Cauliflower mashed potatoes

Let me say from the start that these are definitely not Dad's World's Best Mashed Potatoes, and they aren't pretending to be.

I've been trying to get more veggies into our diets lately, but have been feeling uninspired by what's available (hoping to change that by going to the farmers market this weekend) and by my usual standbys.  So, I looked around the internets a bit and found a recipe for mock mashed potatoes made from cauliflower.  I tend to like cauliflower, and I've enjoyed mashing in other veggies with potatoes before (I really like a mix of potatoes and celery root/celeriac) so I thought I'd give it a try.  I modified the recipe to include some potatoes.  They turned out really well!  The kids didn't like them, but Aleks and I did.  They are lighter than regular mashed potatoes in texture and flavor, and the flavor of the butter came through really nicely. You can serve them either as a healthier version of mashed potatoes, or a less healthy version of cauliflower as a vegetable.  I would recommend them to sub in place of mashed potatoes as for a regular weeknight dinner, but not for a weekend grilled steak dinner.  You could also play with the ratio of potatoes to cauliflower depending on preference.

I used:

4 small-med russet potatoes
1 large, dense head of cauliflower
~2 T butter
3 cloves of garlic
~2 T cream cheese
salt and pepper (not as much salt as you would need if using 100% potatoes)

Cut the potatoes into 1/2" dice, cover with cold water and bring to a boil.  Boil until cooked as normal for mashed potatoes.  (Note, potatoes really, really do cook much better if you start them in cold water.  I resisted this instruction for years before finally trying it, and now it's what I always do.  Somehow it prevents the outside from cooking too much and falling apart in the water while the inside is still hard.)  Cut the cauliflower into florets and steam until tender.  (The potatoes and cauliflower took about the same time to cook for me, so you could put the potatoes in the bottom of a pan and cover with water, then pile the cauliflower on top to steam.  One less dish!).  When everything is cooked, drain the water.  Meanwhile, cut the cold butter into cubes.  Press the garlic through a press into the bowl with the butter.  Microware the butter and garlic together until the butter is melted (30 s in my microwave).  This cooks the garlic just enough that it doesn't taste like chunks of raw garlic, but you still get a good strong flavor.  Put it all together in a pot and mash it with a mixer.

Like I said, this has a pretty strong butter flavor and wasn't at all dry, so you could definitely get away with using less butter or cream cheese if you want to cut down on the fat.