Amazing Sauce!!!!!

Oh my gosh this recipe was A-MAZE-ING!!!  Holy cow.  This is NOT a "cooking" blog so I do not post a recipe unless it is really yummy, and EASY.   12-step recipes with 10+ ingredients, NOT MY THING.  I'm too lazy.  

 

One of my top 10 favorite things to eat is a real good Alfredo.  But I don't get it very often.  2 reasons.  One - pasta is a lot of carbs.  Two - my love has to stay away from milk.  The number one ingredient in most alfredos: cream.   

I peruse food pins on pinterest once a month when I make up our dinner list.  That's where I found this recipe.  The lady raved on, and on, and on some more, about how wonderful it was.  (Hee hee, kinda like me I guess.)  She also uses this sauce with rice and uses it for a white sauce on chicken pizza.   

I thought, "How could she rave about it so if it was gross?"  Dairy-free alfredo, kids eat some veggies, not to hard to make.  Sure, why not.  For kicks and giggles.  Give it a shot. 

Oh my gosh what a great shot it was.  Really.  I've made recipes before that I would label as "edible - but never making again" and honestly, I was prepared for this to be added to that list.  I actually had back up plans for dinner just in case.  I mean come on.  It's cauliflower.  How "yummy" & "amazing" could this possibly be?

I'll admit I've never cut up a fresh head of cauliflower before.  So that was new and added a smidgen of adventure to my day.  

Followed all the instructions and grabbed a tasting spoon. 

Whoa!  Who invited the Olive Garden into my tiny little kitchen!?!   Like seriously.  It tasted so good.   

 

Come on.  Go buy yourself 3 things: a head of cauliflower, some broth and some garlic.  It won't kill ya. 

Okay, okay, ready for the actual recipe?  Here it is:

 

 

Creamy Cauliflower Sauce

Author: Pinch of Yum

Serves: makes about 5 cups

 

Ingredients

• 8 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5-6 cups cauliflower florets
• 6-7 cups vegetable broth or water
• 1 teaspoon salt (more to taste)
• ½ teaspoon pepper (more to taste)
• ½ cup milk (more to taste)

NOTES, TIDBITS & POINTERS ON THE INGREDIENTS

1) I buy my garlic pre-"minced" at the store.  It comes in a little 4oz glass jar.  I don't use garlic very often and have had problems with my "fresh" garlic going bad.  So I keep a jar of this stuff in the fridge instead.  

1/2 tsp = 1 clove (says so on the rim of the lid).

2) "5-6 cups of cauliflower florets" = about 1 head of cauliflower.  I bought the biggest one there and actually had closer to 7 cups. 

3) I didn't have enough vegetable broth so we did 1/2 vegetable broth and 1/2 chicken broth.  But . . . broth isn't exactly cheep, so I plan on experimenting with a ratio of broth:water cause the original recipe did say "or water"

4)  I felt the amount of pepper was a little strong for my kiddos.  I plan on lessening that just a bit next time. 

5)  My love has to stay away from milk so we used a 1/2 cup of plain soy milk.

 

Instructions

1. Cauliflower: Bring the water or vegetable broth to a boil in a large pot. Add the cauliflower and cook, covered, for 7-10 minutes or until cauliflower is fork tender. Do not drain.
2. Garlic: The original recipe said: "Saute the minced garlic with the butter . . . until the garlic is soft and fragrant but not browned (browned or burnt garlic will taste bitter)".  Pashaw.  You're talking to the Lazyest Cook Ever here.  Who wants to dirty a pan for a tiny bit of minced garlic and butter?  I put my butter in a microwave cup, scooped the pre-minced garlic on top of it and put it in the microwave for 1 minute.  Worked just fine.
3. Puree: Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cauliflower pieces to the blender. Add 1 cup vegetable broth or cooking liquid, sauteed garlic/butter, salt, pepper, and milk. Blend or puree for several minutes until the sauce is very smooth, adding more broth or milk depending on how thick you want the sauce. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your blender. (It ALL fit in my blender and it's an el'cheepo not shnazzy blender.) Serve hot. If the sauce starts to look dry, add a few drops of water, milk, or olive oil. (Didn't have the "dry" problem personally, it was just fine.)

Notes

The original author said she likes to add a little bit of olive oil for the flavor and to help keep the sauce really smooth. Several other readers mentioned that they really liked the addition of Parmesan cheese as well.

**Serving size is 1/2 cup.

You can do this.  :)  I promise.  :)