Broccoli & Cauliflower Grilled Cheese

Yesterday, I googled broccoli cauliflower puree, hoping to find great inspiration for the evening’s grilled cheese. However, the 3rd result was for the exact opposite: Broccoli and Cauliflower Puree :: 6–9 Months – Baby Recipes…. I never thought that a couple of the search results would be for baby food! I did not want to make dinner for my nephew, so I avoided all of those links.

ingredients:

• Mackenzie Creamery Garlic Chive Goat Cheese
• Broccoli/Cauliflower Mixture
• Ciabatta

the cheese: garlic chive goat cheese

Did you catch last week’s Mackenzie Creamery Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese? Or my original story on Mackenzie Creamery? If not, you have a lot of reading to do. First, you should read this week’s grilled cheese. You will have plenty of time to catch up later.

In regard to this particular Goat Cheese variety, it tastes just as you would imagine with a goat cheese that features garlic and chives. It is smooth and creamy with a nice kick of garlic. There were portions of the cheese that did not include all of the ingredients and although that was disappointing, it was still great goat cheese.

thoughts

For some reason, I had this big idea to use broccoli and cauliflower on a grilled cheese. It just popped into my head, what can I say? Once I purchased the garlic chive goat cheese, I knew I was ready for my broccoli and cauliflower grilled cheese. To start, all I did was put both vegetables in a bowl filled with some water and put it in the microwave. All I wanted to do was soften the broccoli and cauliflower.

After microwaving the broccoli and cauliflower I cut them up in pieces and placed them on a baking pan. I then brushed them with olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I believe in this step, I should have used more salt and pepper. It might have help enhance the taste of the mixture. After seasoning, I stuck them in the oven for a few minutes. I had hoped to get them brown, but the sous chef, who loves her broccoli and cauliflower, told me to take them out prior to browning. She did not want them to be chewy and useless.

After baking, I blended the cauliflower and broccoli to a crumbly texture. I did not want to make it a puree as I preferred not to revert to my early childhood and eat baby food, as Google had helped me find recipes for. Also, I thought the crumbly texture would add a nice contrast to the smooth, creamy consistency of the goat cheese. I did not add anything as I blended, but I could have added some sort of extra seasoning. What kind(s)? I am not sure, I just thought of that now. If you have suggestions, please leave them in the comments below.

I was unsure what bread to use with this grilled cheese so when I found ciabatta on sale, and was nudged by the sous chef, I knew I found the bread of the evening. Unfortunately though, either the grilled cheese was not fully cooked, or it was just too doughy, but this was not the perfect bread for this sandwich. By no stretch of the imagination was it bad, it just wasn’t the perfect choice.

the grilled cheese:

broccoli & cauliflower grilled cheese: B+

When I was able to take a bite of everything: broccoli/cauliflower mixture, garlic chive goat cheese and ciabatta bread, this grilled cheese was great. However, that only happened a few times during the whole meal. It unfortunately, was very hit and miss and therefore I mainly just tasted the bread and some cheese. Possibly, with more flavoring in the mixture, this grilled cheese could have been better. Overall though, it was a good effort that just needs some work.

ingredients were purchased at…

• Mackenzie Creamery (Garlic Chive Goat Cheese)
• Miles Farmer’s Market (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Ciabatta)