Cauliflower is a tough sell at my house. My husband is a reluctant vegetable eater at the best of times, and I’ve tried to get my boys to try it under clever marketing names like “brain vegetable.” But alas, little success. As a risotto pusher, however, I’ve been victorious. If its on a menu, hubby will always order it, and if I cook it for dinner (which admittedly isn’t often), it will vanish. So I thought, Why not combine the two and see what happens? 

Lovely, almost petite heads of cauliflower abound in the greenmarket now, so buying it is an easy temptation. Once home, I separated the cauliflower into florets and roasted them--and if you don’t know my stance on roasting, I strongly advocate it for bringing out the best in vegetables. The cauliflower caramelizes in a hot oven, with yummy, toasty browned edges. Folded into a creamy risotto, it’s one of the best vehicles imaginable for cauliflower, and over at my house, one way it will always get eaten. 

Quite honestly, I never met a roasted vegetable I didn’t like. I roast it all: carrots (the only way to eat them besides raw), onions, okra, even broccoli. So now we’ve come to squash. I don’t know why I’m initially reluctant to prepare it, especially this time of year when it’s everywhere and the varieties are endless. Squash is like a misunderstood pitbull, tough on the outside, but sweet and tender on the inside. It can be daunting to approach at first, but really it’s no big deal. I’ve been drawn to acorn squash this season. The flesh has a pleasant vegetal quality that’s a breeze to prepare and it’s equally delicious with fish, meat, and poultry. Sliced into crescent moons, tossed with butter, olive oil and chile flakes, it gets a drizzle of maple syrup towards the end which caramelizes the squash ever so slightly. A combo of sweet and sassy. The skin is tough and inedible (remember, it’s still part pitbull), but eaten with knife and fork, it’s Autumn on a Plate.