Sauteed Cauliflower, as featured here
From The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters
4 servings

Clean the leaves from:

1 large head or 2 small heads of cauliflower

Remove the base of the stem with a small, sharp knife. From the top down, cut the cauliflower into 1/4-inch slices. (If the cauliflower is large, cut in half for easier slicing.)

Heat in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat:

2 tablespoons olive oil

Once the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the cauliflower with:

Salt

Let the cauliflower sit until it starts to brown a bit before stirring or tossing. Cook, continuing to stir or toss until the cauliflower is tender, about 7 minutes total. Don't worry if the cauliflower starts to break up; that is part of the charm of the dish. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Finish with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil

Variations: When the cauliflower is a minute or so from being done, add a couple of chopped garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon chopped parsley. Garnish with a handful of Toasted Breadcrumbs (page 63). A classic Italian dish adds the parsley and garlic along with chopped salt-cured anchovies and capers, hot chile flakes, and coarsely chopped olives. This is delicious on pasta. Sprinkle with fresh-ground cumin, chopped garlic, turmeric, and chopped cilantro during the last few minutes of cooking.

From The Art of Simple Food, by Alice Waters.

debate fact-check

I just want to say Holy Effing Shit!, my friend Salvatore's book was nominated for a National Book Award, yesterday. In so many ways, this is good news for writers everywhere. As my friend Emily said, "my faith in the publishing world is renewed." I couldn't agree more. I still feel moved to tears by the nomination, and inspired. Salvatore started his novel shortly after high school, and finished it 10-ish years later. It's hard enough to write a book, but the publishing world gives you about two months on the shelves to sell well, once it goes out into the world. Here is his description of writing the book longhand, before manually typing it on the typewriter, throwing out the first 600 pages. Congratulations Salvatore and Graywolf!

Other finalists:
Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project (Riverhead)
Rachel Kushner, Telex from Cuba (Scribner)
Peter Matthiessen, Shadow Country (Modern Library)
Marilynne Robinson, Home (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Salvatore Scibona, The End (Graywolf Press)

new workshop starts tomorrow!