Cauliflower Lovin

This year, we're hosting our family for Thanksgiving. This means my house will be the only house cooking; the favorite meals of my mom, dad, brother and me will be the ones that make this year's menu. With this, my mom had us pick one or two of our all times favorites. I've been struggling all week with this, as Thanksgiving for me is just a haze of delicious food and a little too much wine.

It occurred to me yesterday my all time favorite food, not meal, is my mom's roasted cauliflower. It's delicious- soft yet crisp on the edges, salty, and lightly spiced. I probably could eat an entire tray for Thanksgiving and be satisfied. The best part is that they take little effort to prepare.

Here's (roughly) my mom's recipe, from memory:

Ingredients:

1 medium cauliflower head, cut into mouth-able pieces (about one inch)

Enough extra-virgin olive oil to lightly cover the cauliflower pieces

1/2 teaspoon, or so, of salt

" " pepper

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

(optional: 1/4 teaspoon red pepper seeds finely chopped)

Preheat oven to 450º F.

Toss the chopped cauliflower in a large bowl with the other ingredients.

Place into a large, shallow baking pan and roast, stirring/turning occasionally for 20-30 minutes, depending on your preference for crispiness (for me, the crispier the better).

This will be the end product, and what will be my contribution to the feast this Thursday.