When I first started living on my own and cooking for myself, I attempted to make grocery lists and stick to them. Because I’m someone who can’t pass up a bargain, I always managed to leave the store with more items than originally intended. I’ve tried to break myself of the habit of buying up every grocery item in sight that has a “manager mark-down” sticker on it…but sometimes I still end up bringing things home that weren’t on my list. A few weeks ago, the extra item du jour was cauliflower. Kroger had these big bags of it marked way down and I couldn’t pass it up. Of course I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but no matter.
After a couple of days in the fridge, I knew time was running out and I ran across a recipe in Southern Living that seemed perfect for my bounty. Brown Butter Cauliflower Mash. Let me just say that when the whole low-carb craze really started, I first encountered the concept of mashed cauliflower at this local restaurant…as a substitute for mashed potatoes. Ok, seriously? I love cauliflower and it’s perfectly good mashed. But creamed (that’s what my family calls them) potatoes it. is. not. Do not try to substitute one for the other.
Anyway, if you stumbled upon some marked-down cauliflower or just want to try this dish, here’s what I did.
- Steam cauliflower (I used a glass bowl in the microwave with a plate on top) and drain most of the water
- Mash it well
- Here is where I put mine in the freezer, but don’t do this if you plan on eating it right away
- Stir in a few pats of butter and 2 T of cream cheese.
- Add salt & pepper and chives
It’s an easy and yummy recipe that incorporates a healthy veggie (yay fiber!) into your diet. The real recipe comes from here and is more involved than my version, but I’m sure also tasty. As I’m writing this, I realized that there was a lot of it remaining after dinner last night, leading me to believe that the southern beau wasn’t a fan…oh well, it tasted good to me. Just don’t try to pretend you are eating potatoes because then you’ll be disappointed.
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