Cauliflower Crust Pizza with White Sauce

I told you I'd be back soon. And with a killer pizza recipe to boot. So get excited, because this dish is tried and true. Actually, I've made it so many times, I have no idea how it hasn't been on the blog yet. But this is hands down my favorite way to eat starch-less pizza and has become a real staple at our house.

{riced}

{squeezed out}

{pre-baked crust}

Ingredients:
for the crust-
1/2 large head of cauliflower (if your cauli. is on the smaller side, use 3/4)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 eggs
2-3 ounces of cheese, shredded (I usually do a mix of mozzarella and parmesan)
salt and pepper, a few pinches of dried oregano and basil
for the white sauce-
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy (or light) cream
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (depends on how garlicky you like your pizza-this is always an argument at our house)
salt and pepper
top it off-
3-4 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced thinly or shredded (I use low-moisture cheese, because nobody likes soggy pizza)
1 ounce of parmesan, grated from the block
your choice of toppings: a handful of olives, mushrooms, sliced onions, fresh tomatoes, etc. the sky is the limit, really!

Directions:
for the crust-
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. To "rice" the cauliflower, either grate it with a box grater or pulse it in a food processor until it resembles grains of rice. Put the riced cauliflower in a large microwave safe bowl and microwave uncovered until softened, about 6-8 minutes, stirring at least once. Cool slightly.
2. Pour the cauliflower onto a kitchen towel and wring out the excess water from the cauliflower (I wear latex gloves to do this because the cauliflower is hot!). Put the wrung-out cauliflower back into a large bowl and add in the eggs, cheese, garlic, salt, pepper, basil and oregano. Stir until combined. Spread out the "dough" for the crust onto your lined baking sheet. Try and make it as thin as possible without any holes poking through.
3. Bake about 30 minutes, or until golden/light brown. The darker it gets, the crispier your pizza's crust will be-but keep in mind that you'll be putting it under the broiler later, so you don't want it to turn out burned when you're melting the cheese. (Sometimes I'll flip the crust over and bake it for another 5 minutes, just to make sure that it's thoroughly cooked.) Let cool for 10-15 minutes before you load it up with toppings.
for the white sauce-
4. While the crust bakes, you can prepare your sauce and get your toppings ready. Whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper. Keep it in the fridge until you're ready to put your pizza together.
assemble it-
5. Preheat the broiler. Once your crust is golden and has cooled a bit, spread your white sauce evenly over the top, going almost to the edge. Spread the mozzarella across the sauce, then fill in the gaps with your parmesan. Lay out your choice of toppings across the cheese. (And sprinkle some dried oregano on top, if you want that pizzeria feel.) Broil 5-6 minutes, or until cheese is melty and golden in spots. Be careful to watch your pizza closely, because it'll burn quickly under the broiler. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting and serving. If you'd like, you can add some chopped fresh basil and oregano before serving as well.

*And for a recipe for tomato sauce and a variation on the white sauce, check out my first post on starch free pizza here.

Pork with a Creamy Mushroom Sauce

This would be a pretty standard dinner for us. Usually I make a main course that's meat or protein and a starch-less vegetable dish on the side. The mushroom sauce is adapted from Bacon and Mushroom Cream from Jamie's Food Revolution. (As a side note, most of my recipes will feed 2 people, with 1-2 servings extra for leftovers. If the recipe makes more, I'll make a note of it.) 

Ingredients:
for the meat: a pound of pork chops (chicken breasts would work fine too)
olive oil 
salt and pepper
white cooking wine
for the mushroom sauce:
1/2 pound portobello or button mushrooms, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped (I forgot to buy this, and used a few shakes of ground thyme, it was fine!)
salt and pepper
1/3 cup sour cream or heavy cream (I used mostly sour cream with a little bit of heavy cream to top it off)
for the salad (a lot of times, I just use what I have on hand):
2 servings of romaine lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
2-3 oz of mozzarella cheese, cubed
a handful of toasted, sliced almonds
1/2 a cucumber, halved and sliced
for the basic Greek salad dressing:
5-6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
a few shakes of oregano
salt and pepper

To prepare the pork, heat a large frying pan on the stove to medium-high heat and add a few lugs of olive oil. Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper and add it to the pan, turning after a couple of minutes so that both sides are browned. After browning, add 1/3 cup white wine to the pan, cover and turn the heat down to medium-low and let the pork simmer for about half an hour or so until it's tender. 

To prepare the creamy mushroom sauce, put another frying pan on medium heat and add a lug of olive oil. Throw in the chopped onion and fry until golden and tender. Add the mushrooms and thyme and continue to fry for a couple of minutes. Season carefully to taste with salt and pepper. Add the cream, bring the sauce to a boil, and let it bubble and simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot, on top of your pork or chicken. 

To prepare the salad dressing, add all of your ingredients in a jar (with a lid!) and shake until well-mixed. For the salad, add all of the ingredients together in a large bowl and toss. Eat and enjoy!