THE LADY OF SHALLOTS

If you had told me prior to last month that I'd ever get excited about cauliflower, I would have given you that face...you know the one. And if you don't, let's just move on. Working my way through Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen Every Day  (although admittedly I have not yet used it EVERY day), I came upon her recipe for roasted cauliflower, with the ultra sexy title of CAULIFLOWER WEDGE (pages 42-43). But I like the understated title because it holds a secret... THIS IS THE BEST CAULIFLOWER YOU WILL EVER HAVE. Ok, so maybe it is *my* favorite cauliflower. It doesn't have to be yours. It is light and flavorful, and you can still taste the sweetness of the cauliflower. And it looks pretty on the plate! Part of what makes this recipe so great is these: Those are fried capers. I'm certain if you put fried capers and parmesan on just about anything you can eat it! Except eggplant. There is no helping eggplant. The recipe calls ...

I've been on a seafood kick for the last two weeks, largely due to the fabulous seafood I can buy at the Somerville Winter's Farmers Market. I've never cooked shellfish, and I decided it was time to try. I started with some fresh littleneck clams and used this recipe that I found on Cookthink. I used gluten-free linguine (because I happened to have some), so it made this already healthy recipe even healthier. It was very tasty. I'd probably be more generous with the saffron threads next time (see more about that in my next post ), and if making it for company, I'd serve it with the clam shells (that I took the time to scrub!). It will make a lovely summer dish as well, followed by some kind of lemony dessert.

I wouldn't classify myself as a huge carnivore, but when I do eat meat, I like it to be good quality meat. I buy most of our meat at our local farmer's market which a) keeps us from eating too much meat due to the expense and b) makes me much more conscious of the meat's quality, how I cook it, etc. These pork chops come from Stillman's Farm , and they were, like everything I've ever purchased from Stillman's, absolutely amazing. So, when meat is fresh and of high quality, I tend to go for minimalist recipes that enhance the meat's own flavor (sometimes a challenge with pork). I had some fresh sage that I picked up at the Farmer's Market, and so a little googling brought me to Josh Friedland's wonderful blog, The Food Section . Friedland summarized the recipe for the pork chops from Suzanne Dunaway's Rome at Home . I followed his directions with one tiny addition: white wine in addition to the lemon juice. I did need more liquid after the fi...