Have you ever had a recipe that you have wanted to try for SO LONG but you just never got to it? Well, I finally tackled something in the vegetable arena and I have to say, it was DELISH. Lemme just say, I LOVE me some carbs, mashed potatoes in particular, but I can do without all of the actual carbs. So I kept reading about how to make cauliflower taste "like" mashed potatoes, but had my doubts. Let's just say that I am now a believer and this will become a regular in my rotation of sides.
Veggies...I really do love them, but I'll be honest. For the most part, I kinda cheat. The Steamfresh microwave in the bag kinds are just so good - the closest you can come to fresh without being fresh and our faves have always been broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and corn. By starting this blog, I think I've become a bit more self conscious about making real "homemade" food, so tonight, I decided to make the cauliflower "potatoes". And my next challenge (as you read more) will be to make "real" veggies.
Looking at the big ol' head of cauliflower was a little overwhelming. Confession time - I have never really made fresh cauliflower. I've always wanted to, but the thought of cutting it all has always been a little daunting. So I took it on tonight, chopping and trimming...from left picture to right picture:
From there, I gathered up the ingredients that the Food Network recipe included. For the garlic (not shown here and I guess I forgot to take a picture of the roasted end result) I decided to try roasting it, basically just drizzling a bit of olive oil and cooking in a 375 oven for 10 minutes or so. It gave it a "toasted" look and though I'm sure fresh garlic is always optimal, I still go for the jars of minced garlic until someone can convince me that fresh garlic is a million times superior.
Anyways, I boiled the chopped cauliflower for 8 minutes or so, then drained it well, using paper towels to get rid of all moisture. Next was putting it and all above ingredients (except for chives) into a food processor. About 1 tbsp of cream cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp of butter and it called for 1/8 tsp straight chicken base - I had none so I just drizzled some chicken broth in there and crossed my fingers. I also used my new secret ingredient - about 1 - 2 tbsp of Crema, used in last night's recipe.
Here is the finished result, topped with some chives. Best part - you can go back for seconds without feeling guilty!
While I was doing the cauliflower "potatoes", I was also in the process of making the salmon. This is a "tried and true" recipe that is a bit of a "cheat" but sometimes I have to ask, why re-create the wheel? Typically, I would grill the salmon, but with the flaming scare on the grill the other night, I am still a little apprehensive about the grill, so I decided to bake it instead.
The exceptional ingredient - Soy Vey teriyaki sauce. All I do is marinate the salmon in this delicious, delectable sauce full of flavors and it does everything I need for the salmon to take on an amazing taste. Here are the before and after pictures.
Of course, we also needed a green veggie, but here is where I did "cheat". I can't help but love the Steamfresh microwave in a bag vegetables. So to get some greenery on the table, I nuked a pouch and added a touch of sea salt for a delicious side dish.
To round it off, I just cut a baguette into small circles and baked, and then each of us got a dish with olive oil to add either black pepper or seasoning into it for dipping.
So here is the overall dinner - Baked Salmon, Cauliflower Garlic Mashed "Potatoes", Green Beans, and Toasted Bread with Dipping Sauce. Enjoy!
Mari
No comments:
Post a Comment