Recommended with pureed cauliflower

A friend of ours invited us over last year and prepared pureed cauliflower, which I'd never had or heard of before.  It sounded strange to me at first, I'll admit.  I've only had cauliflower raw from a relish dish or baked or maybe steamed, and I'd never had it much at all until a year or two ago.  After my third helping of this pureed cauliflower (I'm not even kidding), it was obvious that I was a believer.

I tried making pureed cauliflower myself last week, and we enjoyed it so much it's made the grocery list twice more already.  It's so simple to make and so wonderful to eat.  Much like mashed potatoes, pureed cauliflower is a cozy dish that goes well with chilly nights, and I think it just feels healthful and good to eat.  The texture is a bit smoother than mashed potatoes, though the flavors can be similar.  I put in sour cream and butter to add flavor and body, then salt and pepper to season, but you could put in other ingredients to suit your preference or your pantry like heavy whipping cream or spices.

photo by Joy via Flickr (under creative commons)
See her recipe for cauliflower steak and pureed cauliflower here!

My Recipe for Pureed Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• Sour cream
• Butter
• Salt + pepper to taste
• Steamer + big pot
• Blender (an immersion blender is fine)

Recipe:

• Cut off the stem end and leaves of the cauliflower and discard.  Cut off the florets and place into a steamer in a large pot that will hold the steamer and all the cauliflower.  
• Put water in the bottom of the pot and steam over high heat until the cauliflower is soft for about 10-15 minutes.  (Make sure the water doesn't evaporate away.)
• Once soft, blend the cauliflower until smooth then transfer cauliflower to a bowl.
• Add in sour cream (start with 4 oz) and butter (start with 2 tablespoons) until you reach desired flavor and consistency.  Then add salt and pepper to taste and serve.  (I've never measured this part, so just wing it!)

And that's it!  I hope you get a chance to try this out, it's been a wonderful addition to our winter table.  Let me know what you think or if you have any other cauliflower recipes you'd like to share!

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And now recommended with pureed cauliflower, I think I have a collection of higher-than-usual quality links for you all!  Now that I've finally gotten back into the groove of reading blogs instead of just writing my own, I've been able to find a few deeper and better posts to share.  Enjoy!

My friend Stephanie Whitacre wrote up some brilliant and simple tips for making friends as an adult.

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