Cauliflower Pizza Crust

After months of seeing this circulate the Pinterest blogosphere, I decided maybe we needed to try it. Max Man enjoys making a homemade pizza. We haven't done this in a long time but I could tell he had a hankering for it. I decided to beat him to the punch and let him know that I had a special crust to try from Recipe Girl.

To be honest, this was really easy to do. However, I don't know if it is a testament of the cauliflower recipe, my oven, or lack of a proper pizza stone/crisper but the crust didn't crisp the way a pizza crust should have. I give the taste a B+, I never once had the thought that I wasn't eating a conventional pizza crust, it was only lacking the even crisp throughout the pie, namely the middle area. Since the days of braces, I've always eaten pizza with a fork so that was an easy remedy when it came to eating. Max Max, on the other hand, well he was having a hard time trying to pick it up and shovel in his mouth, finally conceding to my fork method.  

Regardless of the crust, the taste was great and I would definitely recommend trying this. I am looking forward to making it again and working on ways to improve the crisp factor using a pizza stone, grilling it, broiling longer, who knows! Because I was so skeptical to begin with, I did not change this crust recipe at all from the source. We used it to make a half goat cheese-pesto pizza, half japapeno-pepperoni pizza, our favorites!

Nutritional facts can be found in Recipe Girl's post.

Grocery List:

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, finely shredded
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder

To start, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Next, use a cheese grater to grate the cauliflower head until you've reached the stems. Should equate to about 2 cups.

 

Cauliflower produces a lot of water so you will want to take a few paper towels to help squeeze the moisture out of the grated veggie.

 

The blogger whose recipe I followed also recommended nuking it in the microwave to help dry out the moisture. I did this for about 6 minutes and then removed. Then, I placed in the freezer to help with the time of cooling down so I could add the egg without it cooking into the cauliflower flakes. Once cooled, you may add the egg, cheese, oregano, garlic and onion powder. Stir well to combine.

 

Grease your surface of choice, whether you use a cookie sheet or pizza stone. Pat the dough into a thin and even layer on the sheet, about 9 inches in diameter. This does not stretch like a regular dough so be gentle and pat it out to stay connected. Spray the crust lightly with nonstick spray, this will help it brown. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. If your edges are browned but your middle still feels doughy, I would in hindsight cover the edges with foil, only exposing the middle, and allow the pizza to cook for another 3 minutes to help firm up that middle area.

Next, remove the crust from the oven and it should be a firmer, golden brown.

 

Turn the oven up to broil. Top with your sauce and pizza toppings of choice, then place back into the oven and let broil on high for 5 minutes.

When ready, let cool for a few minutes, slice and serve!

Tastefully yours,

Spanakopita

I am an event planner. The caterer I use for most of my events makes these incredible little Greek spinach pockets, otherwise known as spanakopita. I had them for the first time early last fall and have requested them at each event he's done ever since. When I decided on a tapas dinner, I wanted this to be one of the small plates.

Now, this was a bit of a challenge - phyllo dough is very thin, easy to tear and hard to separate. However, that was not why this didn't turn out quite the way I would have liked. For whatever reason, I've developed a bad taste when it comes to frozen spinach. So many recipes call for it, so I've used it many times but I can't shake the fact that to me, it tastes chalky. Therefore, I did not like the end taste, I couldn't get past the chalky spinach. I probably could have used more ricotta or feta to help combat that, maybe even a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt for a silkier consistency.

After making this Sunday night, my catering guru had these little bites at an event I ran Wednesday night and he had also sprinkled the top with Parmesan and nutmeg for added flavor. I'll try that next time as well.

Grocery List:

• 1 lb frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1/2 cup onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
  
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup feta cheese
• 1 tbsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tbsp. dill
  
• 1 package phyllo dough sheets, thawed if frozen
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
  

Start by sauteeing your onion and garlic in olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute until lightly browned.


Once translucent, take them off the heat and put them into a mixing bowl. Add the ricotta, feta, nutmeg and dill.


Next, add the spinach and stir until combined.


Carefully roll out the phyllo dough sheets. Spray a cooking sheet with non-stick vegetable oil spray. Using a pastry brush, carefully brush the butter over an individual phyllo sheet, then top with another sheet, repeating process. Layer 3-4 phyllo sheets on top of each other.


Next, slice them lengthwise in thirds so you have three even strips of dough, about 3 inches wide.


Scoop one spoonful of the spinach mixture onto one end of the phyllo dough. Fold that end like so.


Then fold again keeping in triangle shape, like you fold a flag.


And again.


Repeat process until finished. Ta-da!


Bake in the oven for 2o minutes and until lightly browned.


Serve while hot!

Mashed Cauliflower

Potatoes are my vice. One aspect of the "unhealthy" eating habits I just have not been able to part with. I spent a long time perfecting and finding my perfect potato recipes. Roasted, creamy mashed, baked, ahhhhh, I love.

Well, this year's resolution was to continue on with my journey into more healthy and clean eating. So, it was time to attempt a substitute for my beloved mashed taters. I searched several recipes and finally settled on the Novice Chef's blog for her "ass-friendly" version. Her intro really made me identify with her so I thought what the heck, here we go.

Now, a few things to air out before I get into this. I have never eaten cauliflower. Veggie dip trays a plenty but only touched the broccoli and carrots. I've picked it out and avoided it at all costs. It looks like white broccoli, I love broccoli, why wouldn't I just try cauliflower? I don't know, picky eater, afraid of the unknown, whatever. With this said, I do not know what my end result taste actually resulted from. I don't know if I didn't drown out the tangy cauliflower taste (if it in fact is kinda tangy), or too much of the other ingredients I used but - this was no mashed potato sub. You can see where this post is going.

Getting personal for second: wow, my stomach did not react so hot to it either. Just fair warning, I have heard this before and I back that claim. If you plan on a date night, fair warning for a grumbly, unsettled tummy.

I'm going to post this, though I view it as a total flop for me, perhaps someone else will love it or take it on to perfect themselves!

Grocery List:

• 10 oz. bag of frozen cauliflower
• 1 tbsp. of Chicken Better the Boullion (I accidentally got the beef version of this for my black eyed pea soup - this time, I think it worked perfectly)
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 big pinches of asiago cheese (2 oz.)
• 1/4 cup sour cream (recipe called for greek yogurt and I was afraid, so used SC as a sub)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Boil water and the Chicken Better than Boullion. Next add the cauliflower florets to the water on medium-high heat.


In a small food processor, combine your shallot, garlic and cheese - pulse until well blended.

Once the cauliflower is tender, drain and put the florets into a bowl. Add the ingredients from your food processor, followed by the sour cream (or greek yogurt, whichever you prefer). Using a hand mixer, beat well until smooth and creamy. You will notice the consistency is much more runny than mashed potatoes, recipe research confirmed that is normal.

Eating these plain, I would not have made it past bite 3 (take the initial bite, take the 2nd bite to evaluate and 3rd to try a final time...), however with the deliciously glazed pork tenderloin over top, it made it better.


I'm glad I went beyond my comfort zone and tried it, however I did not particularly care for it. Sweet Max Man continued to eat it, tried to offer up his compliments but I could see his longing desire for the mashed potatoes.