Welcome to Mouthsgiving, a collection of easy Thanksgiving recipes upgraded with small-batch ingredients. Today, we bring you a recipe for roasted cauliflower, perfect for bringing to Friendsgiving or Thanksgiving potluck parties.

My mom and I start cooking on Thanksgiving Day by mixing up Bloody Mary’s (what else?). Our family is pretty big – 20 family members and counting – so the Bloody’s are necessary. Sometimes we have people coming from as far as Switzerland, like my great aunt. (I’m in jeans and a sweater, she’s decked out in beautiful broaches, leather pants and heels.)

As the oldest cousin of eight, I am usually playing with the kids outside or downstairs in the game room until dinner is ready. We eat around 5 p.m., and because there’s so many of us we usually spread out around the house and play musical chairs throughout dinner. We always start the meal by going around the three (makeshift) tables saying what we are thankful for. Another tradition is Grandma’s creamed onions that we all pretend to hate, but secretly love. Oh, and my brother, uncle and dad always get in trouble for watching sports instead of hanging out with the family. What else is new?

I am generally tasked with a vegetable. Cauliflower is one of my favorites – it usually doesn’t need much – just a sprinkle of salt and pepper and some good olive oil. But seeing as Thanksgiving starts boozy, I thought why not keep going.

Enter: Bourbon Smoked Salt and Pepper, made by Bourbon Barrel Foods in Louisville, Kentucky. Their earthy seasonings are smoked over wood from bourbon-aged barrels and add a depth to everything from vegetables to meats to even ice cream (seriously, try it).

And don’t worry – it doesn’t taste overly boozy, it just adds a nice rich smoke that brings out the roasted cauliflower’s natural sweetness.

Bourbon Smoked Roasted Cauliflower

3 heads yellow or purple cauliflower (or a mix of both!)

1 large yellow onion

Bourbon Smoked Sea Salt

Bourbon Smoked Black Pepper

Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Cut cauliflower and onion into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower florets and onion with olive oil and Bourbon Smoked Salt and Pepper to taste.

3. Spread cauliflower and onion mixture evenly on baking sheets (I used three), and roast 35-45 minutes, until brown and tender.

Total time: 45 minutes

Serves: 12

-- Kiernan McDonald