Sides

Ingredients

A whole cauliflower is quite a presence on the table, especially when you've scattered over it a sauté of yellow peppers, red tomatoes and bright green herbs. This recipe is a boon to a special meal with courses, as the cauliflower is served at room temperature.

Here is a technique you don't hear much about. The idea is to cook peppers and onions in a hot dry pan, relying on the moisture in the vegetables to keep them from burning (though they do char in a pleasant way). Since both the vegetables are high in water content, they begin to steam, but the high heat evaporates the steam immediately. As they are stirred, they start to take on a bit of color and soften. Once they are half-cooked, add salt and a small amount of oil, which allows them to caramelize, intensifying their natural sweetness. Eat them hot or cold. They're good plain, but I usually add garlic, hot pepper, parsley or basil, and a little vinegar too.

It appeared mysteriously spartan on the menu at Coi, Daniel Patterson's ashram for food in San Francisco's North Beach: "Carrots/Coffee." What did it mean? It turned out to be genius--sweet, smoky, and earthy genius. Pencil-thin carrots are baked on a bed of coffee beans that warm gently, releasing their oils. This unexpected dish celebrates all the advantages of slow cooking: the coffee fumes gradually infuse the vegetables, creating an ephemeral sensation of something roasted that one can identify as "coffee" only after the tongue whispers to the brain.

Ingredients
 

Ingredients

Sprinkle some salt on a slice of watermelon and its flesh contracts to subtle firmness, its aroma blooms, and its flavor crescendos. If that's what a few scattered crystals can achieve, imagine what lavishing that slice with the unerring saline expanse of a salt block will do to it: fragrant, sensual, symphonic.

A mix of yellow and red cherry tomatoes works well on bruschetta, as do juicy beefsteaks. Use white bread: a robust white Italian bread like Pugliese makes the best crostini.

I'm in love with the combination of kimchi and eggs, and these came to me when I was looking for a flashy appetizer to take to an author event at the Smithsonian. But they became a standby in Maine when I had abundant access to fresh eggs but no one in the house to share them with, since my sister and brother-in-law had decided to go vegan. This recipe depends on the use of good kimchi, so either make the Cabbage Kimchi or buy the best you can find, probably at an Asian market. These can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days, but are best eaten within a few hours of being made.