Cauliflower Casserole

I don't care that I stripped the nutrients from this lovely winter vegetable and ground them into the dirt ... really. This stuff is just too good for me to care. Besides, I'm sure there's something left there in the peppers. Or not.

Cauliflower Casserole
Printable Recipe

1 large head cauliflower
1/2 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Break cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and cook in boiling salted water for 5 minutes. Mix peppers, cheeses, sour cream and salt together well. Fold in drained cauliflower and 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs until well blended. Turn into a greased 2 quart baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown.

Try not to eat the whole thing youself, it should serve 4-6 people.

Veggie Wednesday: Festa Italiana!

Lasagna Rolls on Sauce Béchamel

Marie of Proud Italian Cook and Maryann of Finding La Dolce Vita are hosting a new food event called Festa Italiana and this is my entry, which serves two purposes this week. It's meatless, so it's a great dish for Veggie Wednesday, and it's one of my favorite Italian dishes, so it's perfect for Festa Italiana!


You may notice there is no garlic in this recipe - it's not really necessary with the garlic that is in the marinara and you really want to be able to detect the nutmeg in the Béchamel. Add it if you like, though, it certainly wouldn't hurt!


Lasagna Rolls on Sauce Béchamel
Printable Recipe

Sauce Béchamel (a.k.a. white sauce):

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk (use whole milk)
salt and pepper to taste
freshly ground nutmeg - a pinch or so

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan and add flour. Stir together and add milk (at room temp.), stirring over a medium flame until thickened. Pour into a greased 9x13 baking pan - I used a 10" round cake pan, anything that will hold them will do.

Rolls:

1- 15-oz container ricotta cheese
1 cup broccoli florets, cooked until crisp-tender and chopped fine
1 small carrot, peeled and grated - about 1/2 cup
1/2 large red pepper - diced fine - about 1/2 cup
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 large egg lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 cooked lasagna noodles
1 cup tomato, spaghetti or marinara sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix ricotta, egg and Parmesan well. Fold in vegetables. Lay out lasagna noodles and spoon filling onto each-spreading to the ends. Roll up and place in the sauced pan making sure the seam is facing down.

Top each roll with marinara and mozzarella. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly. Stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with Béchamel sauce under each roll.


Filling spread on the noodle.

Set into the Béchamel sauce.

Topped with marinara and mozzarella.


Done!

A Needed Break

Sometimes this is all I have the energy to make - is that really so bad?

Let's Put This to Rest, Finally

Way back in January of 2006 we started playing a game based on the cooking show, Ready, Set, Cook! . We played for quite some time and had a LOT of fun.

I think it's time to quit, though and I'm going to refer you instead to The Leftover Queen, Jen, and her Royal Foodie Joust, which was started in June of 2007. They have a lot of fun there, too and she gets far more entries than I. It's basically the same premise, except that you really have to make something for the Royal Foodie Joust, where my R,S,C could be virtual or real.

At any rate, I'm busy, busy, busy and may throw in a game from time-to-time just for kicks.

Sunday Dinner

"Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat.
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything."
Child's Mealtime Prayer

• Breaded Pork Filets
• Risotto
• Broccoli with Orange Gremolata
• Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Is that Risotto you see listed there? Why, yes - it is! It's not really as difficult to make as anyone thinks, and so delicious I couldn't think of a better way to spend half and hour at the stove. This is one of those classic dishes I've wanted to share the preparation of for some time anyway. No time like the present.
The Gremolata is most often made with lemon zest, but I was missing lemons today so I subbed orange zest. It was perfect.

First, here are the pork filets.


One 1/2" thick boneless pork chop, trimmed of fat.

The "stick" I beat the pork with (a.k.a. Grandma's rolling pin).

The beaten pork. Strike from the center outward in a steady motion until the pork is 1/4" thin.


After rubbing the pork with the a garlic clove cut in half, sprinkle with Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Rub this in to the surface of the pork.

I don't like a heavy standard breading - flour, egg, crumbs - so I just pat fresh bread crumbs into both sides of the pork. It's light and crispy at the edges without being heavy in the center.

Frying in hot oil - about 3 minutes per side.

Flipped to the other side. Once all the filets are fried, place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and finish in the oven at 300 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes.

A finished filet.

This is the Risotto:
Arborio rice. See how pretty it is? Arborio is rounder than usual long-grain rice. Do NOT rinse the rice before cooking. All that starch is what makes it creamy.

Half a small onion diced fine and cooked in olive oil - 4T - until translucent.

The rice (1 lb. about 1 1/2 cups) added to the oil and onion and lightly toasted.

Add HOT stock - you will need 6 to 8 cups - a cup at a time to the rice. Stir until the stock is absorbed. Add, a cup at a time, until you have added 6 cups. This takes about 15 minutes over a medium flame with almost constant stirring. Once you hit this point, try the rice to see if it's done. It should be al dente and not crunchy in the center.

This is the stock absorbed about halfway - 4 cups in. The finished Risotto disappeared before I had the chance to photograph it! Finish the Risotto with 2 tablespoons of butter and about 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan if you like.
The cake. A simple Wacky Cake with peanut butter icing. 1/2 stick of butter, 1 cup of creamy peanut butter, 1 t vanilla extract and 1 cup of powdered sugar. I have several here who don't like lots of icing so I go light. The center of these two mammoth cakes (gorgeous 10" pans I got for Christmas) was nothing but peanut butter spread in between.