some I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter or heart healthy olive oil, and maybe I can get away with the fat free half and half from TJ’s. It’s just to add creaminess to the sauce, so I think it should be fine.