The UN-Potato - Cauliflower Puree with Greek Yogurt and Chives

Cauliflower tends to be one of those strange vegetables that gets overlooked.  I myself ignore it many times simply because of it's size.  Oh, I see bits and pieces packaged neatly in the grocery store for sale, but they really should be avoided.  The problem is, that once a cauliflower head has been cut up, it begins to degrade rather quickly through oxidation.  Oxidation = Nasty bitter brown cauliflower.   YUCK!  Thus is is that when cooking cauliflower one should always cook an entire intact head.  Which is where the matter of size comes into the picture.  Let's face it, an entire head of cauliflower is a rather large dinner time prospect for a family of less than 6.

But there are times when I must throw caution to the wind and embrace my love of cauliflower, for it must be satiated.  This is one such time.  Just look at that pristine, snow white goodness!

There is a very important consideration to take into account when cooking cauliflower.  Sulfur compounds.  Being a member of the cruciferous family, cauliflower is high in phytonutrients.  In cauliflower's case, some of these break down during the cooking process and form phenylthiocarbamide.  (The particular sulfur compound responsible for the smell" as well as the bitterness that some people taste when eating it.)  I do not taste this bitterness myself, since I am not genetically sensitive to PTC (the same sort condition that causes some to smell" the after effects of Asparagus... It's in the genes)  However, though I cannot "taste" the PTC, I can sure smell it when it's cooking.

This chemical is responsible for another strange phenomenon.  Discoloration.  Thus, one should NEVER cook cauliflower in an Aluminum or Iron pot/pan.  Aluminum react with the PTC and turns cauliflower yellowy brown, while Iron turns cauliflower a sort of sickly bluish-greeny brown.  Totally unappetizing.

One of the cures to reduce the sulfur output is to soak the cauliflower in salt water for 30 minutes before cooking.  This leaches out some, but not all of phytochemicals responsible. In my experience, this seems to work fairly well.  Also, if you are boiling your cauliflower, add 1 cup of milk to the water.  The calcium reduced the sulfur output and sweetens to cauliflower.  If steaming, throw in some walnut shells.  Odd as it sounds, walnut shells absorb sulfur.  (doesn't kitchen science rock?)

OK, science part is over now.....  On with the recipe......

Back in the day... Can I say that?  The Atkins diet was UBER popular, maybe it still is, but I don't know anyone who is currently on it.  So as I was saying... back in the day (8 years ago) there were about 5 people in my office who were religiously following their ketone levels while on the Atkins diet.  For those who don't know, the Atkins diet means death to carbs.  As a pasta lover I find this to be EXTREMELY disconcerting, but that is beside the point.  So while discussing with one of the dieters what they did when they craved mashed potatoes they gave me a recipe for mashed cauliflower.  I tried it, just out of curiosity, and it was all soupy and gross.  Mainly because it called for steamed or boiled cauliflower.  Which made it WAY too watery and thus created a mass of goo when I ran it through the food processor with the cream cheese. 

Now that I am older and wiser, I have come to understand that I should have "roasted" the Cauliflower.  This method produces a much drier curd, thus giving the finished dish more body.  That being said, you can use Greek Yogurt instead of cream cheese and drop the calorie count a little bit.  Add a few chives and you have a very delicious sour cream and chive-esque replacement for mashed potatoes....  even if you aren't on the Atkins diet.  ;)

Greek Yogurt and Chive Cauliflower Mash

1 Cauliflower Head (about 3 lbs)
Olive oil
Kosher Salt
A non-reactive baking dish
Foil
1 cup (8 oz) Greek Yogurt (though this is even better with Crème Fraîche)
White Pepper
optional Chives

Fill a large pot with cold water and add 2-3 TB of Kosher salt and begin removing the leaves from the underside of the cauliflower....

Plunge the cauliflower head (aka: "curd") into the salted water and allow to soak for 30 minutes.

Remove to a plate and allow to drain for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, rub down a ceramic, glass or Corningware dish with olive oil.  (No metal - though Stainless would probably be OK) and begin preheating the oven to 450 degrees.

Cut the curds from the stem and place them in the baking dish.

Drizzle with more Olive oil and season with Kosher Salt.

Cover with Aluminum foil (make sure it's not touching any of the curd pieces or they will discolor) and bake for 20 minutes.

Remove foil and bake an additional 15 - 20 minutes or until tender. (It almost seems a shame to process them up)

Remove the baking dish from the oven and scoop the curds into a food processor or a food mill.

Process or mill until smooth, then add the Greek Yogurt and process to combine.

Season with White Pepper and as many Chives as you want.  :)

Serve with hazelnut crusted chicken and mixed greens. 

Mangia!!
~~

Leapin' Leftovers!! - Gingered Pear Chicken Salad

Chicken Chicken Chicken Chicken.... What to do with left over chicken.  It's a never ending conundrum.  For there always seems to be some left over chicken somewhere in the refrigerator.  My answer is usually Chicken Salad.  (Lots and Lots of Chicken Salad - Cause I eat a lot of Chicken)

I have never really blogged about chicken salad before, cause it's just sort of something that I do and never really think of it as particularly interesting.  I mean, it's just chicken salad after all.  It usually changes depending on what is in the cupboard or in the refrigerator.  It always contains chicken, of course, but the accouterments change all the time.  Isn't that the essence of chicken salad?

THIS time, however, I happened to have all my favorite additions available, so I figured I would go ahead and give the whole thing a whacky whirl and document the deliciousness.

My Favorite Chicken Salad

4 cups (16 oz) Chicken Breast or Thighs, cubed
3 ribs of Celery, diced
1 can of Water Chestnuts, drained and sliced
1 d'Anjou pear, diced
3 Green Onions, sliced thinly
1/2 cup Homemade Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 TB White Wine
3 TB Fresh Ginger, grated fine (I use a microplane zester)
1/2 tsp Dry Mustard Powder

Place the cubed chicken in the bowl.

Add the Celery, Chestnuts, Pear and Green Onions.

In a small bowl, whisk the Mayonnaise, Yogurt, Wine, Ginger and Dry Mustard together to form a smooth dressing.

Pour the ginger/mayonnaise dressing over the bowl full of Chicken and bits.

Toss until everything is well coated.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours.

Serve as you like, on a bed of lettuce.....

or in a sourdough roll, as a sandwich.

Mangia!!
~~

Painless Panna Cotta - Lemon Verbena Panna Cotta

I promised there would be Lemon Verbena recipes. So here is the first one. :)

I absolutely LOVE Panna Cotta (Cooked Cream), which is exactly WHY I don't make it very often. It is positively delicious and creamy without coating your tongue the way Crème Brûlée and Crème Carmel do. Delicious with fresh fruit or coulis as well as chocolate or caramel sauce... It is just plain awesome.

Most recipes for Panna Cotta do not contain yogurt, that is kind of my own spin (after some advice from Mario Batali), in an attempt to richen the flavor of the cream. You see the cows in Italy are different than those in the U.S.. Most of the milk here is the product of the Jersey or the Holstein. While Piemonte (where Panna Cotta hails from) has their own breed known as the Piemontese (go figure)

and their milk tastes very different than that of our American cows (Happy as the California ones may be, their milk still doesn't produce as delicious a Parmegiano as the Piemontese cows do)

Anyway, there really isn't enough yogurt to make the Panna Cotta TASTE like yogurt, the honey covers that up, but it does balance out the flavor and lend a richness to the finished product. But I am starting to ramble... as I am so prone to do.

So without further rumination of babbling... ;)

Lemon Verbena Panna Cotta

2 TB water (for gelatin)
1 1/4 tsp unflavored gelatin or 2 tsp of Agar
1 1/3 cups Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Goat milk Yogurt or Whole-Milk Yogurt (Goat Milk is better, it has a fresher taste)
10 Frozen Lemon Verbena Leaves
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 cup Honey (Orange Blossom if available) or 1/3 cup Sugar

Put 2 TB water in a small glass bowl or Ceramic ramekin and sprinkle gelatin over it and let stand for 10 minutes or until gelatin softens (Blooming).

In a large bowl combine 1/2 cup cream and the yogurt, whisk until smooth. (I use a large 4 cup glass measuring cup with a spout to make pouring the Panna cotta into ramekins easier.)

In a small saucepan set over medium heat, combine the remaining Heavy Cream with Honey, Vanilla and 10 Lemon Verbena Leaves; bring to a simmer while stirring.

Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 10 minutes.

Strain to remove the leaves.

Melt gelatin by placing small bowl in barely simmering water, stir until gelatin becomes clear, then remove bowl from water immediately…. (You do not want your gelatin to get to hot, or it will begin to break down.)

Add the gelatin to the warm Cream/Honey/Verbena mixture and stir well.

Pour the warm cream mixture into the cool yogurt cream mixture and whisk, just until smooth, no more than that or you will interfere with the gelling process that has started.

Quickly divide the mixture among 6 - 4 oz ramekins, or for larger servings of 6 oz use 4 tea cups.

Be careful of the shape if you plan on inverting it later. You will have to be able to run a knife around the sides to release it. (I use smooth sided conical ramekins)

Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

You can serve Panna Cotta right in the ramekins, or invert each ramekin onto a plate.

To invert Panna Cotta, set the ramekins into a pan of hot water for 1 minute.
Run a knife or a small off-set spatula around the edges of ramekins and invert them onto plates. Remove the ramekins.
Serve plain or top the Panna Cotta with a little Lemon Zest, Marsala Nut Sauce, Black Cap Raspberry Coulis (as below),

Strawberries in Black Pepper Balsamic or, as in this case, with Huckleberry sauce

Mangia!!
~~

Summer Days Drifting Away, But Oh... the Potato Salad

Nothin' tastes better, on those hot Summer days, when the grill is fired up, than the cool creaminess of potato salad. It's just summer incarnate. Sadly, yesterday was the last day of summer and, much to my chagrin, I realized that I have not made a single potato salad. How was this possible? I have absolutely NO idea. It must have something to do with Mercury being in retrograde or some other cosmic force that has kept me from realizing, and making, this harbinger of "fun in the sun". So I decide that it was time, even though it is technically Autumn now, to whip up my favorite potato salad.

I really DO love this salad... The Vons/Safeway deli use to carry something similar. In fact, when I came up with this, I was originally trying to duplicate their recipe, cause it had been discontinued. Caution.... If you don't like dill, you ain't gonna like this, cause it's gotta lotta dill in it. You might even say, it's a "dilly" of a potato salad. HAR D HAR HAR...

Dilled Potato Salad

4 lbs small Red Potatoes
3/4 Cup Scallions, sliced (although this is even better with minced Red Onion)
1 1/2 TB Olive Oil
6 TB fresh Dill, minced
1 1/2 TB Red Wine Vinegar
3/4 Cup Aioli (Sauce Aioli)
3/4 Cup Greek Yogurt
3/4 tsp Dijon Mustard
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1 1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces and cook until tender.

Drain and chill before continuing.

Make Aioli while potatoes are chilling. (which I actually did yesterday)

Mince onion and toss with potatoes, dill and olive oil.

In a small bowl mix Vinegar, Aioli, Yogurt, Dijon, Lemon Zest, Salt, and Pepper.

Pour over potato mixture and toss.

Chill 4 hours then devour directly from the bowl with a BIG spoon. ;)

Mangia!!
~~