cauliflower -

by Emily

Roasted Pork Loin over Pumpkin Risotto

Tis the season to impress your friends with your culinary prowess at a holiday dinner party. Enter… Smithfield Marinated Fresh Pork! I kid you not, I made the BEST meal the other night and all my guests raved about it, but it was secretly was easier than it looked, thanks to this pork tenderloin.

I’d been craving risotto (which is truly way easier to make from scratch than it sounds, don’t be scared!) but I wanted some protein to round out the meal. This bacon-encrusted pork tenderloin was the perfect companion to the slightly sweet, rich risotto – and because it was preseasoned all I had to do was put the tenderloin in the oven, then take it out and slice it when it was done, throw it on top of the homemade risotto, and enjoy my masterpiece. Talk about elevated comfort food at its finest!

The other star of the show? That gorgeous purple cauliflower, which added such a beautiful pop of color alongside the pink pork, green beans, and orange risotto. But if you can’t find rainbow cauliflower at your local grocery store, of course regular ol’ white cauliflower will taste just as good.

Roasted Pork Loin over Pumpkin Risotto

by Emily

Super Bowl Snack Zone: Baked Buffalo Cauliflower

One of our favorite eating holidays of the year is here! Well, almost here. The Super Bowl is THIS SUNDAY! If you’re a dedicated snacker like the rest of the ES team, you’ve probably been making some extreme Super Bowl party eating plans, so I respect the fact that your football food may already be decided. But but BUT! You should make a little bit of time to include this buffalo cauliflower in your Sunday Funday.

I’m not telling you to make this recipe because it’s healthy, I’m telling you to make it because it’s GOOD. So good it could replace the wings in your menu. There, I said it. I think the trick to making this particular kind of buffalo cauliflower especially amazing is the double-baking method. You coat the cauliflower bake it once, baste it in delicious sauce, then bake it again to seal in the flavor and texture. The result? Seriously binge-able finger food that everyone will be raving about the whole game. Trust me on this one.

**Note: these cauliflower bites are pictured with another absolutely delicious football app we recently made: baked almond chicken nuggets. I can’t claim any credit for the chicken recipe, but those lil’ guys are perfect for serving alongside your cauliflower and I highly recommend adding them to your snack spread as well!

Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites

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by Emily

Everything’s Better with Butter

Mmmm… butter. Every cook knows that adding a bit of fat to a dish makes it fuller and more satisfying, and sure butter’s not exactly a health food, but as long as you use it wisely, I think you’re okay. It also depends on the type of butter you use. All butter is not created equal. For example, European butter. Thanks to the fact that it’s churned longer, it has a slightly higher fat content than your average stick of American butter. Sometimes it can be a bit of a hunt to find this rich, ultra-flavorful butter in your average grocery store, but recently Land O’ Lakes caught onto the trend and now they’re starting to offer European sweet cream butter as part of their product line. I’m down with it.

Since European butter is so rich and flavorful, it’s the perfect fat to use when you’re cooking something simple and you just want that touch of luxury. Case in point, this cauliflower recipe from LOL (haha – Land O’ Lakes – do you think they call themselves LOL? Probably not. lol!), you really don’t need much besides the vegetable, the butter, and a few seasonings. Butter!

Cauliflower with Nutmeg Butter

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by Emily

Comfort Food Extravaganza: Cauliflower-Pumpkin-Ricotta Gratin

It’s that time of year again…daylight savings is totally messing with my body and making me crave warm, rich comfort food as soon as I drag my sorry butt home from work. I can’t help it, when it gets dark outside at five pm I just go into hibernation mode, aka sweatpants and cheesy food in front of the TV mode. Fortunately I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve when it comes to fall and winter comfort foods so I don’t actually pack on as much weight as a slumbering bear.

For example, cauliflower! It’s such a versatile vegetable. Use it in place of white, starchy carbs like pasta or potatoes and you have a super indulgent and cozy yet much healthier meal. When I was grocery shopping at Central Market last weekend I found some beautiful orange cauliflower on sale (the color is so fun! And it means that the cauliflower is especially high in beta-carotene, the same reasons carrots have that great orange color). I knew I had to do something with it…then orange made me think of pumpkin…I still had some pumpkin puree and ricotta left over from the pumpkin lasagna I made last week… BAM. This recipe was born. It’s way quicker and easier to make than your traditional gratin (which are traditionally creamy dishes topped with browned cheese), not to mention way healthier. And it’s totally creamy and satisfying! You won’t regret this one.

Cauliflower-Pumpkin-Ricotta Gratin

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by hungry monster

Putting it all on There: Cauliflower Crust Pizza with BBQ Shrimp and Veggies

I don’t think I had my head on straight when I grocery shopped this week. The fridge, freezer and pantry are stocked with the most random ingredients. It’s really working my culinary brain, that’s for sure.

Well, I decided I wanted to use certain things for last night’s dinner and this is what came out of it. Random, but packed with nutrients and deliciousness. I just simply couldn’t NOT share this with you!

This is a light option to satisfy pizza cravings without packing on the pounds, but I also made a Shrimp Poboy Pizza, if you want something a bit more indulgent.

BBQ Shrimp & Veggie Pizza with Cauliflower Crust

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by Miss K

This One’s for the Ladies (at Least in My House)

My husband is about the most un-picky eater I know. While I happily eat down the fridge with alarming regularity (seriously, that and my, um, screw-ups are basically all I write about around here), he has truly mastered the art of eating what’s on hand. No croutons for the salad? Crushed up off-brand-Ritz will work just fine. All out of good cheese? Toss him a well-aged Kraft Single. In five years of marriage, he has enjoyed and endured my culinary successes and failures with an abundance of grace.

So, on the rare occasion that he expresses distaste for a certain food, I typically have no qualms about taking it out of rotation. Usually.

But then, a month or so ago, I made this cauliflower curry and I knew as soon as I tasted it that I had a winner. Something about the combo of coconut oil (not milk, like my usual curries) and red curry paste and cauliflower just worked. I loved it. After dinner that night, though, the pronouncement came. “You know, this wasn’t bad. But, well, cauliflower, it’s just not my favorite.” In husband-speak, “not my favorite” is the kiss of death to a dish. I was sad.

This story has happy ending, though. In the following weeks, I looked for any opportunity to make my new favorite dish for others. Fortunately, not all my friends feel as negatively toward cauliflower as that BFF who shares my bed. My vegan friend Katie appreciated the animal-free heartiness. My friend Kate (yes, all my friends really have the same name) declared it delicious, spicy but not too spicy, after warning me that she probably wouldn’t like it because she doesn’t like a lot of things. It’s my new go-to for any night my darling cauliflower-hater has to work late or is otherwise indisposed at the dinner hour, and I don’t have to feel guilty for making his favorite on a night he’s not home.

Oh, and just case you were wondering, what culinary delicacy does he and my son turn to when I am not home for dinner? Why, frozen pizza, of course. Or, if that’s not available, maybe some Ritz crackers with Kraft singles.

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by hungry monster

April Fools: TOT-ally Delicious Cauliflower Tots

Well, April Fools’ Day is around the corner. Does anyone have any tricks or pranks in mind to pull on your loved ones?

I wish I did, but I am notoriously bad at pranks. Even something as simple as saying something is true when it’s not sends me into a fit of childish giggles. I also cannot keep a secret, so if I’m planning on pranking you, I’ll probably spill the beans way before it happens.

It’s sad, really.

I’m a grown woman. You would think I could keep a straight face for a little white lie…but no.

So, I’m NOT going to tell you these are tater tots. I will NOT boast their incredible potato-y flavor and their spud-like texture.

Because then I’d look like a fool.

These cheesy, slightly gooey in the middle and crisp on the outside tots are all cauliflower. And as hard as it tries, cauliflower will never be a potato.

It’s cool, though, because cauliflower has its own thing going on. I promise you these are healthy and delicious!

Trust me. It’s not like I’d lie to you.

Cauliflower Tots

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