Tender cauliflower gets a creamy finish

M.F.K. Fisher Memorial Cauliflower Casserole

In “The Gastronomical Me” from The Art of Eating, Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher made compelling prose out of a simple cauliflower dish she dreamily prepared in a most inadequate kitchen in Dijon, France, in the early ’30s. When I read it, my taste buds were so entranced by the description, I attempted to duplicate the gratin, even though I had no access to the thick French cream she’d used; I had to boil down fresh cream to make the proper sauce. Years later, when Mary Frances became my friend, she confirmed that my efforts to turn her graceful phrases into real food had worked. Here’s the recipe.

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