DDD #106 – Vegan Baked Buffalo Cauliflower

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2018

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Hey!  Have you heard?  I wrote a really funny & dirty novel!  www.BathingBook.com.   Check out the reviews on Amazon!  Why not buy a copy?

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This baby is pretty easy.  I love buffalo sauce but I do not eat chicken so I am always scouting for other ways to eat it – whether on pizza or with shrimp or to dip French fries in – anything.  This recipe uses cauliflower & is virtually calorie-free.  I used regular flour but gluten free flour or a chick pea (besan) flour – even panko or breadcrumbs could also work.  Most recipes I’ve seen add an even amount of butter to the buffalo sauce but I see no reason to add that many calories.

Click the image below to watch the video.

 

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Buffalo Cauliflower

INGREDIENTS

1 head cauliflower – cut into florets

1 cup unsweetened plain non-dairy milk

1 cup flour

1 TBS garlic powder

1 TBS onion powder

1 tsp each S&P

1 cup Buffalo sauce (I used Frank’s)

1 TBS vegan butter – melted

Celery stalks

Vegan Blue cheese (or Ranch) dressing for dipping

 

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 425.

Pour milk in a bowl & whisk in the flour with the spices.  Melt the butter & whisk it into the buffalo sauce.

Cut the cauliflower into florets.  Dip each into the flour mix.  Spray a cooking sheet with cooking oil.  Place the cauliflower on the sheet – spoon about 1/2 of the buffalo sauce over the florets & toss – & bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.  Take them out & coat them with remaining buffalo sauce & bake another 15 minutes.  Put them on a plate & drizzle more buffalo sauce on them.

Serve with celery & blue cheese (or Ranch) dressing.

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Easy Vegan Mozzarella

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2015

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Well – it seemed about time that I venture into making some vegan cheeses.  I have absolutely NO IDEA where to start – so I started by trying someone else’s recipe.  That caprese salad (above) from Artisan Vegan Life caught my eye & the recipe seemed very simple – with only a few ingredients I had to order from Amazon – so I decided to try it.

It was, indeed, very easy & the visual – as you can see is very convincing.  The texture – when cold – isn’t bad, either.  My only issue was that there was a tang to it – that was a result of using yogurt as the base.  The tang wasn’t overpowering or unpleasant, in and of itself, but the overall impression it gives one is that they are eating mozzarella that has soured a bit.  So – I would not use this in a clean recipe like that caprese but I certainly wanted to try it on a pizza!  I wanted to see if other flavors competing with the mozzarella mellowed the tang & I wanted to see if it melted.  That post is HERE!  Look how pretty!   Sweet Potato and Asparagus Pizza with Vegan Mozzarella & Watercress!

So – without further ado – here is Buffalo Mozzarella by The Artisan Vegan Life.

Easy Buffalo Mozzarella 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup plain, unsweetened soy yogurt

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 3 – 8 hours and drained

1 cup water, divided

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

3 tablespoons tapioca flour

1 tablespoon agar powder

DIRECTIONS

Combine the yogurt, cashews, a half cup of the water, and salt in a blender and process until emulsified. Transfer to a container, cover loosely, and set aside for 12 to 24 hours until slightly tangy. Whisk in the tapioca flour.

Combine the agar and remaining half cup of water in a small saucepan. Whisk together. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour in the yogurt mixture and mix well with a whisk. Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mixture is smooth, glossy, and stretchy.

Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Using an ice cream scooper, drop balls of the cheese into the ice bath. Let sit for 20 to 30 minutes until firm.  My balls were a bit mishapen with straggling bits.   I just trimmed back the messy bits with a knife for a prettier look.  Voila!

Vegetarian (or Vegan) Spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

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This is as simple as blending it up in a food processor.  I used real cheese but you can use vegan alternatives for each – if you prefer.

I cannot recommend Beyond Meat’s chicken strips strongly enough.  They work in cold chicken dishes as well as hot ones.  Even unapologetic carnivores like it.  So why not give it a try?

This recipe makes a lot – like – party quantity.  See?

Vegetarian (or Vegan) Spicy Buffalo Chicken Dip

Makes a lot

INGREDIENTS

9 oz vegan chicken

1/2 cup (or more) hot sauce (I used Frank’s Red Hot)

1 cup grated jack or cheddar cheese (or vegan alternative)

8 oz cream cheese (or vegan alternative)

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (or vegan alternative)

4 scallions

4 celery stalks

DIRECTIONS

Pulse the ingredients until you get a puree.  You might want to add a tiny bit of water to thin it.  Taste it for spiciness & maybe add more hot sauce.

Serve this shit up with some chips or veggies & get your eat on!

 

The top video there is trailer for my novel.  The second is me reading from it a while back – at Vroman’s.

 

Spicy & Easy Vegan (or Not!) Firecracker Chicken

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

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OK, people!  This dish is INSANELY easy & outrageously good!  Better than take-out!  Wow your friends!  Make your neighbors jealous.  Oh – and buy my book!

OK- that said – back to this outrageous revelation!  You can use real chicken or shrimp, if you want, but I hope you will try it with this stuff (or another brand of vegan meat).  Here is a coupon to get some for free!  Go to their site to find out which retailers near you might carry it.  The coupon can be printed an infinite number of times & you could get a free package every time you went to the store.

Also – this could be made using any pre-made buffalo sauce bought from the supermarket.  That would make it even easier.  But I had extra buffalo sauce from my Vegan Buffalo Falafel Sliders with Smashed Avocado so I used that.

Homemade Buffalo Sauce

(This makes more than the 1/3 cup required for the Firecracker Chicken)

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup cayenne based hot sauce

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon vinegar

DIRECTIONS

In a small saucepan, heat the oil over a medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir constantly until the flour starts to look golden and smell sorta toasted. It can bubble but do not boil it.  This should take about 4 minutes.  Add half the hot sauce and stir until it is all mixed. The flour should thicken it a bit. Add the rest of the hot sauce, water, and vinegar and stir until it is all mixed up. Set aside.

Can I repeat how easy & insanely yummy this is!  And do not expect it to taste like buffalo sauce.  It doesn’t.  At all.  Which is bizarre.  So – if buffalo sauce ain’t your thing – still try this.  And know – the more sugar you add – the less you taste any buffalo sauce element.

Spicy & Easy Vegan (or Not!) Firecracker Chicken

Feeds one well

INGREDIENTS

9 oz vegan chicken (or real chicken) – cut into cubes

Cornstarch

2 TBS olive oil

1/3 cup Buffalo sauce (store bought or homemade – recipe above)

1/2-3/4 cup light brown sugar

1 TBS apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

1 TBS water

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (or to taste)

Scallions – chopped for garnish

Cooked rice

DIRECTIONS

For the Firecracker sauce, heat the Buffalo sauce, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, salt, crushed red pepper & water until the sugar dissolves.  Set aside.

Heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Make some rice.

While the rice cooks, toss your vegan (or real) chicken in enough cornstarch to lightly coat it.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan.  Cook the chicken until it is nice & browned on the outside.

Put the cooked chicken into an oven-proof pan.  I used a pie dish.  Toss with the firecracker sauce.  Heat in the oven for about 30-45 minutes or until the sauce thickens up (and your REAL chicken (if you are a carnivorous wimp) is cooked through).  This could probably be done just as simply stove-top…and maybe more quickly.  I will try that next time.  And there WILL be a next time!

Serve that shit over your rice with some scallions.  Resist the urge to pour it all over your naked body & roll around in ecstasy.   That shit is hot and WILL burn you – and it really is too delicious to waste on your sordid sex life.

Vegan Buffalo Falafel Sliders with Smashed Avocado

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2014

Follow @celisemccarthy

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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OK.  In the interest of full disclosure – I got the recipe for the buffalo falafel from one of my all-time favorite blogs – the almighty Thug Kitchen!

(Photo by Thug Kitchen)

This site is just amazing and HERE is their falafel recipe.  I am going to include their actual recipe below – because – if you are unfamiliar with these guys – you need to get familiar.  Read the recipe!  Hilarious!

BUFFALO FALAFEL

FALAFEL:

1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas or 1- 15 ounce can, rinsed

1/3 pound of cauliflower

¼ cup diced onion (yellow, white, red, whatever)

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon olive oil

½ teaspoon all-purpose seasoning blend (The no-salt blends are best because you can add that salt shit later in small amounts)

2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

BUFFALO SAUCE:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons flour (Whole-wheat flour works here so does brown rice flour. Use whatever)

1 cup cayenne based hot sauce

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon vinegar (Apple cider vinegar is my favorite here but white vinegar would work too. Use what you got)

For the falafel: Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spray some oil on a baking sheet. Chopped the cauliflower up into small pieces. Throw it in a food processor and run that shit until the pieces of cauliflower kind of look like rice. If you don’t have a food processor then just chop that shit up as small as you can. Mash the fuck out of the chickpeas in a medium bowl until they form a paste. Chop the garlic up into small pieces. Add the cauliflower, onion, garlic, oil, seasoning blend, and breadcrumbs to the chickpeas and mix that shit up. If your seasoning blend didn’t have salt in it, now you can add a pinch of salt to that motherfucker. The mixture should easily form into balls. If it is too fucking dry, add a little water. No stress. Form the mixture into balls a little bigger than a ping pong ball. Throw the balls on the baking sheet and bake them for 20-25 minutes, flipping them sons of bitches half way through. Remember to set a timer so that you don’t burn the shit out of them. Both sides should be nice and golden. While the falafel bake, make the buffalo sauce.

For the buffalo sauce: In a small saucepan, heat the oil over a medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir constantly until the flour starts to look golden and smell kinda toasted. A few bubbles are cool but this shouldn’t look like it’s boiling. This shit takes about 4 minutes if you got your heat right. Add half the hot sauce and stir until it is all mixed. The flour should make that shit thicken up a bit. Add the rest of the hot sauce, water, and vinegar and stir until it is all mixed up. Turn off the heat.

When the falafel are done cooking, push them gently to the center of the baking sheet and put ¾ of the buffalo sauce on them. Bake that shit for like 5 extra minutes so that the falafel absorbs that sauce. Pour the extra sauce over them when they get out of the oven or whenever you eat them.

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Instead of pita – I used little brioche slider buns – that were not vegan.  Here is proof I made the buffalo sauce.

This made a boat load of buffalo sauce so I stored the extra in a jar in my fridge.

I made the falafel – but I got all lazy & just mashed the bejesus out of the ingredients in my food processor.

A word about chick peas.  And lentils.  And rice.  Did you know you can make these kinds of things in large batches – like chick peas from the dried version rather than canned – and then measure out a cup or two of them & put them in Ziplock baggies & freeze them?  I made a whole bag of chick peas & froze them up & now – I can just grab what I need from the freezer in small increments.  SO MUCH CHEAPER!  And easy!  Do it!  I used some of those chick peas here & I will in my post tomorrow, too.

Anyway – I recommend prepping the falafel as Thug Kitchen suggested.  The processed version were very soft & fragile.  I lost a lot just trying to flip them.  So – touche, Thug Kitchen!

Now – smashed avocado is really just guacamole.  Shhhhhh!  I just smashed up some avocado with a few pinches of salt & a squeeze of lime.

So – yeah.  Make the falafel “dough” and create little patties.  Bake them maybe 15 minutes longer than the recipe suggests as these are a bit bigger.  Or – at least – mine we so soft that they required a bit more time.

Then just assemble those bad boys as you like.  Eat them.  Drink up.  Belch.  FTW!

Buffalo Cauliflower Sliders with Celery Slaw & Blue Cheese Crumbles

 

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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First things first!  My debut novel was released this week.  Here is the cover.

Here is the synopsis:

BATHING & THE SINGLE GIRL is the smutty, mercilessly irreverent and laugh-out-loud funny debut novel by actress Christine Elise McCarthy.  Inspired by her one-woman short film of the same name, it’s the kind of novel Jonathan Ames might write if he’d dropped out of college and had been working as an actress in Hollywood for the last 20 years.

The life of an actress in LA isn’t all glamour, money, and bedding rock stars.  Sometimes it’s more about humiliation, red wine hangovers, and the bad decisions they fuel.  Ruby Fitzgerald has barely worked in years, not that anyone remembers her for anything but her short stint on a long-canceled but iconic TV show.  But that was back when her career prospects seemed on the upswing — longer ago that Ruby cares to admit, and awkward sex with regrettable partners is doing nothing to take the edge off. Everything once functional in her house is going on strike, but the unemployment checks barely cover the mortgage, and a self-respecting girl needs to be able to pay her bar tab — so repairs are on hold.  One more bubble bath and a few more cocktails.  A gal can always get responsible tomorrow.

With everything mounting against her, a cranky and increasingly despairing Ruby will have to find out if her life’s larger indignities are the result of bad luck, or a chronically bad attitude.  What follows is a walking tour of the hilarious depths you can sink to if you stop exercising your best judgment.

Check out the web site & buy the book!  It is available online at Amazon & Barnes and Noble etc.  http://www.bathingandthesinglegirlbook.com/

That said – I made these sliders today & I am in love!  Spicy & crunchy & creamy – all at once!  They come together in the time it takes to roast the cauliflower – which is about 20 minutes.  If you are vegan – I guess you have to lose the blue cheese crumbles but the slaw can easily be made vegan by subbing the blue cheese dressing with vegan mayonnaise.  Yum!

Buffalo Cauliflower Sliders with Celery Slaw & Blue Cheese Crumbles

Makes about 4 sliders (depending on the size of your veggies)

1/2 head cauliflower – cut into 3/4 inch slices

1 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup grated carrots

2 TBS blue cheese dressing plus extra for drizzling (or a vegan mayo)

Buffalo sauce – I used Frank’s Red Hot

Blue Cheese – crumbled (omit for a vegan variety)

Slider buns

S&P to taste

Scallions – sliced

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oven to 450.  Spray a cooking sheet with cooking spray or use parchment paper.  Arrange the sliced cauliflower on it & smother with Buffalo sauce.  Roast for ten minutes, flip the cauliflower, add additional Buffalo sauce & roast another 10 minutes.

In a bowl, mix the carrots, celery & blue cheese dressing (or vegan mayo) & season with S&P.

When the cauliflower is done, simply assemble the sliders.  I topped the bottom bun with the slaw & then cauliflower, blue cheese crumbles & sliced scallions.  I drizzled a bit of blue cheese dressing & Buffalo sauce on them, topped them with the bun tops & ate them like they were going out of style!

Spicy Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Pasta

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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I made this for myself the night I made by badass boyfriend, Miles, this Easy Spicy Southern Chicken Spaghetti.

You could easily leave out the faux chicken or sub it out with some cooked real chicken.  This is really just all about the Velveeta & the Buffalo sauce.  Easy, naughty & delicious!

This casserole fell victim to the same oven mutiny that the Chicken Spaghetti did so my first effort had a VERY crispy top & the inside was more dry than I’d hoped.  I fixed it by simply adding more melted Velveeta heated with some milk, tossed it all together, topped with a bit more cheese & panko & then just heated that through until the panko browned.

Below are my two efforts – the original & the redesigned leftovers.

Spicy Vegetarian Buffalo Chicken Pasta

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb dry pasta – cooked

8 oz vegan chicken (or cooked real chicken)

1 TBS butter

1 TBS flour

3/4 cup milk (plus extra for reheating leftovers)

8 oz Velveeta (plus extra for reheating leftovers)

1 cup grated cheese (I used a mozzarella/cheddar mix)

1/3 cup Frank’s Buffalo sauce (or Frank’s Hot Sauce or other hot sauce) – plus extra as garnish

S&P

3/4 cup Panko or other bread crumbs

Crumbled blue cheese or Gorgonzola as garnish (optional) or a dollop per serving of blue cheese dressing

Scallions and/or cilantro and/or parsley as garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Cook the pasta & real chicken (if you are using real chicken).  Set aside.

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

Melt the butter in a stock pan and heat over medium heat until bubbly.  Whisk in the flour.  Whisk constantly until the roux begins to brown – maybe 1-2 minutes.  Slowly whisk in the milk – allowing it to thicken.  Add the Velveeta, hot sauce & real/faux chicken.  Mix.  Add the pasta.  Add S&P to taste.

Prepare a casserole pan with cooking spray or butter.  Place the pasta mix & top with grated cheese & bread crumbs.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted & bubbling at the edges & the bread crumbs are beginning to brown.

Serve this bad boy up topped with crumbled blue cheese of some kind or with a bit of blue cheese dressing & some cilantro/scallions & drizzle with even more hot sauce.  Eat until your pants feel tight.  When you are done – head out to the store & by some cheap wine & the largest bag of Doritos available.

Consume those until you have visible chemical burns in your mouth from the toxic Doritos.  Keep drinking through the pain.  Watch The Voice.  Complain out loud to sleeping dogs about how LAME this season is.  Post a few tipsy Facebook comments along those same lines.

Indulge in some ZZZquil.  Fall asleep.

Wake up.  IMPORTANT PART: skip the gym.

Go the donut shop.  Do some of this to yourself.

Before the sugar high wears off – do this to yourself.

Go home eating this shit in the car.  Wipe your hands on your pants.

Weigh yourself & curse the heavens for not fulfilling your weight loss goals.

Spicy Southern Fried Cauliflower and Delta Dipping Sauce with Smashed Baked Potatoes and White Gravy and Buffalo Mac & Cheese

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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In my hunt for other recipes meant to provide a cauliflower version of fried chicken, I ran into THIS post about Popeye’s Fried Chicken.  Here is a picture from that site:

I have never eaten at Popeye’s or any other fried chicken joint (except KFC & Dinah’s here in Glendale) and I haven’t tasted ANY fried chicken in over 25 years – but my boyfriend Miles eats it all the time.  In fact, he eats it weekly now that the famous Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken opened a few blocks away from him in downtown Little Rock.  Miles is always sending me (at my request) pictures of the food he eats & I find myself looking at fried chicken so much – I have developed an undeniable craving for it.  And – that blogger that spoke of an incredible meal at Popeye’s didn’t help.  And that Delta sauce?  I liked the sound of it & a few clicks here & there revealed that Popeye’s discontinued it.  In fact, there seems to be quite a bit of hand-wringing going on about the now-unavailable Delta Sauce and that piqued my curiosity.  Fortunately, the blogger who loved the Delta sauce posted a copycat recipe for it & I could not resist.  So – I made it & I include that recipe here.  It is like a spicy Thousand Island dressing & it is INCREDIBLE on my – wait for it – Southern Fried Cauliflower!

Doesn’t that look just like a fried chicken plate?  I was so Goddamn happy with myself yesterday – you have no idea.  If you make any of my zillions of cauliflower recipes – I have to say – it should be THIS one!  So easy & so delicious!  And if, like me, you don’t eat meat but the reasons for that do not include any distaste for meat products – this might really satisfy any existing fried chicken craving you might be in denial about.

That plate above includes yesterday’s recipe for Buffalo Mac & Pepper Jack Cheese.

It also includes some smashed baked potatoes & a vegetarian white gravy.

This is quite a decadent meal & the perfect fix on those days when the hole in your heart is bigger than your ass & you just don’t give a fuck.  You wanna eat & you wanna eat something bad.  This is as Paula Deen as I am likely to get but even with this dish – the fried chicken is really cauliflower & there is no bacon (or other meat) fat in any of it (excepting egg & milk) & the potatoes were made with a minimum of butter & WATER – because I’d run out of milk.  So – seriously – AT LEAST try the southern fried cauliflower & Delta dipping sauce.  I am certain you will enjoy!

Spicy Southern Fried Cauliflower and Delta Dipping Sauce with Smashed Baked Potatoes and White Gravy and Buffalo Mac & Cheese

(This feeds about two (very well) so increase the recipes if you are feeding more.  The mac & cheese recipe feeds at least 4.)

INGREDIENTS

For the Southern Fried Cauliflower

(depending on the size of your cauliflower – you may need more or less of the other ingredients – so maybe have extra on hand)

1 head cauliflower

2 vegan eggs

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup Frank’s Hot Sauce

2 cups flour

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp each of S&P

1 tsp chipotle chili powder (or smoked or regular paprika)

1 tsp garlic powder

Lots of vegetable oil for frying

1 gallon zip lock baggy (not necessary but it makes life easier)

For the Delta dipping sauce

1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise

1 tsp lemon juice

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1/8 cup sambal oelek (or other chili sauce)

1/8 cup ketchup

1/4 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp mustard

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

2-3 dashes hot pepper sauce (Tabasco or another brand)

1 garlic clove – minced

For the smashed baked potatoes

2 large potatoes

olive oil

2 TBS vegan butter

S&P

For the white gravy

2 TBS vegan butter

1 large shallot – minced

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1/2 tsp dry sage

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

For the Buffalo Mac & Cheese

See HERE

DIRECTIONS

For the Delta dipping sauce

Whisk the ingredients together & chill.

For the Smashed Baked Potatoes

Heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Rub olive oil on the potatoes & sprinkle with salt.  Bake them – DIRECTLY on the oven rack – for about 45 minutes.  Remove from the oven & allow to cool a bit.  Peel the potatoes (I left bits of skin & browned spots for some color) & mash them up with the butter & some salt & pepper and as much milk or water (I used water as I was out of milk) as you need to get to a texture you like.  I used an old school hand masher & left them chunky & on the drier side.  I smashed them a bit more at the end with an immersion blender.  You do it however you like.

For the white gravy

Heat the butter in a sauce pan & add the bouillon cube & the shallots.  Cook a minute or two until the shallots soften & the bouillon cube is dissolved.  Add the flour, sage & salt and pepper & stir constantly for about 2 minutes.  It should be quite dry.  Add the milk 1/2 cup at a time & allow it to thicken.  Continue until all the milk is incorporated and heat until the gravy is at your desired thickness.  Add milk if it is too thick.

For the Southern Fried Cauliflower

In a bowl – whisk together the eggs, water & hot sauce.

In a zip lock bag or in a deep bowl – blend the flour with the rest of the dry ingredients.

Cut the cauliflower into the largest “drummettes” possible so they resemble chicken thighs & a few wings.  I sprayed my cauliflower with water so the flour mix would stick.

Put the cauliflower in the flour mix & toss to coat.  Dunk into the egg mix until covered & then back into the flour.  Coat again with the flour.

I do not have a thermometer to measure oil temp but I think 350 is the correct temperature for frying.  I just let it get hot, put one drummette in there & once that started bubbling pretty rapidly – I added a few more pieces

Turn a few times & fry until they are a golden brown all over.  Drain on a paper towel.  Repeat until all the cauliflower is cooked.  Now – just divvy up the goodness & fill up that whole in your heart with some old school home cooking!

Vegan Buffalo Mac & Pepper Jack Cheese Cupcakes

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option.  Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out.  It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing.  The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.

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I woke up dizzy & light-headed & (oddly) filled with a dozen ideas for soul food or otherwise southern menu options.  I had all kinds of aspirations involving chicken-frying something & biscuits & gravy & mashed potatoes and mac & cheese.  I am really excited about the chicken-fried recipe but I only got as far as this mac & cheese idea.  I have enough of just these things to survive here for a week.  And I really shouldn’t eat mac & cheese cupcakes every meal for a week or I might develop type-2 Diabetes.

You can opt to make the cupcakes out of this recipe or just stop at the mac & cheese level.  It is a no-bake mac & cheese but I am certain 20 minutes at 375 wouldn’t hurt it.  Here it is right outta the pan – no baking at all.  If you are not baking it or making cupcakes – this mac & cheese comes together in just a little more time than it takes to boil the pasta.

That is a little smoked paprika on there.  Pretty, no?

I used this wacky, large shell pasta for my recipe.  Regular macaroni or other small, shaped pasta would work, too.

Vegan Buffalo Mac & Pepper Jack Cheese Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

1 lb dry pasta – cooked

4 TBS flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp ground pepper

1 pinch cayenne pepper

4 TBS vegan butter

2 celery stalks – diced (plus more for garnish)

3 scallions – diced (plus more for garnish)

1 jalapeno – seeded & diced

3 cups non-dairy milk

1/2 cup Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

4 cups vegan pepper jack cheese (grated)

Crumbled vegan blue cheese as garnish (optional)

Wonton skins (2 per cupcake)

Paprika (as garnish)

Breadcrumbs and/or extra grated cheese to top the cupcakes (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Cook the pasta according to directions.

Heat the oven to 375.

In a bowl – whisk the dry ingredients together: flour, salt, dry mustard, pepper & cayenne.  Set aside.

In a large stock pot, melt the butter & saute the celery, jalapeno & scallions for about 2 minutes.  Add the flour mix & saute over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the milk – 1/2 cup at a time – and stir it in until it thickens.  Then add the rest of the milk in the same fashion & in 1/2 cup increments.

Stir in the hot sauce & the pepper jack & heat until melted & combined.

Stir in the cooked pasta.  You can serve it at this point with blue cheese crumbles, celery & scallions as garnish – and maybe a drizzle of more Frank’s sauce – or a brightly colored paprika!

OR –

Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray.  Place two wonton skins in each cup.  Fill them with your mac & cheese.

You might want to add more grated cheese or breadcrumbs here – or not.  I only added breadcrumbs to half to see how they came out.  No big difference.  Bake at 375 for about 12-15 minutes or until bubbly & browning.

Let them rest for about a minute & then serve garnished with blue cheese crumbles, scallions and/or celery.  Maybe sprinkle some paprika on them or drizzle more Frank’s sauce.  Then get a shoe horn & force feed yourself these things like they do a pate goose.

Buffalo Cauliflower

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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This baby is pretty easy.  I love buffalo sauce but I do not eat chicken so I am always scouting for other ways to eat it – whether on pizza or with shrimp or to dip French fries in – anything.  This recipe uses cauliflower & is virtually calorie-free.   I used Egg Beaters egg whites in it but you could use buttermilk or soy milk or whatever to moisten the florets before dredging them in flour.   I used regular flour but gluten free flour or a chick pea (besan) flour – even panko or breadcrumbs could also work.  Most recipes I’ve seen add butter to the buffalo sauce but I see no reason to add those calories.

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Buffalo Cauliflower

INGREDIENTS

1 head cauliflower

Egg beaters

1 cup flour

1 TBS garlic powder

1 TBS onion powder

1 tsp each S&P

Buffalo sauce (I used Frank’s)

Celery stalks

Blue cheese (or Ranch) dressing for dipping

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 425.

Pour egg beaters in one bowl.  Mix flour with the spices in another.

Cut the cauliflower into florets.  Dip each into the egg & then the flour mix.  Spray a cooking sheet with cooking oil.  Place the cauliflower on the sheet & bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.  Take them out & coat them with buffalo sauce & bake another 15 minutes.  Put them on a plate & drizzle more buffalo sauce on them.

Serve with celery & blue cheese (or Ranch) dressing.

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Baked Leftover Pasta with Heirloom Tomato Bisque, English Peas & Three Cheeses in Ramekins

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

As promised, another recipe made up from several other recipes posted this week.  This one uses leftover fettuccine from my Cilantro-Serrano Pasta post and leftover Tomato Bisque and some of my Homemade American Cheese.   You can use freshly cooked pasta or leftover, if you have it.   The soup can be replaced with ANY pasta sauce you prefer from a simple arrabiata to a marinara to an alfredo.  The cheese can also be substituted with goat or Parmesan or whatever you have handy.  I used English peas because I had them & I love them.

This particular effort isn’t that pretty because green noodles & a pink sauce make for an odd combination but let me tell you – it is friggin’ DELICIOUS.  I made it & just meant to taste one & stood there & inhaled an entire serving.   Really, really good!  I had intended to make little wonton baskets for each of these but forgot to – so a version using wontons is likely in my future.   At any rate – if you use a white pasta & a red sauce – or some other more compatible color combination – your effort should come out prettier.

I cooked 6 of these ramekins in a larger pan with water that came up about half way on the ramekins – and one just out there on its own in the oven.  In the future – I will blow off the whole water business because it achieved nothing that I could appreciate except maybe slowing the heating process a tad – and there is no practical purpose for that in this recipe.  So – you will see images of the larger pan & water but I am not recommending you do it that way.  The only thing it adds is a VERY real danger that you will scald yourself with the hot water as you remove these from the oven.

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Baked Leftover Pasta with Heirloom Tomato Bisque, English Peas & Three Cheeses in Ramekins

INGREDIENTS

4 cups cooked pasta

1 1/2 cups leftover bisque or other pasta sauce

1 cup fresh English peas (optional)

2 large balls fresh mozzarella – sliced

1 2″ cube homemade American cheese or other cheese of your choice

Fresh ground pepper to taste

Fresh basil and/or chopped fresh tomato – as garnish

Extra bisque or pasta sauce – as garnish

Fresh Parmesan to shave – as garnish

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat the oven to 350.

Blend the pasta, sauce and whatever cheese(s) you are using (NOT the mozzarella) in a bowl.  Add the peas – if using.

Spray 7 ramekins (sorry – it just worked out to 7) with cooking spray.  Divide the pasta mix among them.  Try not to over-fill them or they will get messy in the oven.  Top with a little extra bisque/sauce & put a slice of fresh mozzarella on each. Grind some pepper on them.

Place on a cookie sheet & cover each with a sheet of foil that has been greased with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Remove foil & bake another ten minutes.

Remove from the oven & let cool a minute or two.  These can be served in the ramekins or flipped over & served on a plate.  Either way, garnish each with chopped tomato and/r fresh chopped basil and/or some freshly shaved Parmesan.

Devour & be proud of yourself for using up your leftovers!  Maybe even serve with some leftover Artisan bread!!!

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Leftover Tomato & Artisan Bread Soup with Buffalo Mozzarella

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

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Ok, kiddies.  I am going to post two different dishes today that are made from leftovers of the recipes I posted last week.  This one uses the Roasted Heirloom Tomato Bisque and the Crazy Super Easy & Quick Artisan Bread.

Simply, brush some olive oil on a slice of Artisan bread & toast it in your oven (at about 350 – 400 degrees) for about ten minutes.  Add a few slices of fresh mozzarella & return it to the oven for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Plunk this bad boy into the center of a warmed bowl of tomato bisque.  Garnish with leftover basil oil (I forgot to!!) and some fresh tomato (I used some Heirloom cherry tomatoes), fresh basil & fresh cracked pepper!  Ymmmmm!

Easy Buffalo Shrimp with Blue Cheese Dip & Celery

 

Photo © Christine Elise McCarthy 2012

Easy as pie.  I just fried the shrimp in a little oil in a frying pan (or you can grill them) and then tossed them in Frank’s RedHot (http://www.franksredhot.com/) & ground some fresh pepper on them.  Put your favorite blue cheese dressing in a little bowl, slice up some celery and you are on!