Thursday, February 16, 2012

Spicy Cauliflower Au Gratin

Yum
When I look at the photographs for this dish I think "Ho-Hum and Boring".  I wish the photographs would give a better portrayal of what this dish tasted like.  Sometimes taking pictures of food can be so challenging for me and I realize I have so much to learn.   It's simply cauliflower in a spicy cheese sauce covered with some jazzed up cracker crumbs and baked until bubbly... but the photograph looks so flat and so dull to me that I have been holding back from posting it. I finally decided the recipe was worth posting even if my glamor shots are less than appealing.  So excuse the photo, but if you ever find yourself with a cauliflower and don't know what to do with it try this recipe out...it's pretty darn good. :)

 Ingredients:
I large head of cauliflower broken into florets
1 cup of cheddar cheese
1 clove of garlic minced well or grated
red chili flakes to taste
1 tsp of cumin powder
1 cup of milk or half and half
1 Tbs of butter and 1 Tbs of canola oil
2 Tbs of all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
Cracker Topping:
10 butter crackers crushed (I used Ritz)
2 Tbs of Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
1 Tbs of dried parsley

 Directions:
In a large pan heat your butter and oil on medium-high heat.  Add your garlic, chili flakes and cumin powder. Then add your flour. Stir well.




Next add milk, cheddar cheese and salt and pepper. Stir until well melted. Lower heat to medium low and add  cauliflower.  Cook cauliflower until almost fork tender.
 Put all ingredients into a baking dish and top with cracker topping. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  Serve hot.  Enjoy.


 
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21 comments:

  1. Wow! Looks fantastic! I am drooling all over it :)

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  2. oh wow Ramona. This looks delicious! I absolutely love these types of baked cheesy vegetable dishes! Well done!

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  3. Awesome innovative recipe. Its sound interesting..

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  4. Ramona your cauliflower au gratin sounds wonderful and tasty. I have to tell you though I made the curried cauliflower with my cauliflower from my garden and it was fantastic and I got to use the curry leaves. We loved it. I made it a little spicier because I love the heat. Thanks again and have a wonderful day.

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  5. I don't know what you are talking about, this photographs just fine. A great recipe to try out! I really need to start eating more cauliflower.

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  6. very yummy preperation...that too with cauliflower ...lovely

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  7. I have never made cauliflower gratin, adding cumin is a good touch, I usually add nutmeg...the dish looks yummy :-)

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  8. Beautiful photos! This looks absolutely incredible, the exact opposite of ho hum! I love that it's kicked up a notch and i am dying to try it!

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  9. Totally YUMMY

    Aarthi
    http://www.yummytummyaarthi.com/

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  10. oh cauliflower my absolute favorite. Looks fantastic!

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  11. This looks delicious and healthier? Comfort food at it's best :D

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  12. I dunno, Ramona...sounds and looks pretty delish! I have a hard time with food photography, too. How do you make certain foods look sexy? Face it - the good stuff is usually brown, be it chocolate or a steak and they sometimes they are just....there.

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  13. I love cauliflower...it's one of my favorite veggies...and honestly...I'm perfectly content to eat them steamed! But bubbly and cheesy is even better...with a little crunch of crumbs on top! Perfect! I give you guys credit. For me, it's so much easier photographing desserts than food. But you do an amazing job. And I agree with Ann...some foods just will never photograph well (I struggle with bread!) But we know.....they taste just as good! : )

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  14. I love gratin, but never tried with cauliflower and spice yet. That sounds delicious. I need to tone down a bit for the spicy to be mild but I am sure we can enjoy this dish. It's nice and creamy!

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  15. Oh my! This looks wonderful!! Buzzed ya on Foodbuzz for sure!! Yum! Going to make your recipe this weekend!

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  16. Girlfriend, you do not give yourself enough credit. I saw that picture and I wanted to read the post. I love cauliflower and this recipe looks great. So glad you posted it. :)

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  17. That looks good. I made a cauliflower gratin for Thanksgiving, but it didn't turn out so good. Your recipe looks great though!

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  18. Whaaaa?! I think this looks delicious!! I need to try this. I try not to eat a lot of potatoes, but I love au gratin so this would be a great sub!

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  19. Are we looking at the same picture? It looks great especially with all those jazzed up cracker crumbs on top.

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  20. This looks beautiful :) I love au gratin dishes, though spicy varieties are new to me (and I love what I'm discovering!) - I'm bookmarking this one! :)

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  21. Ohhhh, I love gratin anything, particularly cauliflower! Love the idea of adding chili flakes and cumin to it, must be delicious.

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