Linguine With Cauliflower and Brown Butter

Ingredients:
6 T. butter
1 head cauliflower (2 1/2 lbs.), cut into florets
1/4 c. water
1 lb. linguine
10 fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 t. dried)
1 shallot, minced
3/4 c. Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1/3 c. plain dried bread crumbs

Directions:
Melt 2 T. butter in a large skillet. Add cauliflower and season with salt; cook until crisp-tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Add the water; cook until cauliflower is tender when pierced with a sharp knife, 3-4 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil; add a generous amount of salt. Cook pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 c. pasta water; drain pasta.
Melt remaining 4 T. butter in same pot. Stir in sage and shallot; cook, stirring until butter is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add pasta, cauliflower, parsley, and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Add enough reserved pasta water to create a thin sauce to coat pasta.
To serve, divide among bowls and sprinkle with bread crumbs and additional cheese.

Makes 4-6 servings. Total time 40 minutes.

Verdict:
For being a vegetable dish this tasted so good. Blake and I both loved it. The kids ate the noodles and mostly picked around the cauliflower. We really like cauliflower, and we like it even more when it is cooked in a good amount of butter. (In this recipe: instead of using a shallot I just used part of a regular onion.)

Chicken With Cauliflower and Parsley

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, cut in half to make them thinner
1 head cauliflower, cut into large florets
1/4 c. fresh parsley leaves, chopped
2 T. sherry vinegar
1 T. capers, rinsed
2 T. olive oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450. Heat oil in a large oven proof skillet over high heat.
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Cook chicken until browned on both sides.
Place cauliflower around chicken, turning to coat in pan juices; season with salt and pepper. Transfer skillet to oven and roast until chicken is cooked though and cauliflower is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and stir in parsley, vinegar, and capers.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 35 minutes.

Verdict:
This was alright. I didn't have any sherry vinegar so I looked up online to see what I could substitute. It said to use cooking wine, so I did. It had a winey flavor that I wasn't super keen on. I think a mixture of the cooking wine and capers is what did this in for me. Blake liked this and took it to work with him the next day. I just liked the brussles sprouts that I made to go with it. I will have to post that recipe because I thought I wouldn't like brussles sprouts...they kinda have a bad rap....but I do like them. I have made them twice this week already.

Pasta With Roasted Cauliflower, Parsley, and Breadcrumbs

Ingredients:
1 head of cauliflower (about 2 1/2 lbs.) cored, and broken into small florets
1 red onion, halved and cut into thin wedges
5 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
1/4 c. olive oil
4 slices white sandwich bread
12 oz. cavatappi or other short pasta
1/4 c. parmesan, grated plus more for serving
1/4 c. fresh parsley, chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 475 with racks in upper and lower thirds.
Boil large pot of salted water.
On a rimmed baking sheet toss cauliflower, onion, garlic and 2 T. oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast on lower rack until lightly browned and tender about 20 minutes, tossing once.
Meanwhile in a food processor, combine bread and remaining 2 T. oil. Pulse until coarse crumbs form. Spread on rimmed baking sheet.
Bake on upper rack until golden about 5-6 minutes, tossing once.
Cook pasta in boiling water until done. Reserve 1/2 c. pasta water. Drain pasta and return to pot.
Add cauliflower mixture with parmesan and parsley, toss to combine. While tossing pasta gradually add enough pasta water to form a thin sauce that coats pasta.
Serve pasta topped with breadcrumbs and more parmesan if desired.

Makes 4 servings. Total time 30 minutes.

Verdict:
I made this thinking it would be a flop. I had really low expectations. Not that I didn't want it to taste good I really hoped that it would. But it was good. It was a lot better than I expected. I did add more parmesan than the recipe called for but that is because I like cheese. If you like cheese you could add more too.