Creamy Cauliflower Galette
and some restaurant recommendations
Hello and welcome to A Newsletter! One day I might get a new name for this thing, but for now, consider it hilarious that this is what I named this newsletter in 2020. If you’ve found your way over by some miracle but are not yet subscribed, here, let me help you with that:
It’s the 83rd day of February, we’ve almost made it. This would bring me solace except everyone on the East Coast knows March is secretly the worst month (for weather and weather-related morale). The timing worked out so that I’ll be skipping most of it— Paris on a “business trip” (!) followed by LA for a tiny work-related jaunt. After 14 years, I’ve decided that the only strategy for how to cope with March in New York is to leave. Goodbye to March, sorry to miss you, I am RSVP-ing “non” to March.
Sure, wherever you go, there you are* (*it’s still March), but we’re mixing it up, we’re doing March elsewhere, even if that’s upstate, downstate or to any other place that’s cold but perhaps more charming, or a place that’s warm but perhaps more boring. It’s a long month and True Detective simply did not have enough episodes this season and there are only so many new restaurants you can go to before realizing none of them are “it” and you have to ask yourself “am I asking too much of a restaurant?” Maybe, yes, but I do think it’s a problem when the best thing you can say about a place is “the martini was good.” I am increasingly concerned about the number of “restaurants” that feel more like a club with food than a…restaurant. There’s a direct correlation between that style establishment and a place that doesn’t have a chef as the owner (or otherwise has no horse in the race, i.e no creative control or financial upside)— Of course, I also totally understand why more chefs don’t own their own restaurant.
It’s my deep bucket list fantasy to consistently publish anonymous restaurant reviews because I really do love to analyze, critique and praise (my three love languages). Maybe I still will then deny when people find out it’s me. This is not that, but: if you’re in New York, COQODAQ was really fun and the fried chicken is undeniably great (my favorite was the un-sauced version but I am famously not a sauce person). The Cold Perilla Seed Noodle and Fennel Salad should also be on the table. It feels a bit like Vegas in that there is a lot of razzle-dazzle to the space, a high-level service staff who’s very good at their job, and lots of people who may or may not be on a bachelor/bachelorette trip. The whole place feels like it’s run by adults who know exactly what they’re doing (in the front and back of house)-- some of the highest praise I, a 38-year-old woman, can offer these days.
Frog Club is VERY new and I never think it's fair or a good idea to fully asses a restaurant before it’s been open for more than a month (though everyone will race to try, especially with this one- you can already read about it here, here and here), but I’m curious how it’ll evolve because clearly they are trying to “have fun in New York,” which I and Emma Stone are both huge fans of. I’m not here to chime in on the mischegoss (you can Google it), but if you find yourself there by some grace of the reservations god, get the soufflé, skip the wings, and definitely order every dessert. The burger (on an English muffin-type bun) was delicious and the ramekin of house-made cultured, whipped butter alone makes it worth ordering, but I struggle to enjoy any burger that’s missing thinly sliced raw onion (though would settle for griddled) and I dare you to tell me those fries (puffy little custom crescent shapes that weren’t that crispy or salty) are more delicious than they are interesting. That said, I am particular!
Other places I’ve been recently or go to all the time: Sailor is great and I’m very glad they’re neighborhood-adjacent, though I do wish it were easier to get in. This is a cry for help! Jk. Hart’s and The Four Horsemen are as good as the day they opened. I love Authentic Szechuan (celery/tofu salad! Dry pot chicken or fish!) and Shan (everything is good!). The focaccia at L’Appartment 4F is perfect and so satisfying, big and floofy. Leave me your Paris and/or LA restaurant recommendations (old spots, new spots, respectively) in the comments, I would love that.
One little note before we get to the galette: I’ve gotten many messages over the last few weeks asking about Home Movies and when they’re going to return– the answer is “soon,” but likely not soon enough for those people who are asking. “Soon” as in April, around the same time Solicited Advice is coming back. “Soon,” as in, we’ve already filmed, but they take a while to edit and the stars simply were not aligned for “soon” to mean anything before April. More on this when they come out, but I’ve mixed things up in the pursuit of creative expansion and just like when I moved kitchens, I’m sure a lot of people will have a lot of opinions. This is fine, but imagine getting a new haircut you really love and having a bunch of strangers come up to you on the street and say “Awe, I liked your old hair”-- Anyway, I love to try new things, sue me!
Okay, Creamy Cauliflower Galette. When I was writing Sweet Enough I knew it was going to have to include savory recipes because that’s how I like to bake. I think if I’m going to teach you how to make flaky pie crust, roll it to the correct thickness, fill it with sliced fruit and sugar, fold up the edges and bake it– there’s no reason you can’t swap fruit for vegetables and sugar for cheese (unless, of course, you don’t eat cheese). As a savory-over-sweet person, salty versions like this especially speak to me, where nothing is pre-cooked and it involves a healthy amount of heavy cream.
This galette feels like The Moment, and this weekend feels like The Weekend to make it. Kind of a project, but not really. The equivalent of doing something then putting it on your to-do list just to cross it off so you can feel something akin to “accomplishment.” Also, I have it on good authority (because I did it) that this also works with wedges of cabbage (about 1 inch thick) in place of cauliflower— highly recommend.
Creamy Cauliflower Galette
Makes one 10-inch galette (serves 4 to 8, depending)
Cauliflower is an ideal candidate for a savory galette. It’s low in moisture, roasting to an evenly golden brown in sync with the crunchy, buttery crust. It never becomes soggy, is great at room temperature, and can handle a healthy amount of cheese without disappearing into the background. This is the galette you make when you need something substantial and comforting, don’t feel like eating meat, and have had too much pasta or are—god forbid—sick of beans. While this certainly could be served as your full dinner, I also like the idea of slicing it thin and enjoying it as a pre-dinner snack, next to a little dish of olives and some hard, salty cheese.
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1 disc The Only Pie Crust*
3⁄4 pound/340g cauliflower, sliced lengthwise through the core into slabs about 1⁄4 inch thick (some of the cauliflower will naturally break away into florets, that’s okay)
1 medium leek, thinly sliced
Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
1 cup/4 ounces/115g grated white cheddar, Gruyère, or parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1⁄2 cup/120g heavy cream
1 large egg
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough out to a round about 14-inches in diameter, give or take. Transfer the dough round to a piece of parchment paper on a sheet pan.
3. Leaving a 2-inch border all around, scatter the sliced cauliflower and leeks over the dough, seasoning with pinches of salt and pepper throughout. Scatter with the cheese, drizzle with the olive oil, and fold up the edges onto each other.
4. Pour the heavy cream over the vegetables and cheese, followed by another little drizzle of olive oil. Beat the egg with a teaspoon or so of water, then brush the egg wash all over the crust. Sprinkle with some black pepper.
5. Bake, rotating the pan front to back once halfway through (or twice, if you know your oven is especially uneven), until the crust of the galette is deeply golden brown (think the color of graham crackers), the cauliflower is totally tender, and the top looks gloriously roasted, 55–65 minutes.
6. Let cool slightly before slicing and eating.
EAT WITH: A smattering of herbs on top, or next to a big, gorgeous, herby salad with plenty of lemon, and maybe more cheese on the side.
DO AHEAD: This galette can be baked 2 days ahead and stored loosely wrapped at room temperature. It can be refrigerated up to 5 days, and is great cold, but you can also rewarm it in a 350°F oven.
*This pie crust is the only pie crust, the one I use for *everything*. Sweet and savory alike. Galettes, pies, pot pies. If it had a review site, it would have millions of 5-star reviews. It makes TWO discs of pie crust, i.e. two galettes worth of dough. A good idea this weekend is to make two, one sweet one savory (or two savory and eat galette all weekend long). Alternatively, put one disc of dough into the freezer for another time.
For Paris - I'm sure you'll get all the regular recs in the Maris and more into the 11th like Parcelles, Brutos, Mokonuts, Clown Bar - I was struck by how many Americans were at all of them when I was there last November... but one we stumbled on that was very French, and very delicious for a mid-day lunch, was Cafe du Coin in the 11th. In LA, your comments already include some of the ones I'd highly suggest - Etra and Saffy's! Also Anajak Thai is worth the hype.
Alison, I’m gonna be on this galette tomorrow I like the use of cauliflower - a cool idea
And I subscribed just now because I realized how much I enjoy your writing. Thanks! David in Taos NM