Recipe: Eggs with Cauliflower

I had great hopes for this dish.  I'd seen this idea on Pinterest where little mini-omelettes were made in muffin tins, sized for snacking and suitable for parties.  My plan was to test it out last night and use it for a little gathering we'll be hosting on Christmas Eve.  You see, we'll be inviting more than a few gluten-free folks and I want them to be able to eat.  At any rate, I didn't actually pin that recipe. I just said to myself, "Oh, that looks good."  And then I went ahead and pinned some Viking things because you know, Vikings.  Then last night I went to make it.  It took me a while to find any similar recipe at all to tell me the temperature to bake it at.  

After all that, in the end the stuff in the little muffin tins did not set up at all.  I suspect that I used too much milk.  Oh well.  It did not work for my plan for Christmas.  If I care I can research more in-depth instead of thinking, "Oh, that looks cute."  I might find something else that seems good to me.  Either way, this was a tasty recipe.  How tasty a recipe was it?  Well, Fearless Toddler and I both really like eggs, and it was in fact Fearless Toddler's insistence on eating eggs that got us staying home last night instead of yielding to my desire to not wash dishes.  The Spouse, on the other hand, is not a fan of eggs.  he turned out to be extremely fond of this dish however.  

So how did I go about making this dish that got my husband to actually enjoy eggs?  Well, I pre-cooked the vegetables.  I knew that I wanted to have vegetables, that went without saying.  I decided on cauliflower because I really like how it tastes when cooked up with a little olive oil and onion and garlic.  Then I opened up the spice cabinet.  I intended to go for some nutmeg but then my eye fell on some celery seed.  I hadn't used it in a while.  I thought, "Huh."  And then I added it.  The horseradish cheddar went in because I was thinking about a friend of ours who is excessively fond of horseradish.  He wasn't there, but I was thinking of him.  I also figured that it would give the dish a little extra sharpness that can be lost in such an eggy dish.  

I'm listing this as a fail because it didn't turn out the way that I wanted but that's not really fair.  We loved it.  

Eggs with Cauliflower (serves 4; approx. $2.25/serving)

1 cauliflower, trimmed and diced

2 small onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon celery seed

6 eggs

1 cup 2% milk

6 ounces shredded horseradish cheddar

Equipment:

• Cooking spray
• 1 12-cup muffin tin
• Frying pan
• Mixing bowl

1. Preheat your oven to 375︒.  
2. Heat the oil in the frying pan.
3. Add the onion and garlic.  Saute until softened.
4. Add the salt, celery seed and cauliflower.  Saute until more or less tender - you want it to have a bit of crispness still because it will cook further in the oven but it should be distinctly edible.  
5. Remove from heat and let cool a bit.
6. In the mixing bowl, combine the eggs and milk.  Mix very thoroughly.  
7. Add the horseradish cheddar and mix to combine.
8. Stir in the cauliflower mixture.
9. Lubricate the muffin tins with the cooking spray.
10. Portion out the egg mixture between the muffin tins.  Bake 15 minutes.
11. Increase temperature to 425︒.  Bake another 15 minutes.
12. Serve.

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