JBug's Kitchen Antics

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower

Every once in a while I try to sneak a meatless meal onto our menu and pass it on by the resident carnivore. It's not easy, believe me. I made him a massive juicy burger for lunch yesterday so I'm not sure he missed the meat so much in last night's dinner. Uh ya - who am I kidding? I can see the evil stare from here and he's not even in the room. Ha.

Anyway, this dish is a take on good old fashioned macaroni cheese but kicked up a notch or ten. I added sour cream and Dijon mustard to the bechamel, made it extra cheesy with white cheddar and parmesan, gave it some color with diced canned tomatoes and added the roasted cauliflower. Along with a crazy kind of corkscrew shaped pasta topped with a blanket of buttered crumbs, the gratin hit the oven until bubbly and ooey cheesy gooey.

You know who said it was "good" which really meant this is OK for a change but don't make a habit out'a it. Somehow I imagine if I'd added a nice thick blue rare rib eye on the side, he'd have been doing handstands. Sheesh. 

Personally, I thought it was quite tasty - creamy, rich, cheesy and satisfying with the nutty mild flavor of roasted cauliflower... I mean why have ordinary old cauliflower with cheese sauce when you can add pasta, right? 

Incidentally, here's a photo of last night's sunset as taken through our living room window. It was a sunny and balmy 69 degrees here yesterday, identical to the day before I might add. It is the same view I enjoy from the island in the kitchen. Does it give you an idea why I'm not spending as much time in the kitchen these days? 

 

Cheesy Baked Pasta with Roasted Cauliflower (Inspired by Bon Appetit)       

1 medium head cauliflower, cored and broken into florets

1 tablespoon olive oil

6 tablespoons butter, divided

2 Tablespoons flour

1 small onion, finely chopped

1-1/2 cups milk or half and half

3 cups grated cheese (I used Tillamook White Cheddar)

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon whole grain Dijon mustard

1/2 cup grated parmesan

Salt and course ground pepper

1 – 14 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

8 ounces pasta cooked per package directions and well drained

1 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 425. Toss cauliflower with olive oil and place on a sheet pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden and still slightly firm. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce heat to 350.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in medium sauce pan. Add onion and sauté until softened. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Whisk in half and half and cook, stirring occasionally until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add cheese, sour cream, Dijon mustard and parmesan cheese. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as required. Toss cooked pasta, roasted cauliflower and diced tomatoes with sauce and move to a gratin dish or 9 x 13 casserole that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and toss with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle on top of casserole. Place in oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbling and crumbs are toasted.  Makes 6 to 8 servings. 

 

Mushroom and Fontina Quiche

Every once in a while I try and sneak a meatless meal past you know who but he's on to me, so I try not to do it on Mondays when he's almost expecting it. Last night's dinner had him buffaloed but  strange as it may seem, I was the one asking "where's da' meat". I shouldn't have though.

There's honestly nothing meatier other than meat than mushrooms (did I just say that?) and while this particular recipe from Bon Appetit called for assorted mushrooms, I used only the usual button variety instead. Loaded with mellow earthiness with just a touch of creaminess from the Fontina cheese and the full on bite of freshly grated nutmeg, this is really a manly version of a "ladies who lunch" favorite.

Who says real men don't eat quiche? Mine's even having it again for lunch today. Oh, if you just can't see yourself eating meatless, add some cooked crumbled bacon or pancetta to this one. It wouldn't hurt a bit!

Mushroom and Fontina Quiche (Adapted from Bon Appetit via epicurious.com)

1 pre baked 9 inch pie shell, cooled

1 tablespoons butter

2 large shallots, finely chopped

1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced

4 large eggs, beaten

2/3 cup half and half

1/3 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

7 ounces Fontina cheese, divided (6 ounces cut into small cubes, 1 ounce grated)

Heat large sauté pan over medium heat. Add butter and when melted, add shallots. Cook until softened (about 3 minutes). Add mushrooms and lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring often until mushrooms are softened and just beginning to brown – about 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 325. Layer mushrooms and Fontina cheese cubes in bottom of pre baked pie shell. Beat eggs, half and half and milk together. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. Pour over mushrooms and top with grated Fontina. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until set in the center. Cool for half an hour before slicing into wedges. Serve with salad. Makes 8 servings.  Download Mushroom and Fontina Quiche

A year ago - Lazy Lasagne in a Bowl

 

 

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne Roll-ups with Gorgonzola Bechamel

Second night in a row! Imagine that! Second night I passed an almost meatless meal by the Big Guy and I didn't hear a lot of groaning either. Well maybe a little. When he noticed the spinach in these lasagna roll-ups, he gave me one of his famous "looks" but kept shovelling it in anyway. Am I good or what?

One of Rachel Ray's inventions, I'm not entirely sure this one's a 30 minute meal at least not the way I made it, but it's pretty delicious anyway. Loaded with sauteed mushrooms, onion and garlic and of course spinach along with sweet creamy ricotta cheese, the flavor key seems to be adding enough nutmeg to the mix along with salt and black pepper. Of course I had to sneak in a smidge of red pepper flakes too, just because I felt the need and while you may think loading the filling on the al dente lasagna noodles is a pain, I was surprised at how much easier it was to make this style of lasagna versus the traditional version.

 

I also changed out the sauce recipe too. Since I was in possession of a mere 2 ounces of gorgonzola versus the 8 ounces Rachel's recipe called for, I made a simple bechamel sauce and added the gorgonzola to it rather than the cheese, chicken stock, heavy cream sauce she recommended. I'm really glad I did too because I can't imagine how strong the sauce would have been with 8 ounces of cheese in it! It could have been due to our brand of gorgonzola, but it was plenty flavorful with just the 2 ounces.

I added some crispy bacon pieces and crunchy bacon flavored croutons to the tossed salad to keep the carnivore happy but I've gotta' say this dinner was a real keeper and we've plenty left for lunches too. Bonus!

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna Roll-ups with Gorgonzola Béchamel (adapted from Rachel Ray via Foodnetwork.com)

8 Lasagna noodles

16 medium mushrooms, finely chopped

1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 – 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

1 – 16 ounce container ricotta cheese

 

Cook lasagna noodles to al dente as per package directions. When cooked, immediately plunge into ice water to stop cooking process. Drain and blot dry with paper towels. Set aside.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. For filling, heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add olive oil and when shimmering add mushrooms, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until mushrooms have released all their liquid and begin to brown. Add nutmeg and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and move to a medium sized bowl. Cool to room temperature. Stir in spinach (should be almost dry), along with ricotta cheese. Mix well to combine. To fill, lay lasagna noodles out flat and spread each with approximately a half cup of filling, spreading to within a quarter inch of each end. Roll noodles up and arrange in prepared casserole dish.  Refrigerate until needed.

 Sauce:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk (I used whole milk)

2 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled

Coarse ground black pepper

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When melted stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk. Cook sauce, whisking constantly until sauce is thickened and almost comes to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in gorgonzola. Stir until cheese has melted. Taste for seasoning and add pepper as required.

1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Pour sauce over lasagna roll ups and top with shredded cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until roll ups are hot and sauce is bubbling. Serves 4. Download Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne Roll-ups with Gorgonzola Bechamel

A year ago - Cheesy Baked Gnocchi with Cauliflower and Tomatoes