Preparing the Chou-Fleur Au Gratin

Sauce consists of pureed cauliflower core and stems, heavy cream, herbs, a touch of curry powder and horseradish. This photo was taken before the heavy cream was added. I really enjoyed using the cauliflower core and stems… quite unique. Taken from the pages of the wonderful Thomas Keller’s book Bouchon. I first heard about Thomas Keller by reading the books of someone who admires him- nay, adores him; Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain wrote the book Kitchen Confidential which exposed the underbelly of professional cooking and also stars in No Reservations on the travel channel.

Steaks Rubbed with Salt and Pepper

Prepping the Veggies

Sarah (my sister in law and sous chef) is prepping red bell pepper. I’ve just finished the potatoes. Zoey (my dog) looks on with candid interest.

Fresh Vegetables

My parents were excellent cooks themselves and always believed in preparing fresh meals, especially once they had me to feed. We enjoyed eating take-out or comfort food as much as anyone, but 90% of the time I could count on real food made with real ingredients while growing up. It’s translated into a deep interest in cooking later in my life. Thanks mom and dad. This cutting board is the same one they used to cook for me years ago. I love Global brand knives, two of my favorites are seen above.

This, My Friend, is the Start of Something Wonderful

Something Wonderful (Au Poivre Sauce)

Ready to Eat

Steak (Two Cuts), Cauliflower Au Gratin, Roasted Potatoes with Bell Pepper and Balsamic Vinegar

The finished product. Ribeye and strip steak, pan bronzed and served with a brandy cream-peppercorn sauce, roasted red potatoes with red bell peppers, garlic, balsamic vinegar and chou-fleur au gratin.

Of these, the cauliflower au gratin was the most fun to make. As I mentioned above, it’s from the pages of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon. The core of the head of cauliflower is used along with reserved stems to make a puree which becomes part of the sauce. The florets are cooked with water and vinegar, and then combined with the sauce made of pureed core and stems, heavy cream, nutmeg, horseradish, curry, salt and pepper. Finally, the gratin is topped with shredded comte (which I could not find, I used regular Gruyere) and browned in a gratin dish.

How About a Little Dessert?

My dinners are never complete without my signature dessert, creme brulee made from scratch with real vanilla and caramelized brown sugar topping.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2008 at 12:41 am and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.