Friday, March 19, 2010

Cleo Coyle's Twilight Cauliflower (20-Clove Roasted Garlic Cauliflower)





M
y new recipe is below.

Possibly anti-cancer. Definitely anti-vampire.


Garlic and me go way back. This could be the reason that all of the aloof, pale-skinned vampires took a pass on asking me to the prom. 

This vampire indifference was for the best, I think, now that I'm married to a great, fully mortal guy (my partner in crime-writing), and I'm blogging about food (of the non-human variety). Yes, I'd say, all things considered, garlic did right by me. 

According to a recent study, garlic will probably do right by you, too. Among its other health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol, garlic has been found to have anti-cancer properties. With that, I give you my recipe for this week...



Cleo Coyle, garlic eater,
is author of The
Coffeehouse Mysteries
Cleo Coyle’s
Twilight 
Cauliflower
20-Clove Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a neutral tasting vegetable, but with the addition of the pungent yet sweetly roasted garlic, it becomes a lively and stellar addition to any dinner plate.For me and my husband, this dish is always worth the time and effort. It is so substantial in flavor and satisfaction that an entree-size serving will easily satisfy us for supper. The next day, I like to eat the leftovers cold as an oustanding lunch salad.

So pour a nice glass of wine, slice up some fresh Italian bread, and start roasting that garlic. Then you can eat with the joy of knowing you won't need to fear twilight (or carry pepper spray in your purse)... 


To download a PDF of this
recipe that you can print,
save, or share, click here.





Cleo Coyle's
Twilight Cauliflower

Ingredients:

1 average head of cauliflower
(about 25 florets)
20 whole cloves of garlic
(about 2 heads)
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon water
Salt to taste (at end of cooking)

Total Cooking Times:
Garlic roasting time: 30 to 35 minutes 

Cauliflower roasting time: about 1 hour


Step 1 – Roast the garlic: Preheat your oven to 350° F. In a small baking dish, place 20 whole garlic cloves (with skins removed). Add 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a splash of water (about ½ teaspoon). Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake about 30-35 minutes. Note: Garlic should be cooked soft enough to easily smash with a fork.




Step 2 – Make the garlic slurry: Oil will be bubbling hot when you remove the foil. Allow the dish to cool a bit then use a fork to mash the garlic into the warm oil, making a thick slurry.





Step 3 – Play with your food: When the slurry has cooled enough to handle, place clean, dry cauliflower florets into a large bowl. (Keep the number of florets around 25 for the best flavor results.) Pour the slurry over the top of the cauliflower and use your hands to coat the slurry over all of the florets. Yes, you are now playing with your food (not unlike those nasty, human-eating vampires...hmmm).






Step 4 - Prepare pan: Turn up the oven to 400° F. Prepare a large baking dish or roasting pan by coating the bottom and sides with olive oil or lining with aluminum foil. (During roasting, pieces of garlic will bake onto your pan or dish, and this step will help with the cleanup.) Transfer the slurry-coated cauliflower into the pan or dish and pour any remaining slurry over the top.
Step 5 - Cover: Using aluminum foil, tightly cover the baking dish or roasting pan. This will create steam within the dish, which will soften and relax this cruciferous veggie as it cooks.





Step 6 – Roast it, baby!: Total cook time will be 1 hour. After 30 minutes, remove the foil. Stir the florets and roast (uncovered) for another 30 to 35 minutes, until fork tender and nicely caramelized. Remove your freshly roasted Twilight Cauliflower from the oven. Salt to taste and eat with the joy of knowing...you no longer need to fear twilight! :-)





Eat with joy!
~ Cleo Coyle 

New York Times bestselling author of
The Coffeehouse Mysteries



Friend me on facebook here
Follow me on twitter here.
Visit my online coffeehouse here.






The Coffeehouse Mysteries are bestselling
works of amateur sleuth fiction set in a landmark
Greenwich Village coffeehouse, and each of the
12 titles includes the added bonus of recipes. 
To learn more, click here. 

 

The Ghost and
Mrs. McClure


Book #1 of 

The Haunted Bookshop
Mysteries
, which Cleo writes
under the name
Alice Kimberly

To learn more, click here.



26 comments:

  1. Oh Cleo, this one is meant for me. I *love* cauliflower. Even just with a little butter and a pinch of salt. One of my all-time favorites. I have to be careful making it too soon before dinner because I tend to snack a little as I prepare the meal. Once I start, I can't stop. I can see trouble ahead for me if I use this garlic slurry. Mmmm... I thank you. But my family probably won't because it'll be gone before they get a chance to taste it.
    Julie

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  2. So *that's* how to cook cauliflower! I was wondering what I was doing wrong!! This sounds wonderful, Cleo...and my family will love the garlic in this recipe. Regular cauliflower hasn't gone over well with them and I'm sure this will be a winner!

    I *also* like garlic and didn't marry a vampire! See...we knew what we were doing...

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  3. 1. Thanks for the shout out :D
    2. This recipe looks amazing!
    3. I bet Bella would LOVE this.

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  4. Love cauliflower cooked right. Great suggestion, Cleo. Love the Twilight (veggie) reference. Cute.
    ~Avery

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  5. Thank you for the congrats, Cleo. Fascinating recipe. My mother always browned butter to pour over cauliflower, but this is healthier and probably even tastier. Thanks for sharing.

    ~ Krista

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  6. Wow, those pics actually made me drool and I'm
    not a cauliflower fan. I think that may change!
    Thanks for sharing this wonderful dish.

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  7. I have been spreading the word on roasting cauliflower since I discovered it last summer. It is so easy and healthy. Another great taste is roasted fresh green beans - seriously! 30-40 minutes at 425 degrees - be sure to buy at least 2-3 lbs. because you won't believe how good they taste.

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  8. Replies to...

    * Julie - Three cheers for the cruciferous bulb. You know, you just reminded me how good it is raw, too, which is giving me a jones for dipping. Yes, I think we could definitely use lots of fun, new crudite dip recipes on this blog, especially with warm weather coming up fast!

    * Elizabath -- I'm so glad you like the recipe. And relieved to hear that you also married a mortal. (Vampire guys are really high maintenance what with all the mind reading, no sleeping, and that annoying thirst thing. Who can keep up? :-)

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  9. Reply to...

    * Juju - Thanks again for giving me the inspiration on today's recipe. Your Tales of Whimsy.com blog is so much fun. (And you are a blog Diva for linking back once again -- thank you!)

    Cheers,
    ~Cleo

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  10. Replies to...

    * Avery - Thank you -- this was a fun post to put together. The "vegetarian" reference from the Twilights book/movie was too good to pass up!

    * Krista - Browned butter over cauliflower sounds incredible. Congrats again on hitting the IMBA list. The Domestic Diva is now a national bestseller! Woot!

    ~Cleo

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  11. Replies to...

    * Jenn - You are TOO sweet for saying such nice things when cauliflower is a (shall we asy) *challenge* for you! I will say this - cooking it with roasted garlic adds tons of flavor. So if you passed on cauliflower because it was bland, you might actually like this version.

    * Elizabeth - I just *love* your quickie recipe for roasting green beans. You know, I happened to have some lovely string beans in my fridge right now. I'm going to try roasting them tomorrow. Thank you!

    ~Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  12. Cleo, for those of us who now use the garlic that is pre minced in oil in our refrigerators do you think we lose any flavor by not having the garlic roasted first? can i just make my slurry, put on the cauliflower and roast? i know it will have the same effect on vampires but will i be compromising the flavor? thanks

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  13. Reply to Anonymous -

    I have to say that I much prefer the flavor of freshly roasted garlic, but I don't see why this method wouldn't work with pre-minced garlic in oil. Go for it! And thanks for dropping by.

    ~Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  14. wow this is awesome the smell alone would make me nuts.....I love garlic and look at that gorgeous browned califlower` wowow`

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  15. Hey Cleo, I don't know if I've ever seen cauliflower look so good. I'm with pegasus legend-this must have smelled wonderful.

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  16. This looks so good! Especially with garlic...and any cancer-fighter is excellent! Thanks for this :)

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  17. Hi Cleo - first thanks so much for the nod :) You are the sweetest!

    And now that cauliflower! YUMMMMMMM! You don't need to do much more with cauliflower than drown it in garlic and drizzle it with olive oil. I know this will be gorgeous cos I've done it before. Fantastic and wonderfully easy recipe!

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  18. Cleo, You may have answered a question for me. I eat broccoli because it's healthy, not be cause I like it. But, at a Black Angus Steakhouse a couple years ago, I ate delicious broccoli that sounds like it was cooked like your Twilight Cauliflower recipe. I'm going to try the recipe with cauliflower and broccoli and see what happens. Bon appetite.

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  19. Ahhaha! Good think I love garlic and cauliflower but have a sincere distaste for blood-suckers. This recipe is a superb update to cauliflower and I can't wait to try it for myself. Thanks!

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  20. Thanx for dropping by my blog! This is such a great easy recipe. Luv it! I'll definitely have to make it fir the hubs. Thanks for sharing.

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  21. I believe that this cauliflower is dressed to kill. Excellent.

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  22. This is an easy to follow recipe together with photos. Creative recipe title by the way.... U

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  23. I'm late posting a comment about this recipe. I saw it several weeks ago and printed it off knowing that I wanted to try it.

    I'm not a cauliflower fan...have tried to eat it many times and just couldn't like it. This recipe has changed my ways....I loved it! I made it yesterday and my boyfriend liked it too...he ate the leftovers as a snack. Said it was even delicious cold.

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  24. Cleo - great post. Thanks for supporting Food on Friday: Garlic. Cheers

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