When I went to an Edible Landscape workshop featuring Rosalind Creasy a few years ago at the University of California, Davis, I learned that there are so many different colors of vegetables available other than what is offered to us at most grocery stores. When I am seed shopping or out grocery shopping now, I am always on the look out for more vibrant colors of vegetables. The more colorful the vegetables, the more vitamins and nutrients they offer. I was happily surprised when I found some orange and green cauliflower at one of my local grocery stores.
Dorie's gratin is so rich with heavy cream, eggs, whole milk, AND Gruyère cheese, but it is absolutely delicious and I wouldn't advise on skimping on any of it - especially the bacon. This is a crowd-pleasing dish that can be served as a side or can be the main attraction for brunch, lunch or dinner as Dorie suggests in her intro to the recipe.
We ate this alongside the chard-stuffed pork loin I made a few weeks ago and enjoyed it so much, but I will be making this again and adding it to my repertoire.
Please visit French Fridays with Dorie to see what the rest of the group thought of the dish. You can find the recipe here.
What a beautiful dish, I am so jealous that you were able to find different colors of cauliflower! The colors make your dish look much more festive. We loved this one too, quite creamy and decadent and perfect for the holidays.
ReplyDeleteLooks really yum. I haven't seen cauli in those colors yet
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shot of the cauliflower! And who would skimp on the bacan- that's just crazy :-) Sounds like a delicious and hearty dish for these winter days- thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI've seen the different colored cauliflower here but haven't tried it yet. Love your casserole dish!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I'll eat almost anything with bacon! :) This looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteNo one should ever skimp on bacon!!
ReplyDeleteI have cauliflower envy! Beautiful dish. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteSo gorgeous with the fun varieties of cauliflower!!! Hope you have a happy new year...and I'm looking forward to cooking along with you on Fridays for another year!!!! xo
ReplyDeleteOh Elaine, I think I have colored cauliflower envy, if that's possible! Your gratin is just stunning with such pretty colors. I'll be on the look out for these pretty cauliflowers.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you!
Elaine, What gorgeous cauliflower...I definitely have cauliflower envy! This dish looks fabulous and I would love to have tried it this week but I'm cooking for a New Years Day open house. I will be back on schedule after the New Year. Happy New Year to you and your family!!
ReplyDeleteOh wow - this was SUCH a fun post to read ! Just love those colors for the cauliflower and how amazing they made this recipe turn out. Happy New Year and we will look forward to reading many more posts in 2012 ~
ReplyDeleteOrange and green cauliflower? Tres cool! I love the colour that it adds to your gratin. Wishing you and your family a very Happy New Year Elaine.
ReplyDeleteHow fun that you had orange and green versions! Cute! Happy new year!
ReplyDeleteI love your colorful cauliflower! It really dresses up your gratin. I made the mistake of serving my very ivory gratin on white plates. Oops. It tasted great though. I really enjoyed this recipe.
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed getting to know you and cooking you with this year, Elaine! Happy New Year to you and John.
Great use of beautiful produce!
ReplyDeleteI feel the same as oneexpatslife..I am jealous too that you can find the different colors of cauliflowers for this dish :p Looks beautiful on your gratin:) I added mixed herbs for extra flavor :)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and I look forward to cooking along with you in the new year :)
Hi, Elaine! Thank you so much for your wonderful comments on my blog! I'm thrilled with the new design.
ReplyDeleteI love that you added some color to this dish. And, I love your squirrel photo.
Wishing you every success & happiness in 2012 & looking forward to cooking with you! xoxo
Like everyone else, I'm jealous of your fancy cauliflower--it makes the standard white vegetable look so plain. Does it taste different?
ReplyDeleteYour cauliflower looks great! Thanks for the reminder to look out for different colors of vegetables. Happy New Year :-)
ReplyDeleteLove the cauliflower varieties you used. It's true that there are so many variations in colour, texture, and taste in the vegetables we were raised thinking were homogenous. Your gratin looks so good - I want to make it again soon, with Gruyere.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely New Year - I'm looking forward to reading about your adventures to come.
You are so lucky to have cauliflower varieties! We went to three markets in Palm Springs before finding a head of cauliflower, and our Farmer Market didn't have any either. I went to the Davis Farmers Market this summer when a friend and I took a class from Georgeanne Brennan and fell in love with the market and area - so quaint!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year and looking forward to more of your cooking adventures in 2012!
What a beautiful idea to use those varietals in the dish to give it some more visual punch! Great job!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen colorful cauliflower like that! Gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year to you. This year I'm going to plant my own vegetables. And I'm going to try a purple cauliflower. Nice to hear about the extra vitamines in it.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to thank you for being such a loyal visitor and commenter! This looks SO good - and I don't even like cauliflower (or maybe I do, and I just don't know it?)
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
Audrey
I have never seen a green cauliflower before..so cute!
ReplyDeleteLooks gorgeous with the green and orange cauliflower!
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