Cauliflower “Mac” & Cheese

I’ve been on a bit of a cooking streak lately.  I guess it’s because the weather has been “bad” and we’re trying to save money and eat better in the new year.  During the week my fiance Chris and I try to stick to a low-carb diet, so sometimes that takes a little creative meal planning, especially since I crave noodles, in one form or another, almost every day.  On Friday I was really looking for some delicious comfort food and decided to give this recipe from Food Network a try.

Ingredients

Ingredients

• Kosher salt, as needed, plus 1/2 teaspoon
• 1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• Vegetable oil spray *I used olive oil spray
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard *I used Dijonaise, which turned out great
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar, plus 1/2 cup for topping the casserole*I added a little extra sprinkle on top
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• Equipment: 8 by 8-inch baking dish

As usual, I didn’t exactly measure the garlic powder, salt, pepper and Dijonaise.  I’m a big fan of eye-balling non-essential measurements based on my own tastes and altering if necessary.

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large pot of water, seasoned with salt, to a boil.

Next, coat the baking dish with olive oil spray.

Cook the cauliflower in the boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well and pat between several layers of paper towels to dry. Transfer the cauliflower to the baking dish and set aside.

Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan, and whisk in the cream cheese and mustard until smooth. Stir in 1 cup of the cheese, salt, pepper and garlic and whisk just until the cheese melts, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, pour over the cauliflower, and stir to combine. I couldn’t resist tasting the delicious cheese sauce mixture during this step.  Yum!

Finally, top with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese (plus a little more if you want) and bake until browned and bubbly hot.  The recipe suggests baking for 15 minutes, though it took mine a little longer to get brown on top.

Cauliflower "Mac" & Cheese: Final Product

While you might want to dive immediately into this cheesy goodness, give it at least a few minutes to cool.  We were a little over-eager in this household and ended up with burned tongues.  Ouch.

We paired this with a ham steak for dinner, but it’s a great side with just about anything, or you could even serve it as a quick main dish.

And a close up on that gooey cheesy goodness

And now I think I’ll go eat the leftovers…