To Taste: Cheesy Smashed Cauliflower

Posted by Erin L. in To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with cauliflower, cheddar, cheese, chicken stock, cooking, fresh, gouda, mashed, recipe, Shady Maple, smashed, smoked gouda, stock November 4, 2009

I finally took Dre on an Amish adventure to Lancaster County complete with a stop at Shady Maple Smorgasbord. I regret that I went to one of my favorite places to eat and didn’t take any pictures! Shame on me! We did, however, make a few farm stand stops on our scenic ride home where I picked up a beautiful head of Cauliflower. I knew I’d have to transform it into a tasty creation though, if anyone was going to enjoy it as much as I would!

I recalled an episode of 30 Minute Meals where Rachel Ray make a quick batch of her Smashed Cauliflower with Cheese. I stuck to the basic parameters of the recipe but impressed myself with the addition of shredded Smoked Gouda (from the never ending wedge in my fridge). The smokiness really enhanced the depth of flavors in such a simple dish. It was so good, I didn’t even have to pass it off as mashed potatoes, though you know I tried!

Farm Fresh Cauliflower & our Jack-o-Lantern

P.S. We also picked up a pumpkin on our Amish adventure that Dre & I carved for Halloween. BOO!

CHEESY SMASHED CAULIFLOWER
adapted from Rachel Ray’s Smashed Cauliflower with Cheese

Cauliflower – 1 large head cut into florets
Chicken Stock – about 3 cups, 2 cans, or enough to cover Cauliflower
Butter – let’s say 2-3 T of the REAL stuff, no oleo here!
Cheddar, Smoked Gouda, Mozzarella, Parmesan, etc. – (1)+ cup of your favorite shredded cheeses
S&P

Place Cauliflower florets in a medium pot & cover with Chicken Stock.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Then cover & reduce heat to a simmer until Cauliflower is tender, about 15 min total.
Drain the cauliflower once tender, reserving the stock. (You could also turn up the heat and reduce the stock instead of draining, but who has the time?!)
Add the butter & cheese. Smash with a potato masher, adding in stock until you reach desired consistency. Think “thick grits”!
Season w/ S&P and serve. It reheats really well, too, so feel free to make a double batch to enjoy all week!

Leftover Lightning! Hot Pockets!

Posted by Erin L. in Leftover Lightning!, To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with asiago, basil, calzone, dinner, garlic, herbs, hot pocket, leftovers, mozz, mozzarella, peppers, recipe, ricotta, stromboli, to taste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, turkey sausage, zucchini September 8, 2009

Sarah was kind enough to leave behind some Pizza Dough for us to experiment with after our “Build Your Own Pizza Night”, describing it as the “weird batch”. Dre & I decided to give its “weirdness” a whirl with some Sunday night stromboli & calzone.

Sarah's "Weird" Delicious Dough!

I fulfilled my new addiction to the sweetness of Roasted Tomatoes by popping a batch in the oven while I began filling the dough. I opted for leftover Roasted Yellow Peppers & Zucchini from our “Build Your Own Pizza Night” with Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage, Mozzarella, Asiago, Tomato Sauce, & Fresh Basil. Per my lactose intolerant boyfriend’s nonsensical request, I filled his with “just cheese” including Mozzarella, Asiago, & Ricotta with a swipe of Tomato Sauce, a layer of Roasted Tomatoes, chopped Fresh Basil, & extra Minced Garlic. They weren’t too pretty going into oven once folded and likewise once they were baked, but they were delicious! The “weird” dough created a flaky crust a la a homemade Hot Pocket, versus a traditional stromboli/calzone crust. Yum!

My Roasted Veggie "Hot Pocket"

Dre's Cheesy Tomato "Hot Pocket"

Family-Style: Build Your Own Pizza

Posted by Erin L. in Family-Style, To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with asiago, basil, bell peppers, chicken andoille sausage, cooking, crab, dinner, garlic, herbs, lemon-thyme, mozzarella, olive oil, pizza, recipe, ricotta, shallots, smoked gouda, summer, to taste, tomato, tomatoes, Top Chef, zucchini September 8, 2009

Last season of Top Chef, we started a tradition of “Family Dinners” at my house to watch each week’s episode along with a home-cooked meal! Tom, Dre, & Lex were the regulars at last season’s dinners, but couldn’t be happier to add Sarah to this year’s season. She brought along her homemade pizza dough for the return of Top Chef AND the return of “Build Your Own Pizza Night,” my favorite dinner theme!

The original plan was to do grilled pizzas, but after a summer of cooking and roasting Grape Tomatoes (via The Bitten Word’s amazing recipe) & Yellow Bell Peppers for pizza toppings, my grill ran out of gas. At least we always have the oven for back-up. I also prepared sauteed Zucchini, Chicken Andouille Sausage, Crab Meat, & Creole Shrimp, along with shredded Mozzarella, Smoked Gouda, Asiago, & Ricotta Cheeses, as topping options. Can’t forget some tomato sauce, as well! We all got to loading our shells with Dre opting for a Crab White Pizza & Tom piling on just about everying!

We were 3 episodes behind with all of our busy schedules, so we got together on a Thursday night to cook & recap via the DVR while the pizzas baked to perfection…

Dre's Crab White Pizza - Pre-Baked

My Pizza w/ the works

Build Your Own Pizza Night

Homemade Pizza Dough a la Sarah

Roasted Tomatoes, Yellow Bell Peppers, & Zucchini

Chicken Andoille Sausage

Crab Meat

Creole Shrimp

Mozzarella, Smoked Gouda, Asiago, & Ricotta

Fresh Basil & Lemon-Thyme

To Taste: Grilled Snow Crab Legs

Posted by Erin L. in To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with butter, cheddar, chicken stock, collard greens, collards, cornbread, crab, crab legs, dinner, entree, garlic, grill, grilled, jalapeno, mint, mojito, olive oil, recipe, rice, shallots, side dish, snow crab, Spanish rice, sriracha, sweet peppers, to taste, tomatoes, vegetable, Worcestershire September 1, 2009

Wasn’t too long ago that I was just sayin’ that you shouldn’t grill in the dark… especially crab legs. So I took another stab at grilled snow crab legs for a Sunday late-lunch/early-dinner with Dre. I decided to get all the sides started before I threw the crabbiness on the grill, so I could give it my undivided attention.

Earlier that week, I bought 2 large bunches of Collard Greens from the Italian Market. It was alot of greens for only $2! I rinsed & chopped them before sauteing in garlic, shallots, EVOO, & butter and simmering in chicken stock. I didn’t have any turkey bacon on hand as a usual ingredient in my greens, so just settled for some Sriracha & Worcestshire to jazz it up. I STILL had Grape Tomatoes from my Spicy Fish Tacos & Avocado-Salad and Sweet Peppers from my Mexi-Risotto, so I tossed them into a Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice Mix.

Dre whipped up a batch of Cornbread using trusty ol’ Jiffy mix. We tossed in some sliced jalapenos & the leftover sweet peppers, and sprinkled with shredded sharp cheddar halfway thru the baking process. With the greens sauteing, rice simmering, & cornbread baking, it was time for crab!

After a few knife pokes, a brush of butter, & 5 minutes on each side, we had ourselves a summer afternoon feast. Oh, and MOJITOS! After some experimenting, Dre mixed up a perfectly refreshing batch using Apple Mint from my garden.

Grilled Crab Legs, Spanish Rice, Collard Greens, Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread, & an Apple Mint Mojito

Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread - Photo: Dre

Grape Tomatoes

Fresh Collard Greens from the Italian Market

Summer Grilled Crab Feast:

Grilled Snow Crab Legs – Brushed in butter before grilling, dipped in Butter after

Sauteed Collard Greens – Wilted w/ Shallots, Garlic, & Olive Oil, simmered in Chicken Stock w/ S&P, Worcestershire, Dried Herbs, & Sriracha

Spanish Rice – Sauteed Garlic, Sweet Peppers, & Grape Tomatoes added to Rice-a-Roni Spanish Rice

Jalapeno-Cheddar Cornbread – Sauteed Sweet Peppers & Jalapeno added to Jiffy mix, topped w/ Shredded Sharp Cheddar

Classic Mojito w/ Apple Mint from my Garden

Leftover Lightning! Sweet & Spicy Garlic Shrimp Lettuce Wraps!

Posted by Erin L. in Leftover Lightning!, To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with avocado, cooking, dinner, garlic, green onion, leftovers, lime, recipe, risotto, romaine, shallots, shrimp, to taste, tomato September 1, 2009

Portioning is definitely not my forte when it comes to cooking… but who can deny leftovers! With my Spicy Fish Taco dinner, I went a bit overboard with the Mexi-Risotto! I also had an avocado, grape tomatoes, romaine, & green onion to use at their peak freshness. I defrosted some U-30 shrimp and made the tastiest Sweet & Spicy Garlic Sauce (recipe via Big Oven) to toss them in! I added some extra water in the end as the result was a bit too sticky for me, but I’ll def be keeping this simple recipe in my back pocket & suggest you do too! Next time I may just make the sauce & pour it over rice (or drink it straight)!

I wasn’t sure about the blend of flavors once I combined all of my lettuce wrap ingredients, but they meshed perfectly!

Sweet & Spicy Garlic Shrimp Lettuce Wraps

Sweet & Spicy Garlic Shrimp Lettuce Wraps:

Sweet & Spicy Garlic Shrimp – U-30 Shrimp tossed in this amazing & easy Big Oven Recipe

Leftover Mexi-Risotto

Tomato-Avocado Salsa – Leftover Avocado, Grape Tomatoes, & Green Onion w/ Lime Juice & S&P – made by Dre

Whole Romaine Leaves

To Taste: Spicy Fish Tacos & Mexi-Risotto

Posted by Erin L. in To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with avocado, cheddar, chicken stock, cooking, dinner, fish, garlic, green onion, lime, recipe, risotto, romaine, sazon, shallots, sriracha, summer, sweet peppers, tacos, tilapia, to taste, tortillas September 1, 2009

One of my favorite quick & economical meals is Spicy Fish Tacos. Acme offers frozen Tilapia fillets in single portions at $1.00 apiece, so my freezer is always stocked with the easy to defrost packets. Summer hosts the best vegetables so fresh avocado, grape tomatoes, romaine, & green onion were mandatory additions! I had a bit more time on my hands on this quiet Sunday evening, so I had no qualms spending a bit more time in the kitchen pairing it with a Sweet Pepper & Cheddar Risotto. Thank goodness for Dre, my handsome kitchen assistant, as he took on the tiring task of continually stirring the rice.

Spicy Fish Tacos w/ Mexi-Risotto

Spicy Tilapia, Grape Tomatoes, Romaine, Green Onion, & Flour Tortillas

Spicy Fish Tacos & Mex-Risotto:

Spicy Tilapia Fillets – Marinated in Sazon, Sriracha, Garlic, Shallots, & Lime Juice, Pan-Fried

Flour Tortillas

Mexi-Risotto – Red, Orange & Yellow Sweet Peppers, Cheddar, Garlic, Shallots, Chicken Stock, & Arborio

Quickie: Whipped by Potatoes

Posted by Erin L. in Quickie, To Taste ~ Recipe and tagged with balsamic, basil, butter, chicken, cooking, cusinart stand mixer, garlic, herbs, mashed potatoes, milk, olive oil, parsley, potatoes, recipe, shallots, snow peas, to taste, whipped September 1, 2009

I LOVE LOVE LOVE mashed potatoes, but not the starchy process of peeling, chopping, & boiling the tubers. The best parts are using my prized Cuisinart Stand Mixer and, of course, eating them!