Tuesday's Tip

as promised, here is the recipe for the mashed potatoes to accompany last week's meatloaf.

my family loves mashed potatoes.  i like them.  but because i don't love them like chuck and the kids do, i just don't think to make them as often (besides, there is all that peeling and chopping... and instant does not fly in this house).  last week, however, i made mashed potatoes that made my family smile.

some also felt compelled to show me what they were enjoying so much.  (sorry for that...)

they love seeing this on the table...

and this on their plate...

and after they gobbled up their potatoes and emptied the serving bowl (no leftovers that night), i finally had to tell them.  

"i tried a new recipe for the mashed potatoes.  what did you think?" i asked.

"Great!" "we loved it!" "make them again!" is what i heard in return.  even chuck agreed.

"well, i'm glad you liked them... but i should tell you.  they weren't potatoes," i confessed.

 - silence - 

"those mashed potatoes were actually cauliflower."

they looked amazed and impressed and a little betrayed all at the same time.  but they gave me permission to fool them again.  

the idea to substitute cauliflower for mashed potatoes came from my mother.  she had heard it somewhere and tried it - and fooled my sister and father in the process.  so, i decided to give it a go.

here is how i did it...

it is surprisingly just like making mashed potatoes.  however, instead of cleaning and peeling and chopping potatoes, i just broke up a head of cauliflower.  then i boiled it until it was soft (like if you were to serve it as a vegetable.)

the only real difference from here on is that i prepared the mashed potatoes in the food processor instead of the mixer.  it makes the final product much smoother, thus hiding any tell-tale chunks of cauliflower.

i added the same ingredients that i typically add to my mashed potatoes, with a few exceptions.

i always add milk or cream as i go (instead of using a set amount).  same with butter.  

but i also added some parmesan cheese (for great flavor).  

and, per my mother's suggestion, i added 1 egg.

then, for the sake of texture, i also added a cup of instant mashed potato flakes.  now, i'm not sure that was necessary, but i didn't want to completely shock my family if the finished product didn't turn out as i expected.

and, although the picture does not say so, i added salt and pepper.

once the mashed potatoes were creamy and blended, i poured them in a casserole dish and topped them with shredded cheese and bacon bits (i usually finish my mashed potatoes this way when i don't have gravy to accompany them).  then, i placed them in the oven (350-ish) for about 20 minutes.  this helped them to "set up" and take on a more "mashed potato" consistency.  

well, it worked.  

even i, knowing full well what i was eating, thought it tasted remarkably like mashed potatoes.  

and it was a vegetable!

my husband was completely impressed, and the kids thought the whole thing was pretty funny.  we're looking forward to trying it again.  

as we were cleaning up dinner, patrick was finishing up and commented that he liked the bread (a store-bought, nothing special, loaf of bread).  

"thanks," i answered.  "it's cauliflower."

they'll never trust me again.