For His Master's Veneration: Roasted Cauliflower au Gratin

A sinfully rich casserole main dish! The secret of this dish is the marvelous thing that happens when you roast vegetables. You get a touch of browning that is not “scorching” or “burning”. Rather it is a natural reaction to the sugars found within. This adds just a touch of sweetness that you might have otherwise never known they had. This does add another step in cooking but adds a wonderful flavor that increases your reputation as a good cook!

This dish has only a small portion of meat. Enough to satisfy the carnivores at your table without loading up the calories of cholesterol.

Ingredients:

1 head of fresh cauliflower cut up into florets.

1 pkg frozen corn – thawed

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs butter or margarine

2 cups evaporated skim milk

1 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese

1 cup diced ham

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs cake flour

salt & pepper to taste

¼ tsp grated nutmeg

Directions:

pre heat the oven to 400

Do your cutting!

To cut a fresh head of Cauliflower

Start by cutting the head of cauliflower in

half and then into quarters through the core.

See how there's a central stem in the middle?

All the florets are attached to this core by

their own little stems. Separating them is a

simple matter of running your knife between

the florets and the stem to cut it out.

Once you've removed the stem, the

cauliflower will naturally fall apart into large

florets.

You can break these large florets down into

smaller, bite-sized florets with your knife or

just your fingers.

Now that you have florets you can soak them

in a vinegar bath to clean. So much easier

that trying to wash them first.

Ever since we tried roasted cauliflower, we've

been absolutely hooked on the caramelized,

sweet, and nutty florets. Roasting deepens

the vegetable's flavor and gives it a texture

that's both crispy and tender. A little olive oil

is really all you need to roast cauliflower.

Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil in a large bowl and spoon it out onto a lined baking sheet; sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast for 15 minutes.

While that is in the oven, dump the thawed corn into that same bowl that had the cauliflower & oil. Stir the corn around to coat with any left over oil. You really don't need much.

After the first 15 minutes, remove the tray and sprinkle the corn around the cauliflower.

Return to oven for a second 15 minutes or until the vegetables start to get just a touch of brown on the edges. Remove tray from oven and turn the heat down to 350.

During the 2^nd 15 minutes, heat 1 tbs butter in a deep saucepan, add garlic and lightly saute for only 1 minute. You don't want to burn the garlic – it will turn bitter. Stir in the flour.