White Cheddar Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

Before we get to this, let me introduce you to Annikki (pronounced "Ah-nick-eye").

You all know her best as "La Grande Diva," my precociously picky child (who, at the writing of this blog post is 14 years-old).

The story of how this side dish came to be has everything to do with her. You see, she's a "meat-and-potatoes" kind of kid so naturally, many of the dishes I present to you guys don't go over so well with her (she even hates Taco Casserole, if you can believe it).

But she's generally a good sport about trying things and when she's forced to eat vegetables she does not like (except peas, wherein she tries to fake anaphylaxis). All this is to say that because she is such a good sport, every once in a while I make a dinner that she likes, simply because it's what she likes. Last night's dinner was one such occasion.

The menu:

• Grilled steak (she covets steak but I rarely buy it, both because I have trouble eating it and because of my inherent distrust of the contents of most beef)
• Roasted red potatoes (for anyone who deeply  misses pictures of potatoes, I put one down yonder)
• Cheesy Cauliflower Mash: White Cheddar edition (great mac 'n cheese swap, by the way!)

It is that last that we will focus on today! This recipe is a bit different from my Four Cheese Mashed Cauliflower recipe, not only in its recipes but also in how I prepared it. So let's get started, shall we?

Before we get to the sauce, you should put a pot of water on to boil your cauliflower. I use bagged frozen for convenience but you can use fresh if you like (I recommend cutting it into florets before you begin).

Also preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Nik's Awesome Cheese Sauce

This iteration of Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower begins with cheese sauce. Have you all ever made cheese sauce? It's dreamy. It also tends to be carby and fatty but you can exert some control over both of those things with a few simple swaps. Here's the basic recipe to the sauce you see here.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter or butter substitute (I admit I used Blue Bonnet Light, which has half the calories of butter. You do what you think is best!)
• 2 tbsp. of flour of some sort (I used some of my last bag of now discontinued - sniff, sniff - Atkins Baking Mix that I re-sifted to get it to a super-fine texture but I imagine soy flour would do well here. Perhaps almond flour although I'm not sure what that'd do with the taste.)
• 1.5 c. cold milk (I used skim. Again, your choice!)
• 1.5 c. + 1/3 c. shredded white cheddar cheese (You can do reduced fat if you want. I did not.)
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (just because I like the taste of it! It's optional.)
• Any spices you like (I generally add garlic powder, a dash of salt, fresh ground black pepper and a "splick" of cayenne)

Directions:

Set a small pot over medium heat and let it get hot (about 3-ish mintues). Add butter and melt.

Add flour and stir until flour has absorbed the butter. It will look kind of like Play-Doh.

(This next part is tricky so if you have a better way, use it!)

With one hand, pour the milk into the pot. Be sure it is COLD! With the other hand, whisk the flour/butter mixture in. There may still be some flour bits floating around. Theoretically this shouldn't happen if the milk is cold and the flour/butter combo is hot but if it does you can fish them out with a slotted spoon.

Let this mixture come to a simmer, then add your white cheddar cheese (the 1.5 cups), Parmesan cheese and seasonings. Stir with a long wooden spoon until it thickens, usually about 2-3 minutes. If you're ready to mix it with your cauliflower (or chosen "thing"), do so. If not, keep the sauce going on low until you're ready to use it.

Now let's get back to that cauliflower.

At this point your water should be boiling. If you use frozen cauliflower, dump it in there and let the whole thing return to a boil. It cooks pretty fast (about 5 minutes or so). If you're using fresh add that and cook until very tender (about 7-8 minutes) for fresh.

Once your cauliflower is cooked, drain it and then mash it by whatever means you have available (I use a potato masher). 

Mix the cheese sauce into the cauliflower in the pot and then empty it into a casserole dish (I used an 8 x 8 Pyrex dish). Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of cheese on top and add any other spices you like to the top (I usually do salt, pepper and a sprinkle of Herbs de Provence) and bake it for 30 minutes or until it is bubbling and the top is slightly browned.

Yep...my child loved her dinner. Oh yeah, here are the red potatoes in case anyone is interested. 

Yes, I had a few. Potatoes are not the enemy for me!