Whipped Cauliflower

Whipped Caulilfower

1 Head of Cauliflower

2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

1  Tablespoon Butter

2 ounces Dubliner or other sharp cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Clean and trim the cauliflower, breaking it into medium sized pieces. 

Place in a microwave safe bowl with 2 tablespoons of cream and 1  tablespoon of butter.

Microwave, uncovered, on high for five minutes.

Stir to coat cauliflower with cream/butter mixture.  

Microwave for another 4 minutes on high.

Remove from the microwave and put into a high speed blender or food processor along with the  cheese.  Puree until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  You can adjust the cream and butter to your preference.  

* I found this receipe on a blog called I Breathe...I'm Hungry.  One thing I love about her blog is that her readers are very forthcoming after testing a recipe and quick to come back with "what went wrong" (for them) or variations.  Because of this...

* I took a lot of care trimming the cauliflower I bought at Whole Foods.  I cut pieces into medium sized.  I think smaller would be fine as well, but larger?  It would take longer in the food processor and maybe not with the best results.  Also, some of her readers complained about a "graininess" and I think that can be avoided (for the most part) by cutting away the membrane/stems and just using the florets.

*  I started with the measures for the butter and heavy cream.  I used Irish butter and Whole Foods heavy cream.  After the first puree in the food processor, I added just a bit more.  I also did my salt and pepper in between twirls in the food processor, and I used freshly grated pepper.  It took a bit more salt than I normally use in my cooking, and it made me remember my mother's statement "potatoes take a lot of salt."  So does cauliflower, but not hugely so.  I rarely use salt, hence the comment.

* I did use Dubliner cheese, and I used the exact amount.  I bought mine at Whole Foods.  A 4 ounce piece in 2012 was close to $7.00, so not cheap.  It has a very sharp, very strong flavor, and it does wonders.  The blog commenters also said a variety of cheeses are interesting:  white sharp cheddar, mixed hard Italian, goat cheese, cream cheese (and in truth I always put cream cheese in my mashed potatoes.)

* If you do get graininess, it has been recommended to run the mix through the microwave again for a few minutes; that perhaps the cheese didn't adequately melt.  I didn't have that problem, but I did let the food processor run for a goodly time (five minutes or so,) to make sure I had a really smooth blend.

Nora Ephron's Friend Ruthie's Bread Pudding For Christmas

When I finished reading Nora Ephron's I Remember Nothing, the one thing that I wanted to do was to make her deceased friend's bread pudding. Ephron's love for her deceased friend Ruthie got eternalized when she added Ruthie's recipe into the book.

In the Mixlarge eggs - 5egg yolks  - 4granulated sugar - 1 cupsalt - 1/4 tsp
whole milk - 1 quart heavy cream - 2 cups (set aside one cup for serving)vanilla extract - 1 tsp
brioche bread - 12 half inch thick slices, crusts removedbutter - 1 stick or less, brought to room tempconfectioners sugar - 1/cup or as needed 


How To Do
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a flat baking pan (2 quarts) with shortening or butter. Need an extra baking pan larger than this to place it in a water bath while baking. I used my turkey roasting pan which was big enough.

Gently beat/whisk the eggs, egg yolks, granulated sugar and salt until thoroughly blended. You can use home baked brioche bread if you have any. Butter one side of the bread slices and set aside.
Scald all the milk and 1 cup of heavy cream in a saucepan over high heat. Do not boil. When you tip the pan and it makes a sizzling noise, remove from heat.Add in the vanilla extract. Stir this gently into the egg mixture without beating until blended.

Overlap the bread, butter side up in the greased baking pan and pour the prepared mix over it. Not all pieces need to be submerged I guess but do make sure those pieces get poured over with some of the liquid. Set in the larger pan and add hot water to come halfway up the side of the baking dish. Bake for about 45 minutes or a sharp knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. The bread should be golden and the pudding puffed up. Can be done earlier in the day.

Before serving, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar and place under a broiler for a minute or so. Or use a crème brûlée torch to brown the sugar. Serve with heavy cream. I did not brown the confectioner’s sugar and it was still yum. Adding heavy cream is optional as the dish is loaded enough.  

I still have my late friend Dee's recipes.  I wish she had given me more.  

Nora Ephron's Ricotta Pancakes

Beat one egg, add one-third cup fresh whole milk ricotta and whisk together.  Heat up a non-stick pan until carcinogenic gas is released into the air.  Spoon tablespoons of batter into the frying pan and cook about two minutes on one side, until brown.  Carefully flip.  Cook for another minute to brown the other side.  Eat with jam, if you don't care about carbs, or just eat unadorned.  Serves one.

Nora Ephron's Egg Salad

"Boil 18 eggs, peel them, and send six of the egg whites to friends in California who persist in thinking that egg whites matter in any way.  Chop the remaining twelve eggs and six yolks coarsely with a knife, and add Hellmann's mayonnaise and salt and pepper to taste."

Scrambled Eggs or Omelette

"A really great omelette has two whole eggs and one extra yolk.  You don't make an omelette by taking out the yolks.  You make one by putting additional yolks in.  And by the way, the same thing goes for scrambled eggs."