Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Cauliflower Dinner Drama

I was not sure what to name this cauliflower post as the two of us have had a few ups and downs. Growing up in southern California we did not eat a lot of this particular veggie…. Not sure why but this is what I can remember. My mom’s homegrown and hand-made pickled beets and applesauce. We had a garden and an apple tree when I was a kid. The applesauce was amazing and the pickled beets were okay. Forward to this day now it’s the other way around. Both still are wonderful , but today it is all about the cauliflower.

I first prepared the mash. I love potatoes, love them. But after the uhmm shall we say the slightly over indulgent holidays, I wanted to slim down a few pounds. And since everyone has been talking up this particular mash for a years now I decided to break down and prepare them.

I spruced these up with a little cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and garlic. They were light and surprisingly so full of flavor. I have made them twice since then and how not looked back. This morning I had them with a soft boiled egg and kale sprouts, obviously I’m addicted. By the way these were a winner in my book.

The second dish I prepared was the cauliflower steaks, easy right, very simple. I cut them into slices (steaks) and drizzled them with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of sumac. So simple and delicious, no reason to change a thing here.

The first year I started blogging was in 2010 and at that time was not brave enough to tell anyone (that took a couple of years) that I even had a blog. I prepared a stove-top version. This recipe has turned out to be the most reviewed recipe on my site, Stove-Top Carmelized Cauliflower with Chive Onions.

Since I was on a roll I bought again more cauliflower and decided on the grand finale. Manicotti shells stuffed with ricotta cheese, roasted butternut squash, roasted cremini mushrooms and steamed kale. The sauce was a cauliflower sauce. I spent the most time preparing this dish only to scoop out a slice for each of us and throw the rest away. Visually a horrible concept.

Cauliflower drama…….

For the cauliflower mash:

Ingredients:

1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets (remember they are all different sizes in this recipe you kind of have to wing it).
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium clove garlic (grated)
2 tablespoons cream cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:

Steam florets until fork tender, about 8 to 10 minutes.

In a medium sized heavy skillet warm olive oil, add garlic, stir about one to two minutes, remove from stove-top.

Transfer cauliflower, garlic, cream cheese and Parmesan cheese to food processor, blend until veggies are creamy, taste, season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

For the roasted cauliflower steaks:

Preheat oven to 400 °

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 pinch sumac

Salt and pepper to taste

To prepare:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut the cauliflower lengthwise, including the stalk, into 3/4-inch slices and place on a large baking sheet. Brush olive oil and sprinkle sumac, salt and pepper.

Roast for 25 minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned in places and the stems are easily pierced with a fork.

Cauliflower is at its best from December through March in the southwest and plentiful in our local markets.

Cheri Savory Spoon

Mysavoryspoon was first started in 2010 as a way to journal recipes that I had collected from cookbooks, magazines, family and friends. Most everything was savory, using legumes and whole grains. Along the way I discovered a love for baking. Now a couple times a month you might see some type of sweet pie or treat.

my mother had a big garden, too. and she canned a lot of beets. i didn't know what cauliflower was (or broccoli) until i was an adult. we had an apple tree and pared/sliced apples for pies and made applesauce, too.

I love roasting cauliflower! My favorite way to prepare it. A mash is good, too. Only problem is cauliflower has gotten so popular, its price seems to be going up out of all proportion. Still worth it, but it's a bummer. Good post -- thanks.

Roasted cauliflower is my very best favorite Cheri. I've even grown it a couple of times! You should ty it one day:)

I love the recipes you've shared, don't feel bad about the mishap, you don't know unless you try:)

One of my favorite ways to make cauliflower is by breading it first dunked in egg then in breadcrumbs. Cauliflower actually cooks up whole in the microwave. I'm not usually a huge fan of microwaving but a whole cauliflower head cooked in the microwave makes quite a presentation. (let me know if you want to know how:) You can even "bathe" it in a cheesy cream sauce. Oh my!

Okay, so now you have me craving cauliflower, I may finally bring myself to try in it place of mashed potatoes!

Oh, I just check out your stovetop cauliflower and it sounds so delicious, Cheri, and I love chives!I've been roasting a lot of cauliflower with Indian spices lately and loving it. I love making it into rice as well. A wonderfully versatile veggie :)

Hi Cheri,Oh ! Cauliflower drama ... occasionally I too had some 'drama' in my kitchen though! I have not tried making cauliflower sauce as mostly used in stir-fried dish or roasted. Well, cheer up! Hope you enjoy your weekend :)

I have been wanting to try it mashed. Over the weekend I made a cauliflower with Asian sauce served over rice. I loved it and ate leftovers twice - there was plenty left since my husband didn't care for it. He was a sport the first night but passed after that : ) I keep reading about a cauliflower shortage - must be all the good recipes out there.

I know when some people start a blog they're very bold and announce it to the world. I was like you in that I kept it a secret for almost a year! I was so lacking in confidence. I love cauliflower and grew up eating it regularly. I love it as mash xx

Dear Cheri, we are known to eat a lot of cauliflower around here and I am always looking for new recipe ideas - your two recipes sound great and the mash has lovely Parmigiano Reggiano and a few other delicious additions - I know I would love that recipe! Enjoy the game tonight - may the best team win!Andrea

I've been making a cauliflower puree--but I ruin the healthiness of it by topping it with browned butter. A lighter version would be great! And, I love the added sumac on the roasted cauliflower steaks. Can't wait to try that!

@chery: you know what , we eat cauliflower a lot.. but you tried some thing new with this LOVELY ingredients and i really love that..I love the way you present explanations and i appreciate that.. Thank you :)

Hi chery,after publishing my cauliflower recipe post on blog ,I realized that I should share "what inspired me to cook this recipe" with my readers. I should share each and every incidents happens to me while preparing. This recipe was truly inspired me to cook cauliflower and I was literally craving for that. So, I have given this post link to my blog.Hope you don't mind