"Hot" Fried Cauliflower

I hear there's a big football game or something coming soon? The Brady-Belichick Invitational?

This year, I've got friends rooting for both sides, so it feels right to offer them something to eat while they watch.

You know hot chicken is a trend that is about to die when it's made its way from Nashville to the West Coast and to every KFC in between. But a trend is not a reason to eat food, not if it is delicious, and so I'll happily continue regardless if hot chicken goes the way of the cupcake or poke.

But the great thing about the hot chicken method is that you can apply it to so many foods other than chicken! You could make hot shrimp, hot tofu, or here, hot cauliflower. Instead of battered and deep fried chicken we have battered and deep fried cauliflower, and everything else remains the same. Frying oil + spices = party in the mouth.

Just more of a vegetarian party! 

Pros include making your veggie-loving friends happy and not worrying about undercooking any meat. I can get on board with that.

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Hot Chicken-Style Cauliflower

Frying method adapted from Serious Eats

For the dredge and dip:

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 tsp kosher salt (plus more for sprinkling)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tbs tabasco
• 1 cup water
• 1 whole head cauliflower, cut into florets
• oil, for frying

For the "Hot" sauce:

• 2 tbs frying oil
• 3/4 tbs cayenne pepper
• 3/4 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• pickles, for serving

1. Heat about 1-2 inches of oil in the bottom of a cast iron skillet or heavy pot. Combine cornstarch, flour, baking powder and 2 tsp salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add tabasco and water and whisk to a smooth batter. 
2. Add the caulflower florets to the batter and submerge, then lift out pieces and let excess drip. Then, lower into the hot oil. Repeat with remaining florets until pot is full but not overcrowded. You will probably have to fry in to batches. Fry about 6 minutes total, then remove and drain on paper towel lined baking sheets and season with more salt. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven while frying remaining cauliflower.
3. In a large bowl, combine hot sauce ingredients and whisk until smooth. Add the fried cauliflower and gently toss with the sauce. Serve while hot, with pickles on the side.

Souvla Lamb Salad

Sometimes you want to take perfectly succulent meat and fold it into a giant sandwich. Sometimes you want to take everything that would go in the sandwich and toss it up with a giant bowl of mixed greens. That day is today.

There is a small chain of souvlaki restaurants in San Fransisco that I love, called Souvla. And they do both giant sandwiches of roasted lamb and giant salads with it. I’m pretty partial to the salad, which is enormous, but still perfect with a side of fries and some Greek rose wine. 

(But be careful with the wine. One time, a woman in line behind me urged me to go for it, but neither of us apparently knew how to visualize milliliters, because what I thought was essentially two glasses worth of wine turned out to be more than half a bottle. Let’s just say the rest of my evening was slightly more tipsy than planned.)

In another attempt to master a favorite salad at home, I decided to take leftover braised lamb and toss it up in a salad, Souvla style. This salad is stuffed full of goodness, from veggies to meat to cheese to yogurt and harissa to a lemony dressing. It’s meaty and spicy and refreshing and zingy all at once, and a full meal for sure, best served to yourself in a giant mixing bowl. A surplus of rose is optional.

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Giant Lamb Salad

Inspired by Souvla, makes enough for 2-3 large salads

• juice of 1 lemon 
• 1 tsp fresh oregano
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 recipe braised lamb, shredded
• 1 tbs harissa
• 1/4 cup whole milk greek yogurt
• 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 cup pickled red onion
• 1 cup thinly sliced radish
• feta (a lot)
• salad greens

1. In a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oregano, and enough olive oil to form a vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. If you are making one giant salad, pile a bunch of salad greens in the bowl on  top of the dressing, otherwise, portion the dressing out into smaller bowls and add greens to those.
3. Mix together harissa and yogurt in a small bowl, then dollop on top of the piles of greens. top greens with all remaining mix-ins and shower with as much feta as you dare. 
4. Toss salad to combine and completely coat with dressing. Serve immediately.

Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemon and Oregano

Sorry, I don't know how to make braised meat look appetizing on camera, but here's hoping some oregano and lemon wedges go a long way to helping alleviate the brown of it all.

So!

Braised lamb! I obviously made this prior to my current #suitelife situation in Sydney, but damn if my mouth isn't watering looking at these photos. It could be because I'm starving after hours of ocean kayaking in the blazing sun and I haven't mustered the energy to call room service yet*, but I like to think it's also because this braised lamb was so very, very good.

And inexpensive! Because that is the beauty of braising. You can start with a cheaper cut of meat, such as lamb shanks instead of leg of lamb, and if you treat it well with a good seasoning game and a gentle soak and steam in aromatic broth, you should end up with flavorful meat that is falling off the bone. 

You can eat the lamb right after it's braised, scattered with feta and herbs and drizzled with braising liquid and a squeeze of lemon, which is lovely, or, you can hold on to your leftovers 'til Tuesday and I'll show you something fun to do with them! 

*Lest you think I'm humble bragging, you should know that I have NOT yet mastered my sunscreen strategy in a land with no ozone layer, and room service wine prices are basically highway robbery.

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Braised Lamb Shanks with Lemon & Oregano

Adapted from Mark Bittman

• 1 1/2 to 2 lbs lamb shanks
• 1 tsp salt plus more for cooking
• 2 tbs olive oil
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup water or stock
• 1 lemon, quartered
• handful of fresh oregano sprigs
• 2 cloves garlic
• feta, for serving (optional)
• parsley, for serving

1. Sprinkle lamb shanks with salt and chill up to overnight.
2. In a dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat and brown lamb shanks on all sides. This can take up to a half hour (cover with lid to avoid spattering). Sprinkle with more salt and fresh ground pepper while cooking.
3. Lower the heat and add stock or water, lemon quarters, oregano, and garlic. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 1/2-2 hours, turning shanks and adding any extra water as needed, 1/4 cup at a time.
4. When meat is done, i.e. falling off the bones, remove shanks from pot, remove meat from the bones, drizzle with some of the braising liquid and garnish with feta and parsley, if using, as well as an extra squeeze or so of lemon. Serve immediately.