Whole Roasted Cauliflower

I kept seeing recipes for whole roasted cauliflower cropping up on Pinterest and other food sites I frequent (like this one from Bon Appétit), so when I was perusing the produce section at the grocery store last weekend I snagged a big head of cauliflower. It's all about preparation, people! The amount of times I am craving something I've seen all week and yet didn't get the ingredients to make is just too high to count, so I try to make up for that by doing things like buying the cauliflower when I know I want to eventually make it.

There are a lot of recipes out there and after making it just once I finally understand why. It's really really really easy to make. Plus, if you've had roasted cauliflower with just salt and pepper you know that it lends it's own caramelized veggie umami flavor without much coaxing. Wins upon wins, my friends!

To be honest it, I kind of winged it, and this was a success in my books as in nothing I would have changed. Next time I will try this recipe just because the pictures are so dang tantalizing. And because as soon as I was finished I wanted to make a million more.

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons green curry paste
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes

Note:  You are going to first boil the cauliflower so if you don't have a gigantic stock pot, just use a pot large enough to at least fit the cauliflower and cover it halfway up with water.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 475 F. 
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil and add the bay leaf. Place the cauliflower head in the water, and boil for a total of 10 minutes, rotating the cauliflower halfway through.
3. Drain, and rinse gently with cold water until cool enough to handle.
4. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ingredients. 
5. Place the cauliflower stem-side down in a pie dish or casserole dish wide enough to hold the cauliflower. Rub the seasoning mix all over the cauliflower.
6. Roast in the center of the oven for 50-60 minutes, until it is a deep golden color. 
7. Remove carefully with a large spatula and serve it warm on a plate. You can gently slice wedges of the cauliflower to serve, similar to how you'd cut a cake.  Serve it hot as veggie side dish with dips/spreads such as baba ganoush or tzaziki. We ate this with roasted chicken and it was perfecto.

Simple Prime Rib

I easily consider myself a "steak and potatoes" kinda gal -- red meat is something that I never tire of, particularly a good roast beef.  Of course, like every one else I have a budget, I value my health, and I also like to change it up, so I don't eat red meat every single day. Hello, Adulthood. Right after Christmas I purchased a turkey and a few prime rib roasts (see, that's my budget playing into my food choices!) to portion out and freeze for later on.
To celebrate the weekend (it's the little things in life) I served this prime rib roast along with a warm carrot and potato salad. Leftovers are going to be eaten today in the form of a sandwich... unless I get too lazy and just eat the roast beef straight out of the container. There's a high probability of that happening.

And, always a recurring theme on here, it's really easy to make.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 standing prime rib roast (3-4 pounds for two people, or 1 bone for two people)
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 2 teaspoons black ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:

1. Bring the prime rib out of the refrigerator and let it sit for about 30-45 minutes (to allow it come to room temperature). Preheat oven to 450 F.
2. Coat a roasting pan in foil and grease lightly.
3. Mix the salt and pepper together in a small bowl. Rub the oil all over the roast, then rub in the salt and pepper mixture to coat the whole cut of meat.
4. Stand the rib fat-side up in the pan and roast in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, and do not open oven. Turn the heat to 350 F and cook an additional 15-17 minutes per pound for medium-rare (use a meat thermometer for the safest and most accurate cooking: 115-120 F for rare, 125-130 F for medium).
5. Remove roast from oven and let it sit for at least 20 minutes before carving. At this time you can use the pan drippings for a gravy if you wish.

 Note: If you are serving the meat later on, you can reserve a portion of the drippings in the pan, carve the roast, then place the meat back in the pan to keep everything moist.

Roasted Chicken with a Rosemary-Salt Crust

Roasted chicken is something that we make on a weekly basis, and what I love most about chicken is how many ways it can be seasoned and used. Essentially, this means we don't get tired of it because it's a bit different each time. This week I forgot to marinate the chicken overnight as I usually try to do so I decided to be a bit heavy-handed with the seasonings to ensure maximum flavor. What resulted was a mouthwatering, golden, salty crust over a juicy rosemary flavored chicken. Even better, the leftovers were delicious simply chopped and served cold in a salad. Hooray for leftovers!

Ingredients:

• 1 roasting chicken
• 1/3 cup kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 1/2 tablespoon cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F.
2. Mix the salt, rosemary, and pepper in a small bowl.  Rub the oil all over the chicken. Gently rub the salt mixture all over the chicken. Place the chicken breast-up on a greased and foil-covered roasting pan. Sprinkle any of the remaining salt mixture evenly over the chicken.
3. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 F and bake for an additional 55-65 minutes.
4. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes before carving (I tipped the chicken to let any excess salt fall off).

Cornish Game Hens with Roasted Carrots and Potatoes

I can't tell you the number of times I've walked past the frozen Cornish game hens at the grocery store and thought, Ooh! Oh. Uh. Never mind. I don't know how to make them. Next time.
So recently when I started to go through the same inner dialogue I cut myself off and said, Yes please, and plopped two hens in my shopping cart. Don't worry, I didn't say that out loud all by myself, I just thought it. Anyway, I'm so glad I finally tried them because they were so juicy and extremely easy to make, and it was a fun meal to have. We actually were so caught up in the meal that I forgot to take a picture of them presented on our plates which looked much prettier than this one!

Ingredients:

• 2 Cornish game hens, fresh or fully thawed overnight in fridge
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 1 lemon
• Salt and Pepper
• 6 large carrots, peeled
• 1 lb red baby potatoes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. 
2. Slice the lemon in half and place a half in the cavity of each game hen. 
3. Pull the leaves off the rosemary stalks,  and gently tuck the rosemary underneath the skin on the breast of the birds. Season the hens generously with salt and pepper and place breast-up in a greased baking pan lined with foil.
4. Bake the hens for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the carrots into 3" long pieces, and place in a greased baking dish. Slice the baby potatoes in half and add to the carrots. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. 
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 F and add the carrot and potato pan to the oven. Bake the hens and vegetables for an additional 50-60 minutes, or until the Cornish game hen juices run clear. 
6. Let the hens rest for 10 minutes before serving: place a hen on each dinner plate along with the carrots and potatoes. The meat should easily fall off the bone, but be sure to provide each diner with a sharp knife to assist with carving. Helpful tip: I like to provide a bowl for discarded bones and the lemon halves on the table.

Note: I know that many roasted bird recipes call for the wings and legs to be trussed to ensure even cooking, but I have never had an issue with an untrussed roasted bird. To each their own.