Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo

Yield:

• Serves 4, enough for 12-16 oz fettucine

Time:

• 30 minutes

Difficulty:

• Easy, if you have a good blender.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (355ml) unsweetened, unflavored almond or cashew milk or vegetable broth
• 1 pound (455g) cauliflower, cored and cut into medium florets (12 ounces/340g florets)
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces/55g) raw cashews
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
• Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon (optional)
• Kosher salt
• 1 to 2 large cloves garlic
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, bring nut milk or broth to a simmer over medium heat. Add cauliflower and cashews and stir to coat with the liquid. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook until the cauliflower is very tender when pierced with a knife, about 10 minutes. (If the liquid seems to be evaporating out from under the lid, reduce the heat to low; you want to cook the cauliflower while retaining as much of the liquid as possible.)
2. Transfer cauliflower, cashews, and liquid to a blender or food processor and let cool until warm.
3. Purée cauliflower and cashews until very smooth. (A high-powered blender will give you the best texture, but you can achieve a smooth purée if you let a food processor run for a solid minute or more, scraping down the sides occasionally.) Add nutritional yeast, lemon zest (if using), and a few large pinches of salt. Finely grate as much garlic as you want over the sauce and pulse just to combine.
4. Boil salted water and cook fettuccine until just al dente, then reserve about 1 cup (235ml) of the cooking water and drain.
5. Return the hot pasta to the pot. Add the vegan Alfredo sauce and about 1/4 cup (60ml) of cooking liquid and toss, adding more liquid as necessary to loosen the sauce to a creamy consistency. Put the pan over the heat for a few seconds to heat the pasta as necessary. Taste and season with salt. 
6. Transfer the fettuccine Alfredo to a large bowl, hit it with a few grinds of black pepper, and serve.

Notes:

• Lemon a nice addition.  Don't overcook the cauliflower or it will take on a cabbage smell.

Variations:

• Next time I'm going to try adding pumpkin.

Source: Serious Eats.

Thanksgiving shopping list

Produce

• 2 bunches of parsley 
• 2 bags onions
• 2 bags carrots 
• celery
• Soup greens
• 5 lbs russets potatoes 
• 2 lbs sweet potatoes
• 2.5 pounds brussels sprouts
• cranberries
• lemons
• limes
• clementines

Groceries

• maraschino cherries
• cider
• beer
• red horseradish
• sparkling pear cider
• Pumpkin pie

Traditional English Muffins

Yield:  9 muffins

Ingredients

• 3 c King Arthur unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¾ t instant yeast
• 1 ¼ t salt
• 1 t sugar
• 1½ T unsalted butter, melted
• ¾ c milk, warm
• ½ c water, warm

Instructions

1. Place all of the ingredients in a large bowl, and stir vigorously for about one minute. Fold in from sides of bowl with plastic scraper. The dough will be too soft for kneading.
2. Cover and rise at room temperature for about one hour. Preserve the rise by cutting and pulling from underneath.
3. Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Divide into 9 pieces. 
4. Gently shape into rounds, and place in greased and cornmeal-dusted rings if baking. If cooking on griddle, use semolina or cream of wheat.
5. Dust tops with cornmeal or semolina, cover, and let rise for 35 to 45 minutes, until puffy.
6. Cook at 300 degrees on a non-stick or lightly greased griddle for 8-10 minutes per side. Alternately, bake in a 425 degree oven for 15-18 minutes, flipping them halfway through.
7. Allow to cool, and then split and toast before serving.

Notes:

• When dividing dough, triangles are best.  Fold corners in and make a kind of dumpling.
• For flatter tops, place an additional sheet of parchment and pan on top of muffins for first 10 minutes of the bake.

Source:  King Arthur Flour via Susan Karcz.