{"id":459,"date":"2010-06-23T06:46:31","date_gmt":"2010-06-23T13:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodiddy.wordpress.com\/?p=459"},"modified":"2010-06-23T06:46:31","modified_gmt":"2010-06-23T13:46:31","slug":"creamed-cauliflower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodiddy.com\/?p=459","title":{"rendered":"Creamed Cauliflower"},"content":{"rendered":"

I went a little crazy when I was buying for my Father’s Day veggie tray. The platter was full and I still had\u00a0green cauliflower left on the counter. I’ve always been fascinated by the bright Crayola yellow-green coloring. It definitely tastes different than the white cauliflower. I would say it’s more mild. Some people think it has a nutty taste to it, since mine was smothered in cheesy goodness, it was hard to tell.<\/p>\n

The green cauliflower is actually white cauliflower that has been bred with the chlorophyll compound from broccoli. Designer for sure. Something I learned online this evening – Do not store cauliflower near apples, bananas or melons… as these fruits contain ethylene gas and are harmful to cauliflower – interesting, a sealed Ziploc it is. I tend to mix veggies and fruit because I buy way more veggies than fruit and I need the extra drawer space in the fridge. I don’t like room temperature apples or melon – gotta keep those chilled.<\/p>\n

I spent Monday searching for cauliflower recipes online. I found one on myrecipes.com<\/a>\u00a0for Creamed Cauliflower with Herbed Crumb Topping<\/strong>\u00a0(originally from Cooking Light, December 2004) and adapted\u00a0it because I wanted a smaller portion and I didn’t want to make breadcrumbs from sourdough bread… I already had panko crumbs.<\/p>\n

The Ingredients:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Got a little crazy with the ingredient\u00a0photos – was trying out a different camera setting – so nice… half the ingredients are missing, hah!<\/p>\n

1 Head of Cauliflower
\n3 oz. Panko Bread Crumbs
\n3 Chopped Leeks
\n4 Cloves Smashed Garlic
\n3\/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
\n2 Tablespoons Butter
\n1 3\/4 Cup 2% Reduced Fat Milk
\n1 Teaspoon Salt – Divided
\n1 Cup Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano Cheese (Expensive, but worth getting a nice chunk)
\n1\/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
\n2 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley
\n2 Teaspoons Chopped Fresh Thyme
\nCooking Spray<\/p>\n

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.<\/p>\n

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I put the cauliflower in a container and steamed it in the microwave with about 1.5 inches of water for 6 minutes. The recipe said to boil it in water, but I wanted to speed up the process… worked perfectly. While the cauliflower was steaming, I got the leeks washed and cut. I cheated this time and bought pre-washed packages from Trader Joe’s – they still needed a little washing – but it too helped with speeding up the process.<\/p>\n

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I added the chopped leeks to a\u00a0saut\u00e9 pan that had 1 tablespoon butter and 3 garlic cloves already in it. I\u00a0saut\u00e9ed them for about 6-7 minutes until tender.<\/p>\n

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The next step was to combine the flour and the milk. I stirred with the whisk and then added the mixture to the pan with the leeks.<\/p>\n

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I continued to stir until the sauce thickened – took about 2 minutes on medium heat.<\/p>\n

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You then stir in 3\/4 teaspoon salt, add the cheese and the pepper and then remove it from the heat before adding the steamed cauliflower.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0I\u00a0stirred in\u00a0the cauliflower and then spooned the mixture into a baking dish coated with cooking spray. I let that sit for a few minutes while I got the second tablespoon of butter in another pan with the last clove of garlic. I added a few more shakes of salt, fresh parsley and fresh thyme.<\/p>\n

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I then added the panko breadcrumbs to the butter and herbs and got them coated and slightly browned.<\/p>\n

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I spooned the bread crumb mixture into the casserole dish, coating the cauliflower evenly. I placed the casserole into the 400 degree oven and cooked until bubbly and browned. It took about 35 minutes.<\/p>\n

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As some of you know, I’m a huge macaroni and cheese fan. I can honestly say that this is an amazing substitute. Sure, it’s not pasta… but wow, I got the same comfort food feeling eating it.<\/p>\n

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I ate two servings last night – about 2 cups – and I packaged up\u00a03 more generous portions\u00a0for lunches the remainder of the week. Dan did not give this one a try. He was too busy with his new iPhone that came 2 days early.<\/p>\n

I spent the evening eating\u00a0my casserole\u00a0and watching Food Network’s\u00a0“<\/strong>The Best Thing I Ever Ate<\/strong><\/a>”\u00a0 –<\/strong> a perfect evening indeed.
\n\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I went a little crazy when I was buying for my Father’s Day veggie tray. The platter was full and I still had\u00a0green cauliflower left on the counter. I’ve always been fascinated by the bright Crayola yellow-green coloring. It definitely tastes different than the white cauliflower. I would say it’s more mild. Some people think … <\/p>\n

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