Mushroom + Creamed Corn Cauliflower Bowl
I’m riding the wave when it comes to my obsession with corn chowder, channeling my current cravings for this Summer favorite while also embracing meatless Monday. Considering our diet last week included a homecooked meal with two meats & the greasiest burger//grilled cheese ever, a good vegetarian meal sounds pretty damn good. This Mushroom + Creamed Corn Cauliflower Bowl just hit all the checkpoints - creamy mashed cauliflower + buttery mushrooms + a creamy corn sauce. Literally all of my favorite things in one meal on a super nice day, and the perfect dinner to christen the season of outdoor dining.
I’m going into this week feeling so grateful that we’ve been able to really create and embrace our own makeshift weekend in the midst of bartending life. It just feels so balanced to have Sunday + Monday to ourselves after a full work week combined with ramping back up our regular bar business, & right now I’m so glad we have it. I’m also so hopeful that it’s something we can maintain. I mean Sunday was sooo nice to get chores done & then have nothing to worry about so we could enjoy an afternoon with family. I got to meet my newest little nephew, who, when snuggling, easily just melts your heart. Also big break-throughs with our other nephew, who is 1, & who was definitely a little hesitant of Jordan & myself when we arrived. I mean - wanted nothing to do with me & especially nothing to do with Jordan’s beard. But give that kid a graham cracker + a bouncy ball (which I sure as hell did), and let me tell ya - fast friends. Being best friends with a one year old. even for 20 minutes, is just the sweetest. The 20 minutes of him sitting on my lap & tossing his bouncy ball while I caught it was pretty much the sweetest moment of my Sunday. It’s a bummer - we don’t see him a ton, and it’s always so heartbreaking when a little one doesn’t recognize you & you’re the stranger danger for a hot second. But we overcame, and Jordan & I both had some good quality time with the kiddos.
A family Sunday followed by a Monday with just us two completing the 5 mile loop that goes along the coastline here in town. We were hikers today, & hikers with a purpose! We are just a couple weeks away from our big trip to Yosemite where we have high hopes of hiking Half Dome. So today we essentially wanted to make sure our fancy-shmancy hiking shoes are comfy and can support us for days of hiking ahead. A little Monday adventure with coastal views and casual walk through the forest - solid, solid escape from reality for a couple hours! & ending it with a creamed corn remix is just a true treat.
I really do love corn chowder. It’s so creamy + velvety + decadent, and just everything I love in a meal. Usually when I make real corn chowder, I’m adding chicken or bacon (or both), but this is a variation of a favorite that’s totally meat free. I added in some garbanzos for a little bit more heartiness + protein, which tasted super good with the corn. Filling, good texture,& just really tasty.
I did try to keep things a little spicy, too. I’m not shy to add a little hot sauce to a soup (especially a chowder), & hot sauce in general is the most sought after condiment in our house. I tried to keep things spicy in this meal with fresh jalapeno. The goal - spicy & flavorful enough to avoid anyone reaching for the hot sauce bottle. Just one peppeer minced up and thrown in to cook with the onions was my method, & it gave a pleasant pepper taste to the whole thing. Definitely not a spicy meal in the end, but good jalapeno flavor in all the bites & replaced anyone’s need for a few dashes of hot sauce.
Cook with cheap wine
The only time I buy 2 buck Chuck is when I’m cooking. & as soon as I just look at it I taste college. Particularly my sorority’s signature Wine & Cheese Datenight where, fun fact, my husband and I had our first official date. The real signature of these datenights was getting dressed up in cocktail dressed & proceeding to get trashed from drinking cheap wine. I’ll never drink the stuff now, but I’ll cook with it all the live long day.
Cooking with wine in general just adds a really nice flavor to just about anything. I didn’t use any broth in this dish, and my only liquids for the sauce were dry white wine + cream. It’s hard to pinpoint what a wine sauce really tastes like. Maybe some say it adds acidity (that sounds right), but it cooks down and just has this savory component that is really nice. & even the cheap stuff seems to taste good when it’s reduced & cooked with all sorts of other good veggies, which is exactly how I did it here. So I give good ol’ Charles Shaw the stamp of approval for this recipes.
Go for the can
You can totally keep it easy and used canned items for this meal. Both the corn + the beans were right from the can. For the corn in particular, you can absolutely cut the kernels right off of the cob, but essential. I happened to make a grocery trip to Trader Joe’s where they did not have fresh corn, so canned it was! & it kept my grocery bill real cheap, which was a fun surprise.
The mash is necessary
Just like having a piece of toasty bread or some crackers is necessary with a corn chowder to soak up all the yummy sauce, you need something to mop up the sauce of this chowder inspired meal. Mash it is, and a cauliflower mash is ALWAYS my go to. As we were walking out the door of my MILs house this past Sunday, she handed me a cauliflower. She hates the stufff - hates cooking it + smelling it + eating it - & I LcicOVE it! So I snagged my free cauli with excitement. You need a food processor to make cauliflower mash really great, and get it to mimic mashed potatoes. Beyond that, steamed cauliflower + a couple tablespoons of milk or cream + salt & pepper, & it’s perfect. I like to heat mine back up with a bit of chicken broth just to loosen it up a little bit. You can add in some herbs or garlic to really flavor it, & the point is it’s very easy to infuse with other flavors to make a really tasty side.
For this recipe, I loved two things about having a mash. First, the texture difference between the main vegetable medley and the creamy mash is really nice. Second, the sauce just acts as a gravy, and the comfort from eating mashed potatoes + gravy is totally mimicked in this meal.
Sometimes it’s hard to commit to a “quick + easy” dinner. It can feel boring & just dull, so I battle quick & easy vs extravagant & delicious really often. Despite the canned items and the quick cook times, this dinner just turned out to be something that felt elevated. It was so satisfying + delicious + indulgent. All in all a super yummy dinner. & worth every buttery, creamy calorie. We served this up with a little Whipped Ricotta + Garlic Dip on the side, too (because I love variety at dinner-time), & that I highly recommend!
For the Cauli Mash
1 head of cauliflower
3-4 tbsp half & half
Salt + pepper
2 - 3 tbsp chicken broth
For the Mushroom + Cream Corn Medley
7 tbsp stick butter
2 lb. crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 onion diced
1 jalapeno, minced
2 heaping tbsp flour
1 can corn kernels
1 can chickpeas
2 c. Pinot Grigio
1 c. half & half
Salt & pepper
2-3 tbsp fresh parsley, minced (plus a little extra for garnish)
Start with the cauliflower. Cut into florets & steam until the cauliflower is soft & tender. Place in the food processor with 3 tbsp cream and a pinch of salt + pepper, and puree for 2 minutes. Add in another tbsp cream if you need to smooth out the texture. Once blended until smooth, transfer to a saucepan with a bit of chicken broth and place over low heat.
Next, melt 4 tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Once bubbling, add in the mushrooms, letting them cook without stirring for 3-4 minutes. Stir, and let continue to cook for another 3-4 until they’ve developed a deep brown color. Set them aside in a bowl and reduce the heat to medium.
Add in the remaining butter. When melted, add in the onions and jalapeno, cooking for about 8 minutes. Add in the flour, & stir until you get a paste like consistency. Add in the corn & beans, cooking over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Deglaze the pan with white wine, stir to scrape any bits of food from the bottom of the pan and let the wine simmer until reduced by half. Reduce to low and stir in the cream, and let cook for about 5 minutes. Give it a taste, adding in more salt & pepper if needed. Lastly, stir in the parsley and add the mushroom back to the skillet. Cover and keep over low heat until you’re ready to eat.
To plate, spoon a dollop of cauliflower mash onto thee plate. Spoon the veggies right on top, being sure to scoop up some of those crispy mushrooms with each serving, and garnish with leftover parsley.