Fall into Flavor ~ Mashed Cheesy Cauliflower

Such is the story of my life. I actually, for once had a post all ready to go the night before and then the internet went down in the night and it didn't get posted. Sigh. Oh well. It's week 3 of 5 weeks of Linda's Fall into Flavor. Check out her place for some great fall recipes.

Mine this week is something I made last week for my family. You'll have to so trust me with this one. It is absolutely delcious. I had this head of cauliflower sitting in the fridge but didn't feel like just having normal cauliflower. So I looked around my recipe sites a bit and saw that you could actually mash cauliflower but the consensus seemed to be that it was too watery. So I played around a bit and this is what I came up with to rave reviews from hubby and the kids. And it has Linda's requisite butter. :v)

MASHED CHEESY CAULIFLOWER

-1 head cauliflower
-4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks for cooking
-3 packets of chicken boullion
-3 Tbsp butter or marg.
-3/4 cup cheez whiz or other processed cheese product
-1/4 cup parmesan cheese
-1/8 tsp. cayenne
-salt and pepper to taste

Wash cauliflower and break or cut into large florets. Put in dutch oven. Add the potato chunks. Add water to cover. Bring to boil adding the chicken boullion when the water is hot. Boil for approximately 20 - 25 minutes until the cauliflower is very tender. Drain well in a colander to get as much water off as you can. Put carefully back into pot and put back onto the stove element. Now this is the secret (along with adding potatoes to the recipe) to get as much moisture off as possible. Put on very low heat and just let it sit with no lid for a couple of minutes gently stirring occasionally and let that extra heat cook off the water. Don't let it burn. If it's too hot turn off the element. The residual heat should be enough, too. Now add the rest of the ingrediants and mash with a potato masher, stirring vigorously as you go until it is as smooth as you like.

The nice thing about this recipe is it's even yummy for those that normally don't like cauliflower. You can play with the potato to cauliflower ratio until it suits any picky eater. Because of the cheese it's a wonderful side dish to ham or chicken or sausages.