The Wrath of Grapes; Grape Expectations; You Ungrapeful Bastard

 
Grapes four ways

Never stop playing with your food! This is one of my favorite kitchen creativity games. Take a single ingredient, and cut it as many ways as you can think of, then observe the way the cuts and textures change your perception. Then take it a step further and let those new perceptions suggest simple flavor pairings.

These enormous, nearly black seedless grapes gave me all sorts of ideas. 

• Peeled and rolled in crispy crumbled rice crackers, Hawaiian black salt
• Sliced so thin they are transparent, with fennel pollen and lemon zest
• Peeled and cut into irregular "icebergs" with cilantro/pepita pesto
• Fileted with sunflower butter
• (below) Tops and bottoms removed, thinly sliced vertically, again with the cilantro/pepita pesto

Serve chilled.

Grapes with cilantro/pepita pesto

Caramelized Caulifower Frittata - Recipe

 
Caramelized Cauliflower Frittata

Cauliflower has a split personality. Boiled or steamed, it is kind of cabbagey, bland and slightly bitter. But roasted or sauteed until it has lots of dark brown caramelized spots all over, it becomes luscious and savory and altogether craveable. Deep fried, it is so good that my wife and I drove half way across LA in rush hour traffic just to get a second helping.

This simple frittata emphasizes that intense caramelized cauliflower flavor with a big helping of fresh herbs. I used a combination of parsley, thyme, marjoram and a little mint, but you can adjust it to what you have on hand or what sounds good with the rest of your meal. Use about a 1/2 cup of packed leafy herbs, less if they are very intense like tarragon. Don't use anywhere near this much of something woody like rosemary.

Once you have cooked the cauliflower and mixed it with the eggs, you can either start cooking the eggs on the stove and finish in the oven, or do the whole thing in the oven.

I like this best served room temperature or cold, though piping hot can be good too. Served just warm with a bracing salad makes a great light lunch. Another good option is to cut it into bite sized pieces and serve on baguette slices with aioli and pickled onions, as an appetizer or party snack.

In other news: Fox, Gordon Ramsay, and the producers of The Biggest Loser are casting great home cooks for a new reality show called MasterChef. Sounds like good fun to me, so I'm auditioning. There are open calls in several cities throughout the US, coming up very soon. Maybe you'd like to try out too? See the Fox website for details and contact info.

Caramelized Cauliflower Frittata
Vegetarian and gluten-free
Serves 4 as a light entree or 8 as a first course

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + a little extra
• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 10 large eggs
• 3/4 cup heavy cream or whole milk
• 1/2 cup packed minced leafy fresh herbs - for example parsley, thyme, marjoram, and a little mint
• zest of 1 lemon
• salt
• optional garnish: smoked paprika, more fresh cut herbs

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Heat a 12 inch oven-proof non-stick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the olive oil, the cut-up cauliflower, and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Saute, tossing occasionally, until tender and well caramelized. It should be quite brown in many spots. Just towards the end, add the garlic. Taste and adjust salt.
3. Remove the cauliflower to a bowl, and let both the skillet and the cauliflower cool a bit, so they don't overcook the eggs on contact.
4. Whisk the eggs thoroughly. Whisk in the cream, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, the herbs, and the lemon zest.
5. Drizzle a little more olive oil in the pan. Put the cauliflower back in the pan and distribute evenly over the bottom. Pour in the eggs and shake a little to distribute. Put over a medium flame and cook until beginning to set. 
6. Cover with tin foil and bake until fully set. This could take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour depending on how much you cooked the eggs in step 5. Lately I've preferred to let the oven do more of the work, but either way is fine. You just want to be sure to get them fully cooked and not runny, but don't go so far past that that you have rubbery eggs.
7. Cut into wedges and garnish with the smoked paprika and/or fresh herbs as desired.

Vegetarian Ceviche - Recipe

Vegetarian ceviche

Traditional ceviche is raw or lightly cooked fish and shellfish, marinated in citrus juices. Variations of it are served throughout Latin America. Each country has its own special twists on the ingredients, sauce, or crispy accompaniments.

Obviously it isn't the same thing, but you can absolutely make a vegetarian dish that capitalizes on some of those pleasures. If you think in terms of a composed salad, include some tropical and spicy elements, and use a dressing of citrus with no oil, there is lots of room to play. I included oyster mushrooms and (sustainably harvested) hearts of palm as somewhat humorous references to seafood - the oyster mushrooms by name and the palm by shape.

Ceviche usually includes something salty and crispy for contrast. Roasted corn kernels (something like Corn Nuts), popcorn, fried plantains are popular choices. I was short on time for today's dish so I simply used tortilla chips, but if I would have preferred a spiced up popcorn.

This would be fun to serve with cocktails, or as the first course of a dinner party.

Vegetarian Ceviche
Serves 4
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free

• juice of 1 lime
• juice of Meyer lemon
• 4 oyster mushrooms
• 1/2 can hearts of palm, cut into bite-size rings
• 2 radishes, cut into thin circles
• 1/2 english cucumber, cut into circles
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut into rings
• a few rings of thinly sliced red onion
• sea salt
• a few mint or cilantro leaves
• 8 tortilla chips

1. Combine the lime and lemon juices with a bit of salt.
2. Toss the vegetables with the juice and let marinate for a couple of minutes.
3. Divide the vegetables among 4 serving vessels, making sure each gets an oyster mushroom and some of each other component.
4. Drizzle on a bit of the juice.
5. Finish with sea salt, mint or cilantro leaves, and 2 tortilla chips.