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Thursday, December 01, 2005

Comments

cookiecrumb

I'm comin' over. Set an extra place.
(I do a roasted cauliflower dish a lot like yours, with preserved lemons, oil-cured black olives and garlic, along with the anchovies. Overkill? Whatever.)

Tana

I'd eat that.

The worst recipe I've ever known is something my mother dreamed up (literally). Pork chops with sauerkraut, apples, and carrots. It was truly barf-worthy, and I was the only one to finish it, because she cruelly set out strawberry shortcake for dessert.

We still all talk about it.

Worst. Recipe. Ever.

sarah

ANYTHING with anchovies has got to be good. i'm with cookiecrumb. set a place for me, too!

Brett

Cookiecrumb, nothing wrong with a little overkill from time to time. I love preserved lemons on just about anything. And can you ever really go wrong adding olives to something?

Tana, maybe your mother's rendition came out horribly, but it actually sounds yummy to me. Similar to the famous Alsatian dish, choucroute garni, which is a riot of pork products piled on top of sauerkraut braised in riesling (sometimes even with apples and carrots added-no joke!).

But I would never have touched something like that as a kid (or anchovies, for that matter), even if there was strawberry shortcake at the end of the tunnel! It's amazing how our tastes change over the years.

Luisa

I think it's a lovely photo, actually! And I agree - anchovies and cauliflower are a match made in heaven.

mona

Wow, your posts continue to crack me up. Where have you been all my life? ha :)
Speaking of cauliflower. Have you ever tried the mashed potato variety, as in smashin up some caulis a la mashers? Always wanted to try that recipe ... as I continued reading i was wondering if this was your ugliest picture post so thanks for the clarification.

johng

That looks great! Vegetable likes and dislikes are funny -- I cannot for the life if me understand the problem people have with cauliflower. I mean, sure if it's the overcooked mush my mom served, I get that; its nasty. But that was true of pretty much all the vegetables she cooked -- khaki artichokes, olive-green frozen peas, canned creamed corn... I had no idea how lovely all those vegetables could be until they were liberated from her oppressive over-cooking. Back to the cauli - People go on an on about Delfina's pasta and pizza, but the first time I at their roasted cauliflower it was a revelation. Nowdays, at least once if not twice a week I toss cauliflower just in olive oil and garlic and either grill it slowly with the lid closed before I toss on the meat, or I throw it into the oven with whatever is cooking in there. Awfully good -- plus it's in the anti-cancer cabbage family!

Rachael

I make something very similar, having a deep affection for both cauliflower and anchovies (of course!)

...and as for it being a bad photo, I disagree, but still, being this cheeky girl I am...will include it in the round up since it will help bolster things. Right now, I am having a serious lack of entries...minus Sam's overexuberance....ekk. Maybe your readers will join in?

Thanks for the awsesome recipe!

Rachael

Kalyn

Brett, I stumbled on this so no need to send me the link. Nice job as usual. Very interesting way to cook cauliflower, which I do love. I don't have any anchovies though. I wonder if I can find the spanish ones anywhere in Salt Lake. If I don't find anchovies I might just try your method of cooking the cauliflower and then drizzle on a tiny bit of my best balsamic vinegar, which is good on everything!

Lindy

There is no vegetable I do not like, I don't know where I was when the childhood food horrors were handed out, because I just never had any-and I've liked every vegetable I've learned of since. Currently, I am demented for black kale and broccoli rabe in particular.
Cauliflower this way sounds entirely divine, and I'm gonna fix me some.

mae

Hi there,

I got here through Kalyn's WHB roundup and i have to say, what a great recipe story!

Anchovies is something Filipinos (like me) love to put on our food. Anchovy sauce especially is something that we use as a dip or sauce like you mention, chicken, for instance. I love anchovy sauce (with a hint of lemon and chillies) on roast chicken and then eaten with boiled rice. For me, this is a match in heaven. My fiance on the other hand, hates the stuff. Don't even like the smell of it not even the tiniest on a ceasar salad. He'd gladly miss it.

Anyway, i would really like to try your recipe as i don't mind cauliflower. I can imagine this dish being really nice. I love the crispy look of the dish on the photo.

Brett

Hi all. I've been away from my blog for a few days. It's good to see so many people like both anchovies and cauliflower!

Mona, I can imagine that mashed cauliflower would be tasty, although possibly a little boring. If a few Indian curry spices were added, that would be a different story. Pureed cauliflower makes one of my favorite soups. It's luxuriously velvety.

Johng, slowly grilled cauliflower sounds delicious! It must add a nice touch of smoke.

Kalyn, I'm glad you stumbled across my entry, as I forgot to send you the link. Next time I'll try to actually post on the weekend. And maybe even about an herb, too.

Rachael, go ahead and include my cauliflower pic in your round-up. Or you could use my one of crab louie at Swan Oyster Depot from Friday's post. Some food just tastes better than it looks!

Lindy, black kale and b. rabe are 2 of my favorite winter greens, too.

Mae, welcome to IPO Sardines. One of my good friends (who is Filipino) is as crazy about anchovies (and sardines) as I am. Sorry to hear about your fiance. I can't imagine a Caesar salad without anchovies. I'm lucky that my wife and I share most of the same food likes and dislikes (although she's not crazy about saffron. But I can live with that).

Ruth

Wow, so glad I stumbled onto your site. Your writing is hilarious and the dish sounds awesome!!!

Thanks for sharing

Melissa

Brett: a) any recipe that combines anchovies and roasted cauliflower would be a contender for *most* popular recipe around here, and b) any photo that has me salivating before I even get to a description of the dish deserves a spot in your photography hall of fame!

Melissa

Brett: a) any recipe that combines anchovies and roasted cauliflower would be a contender for *most* popular recipe around here, and b) any photo that has me salivating before I even get to a description of the dish deserves a spot in your photography hall of fame!

Hande

I loved this! And my friends too.... great!

Dorine Houston

You think cauliflower is less popular than cardoons?

I actually like cauliflower and anchovies, but have never combined them. Your recipe looks wonderful and I plan to try it soon! Thanks for shaaring--and for your good writing.

sam

i am going to make the caulliflower part of this equation tonight and put it on a home baked pizza I think. Mmmm, roll on dinner time.

MaxMillion

Wow -- this recipe has transformed my life & my kitchen!! Honestly!

In our house we eat a lot of cauli, broccoli, cabbage and occassionally brussel sprouts. We believe that cruciferous vegetables can assist in staving off cancer.

But when it comes to cauliflower, I've always eaten it most reluctantly (with a lot of grizzling and pouting) as my sweetheart prefers it RAW in salads. Ugh!

But we ate your recipe THREE times in one week!

It's *that* good!

Thank you for such a wonderful recipe and for transforming my reluctance towards eating cauli into rampant enthusiasm.

BTW -- I don't believe it is at all necessary to turn the roasting cauli every ten minutes. That's too fussy and too bothersome. I just turned it once after 30 mins and I still obtained great results.

But I love how you caution readers to keep cooking for the full hour. It's true -- the best bits *are* the dark brown ones.

Sooooooooo delicious! Thanks!!

ChovyChap

Brett! We could almost class you as the Evil Kenievel of cooking with these daring recipes you are sharing with us. Marrying cauli and chovies - 2 of most peoples disliked foods into one marvelous dish. You culinary daredevil! Can't wait to sample your next daring escapade.

Alixandria

It is a good recipe very nutritious and healthy..Wow!! generally i buy my nutritious food from ChuckeCheese.com, Almond Plaza, Peapod stores at couponalbum.com..

Becki

I dislike cauliflower. I detest anchovies. And yet, your description and picture of this dish make my mouth water. Exactly how big is your table, again? Could you squeeze in one more chair?

Joseph Ferrer

Yum! I would like to add that Filipino ghetto food uses anchovy sauce with their fried fish, steamed vegetables, and white rice...I personally like achovy sauce with red hot pepper mixed it with rice and diced fresh tomatoes. That is what I call home...

diana

I can never keep my fav anchovies around long enough to cook with them. So I subbed fish sauce instead and it was pretty good (equal parts sugar, fish sauce water, some garlic and red chili and skip the sea salt).

Rani

A friend sent me this, for inclusion with my file of Weird Recipes. I don't think it sounds that weird and I am going to try it. However, I cannot eat bread in any form. When I make a recipe that calls for bread crumbs, I use either well-crushed pork rinds or almond flour. I am leaning towards the pork-rind crumbs.

Any input will be appreciated!

Rani

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