Sometimes simple recipes rock

[mandru]

At parties I'll eat Broccoli raw with a savory dip however I'm not a fan of the bitter compounds in it that become more evident once it's cooked.

That said I actively pursue its much milder sister vegetable Cauliflower.  Because of that we recently discovered a new easy to fix favorite side dish.

Mash an even amount of cooked potatoes into tender steamed cauliflower, add a measure of butter (to taste and to enrich it a bit), and then thoroughly stir in a fair portion of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.  Once you're plated drizzle with your favorite olive oil or if you have another preferred oil that should w0#k as well.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Me, I'd go for bacon grease instead of an oil and have a fair portion of crumbled bacon whipped into the mash.  Sometime I'd also like to try placing the mash into a baking dish and Ala Au Gratin add a topping of finely crumbled Sour Cream and Onion potato chips and maybe a bit more Gorgonzola to tie the topping down.

But (sigh...  ) Mrs. mandru is my dietary conscience. 


On another note.

Though we haven't had a chance to try it yet Mrs. mandru recently purchased a Sous-vide unit that doesn't eat up a huge amount of our minimal kitchen counter space.  While seeking a Sous-vide prior to the unit she bought every unit she could find (at a comparable price) all required an App that had to be added to a cell phone to even function. 

That kind of privacy intrusion was a total deal killer for us.  So after her long search this unit was a good find and I'm looking forward to trying this out.

[Art Blade]

anything that requires an app is out of the question for me, too. Kitchen stuff with apps, geez..

I like raw broccoli dipped in Balsamico

If you're into vitamins, anything cooked loses them which is why salads are much better.

[fragger]

The cauliflower dish sounds yummy, mandru I love cauliflower but it has to be cooked just right - not too crunchy and not too squishy. Sometimes I get it right, usually I err on one side or the other. I'm not a master of the cauli.

Your creation reminds me of a sour cream cauliflower bake my Mum does for which I've been meaning to nick her recipe but keep forgetting to. I don't know what she puts in it (it's whole cauli pieces with a slightly seared, sour cream-based substance over the top, like white sauce but not white sauce), but she could serve it up just by itself and I'd still make a pig of myself with it.

Geez, cooking devices which require apps to w0#k? What's the flipping world coming to... If the day ever comes when I can't have my humble toast and Vegemite in the morning without an iPhone being involved, I'm going to resign from civilization and go live in a cave.

[Art Blade]

I'd like to specify: a cave next to a brewery, a cheese dairy, a baker's and a butcher's shop.

[PZ]

Sounds quite tasty, especially with the bacon 

I've taken to roasting cookie sheets full of a blend of veggies, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, Brussels sprouts each cut to a size idea to roast them all together and be done at the same time. While I'm cutting the veggies, I will already have sliced brown mushrooms and diced bacon. After rendering the bacon for a while, the mushroom slices are thrown in, and sauteed until the bacon is almost 3/4 done.

Once the cut veggies are spread out on a cookie sheet, the mushroom, bacon bits, bacon oil is drizzled over all the veggies, then the whole mixture kind of tossed to coat and spread out everything evenly. Finishing with seasoned salt, into a 375F oven they go until the Broccoli and cauliflower are just barely showing browned edges. The veggies are perfectly textures, and taste great with the bacon and mushrooms. Plus the roasting intensifies the flavors of the veggies in a very pleasant way.

Sometimes I'll make homemade blue cheese dressing to use as a dip for the veggies, or simply sprinkle the veggies with sharp cheddar cheese just before baking.

This is a great way for me to get myself to eat veggies. Mostly veggies are typically not organics that I like entering my mouth, but these are delicious. 

[nex]

I've taken to roasting cookie sheets full of a blend of veggies, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, Brussels sprouts

Just a question, do you guys perhaps have long ears, maybe.............. 

[PZ]

 

My wife makes me eat those things, and I've done so long enough so that I like them purely a brainwashing scheme on her part 

[nex]

mrs nex's tried that stunt on me also, my reaction was a blank_face_me_no_unnerstan_inglish.................. 

[Art Blade]

  +

[Dweller_Benthos]

I get that too, when I'm at a BBQ with friends or something and they (meaning one of my friend's wives) cooks up some veggies in some way and says "Oh I added XYZ spices and stuff, you'll like it" and then I try it and say, "yeah it's OK, for veggies, but I'd rather have steak"

[Art Blade]

I'm pretty much the same

However, sometimes I feel like eating something "green" which is likely my body telling me it's running low on certain resources. I'll have a salad, feel good, and keep going without for the next couple of weeks.

[PZ]

My wife just started a new d!et in which she cannot have any carbohydrates, but any meat, fish, or fat. She would like me to join her, and I will appreciate the new meat d!et, but I'll still need to finish off our existing breads, cheeses, and alcohols so they won't go to waste. 

[Art Blade]

 

[nex]

You'll have to hide it in the workshop PZ   

[fragger]

Well PZ, you gotta do what you gotta do