I confess, radicchio evaded me for many years. I looked at it forlornly… knowing I needed to invite it back to my kitchen, if just for a dabble of this and that. It is a glorious looking vegetable, bursting with purples leaves and white veins, with a flavor pushing bitter and spicy… but milder once it is grilled or roasted. I meant to give it a chance, and knew if I did we would become fast friends.

I finally took the time to get to know radicchio: it shows up with overwhelming consistency at Italian markets this time of year. Every little ‘frutta & verdura’ stand—the indoor grocer and outdoor markets—all have these grapefruit-sized purple globes. For cheap. How could I resist? I am eating seasonally, on a budget, in Italy (where radicchio was first commercially grown, 15th century). Besides, right now I have time to indulge in food, get a feel for my new cooking degree and fly out of my culinary nest. Bring on the newbies!

And it was pure reward: my entire family has invited radicchio into the circle. (New vegetables that the kids like? SCORE). Yes, you may top our table, and yes we will appreciate you. Radicchio is a fitting splash of color and taste in salads, and if roasted or grilled will find happy forks as far as my family is concerned.

So far, I have made radicchio 2 different ways—both with great success.

I roasted it. Well when it comes to veggies, roasting is my default. Why? It makes veggies taste great (like candy, some kids will say), I get to us coarse salt and olive oil (2 of my fave ingredients) and it is easy. Spread out veggies on tray, lube with oil, sprinkle with salt and pop in oven… who can argue with that? I sliced it into 1/2 inch wedges, lubed with oil and salt, and put them in the 400F oven for 15-20 min. Optional: put on plate or in serving bowl, and drizzle with reduced balsamic (or the store bought glaze). Worst case, the fancy drizzle makes you look like you know what you are doing; best case it blows the dish out of the water.

The second way I prepped radicchio was grilled, with seasoned bread crumbs and reduced balsamic (food network). If you don’t have time to reduce the balsamic (though try it sometime, it is EASY aka turn on your burner and simmer it), simply squirt on reduced balsamic glaze, that you buy in the store (I LOVE this product—we put it on sandwiches all the time).

Who knew?

• Radicchio has its own dedicated website
• Radicchio is part of the chicory family; its roots used to be used to make coffee
• It is harvested in spring or fall, and often named according to the [Italian] region they are grown in (seriously, no surprise there); these then, count as radicchio: Treviso, Tardivo, Castelfranco, and Radicchio from Chioggia (etc.).
• In Italy, you will find radicchio in risotto, soups, tapenade, grilled and roasted.
• The next recipe I am going to try is: Wilted Radicchio & Apple Salad with Bacon Dressing
• When you type ‘radicchio’ into the search bar at Food Network, it pops up with 84 quite yummy looking results.
• Come on—try it already!

Carrot chips? And how. I could have a pile of these, call it a meal, and be the better for it.

They aren’t bad for you, like many chips. They are not deep fried; no preservatives or other unmentionables are added. All that will rest on your palate is thinly-sliced, roasted carrots. All you need is a glugg of olive oil, a hearty pinch of coarse salt and carrots.

I am a big fan of trying new vegetables, or new shapes or new products. My family snacks on a lot of baby carrots; in the store recently I saw a bag of sliced carrots. They looked like ruffled chips. As I often do, I figured: different shapes, more interest. Why not? (if you don’t have waffle sliced carrots, just buy regular carrots, slice them 1/4 inch thick, at a slight diagonal. A mandoline might work if you can maintain slices between 1/4 – 1/8 inch).

Dinner appeared (as it often does: out of no where, and an hour too soon) and I tossed them on a cookie sheet with a sprinkle of oil and coarse salt. And tossed them so each carrot had a smear of oil; they are awesome. WAY better than fries or chips. Don’t believe me? Try them.

It just gets better: the other day at the grocer, I saw tri-colored carrots. Have you seen them? You can buy orange, white or purple carrots. I will be buying those next—this humble little side dish just became hip.

Carrot Chips
1 LB carrots, 1/4 inch slices on the diagonal
3 T olive oil (or so)
1-2 large pinches coarse salt

Toss carrots with oil, in bowl or with hands. Spread in single layer on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt. Roast in 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. (Sometimes I pump it up to 425).

I love roasting vegetables. And all it really takes is olive oil and coarse salt, an oven hovering around 400 degrees and about 25-40 minutes, depending on the veggie.

It makes them all taste sweet, caramelized, and above all approachable. And then, once I have done the rounds with olive oil and salt, I like to play a little. So I add rosemary and cayenne and brown sugar to sweet potatoes (here), and in the name of Barefoot Contessa added dijon to my new potatoes; and now this: red onions will never be the same.

Shocking really. Maybe you will ask for a side of these onions instead of ice cream with your next pie. Your kids won’t know what hit them. Are these really onions? Now, I am not saying the goal is to mask the flavor of onions, just that I am impressed with how slow-roasting brings out the sweetness of onions (or a plethora of other vegetables), and with a few extra shakes of this and that you have your new golden side dish.

Roasted Red Onions
3 red onions, sliced in 1/2 inch half-moons
olive oil
kosher salt
2 T raisins
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Oven to 400; cut onions in half, then in 1/2 inch wedges. Put in baking dish, lube with the olive oil, sprinkle liberally with kosher salt. Roast in oven 40 minutes. Meanwhile, combine raisins, garlic, honey and vinegar in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to simmer, off heat. Add to onions, once they have roasted for 40 minutes. Stir onions, roast another 15 minutes. Serve.

Other, recent roastings:

• Brussel Sprouts
• Sweet Potatoes
• Two bulbs of Fennel
• Roma Tomatoes
• Roasted Kohlrabi from Alanna at Veggie Venture
• from Heidi at 101 Cookbooks gives us Roasted Cauliflower

We adore roasted veggies at our house. It seems the possibilities are endless when it comes to roasting veggies. Roasting is especially important for those eyebrow raising, face wincing vegetables (translation: not sure about these, mom.); roasting seems to assuage any concerns about flavor, texture and ultimately consumption. The proof is in the roasting: none of us liked brussel sprouts. BUT when roasted with olive oil and coarse salt they become an immediate favorite, a request in the name of side-dishes. Cooking them this way causes two of us to become giddy, and a third to keep saying: “I really don’t like brussel sprouts… but I really like these.” And a fourth? The jury is still out.This Thanksgiving, we have a history-marking, unusual dinner to attend. My dear friend is getting married, and Thanksgiving week is the time she chose. It is perfect, really. Not only is it her favorite holiday, but it will involve a pile of people coming together to be thankful for love, for festivity, for cause to celebrate over a table bursting with food.

And we each signed up for a plethora of food favorites, must-haves for the big meal, memories from families near and far. My contribution will be brussel sprouts and orange rolls. I will roll up my sleeves and help everyone else, since these brussel sprouts—which often appear on our table at home—will take no more than 10 minutes to prepare:

Roasted Brussel Sprouts
brussel sprouts
olive oil
coarse salt (fleur de sel is best)

Cut tops off sprouts, slice in half if they are nearing the size of golf balls. Douse with olive oil, use hands to toss, so all are lightly coated with oil. Sprinkle with salt. Place in 400 oven for 30 minutes. Give thanks and serve.

I am in heaven. I love fennel. In fact, I wish I had the wherewithal to eat fennel bulbs like apples; perhaps a 2008 New Year resolution?

Instead of eating them raw in my paws, I am finding creative ways to insert them into lunches… dinners… even breakfast.

This post is about ‘what to do when you have 2 fennel bulbs’ because there have been times when I had 2… and they went to waste based solely on my lack of inspiration. Fennel be saved: I now have some quick defaults for fennel: a bonafide back door to inspiration. All you need are 2 fennel bulbs, a few Tablespoons (or ‘gluggs’ of olive oil—that is how my kids and I measure olive oil amounts: “mom, how many gluggs of olive oil?”), and a large pinch of kosher/coarse salt. The last time I roasted fennel, I added a few Tablespoons of diced prosciutto. What? I couldn’t help it:

Roasted Fennel
2 fennel bulbs (stalks and stems removed)
3 T olive oil
1 large pinch kosher salt
optional: a couple grinds coarse pepper

Heat oven to 400. Slice fennel into 1/4-1/2 inch slices. Lube with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes.

Now, if you are getting a tad more creative, and plan ahead with a slightly longer list of ingredients, you can make French Fennel Onion Soup or Potato Fennel Gratin. Both are well worth the effort. Yum.

I don’t know what it is about me and making food taste like ‘candy,’ but for some reason, while I am in the middle of consuming—usually some variation of roasted vegetable—I think of candy. Not candy from the candy shop, necessarily, nor the overwhelm of eye candy that I experience each time at the Farmer’s Market, but rather food candy, veggie candy, or simply the amazing sweetness of nature that is meant to mesmerize us.

Fennel does that to me. I look forward to a bite of fennel the way my kids look forward to a bite of candy. I loved it roasted; and tonight I tried it sauteed and it was equally to die for. And for our family of four, this was just one fennel bulb, 3 small parsnips and a T each of olive oil and butter. Peel parsnips, then mandoline both parsnips and fennel. Toss into skillet with olive oil and butter, sautee over medium low for 10-15 minutes until caramelized. Add big pinch of kosher salt and coarse pepper. Serve.

Simple is good.

More great input on fennel:

• from Fine Cooking (one of my fave magazines)
• Fennel overview from Gilded Fork
• Fennel recipes from Epicurious

And more fennel candy mezmirization on friendly food blogs:

• Elise at Simply Recipes also adores Roasted Fennel
• Alanna from Veggie Venture makes Fennel & Blood Orange Salad
• …and this sounds yummy: The Village Vegetable makes a Sage Fennel Tart