Saturday, March 24, 2007

For the Love of Another: Roasted Cauliflower

A good pal and restaurant owner has recently become obsessed with Danny Meyer's book, Setting the Table. Danny, for those who don't live in New York, and have not visited for the last decade and a half, is a St. Louis boy who came to the big bad City, complete with an endearing aw-shucks attitude, and proceeded to turn our restaurant world on it's ear. As of the 2007 Zagats guide, he owns two of Manhattan's top two most popular restaurants. That means both of 'em. If we're more generous with our statistics, and increase the popularity list to twenty, you'll find five of his restaurants on that list. Shucks, indeed.

There is no antidote for the magnet that is the Union Square Hospitality Group. I interviewed with the team a couple of years ago (USHG is to aspiring restaurateurs AS Martha is to aspiring mavens), and fell in love with the clarity of the message, "hospitality first". The team is aligned, clear, and focused on the goal of providing the very best hospitality to all guests.

Phrases like "no problem" are never used, as even mentioning a negative in the negative is too negative. Positive spin is used in place, but never in a pollyanna way; it's always sincere, earnest (midwestern, if you will), and completely tai-chis the chill right off the average New Yorker. And as you know, that leaden coat of New York negativity gets to a point where Manhattanites don't even realize they're wearing it. USHG staff checks that frock at hostess stand, and makes sure you've forgotten it by the time you leave. And poof! New Yorkers are human once again.

So I see the book in a bookstore, pick it up, and read the jacket like a good consumer. I'm struck by a declaration: "Hospitality is something that's done FOR you, not TO you."

Think about that for a second. It's a powerful little preposition.

Just last weekend, I visited a friend in DC. I drove down and back in less than a day, but in the meantime, I was lunched, dinnered, and brunched in the most hospitable way. Mid-afternoon my host insisted that I'd probably like to take a nap. (A nap??), and so I indulged by gracefully disappearing for a bit. I didn't even know I needed a nap, but it was kind of him to remind me that I did.

Everything was thought out: the pillows, the blow drier, the delightful products in the bathroom. The bathrobe and the slippers. The flowers and the goldfish swimming happily on my nightstand. In the morning I came down to delightful smells of baking while coffee was brewing and generous smiles were abundant. "Oh gosh, did we wake you?" was their main concern.

This was all done for me, with grace and ease. No resentment, no get-backs, no snarky comments as I walked away. Just generous, kind, hospitality. For me.

So while driving home, I called this Danny Meyer-obsessed friend and invited him over for dinner. I was all aglow with having been done for, and wanted to try it out.

In this era of 15-minute-quick-fast meal prep, I thought I'd linger on this one instead. Spend a few hours pouring through cookbooks, organizing the shopping, then coming home and spending a few more hours preparing the meal. Lighting the house, pulling the linens, selecting the most perfect wines and beers to accompany.

By the time my guest arrived, I was brimming with excitement (not resentment, which all too often accompanies entertaining). I was having fun! I had taken the afternoon to flex my culinary muscles and had prepare a feast straight out of Bombay. My guest was thrilled, I completed the meal, and we ate. Though the meal was ostensibly for him, it's quite possible that we both finished the night equally elated and taken care of. Sometimes taking the time to take care of others, with grace and kindness, is the very best way to take care of yourself.


Roasted Cauliflower
Serves 4

I served an Indian lamb curry, cumin-ginger green beans, rice, and all kinds of sauces, but unbelieveably the dish that was loved most was the simplest of all: roasted cauliflower. Although it was the hit of my three-hour cooking extravaganza, it's a simple side dish for the fastest of Tuesday dinners.

1 large head cauliflower, core trimmed
2 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F. On a cutting board, stand the cauliflower on it's root end, and cut lengthwise in 1/2 inch-thick slices. The slices should hold together relatively well, like little cross sections of a tree.

2. Place these slices down on a large sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in oven and cook, about 12 minutes, until the underside is golden brown. Remove from oven, flip cauliflower pieces, and continue cooking until the second side is golded, about 7 minutes more. Serve warm or room temperature; will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days (though it probably won't last that long).

1 Comments:

Anonymous Frank said...

"...that leaden coat of New York negativity gets to a point where Manhattanites don't even realize they're wearing it. USHG staff checks that frock at hostess stand, and makes sure you've forgotten it by the time you leave. And poof! New Yorkers are human once again."

New Yorkers are not supposed to be "human." We're supposed to transcend humanity.

That coat of negativity has many colors: observation, discernment, idealism, justice.

Don't talk smack about our birthright, Allison.

12:02 PM  

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