Freaky Deaky Leeks...

How many of you know what a leek is?  As in, you could go to the grocery store and walk right to it, knowing with utmost confidence you didn't pick the wrong item?

Yeah, I couldn't either until about three weeks ago.

But it's OK!  Not only can I go pick them out of the crowd of other random produce, but I have cooked with them twice AND ................ like them!  Add another into the "win" column. 

Never would I have considered buying a leek until all of the recipes I tore out of the magazine named for one, Ms. Martha Stewart, included them.  Of course they do.  Leek and "foil lined parchment."  Whatevs, Martha.  I don't have time for that nonsense.  But there was this recipe that looked DIVINE in the magazine picture..... so off to the grocery to find a leek.

I think you'll be proud to know that I didn't need to ask for help.  Although I totally would have.  I go to the grocery Mark manages so I'd have called his sorry butt over if necessary and HE could have hunted for it.  What?  That's what the little old ladies do!  Somewhere in the depths of my Food Network obsessed brain there was an image of a leek. Sort of greenish I thought.  So I headed to that big wall of leafy geen things.  You know, the one that is also located under the leafy green sprinkler system that seems to be perfectly timed to soak you just as you reach in?  The possibility of drenching aside, I started digging through the display. 

AHA!  Leeks.

I'll spare you having to ask - here's what a leek looks like:

I know!  Right?  It looks just like a friggin' giant green onion!  If someone *cough* MARTHA *cough* would have just said that, the process would have been a lot easier.  Some notes on using leeks ('cause I'm an expert on them now apparently!):

1.  An average leek is like 12" long.  You can't tell that from the picture.  But they're big.  You only use a tiny part of the plant.  Even though they sell you all the giant extra parts.  Stupid.  But, you hack off the big green leaves from the top and the root - keeping only the pale green and white parts to use.

2.  It will be STINKY as you start cutting into it.  It's a friggin' giant green onion remember.  And it smells sharp, just like you'd imagine a friggin' giant green onion would.  (If you were so inclide to imagine something like that.)  Don't worry.  It totally mellows out and that smell doesn't show up as a taste.

3.  You have to wash it AFTER it's all cut up.  Why?  Sand.  LOTS of sand.  All in between the layers.  And if you just rinse off the outsides, all that groady grit will still be in there and as a result, in your recipe.  Not good.  So, chop it all up and then rinse, rinse, rinse.

Want a recipe?  I knew you would!  Get your fancy-pants on because it's all Martha-y.

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Potato and Sweet Potato Tian

Ingredients

1 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes, thinly sliced

12 oz sweet potatoes, thinly sliced
1 green apple cored and grated
3 leeks, white and pale green only, sliced ⅛ inch thick
1Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp coarse salt
pepper to taste
2 oz grated Gruyère

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350F. Toss together potatoes, apple, leeks, oil, and 1 tsp coarse salt. Season with pepper. Transfer to a 9 X 12 oval baking dish and cover with parchment-lined foil. Bake for 15 min. Raise oven temperature to 400F. Remove, uncover, and top with Gruyère. Bake until bubbling and top is browned, about 30 min.

Makes 8 servings.  3 points/serving
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Notes from Julie:

1. Yeah.  I don't know what "tian" is either.  It's OK, we'll work through it together.  It's like super fancy-pants potatoes au gratin.
2. While there is a sign at the grocery indicating they sell both yams and sweet potatoes, I have no idea which is which.  Just grab one.  They'd cook up about the same for this I think.
3. Gruyère cheese.  O.M.G.  DELISH!!!  I had never tried it before.  At least not that I knew about.  I found it in the grocery store deli section - you know where all those fancy cheese are that you've also never tried?  And it's EXPENSIVE.  So be ready for that.  My 4 oz piece was $10.  Craziness for cheese.  BUT.  So worth it.  It's like a nuttier version of fresh parmesan cheese.  Also, a little goes a long way.  I'm a cheese-aholic.  I blame my geographical proximity to the state of Wisconsin.  And when I put that 2 oz on there I was skeptical.  It's enough.  Trust me.
4. You know what to do with the leeks.  Cut thin and rinse, rinse, rinse.  They'll look like little curly locks of hair.
5. Martha's Oval baking dish = Julie's 9"x13" Corningware dish
6. Martha's foil lined parchment = Julie's tin foil
7. The apple may throw you off.  Don't let it.  It totally works.  The first time I made it, I didn't read for comprehension and cut it into thin slices like the potatoes instead of Martha's way.  The second time, I went with Martha's way.  I kind of preferred it my way.  But don't broadcast that - Martha's an ex-con.  She may find me and shiv me.  I liked the random bite of sour.  Player's choice.

I think that's it.  I personally could eat this every day.  Very rich flavors.  And even Mark, "Mr. I don't like sweet potatoes", liked it.  High praise indeed.

Emeril's Oven-Roasted Cauliflower

Cauliflower. There. I said it.

It's sort of like ripping a Band-aid off.  Let's just get it out there so we can start the conversation.

If you're anything like me, your experience with cauliflower has probably been limited.  Relegated to the last thing left on a party veggie platter.  Sitting there, steamed, in the way of a few baby carrots and perhaps a piece of broccoli on the side of a plate at a wedding reception.   It has some strong disadvantages to overcome - bland color, its resemblance to broccoli, sort of stinky.  Truth be told, I've always just assumed I wouldn't like cauliflower.

Turns out, I LOVE it.  Well, at least one very specific version of it.  Thank you, Mr. Emeril Lagasse for opening my eyes to cauliflower's potential.  Admittedly, it helps that the veggie in question is paired with olive oil and parmesan cheese, but still.  Don't we all need friends sometimes?

I'm obsessed with this recipe.  It's crunchy and nutty and lemony and even a little decadent.  Again, this could be the starvation talking.  You'll have to try it and report back!

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Emeril's Oven-Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Chopped chives, for garnish


Directions
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
Place the cauliflower florets in a large saute pan or a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, and season with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the saute/roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately while still warm.

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Julie's Notes:

If you've never dealt with a whole cauliflower before, be prepared for it to be a little feisty.  I'll admit I've never dealt with one before, I'm not proud.  I expected it to behave like a head of broccoli but it's denser and tighter.  So, have a good, small knife to get in there.  The plus side?  It's less messy than a head of broccoli.

I'm not sure what sort of oven situation Mr. Lagasse has happening at his house, but in mine, I don't use my oven at 500 degrees.  First of all, it seems like overkill.  Second of all, it's the temperature at which my oven CLEANS ITSELF.  I'm not sure I want to put my food in there at that temp and risk spontaneous combustion.  Player's choice.  *I* kept it down to a nice, calm 450 degrees and it turned out just fine.

Another thing that I'm not sure of is what the heck constitutes a "large saute pan or a roasting pan".  So, I used a metal baking sheet.  And all was fine.

Fresh garlic and chives.  Go for it if you feel you must.  I just used powdered garlic and no chives.  It was still delish and no one came to arrest me for food abuse, so I think you're safe if you follow in my footsteps on that one.

In terms of points, well, here's where it's tricky.  When I ran the whole recipe through the WW site, it came out to about 3 points a cup.  If I break it down to 1 cup cauliflower, 1 tsp oil, and 1 TBSP cheese (which is what the recipe serving essentially is!),  I get 2.5 points a cup.  And yes, that .5 point is important to me.  Especially since I plan to eat at least two cups of it.  Don't judge.

I promise you this one's worth trying.  Even if you think you don't like cauliflower.  Even if it still looks a little yucky to you when it comes out of the oven.  Even if it smells a little funny to you once it's all assembled.  All of those things happened to me at first too, and now I have an addiction to this stuff.