Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Think Pink!

This month's challenge for the Creative Cooking Crew was to create a dish with just one color.  It sounded easy at first...  so many foods, so many colors!  Days went by when all I could do was group foods by color, a cohesive dish remained elusive.



Finally inspiration hit as I stood in a field of strawberries.  Most were ear-marked for jam, but I managed to save a few to make this PINK dish!  I started with a brown sugar-rubbed steak, cooked medium-rare to retain its pink center.  As a play on the mashed potatoes and blue cheese that normally accompany a steak, I used a cauliflower-goat cheese mash that was tinted with a little bit of chopped roasted beets.  The dish was topped off with a salsa made from freshly picked strawberries and mint, and made for a pretty great meal!  Especially when paired with a Blueberry wine ;)



Brown Sugar Rub
slightly adapted from food52
enough for 3/4lb steak

1 1/2T dark brown sugar
1/8t kosher salt
1/8t ground cinnamon
1/4t garlic powder
1/16-1/8t chili powder
1/16t ground dry mustard
1/16t smoked paprika

Combine in a small bowl and stir until well combined.  Use this to rub into both sides of your steak.

Strawberry Mint Salsa
slightly adapted from We Are Not Martha
yield ~1c

1c chopped fresh strawberries
1/4c chopped scallions/spring onions
2T chopped mint
dash of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add ingredients to a small bowl and stir well to combine.  Set aside until ready to serve.

Cauliflower Mash

1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2T butter
2oz goat cheese
1T chopped roasted beets (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Steam cauliflower until fork tender.

Transfer cooked florets to a large bowl (could also use a food processor) and add butter, goat cheese and beets.  Mash well, taste and season with salt and pepper.




Thanks again to Laz and Joan for hosting, be sure to check out more monochromatic inspiration here on Friday!

20 comments:

Erica said...

Perfect! The mash sounds amazing

Delicious Dishings said...

The whole thing looks delicious but especially that cauliflower mash!

Faith said...

What a pretty in pink meal! It all sounds fantastic and I think that salsa would be great on just about anything!

Tiffany @ The Chi-Athlete said...

Oh my gooses! I can't wait to give this a try!

Joanne said...

This is such a fun theme and I love where you went with it! That salsa is something I definitely need in my life.

Evelyne CulturEatz said...

I think it is a beautiful plate, so elegant and whimsical. Looks amazing too!

vanillasugarblog said...

and you say I'm creative!
HA!
Look at you!

Hannah said...

Oh wow, that bright pink cauliflower mash is amazing! If the flavor is half as brilliant as the color, it must be out of this world.

Colleen @ Culinary Colleen said...

I love the color that beets give to other ingredients. Looks beautiful (and tasty)!

Lazaro Cooks said...

Love it. Great use for those fresh strawberries.

Angela said...

Sweet. I thought of pink and got stuck. You nailed it.

Jennifer Kendall said...

so pretty and delicious!! that cauliflower mash is genius!!

Joan Nova said...

Well done. I would have never thought of 'pink' but it really worked out well.

http://platanosmangoes.com said...

A must try your sauce...lovely dish!

Tasty Trix said...

Pink is one of my favorite colors, so you know I love this!

LaDivaCucina said...

So pretty, I thought about pink too. I like the idea of the mash as well, very clever!

Lori Lynn said...

Pretty in pink. The pink cauliflower mash is genius! Super contribution to the CCC!
LL

We Are Not Martha said...

This is a beautiful dish!! The mash is awesome! And I love that you made the strawberry salsa, too :)

Sues

Victoria said...

This is so pretty! We both had some similar ideas for our dishes but went in different directions. The cauliflower mash is gorgeous!

Bianca @ Confessions of a Chocoholic said...

How pretty! I would go crazy over this, especially with the cauliflower-goat cheese-beet mash!

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