Bob Blumer is creator/host of Glutton for Punishment and Surreal Gourmet

Bob’s written loads of hilarious books and is always thinking outside the hexahedron. I’m just shocked and thrilled that a big time rock-star celebrity chef was so eager to participate with the Kitchen Drawer Competition! Bob you rock out with your sriracha out!

Bob Blumer’s Cauliflower Popcorn

Who woulda thunk that cauliflower could actually become addictive? With this simple high-temperature roasting process, known as caramelization, your basic off-the-rack cauliflower is miraculously transformed into sweet, lip-smackin’ candy bombs your guests won’t be able to get enough of. You’ll find yourself having new-found respect for a vegetable you deleted from your Palm Pilot years ago. 

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon salt (for a salt-free alternative use Mrs. Dash Table blend)  

Procedure

Preheat oven to 425°F. 

Cut out and discard cauliflower core and thick stems. Trim remaining cauliflower into florets the size of golf balls. In a large bowl, add cauliflower, olive oil, and salt. Toss thoroughly. 

Spread cauliflower on a baking sheet (lined with parchment paper, if available, for easy clean-up). Roast for 1 hour, or until much of each floret has become golden brown. (That’s the caramelization process converting the dormant natural sugars into sweetness. The browner the florets, the sweeter they will taste.) Turn 3 or 4 times during roasting.  

Use crumpled up aluminum foil or paper towels to create a false bottom in your popcorn container, fill it with cauliflower and serve immediately. 

uncommon goods an empty movie theater popcorn container or aluminum JiffyPop package

level of difficulty The same as making real popcorn.

active prep 10 minutes  cooking time 1 hour

short cuts Buy the precut cauliflower in the lazy-boy section of the produce department.

advance work Raw cauliflower can be cut and refrigerated for up to 2 days in an airtight bag or a bowl of water. With minimal sacrifice, cauliflower can be cooked earlier in the day and reheated in a 450°F oven for 10 minutes.

music to cook by James Brown, The Popcorn has Soul Brother #1 servin’ up some tasty treats.

liquid assets Big buttery Chardonnays may have fallen out of fashion, but they are the perfect pairing for this equally uncelebrated cruciferous vegetable. 

*** Thanks Bob for an outstanding contribution to Kitchen Scraps!

Winner Number one in the Kitchen Drawer Competition is

The wonderfully funsome, wildly entertainerous and refreshingly talentabulated Brooke from

Tongue ‘n’ Cheeky

She truly pulled out all the stops to get this amazing piece of work together. So much so that I couldn’t help but come up with two illustrations to go along with an adorable grandpa Brown who must have been one of the sweetest guys that ever was!

And check out her incredible recipes for Breakfast syrups and elixirs that go along with the story.