Cauliflower and cheddar bites with creamy chipotle dipping sauce

Several weeks ago, having the remainder of a beautiful head of cauliflower on my hands, I made these galettes and swooned.

Photo by Iain Bagwell

The combination of cumin and spice, the texture of the cornmeal and flour together and the dipping sauce THE DIPPING SAUCE! made of creme fraiche and chipotles compelled me to keep eating these incredible cakes until I almost burst.

Yes, my pretties, that is what it means to be out of control in the food department.

In the original recipe, these cauliflower galettes are fried, which means that they taste great, but they are very messy to cook.  I don't know about you, but I don't like frying food because it makes a very messy stove and kitchen and then your house smells like fried food for days.

I wanted to rework the original recipe so that I could bake the batter in mini muffin cups and eat them as finger food with lots of that great sauce.  I made a few adjustments and I think that the new recipe-- no frying involved--is very tasty with no sacrifices to texture or flavor.  And the best part is I can still maintain my dysfunctional relationship with food by eating about a dozen in one sitting.

These little beauties make great party appetizers and can be made ahead and frozen or refrigerated until you are ready to reheat and serve them.  Just make sure you reheat on a greased baking sheet or one lined with parchment to avoid leaving some of the deliciousness behind.  Otherwise, you'll be scraping all those toasty little bits off the pan and eat them when no one is looking.

Cauliflower and Cheddar Bites with Creamy Chipotle Dipping Sauce


     This recipe was adapted from the November 2012 issue of Southern Living.  You can make these ahead and freeze or refrigerate until ready to serve.  Reheat in a 375 degree oven on a greased baking sheet (or one lined with parchment) until warmed through and sizzling, about 5-7 minutes for refrigerated bites and about 10-12 minutes for frozen bites.
  
1 medium-size head cauliflower, cut into small florets  
2 Tbs. olive oil 
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper 
1 1/4 tsp. salt, divided 
1 cup plain yellow or white cornmeal 
2 tsp. baking powder 
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper 
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3 eggs  
3/4 cup Greek yogurt  
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups freshly grated Cheddar cheese
6 green onions, sliced and divided (plus more for garnish, if desired)
2 to 3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, finely chopped 
1 cup crème fraîche, sour cream or Greek yogurt

1.)  Preheat broiler with oven rack 8 inches from heat.
2.)  Place cauliflower on a baking pan with sides and drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with black pepper and 1/4 tsp. salt; toss to coat.
3.)  Broil cauliflower for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring halfway through.
4.)  Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 375 degrees.
5.)  Cool cauliflower for about 30 minutes.
6.)  Whisk together cornmeal, baking powder, ground red pepper, cumin and remaining 1 tsp. salt in a medium bowl.
7.)  Whisk together eggs, yogurt, olive oil and 3/4 cup water;  blend well with dry ingredients.
8.)  Fold in cheese and half of green onions.
9.)  Fold in cooled cauliflower.
10.)  Spoon batter into greased miniature muffin pans.  It's OK if the batter rises above the pan because it's a chunky batter and fairly stiff.
11.)  Bake cauliflower bites for about 13 to 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the batter comes out clean.  Bites should be golden and puffed.
12.)  Combine remaining green onions, chipotle peppers and creme fraiche and serve with warm cauliflower bites, sprinkling with extra green onions if desired.  Makes about 4 1/2 dozen.

The portly portabello

We love them for their meaty texture and deep, earthy flavor.  They astound us with their size and versatility.  They're delicious stuffed, grilled, broiled or sauteed.  But what is a portabello mushroom, anyway?  

Photo from growyourownmushrooms.net

The simple answer is that the portobello is really an overgrown mushroom.  In its infancy and adolescence, it was once a brown-tinged crimini mushroom (also known as an Italian brown mushroom) and a close cousin of the common white mushroom.  But now, with its wide berth, it is the granddaddy of all the mushrooms on the supermarket shelf.

There are, amazingly, larger edible mushrooms on the planet; find one here.  Additionally, for a nice little pictorial compendium of edible mushrooms, go here.  You can find some lovely mushrooms, each with their own characteristics, flavor and beauty, in a well-stocked produce department.  Consider, for instance, the delicacy, charm and crisp texture of enoki mushrooms, contrasted with the dramatic beauty and exotic apricot-like fragrance of the black chanterelle.

Mushrooms, in general, have some nutritional benefits, namely Vitamin D and antioxidants, so eating them in the company of other whole foods is a great idea.  And in 2009 the International Journal of Cancer published a case-control study with compelling findings:  Chinese women who consumed higher quantities of mushrooms reduced their risk of breast cancer.  Amazingly, their risk was further reduced when mushrooms were eaten in combination with increased consumption of green tea (Min Zhang, et. al 2009).

So what are you waiting for?

Unfortunately, some of us (read, husbands) don't like mushrooms.  What's not to like?  Well, for one thing, some people don't like the flavor of mushrooms (a friend's husband once said my mushroom and barley soup tasted like earthworms!).  Then there's the texture, which can offend the Fungi Fearful.  Since my husband is a Texture Queen, he eschews things like mushrooms, asparagus, bread that is too crusty, veggies that are too crunchy and cold, cooked shrimp.  Appreciative though he is, cooking for him has been rather like wandering through a culinary landmine and I often wonder if he doesn't like to chew anything!  But I have discovered that if I wrap something in bacon or proscuitto before I cook it, he's likely to at least try it.  Ditto for dousing feared foods in copious amounts of butter and cheese, so I have resorted to this kind of culinary manipulation in order to get him to try foods he claims he doesn't like (which sometimes negates the health benefits of almost anything).  The experience has been like cooking through The Sneaky Chef for adults, which apparently is already on bookshelves.  It's good to know other wives have food-phobic husbands.

The recipe I want bring you today was one I developed on Thanksgiving Day of this year, a result of just foraging about for ingredients, which, I have found, often produces the best results for great food.  This portabello is drizzled with EVOO and dry sherry, then stacked with sauteed garlic spinach and finished with cheese, breadcrumbs and smoked paprika.  Additionally, the recipe is meatless, which makes it vegetarian-friendly.  If you omit the cheese, it becomes vegan- and Paleo-friendly, although vegans could substitute soy cheese and some Paleo eaters I know will occasionally indulge in cheese.

But for me, I'll take all the cheese I can get.

The main reason why I wasn't hungry for Thanksgiving dinner...

Portabello Mushroom Caps with Garlic-Spinach and Asiago

     These appetizers have plenty of umami even though they’re meatless.  Pair with a pinot noir, sangiovese or a not-too-oaky chardonnay.

4 portabello mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed

1 Tbs. EVOO for cooking, plus more for drizzling

4 Tbs. fino sherry (or substitute any dry sherry)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

2 lbs. fresh baby spinach, rinsed well

1 clove garlic, finely minced

½ cup shredded asiago cheese, divided

Ground nutmeg

4 Tbs. fresh breadcrumbs

Smoked paprika

        

      Preheat oven to 400 degrees.    Rub mushrooms well with EVOO and place gill-side up in a baking dish.  Drizzle mushroom caps with more EVOO and drizzle with the sherry, dividing evenly among the mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Saute spinach in EVOO with garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.    Sprinkle each mushroom cap with 1 Tbs. asiago cheese, dividing evenly, reserving remaining cheese for later.  Divide sauteed spinach among the mushroom caps.   Sprinkle each mushroom lightly with nutmeg, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs, dividing evenly, followed by remaining cheese, dividing evenly .  Bake mushrooms for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is slightly toasted.    Remove from oven and sprinkle each mushroom with smoked paprika.  Makes 4 appetizer portions.

Fried green tomato napoleons with shrimp in remoulade sauce

I was gifted with some green tomatoes recently.  They sat in the refrigerator for a few days while I thought about what to do with them.

"Please don't fry us, please don't fry us," they whispered to me from their shelf in the refrigerator.  And that's where I confess that I might not be quite right because frankly, anyone who thinks vegetables are talking to her when she opens the refrigerator door is either A.) tripping out on LSD, or B.) cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

Having never tried LSD, the default is option B.  But you say I'm crazy like it's a bad thing.

I didn't want to fry the green tomatoes because I always want to fry the green tomatoes.  Isn't that what one does with green tomatoes (other than make chow chow or salsa verde)?   But this time, I couldn't stop thinking of the fried green tomatoes I had had on my first trip to New Orleans several years ago.  I was at K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen on Charles St. and I still remember every last bite of the appetizer that eclipsed all others that night--three beautifully seasoned and fried slabs of green tomato layered with crabmeat and remoulade sauce.

I can make remoulade sauce fairly easily and often do.  It's one of those concoctions I try to always have on hand in my refrigerator because it elevates everything it's served with.  It can make old shoe leather taste great.  When remoulade accompanies crabmeat or shrimp, it is a miraculous thing.  What's not to like about seafood adorned in a rich sauce of mayonnaise, capers, gherkins, Creole mustard, a little dill and some scallions, heightened by fresh lemon juice and a little cayenne?  I never tire of if.

Fried green tomatoes, slightly acidic, tender and silky inside, crispy and salty outside, are one of the simplest of things, yet hold great mystery and potential.  Typically fried in seasoned cornmeal, they seem almost provencial, country fare.  They are undoubtedly delicious.  But coat them in egg and panko, fry them until beautifully golden and combine them with a seafood remoulade sauce, and this dish is not only gorgeous on the plate--pale green contrasted with pale pink--but the ingredients are the perfect foil for each other in texture and flavor.

Here's how I did it:

Fried Green Tomato Napoleons with Shrimp in Remoulade Sauce

8 oz. jumbo lump crab meat or peeled, tailed and deveined cooked cocktail shrimp
1 cup Remoulade Sauce (recipe follows)
2 medium green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch thick (you should have about 12 slices)
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup panko
oil for frying
chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
drained nonpareil capers, for garnish

1.)  Mix together the seafood and the Remoulade Sauce and set aside and keep cold until ready to assemble.
2.)  Dip green tomatoe slices in beaten egg, then coat both sides in panko.
3.)  Heat about 1/4 inch of oil on medium heat in a skillet until rippling, then fry green tomato slices on both sides until golden brown.
4.)  Drain on paper towels and cool slightly.
5.)  To serve, place one fried green tomato layer on plate, spoon a little seafood/remoulade sauce on the fried tomato and repeat two more layers.  Build four appetizers this way.
6.)  Drizzle a little sauce around the plate and garnish with parsley and capers.  Serves four.

Remoulade Sauce:  Mix together well 1 cup mayonnaise (I like to use Duke's for remoulade), 1 Tbs. nonpareil capers, drained, 1 Tbs. minced gherkins or cornichons, 1 Tbs. freshly minced parsley, 1 Tbs. finely chopped scallions, 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice, 1 1/2 tsp. Creole or coarse Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. anchovy paste, 1/2 tsp. dill, 1/8 tsp. cayenne, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.  Makes about 1 1/4 cups sauce.  Will keep for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator.


*******

What you can drink with this little nosh is a crisp white wine like a pinot gris, or if you prefer a red, a sangiovese or a beaujolais.  Or, you can do as I did in New Orleans all those years ago:  have a Cajun Martini.  The recipe below is as close a reconstruction as I can manage of the one I had at K-Paul's.

Cajun Martini

Swirl a little dry vermouth in a chilled martini glass to coat the sides.  Pour in 2 oz. chilled pepper vodka.  Garnish with a pickled jalapeno, a cornichon and some pickled merliton, skewered together on a long toothpick.  Makes one drink.