Grilled Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower

Cauliflower, in my opinion, is a vegetable that doesn’t get due respect. Not that cauliflower has a bad rap…it just simply seems to be ignored. Aside from a store-bought veggie tray, cauliflower doesn’t make many other appearances. Even when you do spot it on a party plate, it is usually overshadowed by the carrots, peppers, cucumbers and broccoli. As a vegetable lover, I find this to be a real shame. Cauliflower is one of the healthiest vegetables that you could enjoy. A cousin to cabbage, kale and broccoli, cauliflower is packed with nutrients and antioxidants, along with many anti-inflamitory, cardiovascular and digestive benefits.

Recently, I was introduced to a delicious cauliflower pizza, which was a white brick-oven pizza topped with sautéed cauliflower. The pizza itself was tremendous, but the cauliflower was definitely the shining star. Because I love grilling up veggies during these summer months, the pizza encouraged me to give cauliflower its due time on my grill. Many grilled cauliflower recipes that I found while doing my research had you slicing the cauliflower head into thick, steak-like wedges. While this sounded delicious, I wanted to take advantage of the softer, sautéed taste and texture. I was afraid that following the grilled wedge version would have given more of a charred taste. Enjoyable, no doubt…but again, not what I was aiming for.

What I decided to do was divide the head into individual florets, discarding the thicker stem portions. I then made a marinade by mixing some olive oil, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and some salt and pepper (I love the taste of black pepper with cauliflower). I mixed the marinade with the cauliflower, making sure that the florets were evenly coated. I then wrapped the florets in an aluminum foil pouch and set it on my grill, over indirect heat. After about 35-40 minutes, the cauliflower was done, and cooked to my exact expectations. Perfect! The marinade made for the perfect flavor, and softened up the cauliflower just enough (cauliflower, in my opinion, is best when partially cooked, instead of fully cooked and mushy). The heat from the grill did brown the florets slightly, which gave a nice, yet subtle grilled taste. Because my grill top was already packed with other items, the only indirect area that I had available was my upper rack. Had there been more room on the grill, I would have found an area where I could have closed off one burner to avoid charring. But it’s nice to know that the upper rack serves a good purpose with this dish. No doubt, cauliflower will become a regular item on my grill!

Grilled Garlic Parmesan Cauliflower

1 cauliflower head, chopped into individual florets, discarding thick stems
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tspn parmesan cheese
1/2 tspn garlic powder
salt and pepper

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat (about 400˚). Designate an indirect heating area, where the flames will not come in direct contact with the cauliflower. An upper rack works well for this. Mix the oil, parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Place the chopped cauliflower in a bowl and add the oil mixture. Stir to evenly coat the florets, adding additional oil if needed. Add some salt and pepper, stir again. Tear off a piece of aluminum foil large enough to hold the florets. Pour the florets onto the foil, then carefully  fold and wrap the foil to make a loose pouch, open side on top. Place the pouch on your indirect heating area, close the lid and let cook for 35-40 minutes, checking occasionally. When the cauliflower starts to slightly char, carefully remove from grill. Let sit for a few minutes before opening the pouch. Carefully open the pouch, avoiding getting burned but the released steam. Plate it, serve it and enjoy!

Avocado Egg Rolls

My wife had recently gone out to lunch with friends, and they had gotten an order of the restaurant’s famous avocado egg rolls. A taste of my wife’s leftovers was just enough inspiration for me to attempt my own version of the crispy appetizer. Instead of following the restaurant’s recipe – which I found pretty easily online – I decided to put my own version together, using an avocado and tomato salad as the filling. I also baked the egg rolls instead of the traditional frying method. The egg rolls turned out to be a big hit…and a perfect dish to offer up for Cinco de Mayo! Although they would serve up well on their own, we used a bottled lime vinaigrette dressing as a dip. There are a number of dressings and dips that would work well with this dish, but I highly suggest you try them on their own first. There is plenty of flavor already happening in these crispy roll ups!

Avocado Egg Rolls
Makes 6 servings

1 tspn  olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 garlic clove, minced
pinch of cayenne pepper
pinch of salt
1 firm, ripe avocado, halved and pitted
1 small red bell pepper, diced
6 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 tbspn cilantro, finely chopped
6 egg roll wrappers

Preheat oven to 425˚. In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt. Set aside.

Scoop out flesh of avocado, rough chop into pieces. Add pepper, tomatoes and cilantro, mix well. Add liquid mixture, mix well.

Lay one egg roll wrapper on a flat surface, in a diamond shape, with the bottom point facing you. Place 1 tbspn of the avocado salad into the middle of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper from the bottom, half way up to cover the salad. Fold both sides in, then slowly and tightly roll up the wrapper. Before you roll it completely, moisten the top corner lightly with a bit of water, then finish rolling and making sure that the moistened edge seals the wrapper tight.

Place the rolled wrappers onto a baking sheet that is either covered with parchment paper, or lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly spray the egg rolls. Place the tray in the oven, bake for 10-15 minutes, until the wrappers start to brown and crisp.

Remove from oven, let cool slightly. Serve and enjoy!

A Little of This and Some of That: Game Day Party Foods!

It’s Super Bowl party time! On today’s podcast, we’re discussing new and fun alternatives to traditional game day party foods. We’re tackling everything from wings, pizza and salads (yes, I said salads), to beers that represent both the east and west coast. So pull up your favorite bean bag and listen in, as we kick off our game day party episode. Links to all of the recipes discussed are covered below. Game on!!!

Show-related links

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

Mini Pizza Pockets

Dorito Salad

Redhook Brewery

Audible Ale

Samuel Adams Brewery

Saranac Brewery

Allagash Brewery

Be sure to contact us at info@domskitchen.com or in the Comments section below to let us know about your game day party food suggestions or ideas, and to let us know what you thought about this episode of A Little of This and Some of That.

Mini Giambotta Biscuits

This dish was inspired by a recipe that I recently saw for a store-bought can of biscuit dough, placed in muffin pans and filled with chicken, veggies and creamy soup to make mini chicken pot pies. The personal-sized version of popular dishes are a trendy item these days, especially for dinner parties and group get togethers. This recipe caught my attention because not only am I a fan of the personal-sized portions, but I also enjoy a warm and hearty dish this time of year. Being that we’re just coming off of the holidays, I thought a vegetable pot pie would be tasty and healthy choice. I decided to make giambotta for the filling, which is an Italian vegetable stew. Bread is always a must-have for dipping when you have giambotta, so to use it as a biscuit filling was a no-brainer.

I also chose to make my own flaky biscuits for this dish. I found a very simple and quick recipe online that calls for just a few basic ingredients and about 10 minutes or so of prep time…no electric mixer necessary! Of course, canned biscuits will work, but if you have a few extra minutes, give the home made biscuits a try. It will make the dish seem that much more impressive.

Mini Giambotta Biscuits

For the Giambotta
2 tbspn olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 zucchini, cut into 1″ pieces
1 8oz can tomato sauce
salt and pepper
1/2 tspn Italian seasoning

Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add the zucchini, stir together and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the can of tomato sauce, season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning  to taste.

Stir together, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until sauce thickens up. Set aside.

For the Biscuits
courtesy of Taste of Home
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tspn baking powder
3 tspn sugar
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup 2% milk

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Cut in shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Whisk egg and milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 20 times. Roll to 1/2-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Lightly spray a muffin tray (12 muffins). Gently place each biscuit piece into the individual muffin cups (no paper liners needed!), and gently press the dough to fill out the bottom and sides of the cups. Fill up each cup with the giambotta, making sure none spills over the side.

Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.