MITCH IN THE KITCHEN

pickled fall vegetables

I was brainstorming things to have around as snacks in the stomach-gurgling hours before Thanksgiving dinner (oh yes, I am hosting a family Thanksgiving again). I came up with a lot of cheese. And bread and crackers. And spiced nuts. But I needed something to provide a little relief from such things. Something… pickled, it turns out. So I went on a long stroll through the Union Square greenmarket and picked up a few things that caught my eye: carrots of all colors, green cauliflower, a bulb of fennel, a small orb of kohlrabi, and celery that I need for other stuff anyway. The carrots and cauliflower were lightly blanched before going in the jars with everything else. The brine consists of apple cider vinegar, water, salt, sugar, garlic, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, and black peppercorns. They will hang out in the fridge until Turkey Day (which will be celebrated with pork chez Mitch and John, actually). As long as these taste okay and don’t contain botulinum toxin (don’t worry family, they don’t), I think Thanksgiving will start out quite nicely.

cauliflower with brown butter, pear, sage, and hazelnuts

Are people still complaining about all the snow? I, for one, don’t really mind it (especially now that I finally have a sturdy and reliable pair of tall rubber boots). And when it’s in the 30s or 20s or teens outside, I like to cozy up with baked, buttery, meaty and cheesy things (not necessarily all at once) but also crunchy vegetably things. Like cauliflower dressed up with fruit and nuts and herbs. The recipe is from famous chef Andrew Carmellini and isn’t too much of a pain in the ass to make, especially if you’re all into brown butter and sage like I am right now (remember when I made another famous NYC chef’s gnudi?). Also good mixed with pasta and grated cheese.