A comforting Friday night supper

Tiny vintage cookbook from my collection

This past Friday, I made a simple, yummy meal that we greatly enjoyed: meat loaf, baked potatoes, corn on the cob, and a zippy cauliflower dish. The meat loaf was one I had frozen sometime ago and thought we’d better use up before it freezer-burned. Baked potatoes and corn on the cob are basic and easy, but the cauliflower recipe (from QUICK COOKING) was a new one to me and very good. The zippy sauce would work well in many other contexts -- on baked potatoes or tacos, or used as a dip with tortilla chips, for example. Here’s the recipe:

ZIPPY CAULIFLOWER
1 medium head cauliflower, broken into florets (I used the bright green broccoflower)
1/2 cup water
3 Tblsp. butter
3 Tblsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. chili powder
3/4 cup milk (you may need more -- I did)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tblsp. salsa (I used medium)

Place cauliflower and water in a microwave-safe bowl. Cover and microwave on High for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and seasonings until smooth. Gradually stir in milk. (I prefer to do this off heat.) Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in cheese and salsa until cheese is melted. Remove from heat. Drain cauliflower well; drizzle with cheese sauce. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

As mentioned, I needed to use more milk. The sauce that resulted using 3/4 cup milk was way too thick to “drizzle” over anything. I think I used about 1 1/4 cups milk, and it was still plenty thick. I did use the bright green broccoflower, but I think the new purple or orange cauliflower would also be fun.