On trend: cauliflower au gratin

It's all about the béchamel, baby + some archive recipes for chocolate lovers to love this Valentine's Day

Bonjour! Bonjour!

For the past week or so, I’ve felt like a conjurer — I’d mention someone’s name and they’d turn up in person or in my inbox. Something in the ether? A new power? Garden-variety coincidences? The latest, the first that had to do with food, happened over the weekend. We were eight people for dinner — I made a version of my favorite Hachis Parmentier — and down at the far end of the table I heard a friend mention cauliflower and another say, “I adore cauliflower au gratin — one made with a really nice béchamel.” Bingo! “Guess what,” I said, “next week’s newsletter’s got a recipe for that dish!” And then I texted Carrie Solomon — it’s her recipe that I’ve got for you today — and said: “Cauliflower au gratin is trending.” Yes, it’s an exaggeration, but I was so happy to see the dish having a little moment.

And while I’d happily have Carrie’s gratin at any moment — especially these days when Paris is damp and cold — for Valentine’s Day there’ll be something chocolate, too, a…