A BLOG BREAK - MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CREAMY CAULIFLOWER AU GRATIN

Hello Dear Friends, it has been a while but I am taking a blog break. I hope to be back in a couple weeks.

My photos for this recipe didn’t turn out very well. At the end of the cooking time I decided to put it under the broiler to give it a nice golden brown color.  Unfortunately, I got distracted and forgot!  It wasn’t too long past what I intended but it got a bit burnt in parts, which I tried to rescue by scraping said burnt bits off the top. Fortunately it didn’t detract from the taste and was actually a delicious tasting recipe.  But!!! I must remember to ‘babysit’ next time, and not leave it to fend for itself. Even with all this being said, we gave it a 10 out of 10.

The recipe comes from Laughing Spatula hosted by Kathi and Rachel. It is an Ina Garten recipe and they increased the amount of cheese sauce and cauliflower for a bigger casserole.You can see theirs at this link. Their recipe index can be found here. Ina's recipe is at the Food Network website here. I always recommend going to the food blog where I find my recipes. Always fun to look through them for others and also to see the great photos for this one, plus the tips. Also suggestions as to what main course would go well as an accompaniment.

Creamy Cauliflower Au Gratin

Servings: 8

Calories:  268 per serving

8 cups cauliflower florets about 3 pounds

4 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup flour

3 cups milk 2 percent or whole

1 cup Gruyere cheese, grated Swiss is a great substitute

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

For Topping:

1/2 cup panko crumbs regular bread crumbs would work too

1/3 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Separate cauliflower into florets and either steam for 5 minutes or boil in large pot of water for 5 minutes, until just barely tender. Drain and set aside.

In sauce pan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Add 1/3 cup of flour and whisk until smooth and mixture is bubbling.

Add milk and continue to stir until thickened. Add one cup of gruyere cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir until melted. Sauce should cover the back of a spoon.

Pour 1/3 of the sauce into an au gratin baking dish or baking dish about that same size.We used a 9 x 13 inch baking dish but a10 x 10 was suggested. If using the 9 x 13 the casserole will be a bit thinner.

Place partly cooked cauliflower on top. Sprinkle with salt.

Pour remaining sauce on top of second layer of cauliflower.

For Topping: combine melted butter, gruyere and bread crumbs in small bowl. Sprinkle on top of cauliflower.

Bake for 30 minutes or until top is crispy and cauliflower is tender.

Notes

Substitute swiss cheese or any other big flavored cheese in place of gruyere.

Do not use fat free milk. Whole milk is best.  2% in a pinch. (Denise: I always use 2% and it still tastes creamy enough for us.)

Par cook the cauliflower until just barely fork tender, careful not to over cook.

 

Some of the comments asked at the end of the recipe I found interesting. 

1) Can you use coconut milk.The answer was yes, it would thicken up just like regular milk.

2) Can you make the day before and reheat? Yes and for best results assemble, cover and refrigerate, then bake next day if possible.

3) Can you use frozen cauliflower or would that be too mushy? That answer was yes, it would be mushy, but still delicious, only with more of a mashed potato consistency.

4) One commenter's store didn't have Gruyère cheese, so they used a good quality sharp Cheddar cheese. Also they were only cooking for one so used 1/2 the measurements. She loved the recipe. (Denise’s note: the only cheese I ever used before Gruyère was Cheddar. Always delicious! I did enjoy the creamy taste of the Gruyère however.)

This is a recipe I remember making at school in my Domestic Science Class. I took it home afterwards for my family, and happy to say it was a big success. It became a regular one from then on and my dear mother was very happy as it was the start of me helping her with making dinners. She appreciated the extra hands.

Laughing Spatula's website for this recipe can be found here:

https://laughingspatula.com/creamy-cauliflower-au-gratin/

Ina Garten's recipe can be found at Food Network here:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/cauliflower-gratin-recipe-1917463

Blog hostess note: Would pair great with a baked ham or a roast chicken!  

Denise’s note: My protein part of the meal was already cooked and frozen lobster cakes from Trader Joe. There were two in one package, one for each of us, and at first my dear other half wasn’t too keen. I wasn’t so sure either but wanted to try one time for something special, but easy, on Memorial Day. (It was just the two of us.) However, as they were small cakes, I persuaded him to try at least one time. I was very happy when he said he enjoyed them so much, that he would definitely have them again.

An already cooked rotisserie chicken from your favorite supermarket would be a wonderful and easy addition, not to mention a faster prep time in the kitchen. In fact, for the second night’s meal, we bought one from CostCo.  We always enjoy theirs.  

I added a mixed green salad.  

Instead of using store-bought panko crumbs, I had a large-ish heel of sourdough bread left, broke it into pieces and put into a blender. I whirled it long enough to make into breadcrumbs, and followed the recipe from there.

There were leftovers for two more meals. At dinner the next day it tasted even better. We still had leftovers after the second time, smaller portions this time for a light snack.

Blog host’s final note: You want the cauliflower just slightly fork tender. Careful not to over cook so you don’t have cauliflower mush casserole. Would still taste good…just mushy.

MONDAY RECIPE POST - OVEN-ROASTED PORK LOIN WITH HERBS

We have made a couple of old favorites this week, Chicken and Dumplings and Cheesy Cheddar Chowder.  If you click on their names, I have provided a link to each recipe.  There were leftovers and we ate each dish for two or three days.  Therefore, I didn't make a new recipe for today, but found an old menu to share from my old blog.  

Oven-Roasted Pork Loin with Herbs

I found this recipe at "Best Recipe Box" in October 2013. Unfortunately, when I did a search for the link I used originally, there wasn’t one.  I found the blog but not the recipe.  There were other pork recipes available but not this one, unless I missed it somehow.

Oven Roast Pork Loin Roast with Herbs - serves 4 to 6

Times may vary depending on your oven temperatures. A meat thermometer put in the thickest part of the meat should reach 145 degrees F.  Your roast should be done but the suggestion was not to go past 145 as the roast will start to get rather dry.

2 pounds pork loin roast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon dried herb mix (basil, oregano and/or thyme)
Kosher or sea salt, to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

3 medium to large potatoes, peeled, cut into large pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

(Add potatoes to a saucepan, lightly salt and bring water to a boil.  Par-boil for at least 10 minutes.  Drain and surround the pork roast with the potatoes.  Add them the last hour of cooking and turn half-way.  Baste with the pan juices at the same time as you baste the meat. They had a lovely flavor.)

Rinse and pat dry pork loin and then season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large oven-safe skillet on medium-high heat.

Add oil and heat for about 1 minute.

Sear the pork loin on all sides until a crust forms, about 1 minute per side.

Remove pork loin from the pan and set aside.

In the same hot pan add the butter, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and mustard.

Stir and cook the sauce until the butter is completely melted, then remove from heat.

Coat the pork loin with your mixture of dried herbs by patting all over the pork roast.  

Place the pork back into the skillet (along with the potatoes) and spoon sauce over the pork loin and the potatoes.

Cover with foil and transfer to the oven for 30 minutes.  

Remove the foil, spoon some more sauce over pork and potatoes, turning the potatoes at the same time so that they are well coated.  Cook for about another 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of pork reaches 145 degrees.

Remove from the oven and cover with foil to keep warm.  Let rest for about 15 minutes.

Slice thin and serve hot.

We enjoyed this very much and there were leftovers.  The next night we had it again.  There were a few potatoes left over also but we sauteed them in the morning and had them as part of our breakfast.  To replace them for our evening meal I made cauliflower cheese, which I served with the peas, also left over, and the pork roast. 

To me, Cauliflower Cheese is very much a nostalgia food from childhood. I have my own recipe but am always looking to trying something new. I found the recipe at Smitten Kitchen.  Fortunately the link still works and you can see the original recipe here.  It was very close to my Mother's recipe and my dear other half enjoyed it very much also.

Cauliflower Cheese - makes 4 side dishes

1 medium head (about 2 to 2-1/4 pounds) cauliflower
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons mustard powder
Salt to taste
Freshly ground pepper
2 cups milk (I used low-fat and this dish still tasted very creamy)
1-1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons extra sharp, grated cheddar cheese

Parsley for garnish, chopped

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Trim the cauliflower and remove the core. Cut into 1 to 2 inch florets.

Steam in a saucepan for about ten minutes, or par-boil six to seven minutes until firm but tender.

Drain thoroughly to get rid of as much moister off the cauliflower as possible. Put it into the casserole that you are using to put in the oven and set aside. The casserole should be a 2-quart oven-proof baking dish.

Meanwhile in a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium-high heat.

Add the flour and whisk to combine; cook for 1 minute while stirring. You want to get rid of that uncooked flour taste.

Add mustard powder and a pinch of black pepper, stir to combine.

Drizzle milk in a little at a time, whisking gently to get rid of any lumps. Keep adding a little at a time and repeat whisking until all the milk is in the pan and the sauce is smooth.  

Season with salt and bring mixture to the point where you can see a bubble or two on the surface, but don't bring to a rolling boil.  Keep stirring so as not to burn the bottom of the sauce.  If it seems to be sticking at the bottom of the pan, turn it down a little and keep stirring. The mixture should be thickening by now.

Stir in 1-1/4 cups of cheese, a handful at a time. Wait for the cheese to melt before you add the next handful.  It won't take long.

Taste carefully and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Spoon the sauce over the cauliflower and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons cheese.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until there is a nice golden brown on top of your Cauliflower Cheese.  I sometimes turn the broiler on for the last couple of minutes, but watch it very carefully so that it doesn't burn.

What did we think of this menu?  Delicious!  Both the Pork roast and the Cauliflower Cheese recipes will be used again.  My thanks to Best Recipe Box and to Smitten Kitten for two great dishes.  

I used sage and thyme for my herb mix for the roast.

I also line the roasting pan with heavy foil.  This makes clean up a snap.

The second night was just as delicious as the first.

The Cauliflower Cheese and the peas were a perfect accompaniment to the roast and we didn't miss the potatoes.

We have yet more leftovers, enough pork for sandwiches for lunch and the Cauliflower Cheese will make a nice light supper.

Thanks for looking, enjoy your day and...