One of my favorite things about dinner is having a petite salad some where in the mix. It has often been a conversation between Husband and I about when to have the aforementioned salad. My MiL (Mother in Love) always serves the salad prior to the meal, while my Maman always served it after the entree, in the French style. This has caused an "agree to disagree" situation for us, the happily married couple. I have found the best compromise is to put it on the table before the meal and then I simply wait to eat mine. This is the kind of compromise they were talking about in premarital counseling ...right? *She said with a dead pan face until she cracks a smile in the absurdity of what she just said.*
Anyway, no matter when the salad is served, I am adamant that it is dressed, not smothered and that is has more than just lettuce. I love getting to pull out veggies and fruit from the fridge and know that what I am about to make will be delightful. Here is an explanation of what I like in my salads:
You might notice that the Tomato is de-seeded. It is a habit I picked up from my Auntie who can't eat seeds. I used to greatly dislike tomato until I ate one that had been de-seeded at my Auntie's farmhouse. Seriously, it changed my view on the fruit. Try it sometime. It will sweeten up your life.
Moving along, Dinner this evening was some left-over pork, but as i didn't have much to go on the side, I figured I should make something nice and moist, since the pork was definitely on the dry side. One challenge I have been enjoying is using cauliflower instead of a main ingredient in various dishes. In this case, I made my Twice Baked (not potato) Cauliflower. This is a very simple thing that I am sure I will utilize when I have children. Not that I want to "trick" my someday maybe children, but it really makes cauliflower taste good. I really don't care for cauliflower, but this dish makes it pretty good.
Twice Baked Cauliflower
1 Large head of cauliflower, snowed (about 2 cups)*
4 ounces low fat cream cheese (room temperature) - Don't use fat free, trust me on this.
1/2 cup of low fat sour cream - see above about fat free
1/4 cup green onion, minced - Optional
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
6 slices of bacon, cooked until crisp, blotted and crumbled
1 cup reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
If the cauliflower is freshly snowed, don't wring completely. If you leave a little hot water in the vegetable, it will combine better with the cream cheese.
If it is not freshly snowed, add a little water and Microwave till hot.
Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, onion, Parmesan, and 3/4 of the bacon in to the cauliflower.
spread into a medium casserole dish, then sprinkle with cheddar and remaining bacon.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
* How to Snow Cauliflower * <This is what I use for the cauliflower pizza crust.>
Put the kettle on and start boiling some water.
Into your blender (or food processor, but that can get a bit messier for clean up time), put the florets from a head of cauliflower, stem is not needed.
When the water is hot, pour in enough to cover about half of the cauliflower in the appliance.
Pulse until the cauliflower looks like snow.
Pour into strainer lined with a cheese clothe (or a less fibrous dish towel).
If any large pieces remain, return to blender with a bit of water and snow.
After all the cauliflower is snowed, allow the pile of mush in the clothe in the strainer to cool a bit.
When the mush and towel are cool enough to handle, wring the heck of the stuff.
The more water that gets taken out now, the longer the snow will last you as well as the versatile it can be.
I didn't use any cheddar today as I didn't feel like the side dish needed to be that rich. Even without that part of the recipe, this side dish didn't disappoint. Try it sometime, y'all.
What sort of substitutions do you like?
**Today's title is from the very witty mind of Mark Twain: Cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a college education.**
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