L is for Low Carb Grilled Cheese

I love grilled cheese sandwiches. My favorite kind is made with Velveeta and sandwich bread (and don't turn your nose up, because you KNOW you like Velveeta, even if it isn't cool to admit it). I don't like fancy shmancy grilled cheese (I have too many food rules for that), but I do like them made with "real" cheeses, like smoked gouda, pepper jack, and sharp cheddar, and I like different breads, too.

If you are trying to watch your carbs, however, grilled cheese sandwiches have to go by the wayside.

Or do they?

Here's the pin:

http://kirbiecravings.com/2015/08/
cauliflower-crusted-grilled-cheese-sandwiches.html

During last year's A to Z Challenge, I tried cauliflower bread sticks and found them, well, not very bread sticky, so my expectations were very low for this recipe.

First, the cauliflower had to be cut into small florets, stem removed. If you decide to make these, by the way, heed that "stem removed" thing, because when you get to the next step, you'll find the stemmy parts don't grind up in the food processor the same way the floret part does, and then you'll be sifting through a bowl of minced cauliflower with a chopstick, fishing out chunks of stem, or so I've heard.

Pulverized cauliflower

The cauliflower is then pulsed in a food processor until the crumbs are "half the size of a grain of rice," or my way, which is pulverize it until it doesn't look like cauliflower any longer. Then it is microwaved to remove much of the moisture. After it reaches a texture that is like someone "chewed it up and spit it back out," it is ready. Add an egg and parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning, then form the mixture into four squares on parchment or a silpat and bake at 450 degrees until lightly browned and crispy.

Shaped into "bread" slices.

According to the recipe, you now have four slices of cauliflower bread.

According to me, you have four squares of cauliflower pancakes.

Kind of hash browny looking.

The recipe writer suggested finishing the grilled cheese in the toaster oven, using the broil setting, as she thought the cauliflower bread was fragile. I decided if this stuff wanted to pretend to BE bread, then it could just be cooked on a griddle. I sprayed the griddle with a little cooking spray, laid a square on the griddle, covered it with white cheddar cheese, then covered it with another square. And I had no problem flipping them over and browning the other side.

Sideways picture and I don't care.

Another sideways picture and I STILL don't care.

I cut them neatly into triangles (because that's the ONLY way to cut a grilled cheese sandwich), one for my husband and one for me.

Well, it LOOKS kind of like a grilled cheese....

They were...interesting.

They weren't bad. In fact, they were pretty good, although I obviously didn't use half as much cheese in the middle as was used in the pin. 

But they weren't grilled cheese.

And I really like grilled cheese.

My husband's assessment said it best, "If you have been on a low carb diet and are DYING for a grilled cheese sandwich, then this might satisfy your craving. Otherwise, it's just an interesting way to eat cauliflower.

Interesting? Or PINteresting?



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