Cheesy Cauliflower Casserole 0

This is a good dish for the holidays. It’s simple and easy and it can be prepared ahead of time and baked when the big dinner arrives.

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese or more
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tbs “Red Gold” paprika sauce (available from Otto’s European Deli, where a real live person answers the telphone when you call) or to taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder or to taste
• 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste

For the white sauce:

• 1 cup milk
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1 cup flour

Procedure:

1. Wash cauliflower, then core it and remove outer leaves.
2. Steam cauliflower until tender (approx. 10 mins.); allow to cool.
3. Lightly oil 9″ x 6″ (or equivalent) casserole dish.
4. Break cauliflower into florets and place in dish (This is much easier to do after steaming than before)
5. Pour sauce (see below) over cauliflower; stir gently to promote coverage.
6. Sprinkle remaining cheese and bread crumbs on top.
7. Bake approximately 30 mins. at 350 degrees F.

Sauce (this starts with a basic white sauce and then gets interesting–if you can make a white sauce, you can reach the Acme of cooking: be popular; fool your friends):

1. Melt butter in sauce pan, add flour, and saute until flower just starts to brown.
2. Meanwhile bring milk to boil in second sauce pan. Just when the milk starts to boil (it will start to rise up like a volcano erupting), pour milk all at once into flour mixture, stirring rapidly with a whisk. (This is the tricky part: if you pour the milk before it reaches full boil, the sauce will not thicken; too late, and you have to clean the stove.)
3. Stir rapidly until mixture thickens all at once.
4. Add 1/2 cup cheese and other seasonings; stir gently until blended.

Serves six.