Creamy Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

Everyone knows that eating cauliflower is nothing but good for you. We eat cauliflower on a weekly basis; typically, it's by roasting it with a little olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. YUM. But there is only so much of roasted cauliflower that you can possibly eat before growing tiresome and bored with it.

What are our other options you ask?! Well, we could steam it; however I find it to be rather bland. My preferred method would be to drench them with melted cheese but that's just not good for us and we're really trying not to go there! Grilling is a good option for most vegetables, but I'm not sure how I feel about cauliflower on the grill. I don't know. I've never tried it. Maybe something to think about...who knows, it could be the best thing I ever ate!

What about mashing them?! That's right. No potatoes here, just straight up cauliflower! It's quite like mashed potatoes in the texture and I guess a little bit in the flavor, but you still definitely get that distinct cauliflower flavor when mashing them even with all of the "extras" you throw in! It's actually a really nice alternative to mashed potatoes (if you like the flavor of cauliflower) because it's better for you and you're kind of fooling your taste buds with the texture similarities between that and the potatoes. When I make my mashed cauliflower, I like to treat it the way I would with mashed potatoes, so I tend to doctor it up and make it extra creamy, extra cheesy and extra good!

Creamy Cheesy Mashed Cauliflower

Ingredients
1 Lg. Cauliflower Head
3 cloves Garlic
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tbsp. Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Remove the stems from the cauliflower head and place into a large pot of water with just enough to cover the top of the cauliflower. Bring to a boil and let cook for 20 minutes over high heat. Drain and remove the cauliflower from the pan, letting it sit on a plate for approximately 5 minutes to drain any excess water left in it.

Place the cauliflower in a med-large bowl with the heavy cream. With a potato masher, begin mashing the cauliflower, mixing it in with the cream until it obtains a smooth consistency. Add in the cheese and mix well until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Note: Heavy Cream may be substituted with milk and depending on the size of the cauliflower, you may need to alter the amounts of ingredients you put in to get it to your desired consistency.

Yield: 4 Servings
Source: With a Cherry on Top