my southern table

Hello bees and bears..thanks for tuning in today. I'm so excited to present to you the second recipe in the southern series. Mac-n-cheese often graces many southern tables. I decided today to do a lighter version. I'm doing a cauliflower mac-n-cheese. By replacing half the pasta with cauliflower we can save some calories for our desert.

Ingredients
2 cups of cauliflower florettes
2 cups or macaroni or baby rigatoni. ( I personally like pasta with ridges..I think it holds the sauce better)
1 cup shredded chedder cheese
4 tbs butter
4 tbs flour
2 cups whole milk
Ground nutmeg or mace
Salt and black pepper

I personally like to roast my cauliflower under the broiler so it gets some nice charring on it. It adds some really good flavor to an otherwise bland vegetable. But if you want to boil it until tender go right ahead. Your choice. If you want to roast it, cut your florettes into same size bites, drizzle with olive oil and season with a good size pinch of salt and pepper. Roast under the broiler at 400 for 20 minutes..but make sure you keep an eye on it. You don't want it burnt. You just want some nice toasty charred goodness
Make about 2 cups worth. Boil your pasta and undercook by 2 minutes. Set both to the side
melt your butter in a medium saucepan and add the flour. Whisk together. Its going to look pastey. This is normal. Continue to whisk for a few minutes. You want to get rid of that uncooked flour taste but don't overcook. You don't want the flour mixture to be anything darker than a pale blonde. While still whisking add your whole milk slowly. They key to this is to keep whisking. Whisk the living daylights out of it until all the milk is incorporated. It will thicken up and when it does add a teaspoon of salt. 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1/2 tsp of mace or nutmeg. I like using mace which is actually the hard outer covering of the nutmeg. I think the flavor is better. You can swap mace for nutmeg in any recipe,just cut the measurement in half. Add your shredded cheese and whisk until melted. Now make sure you taste and adjust the seasoning as you go. Take a casserole dish and just give it a little spritz of fat free cooling spray. Take a half a cup of your cheese sauce and spread on the bottom of your dish. Put half the cauliflower and half the pasta down over the sace and pour more sauce on top. Layer the rest and pour the remainder of the sauce on top. Top with some extra shredded chedder and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until nice and melty. You can do toasty breadcrumbs on top or those french fried onions in the can as well if you want some added texture. But I think the roasted cauliflower adds enough. If you choose to use boiled cauliflower definately add a crunchy element on top. If your not fond of chedder than by all means use a good shredded pecorino romano cheese in your sauce. I always have a big block of romano in my fridge for shredding. Don't use the pre-grated one. A fresh block lasts longer and just tastes better.
So I hope your inspired to try my new take on a southern classic!
Off for now my lovelies!

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