Twice Baked Cauliflower

Updated 2015/2/27

There is no shortage of recipes on the internet and today while browsing around I saw one for Twice Baked Cauliflower. What really grabbed my attention is how it looked. The golden browness of it after being broiled in the oven is what made me want to try it. I've done a couple of Cauliflower flower recipes before and they've all turned out really good. (see Cauliflower Pizza).

After a quick look at the ingredients I figured I only need Cauliflower so I stopped and picked it up on the way home from work. Once I started pulling everything out to make this recipe I found out that I was short more than 1 ingredient.... oh well it happens and this is my attempt at Twice Baked Cauliflower without all the ingredients :)

(First Attempt)

(Second Attempt - With Cheese Broiled on top)

Ingredients:
1 - Head of Cauliflower cut into small pieces
1/2 - Cup of Milk Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 - Cups of Monterery Jack Cheese (or Mozzarella)
1 - Cloves of Garlic (any more and it has too much of a garlic flavor)
1 - Green Onion chopped

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
In batches, process Cauliflower in a food processor and put into a large bowl.

Add Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, Green Onion and Garlic to the bowl of processed Cauliflower. Mix ingredients well.

Transfer to a greased baking dish

Place in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. When 20 minutes has passed switch to broiler mode and broil for 5 minutes to get the golden brown top (mine didn't really get as golden brown as I would have liked but it was better than nothing)

(Original Attempt - no cheese on top)

(Second attempt with cheese on top! about a 1 cup)

Plate and serve!

For anyone who is interested, here is a list of the ingredients I was missing and what I did to work around it.

Cheddar Cheese -> I didn't have any, which is unusual for me and I wanted something with more flavor than Mozzarella so I went with Monterery Jack Instead.

Chives -> I have a ton of these in the garden but it's winter here so... Green onion is a good substitute

Yogurt -> I normally have Greek Yogurt in the fridge but not today

Sour Cream -> Another product I though I had but didn't. At this point I knew I needed something to give the mixture more moisture and that's why I went with the milk. For my second attempt I when with Greek Yogurt and it made a huge difference!

Bacon Bits -> I was just lazy and didn't want to cook up any bacon

I missed the whole tips section about using olive oil and and Parmesan cheese to help get it that golden brown. oh well, live and learn!

Beet Salad

Large bags of beets were on sale the other day at the grocery store so I decided to pick up a bag. In the early fall I pickle beets, in the winter I like a nice borscht and other times I'll just roast them but this time I decided to try something a little different so I started looking up some beet salad recipes. I found a couple different ones but ended up making my own. Check it out and let me know what you think!



Ingredients (Beets):
15 - Small to Medium Beets, Scrubbed and washed
1 - Tsp Salt
1/2 - Tsp Pepper
1 - Tbsp Olive Oil

Ingredients (Dressing):
1 - Tbsp Dijon Mustard (or regular mustard if you don't have Dijon)
1 - Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 - Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Add beets to an oven safe dish, cover with olive oil, salt and pepper. Tightly cover with tin foil. Place in oven and cook for 60 -75 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce the beets.

Let the beets cool to room temperature or just put them in the fridge over night.

Cut off the bottoms and peel off as much skin as possible. Cut into small piece and put into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl add the mustard, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Whisk together and pour over top of the beets. Mix until the beets are well coated. Top with some chives or green olives and serve as a side.

Bruschetta Bread

I was really surprised that I didn't already have this recipe posted as it's something that I make all the time. Bruschetta Bread is pretty quick appetizer and easy to make.



Ingredients:
3 - Large Tomatoes (Field Tomatoes are better because they aren't as juice)
3 - Tbsp of Balsamic Salad Dressing
1 - Tbsp of Olive Oil
2 - Green Onions (Just the greens)
2 - Cloves of Garlic
1 - Baguette



Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Score the three tomatoes on the bottom.

Put the tomatoes in a steamer, turn it on high and steam for 4 or 5 minutes until the skin starts to loosen. (You don't want to cook them).

While the tomatoes are steaming, cut the Baguette into 1" think pieces, brush olive oil onto one side and place face down on a backing sheet. Bake at 400 for about 6 - 8 minutes or until top start to get a little bit golden brown.

Take out a large bowl, add the balsamic, oil, green onion and garlic.

Mix it all together.

Once the tomatoes skins are starting to peel off, take the pot off the heat and pour cold water over it until cool.

Once the tomatoes have cooled, put them on a cutting board.

Chop them up.

Add the Tomatoes to the mixture and mix together.

At this point the baguettes should be ready. Pull them out and flip over.

Take a large spoonful of the mixture, place it on a baguette and serve. Make sure that you keep the bowl handy because you always need to load on some extra topping :)

Potato and Rice Paddy's with Cocktail Toppings

Continuing on with my LCBO Magazine cook off, I have made these Potato and Rice Paddy's with different Cocktail / Appetizer type toppings on them. It's something a little different instead of using baguette slices or various crackers.

Ingredients:
1 - Cup chicken broth
1/2 - Cup short-grain rice (I used Basmati rice since I didn't have any short-grain)
3 - Small Potatoes
1 - Egg
2 - Cloves of garlic
1/2 - Tsp Salt
1/2 - Tsp Paprika
1/4 - Tsp Pepper
2 - Green onions, chopped
1/2 - Cup of Peanut oil (or vegetable)

Toppings:
Goat Cheese
Fig Spread
Red Chill Spread
Olives
Roasted Garlic (See my tip for roasting Garlic)


Directions:
In a pot bring broth to boil; add rice. Cover and reduce to low heat and cook for 20 minutes. Once cooked, cool to room temperature.



Fill a large bowl (or pot) with water and coarsely grate potatoes directly into the water; set aside, still in water.

Beat egg with fork to combine. Stir in green onion, garlic, salt, paprika and pepper until mixed. (Garlic not shown but I remember to add it just in time!)

 You should have three pots/bowls of ingredients at this point.

Stir egg mixture into rice.

Drain potatoes; place on to a clean tea towel and roll up to further dry, Stir potatoes into rice mixture.

Heat 2 - 3 Tbsp of oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Drop in several heaps of the rice and potato mixture. Shape slightly if needed. Saute for 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Drain on Paper Towel. Keep warm in a 200 Degree oven until you are ready to top.

Get out your toppings and use your imagination!

(Goat Cheese, Green Olives and Roaster Garlic)

(Goat Cheese, Kamado Black Olives and Roaster Garlic)

(Goat Cheese, Red Chili Spread and Roasted Garlic)

(Goat Cheese, Fig Spread and Roasted Garlic)

Because of the timing of these apps, I ended up using them as a side dish for my Rack of Lamb Braised with Cinnamon and Honey

Breakfast Muffin

All my friends know that I look to cook and that I like to try new things. One of the guys I use to work with sent me a link showing this amazing looking Breakfast Muffin and challenge me to make it. Well Sat, this one is for you!



Ingredients:
2 - Tbsp Butter
2 - Slices of Bread
8 - Slices of Bacon
2 - Mushrooms Chopped
4 - Eggs
Salt + Pepper or a Garlic All Spice

Directions:
Cut two rounds out of each slice of bread. They should be just small enough to fit in the bottom of a muffin pan.

Butter a muffin pan and place the bread slices into the bottom of a muffin pan.

Cook up some bacon but not 100% done as it will still go into the oven to finish baking.

Put the bacon around the pan.

Split the mushroom between each muffin (you can add onions, peppers or whatever in here).

Crack an egg on top.

Sprinkle the Garlic All Spice (or salt and pepper) over top.

Put the pan in the oven at 400 Degrees for about 20 minutes.

When I pulled them out at 20 minutes I didn't thing they looked done on top but it was just the way that the egg look while being cooked in the oven.

Pop them out of the pan with a butter knife or fork and enjoy. Next time I would add  Cheese on top because I felt like it needed just a little more flavor.

Here is a side view of it.