Cali'flour Kitchen Eggs in a Basket #AbramsDinnerParty

As part of the Abrams Dinner Party, I've been getting a ton of cookbooks published by Abrams Books. This time around the book was Cali'flour Kitchen.

Cauliflower has gotten trendy these days, thanks in part to the low-carb movement using cauliflower to make pizza crust. I never tried that particular delicacy, but when I got the book Cali'flour Kitchen by Amy Lacey, I figured I'd be making some of that crust.

But then ... they also offered some of their pre-made crusts, so I just moved on to using them rather than making them. Easy peasy.

The book isn't ALL about the crusts, though - there are recipes for using cauliflower in all kinds of recipes, including soup, mashed cauliflower, buffalo cauliflower ... there are recipes for making and using cauliflower rice, and for using cauliflower in pretty much every was imaginable ... and some ways that I might not have imagined.

So, anyway, the pizza crusts arrived, I had no other plans for dinner, and I browsed the book to see what recipes I could make with what I had on hand.

First, I decided to try avocado toast because I happened to have avocado on hand. They had a pretty long list of variations, and like most avocado toast it starts with smearing mashed avocado on the toast. Or in this case, on the cauliflower pizza crust. The caprese version had tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. I didn't have fresh basil, so I left that off. Another version had salsa.

I don't know that I'd ever consider combining avocado and cauliflower on a normal day, but I figured I'd give this a try, and it was certainly interesting. To be totally honest, I think I'd prefer regular toast, but then again I don't have issues with wheat flour. For folks who can't have wheat, these recipes - and the pre-made crusts - are a great option.

Next up, I tried the eggs in a basket, which were pretty familiar. Basically, you cut a round hole where you want the egg to nestle, then cook the egg and crust together in a skillet along with some cheese. You almost don't need a recipe for this, considering it's so simply, but since you'd be working with a cauliflower crust rather than bread, it's nice to have the tips for working for the crust.

After trying both recipes, I have to say that the eggs in a basket inspired me a bit more, because I happen to like the flavor of cauliflower and cheese together. I think it would be awesome with some roasted red peppers.

If you're going low carb or you need to stay away from gluten - and if you like cauliflower a lot, I think you'll enjoy this book. But that's not all. Every recipe indicates whether it's gluten free, grain free, paleo, keto, vegan, vegetarian, or dairy free.

Oddly, I'm none of those, but there are still a bunch of recipes that sound pretty interesting. Hello, cauliflower ... nice to eat ya!

Yes, I did get the book at crusts at no cost to me.

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