Gratin of Cauliflower with Gruyère

With all of my time off, I have been having fun discovering new recipes as well as adding my own je ne sais quoi to them.  Tonight I prepared a Gratin of Cauliflower with Gruyère which was amazingly delicious.  I found the recipe on Cooking Light magazine's website which was published in the November 2008 issue.  I will put my alterations in red.  

Gratin of Cauliflower with Gruyère

       Ingredients

• 1 medium cauliflower, trimmed & cut into florets (approximately 2 lbs.) - I used frozen cauliflower florets
• Cooking spray - I used butter flavor
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided - I used sea salt
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1/3 cup panko 
• ½ cup (2 oz.) shredded Gruyère cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives - I omitted this step because my chives went bad
• ½ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 garlic clove, minced - I used 2
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk - I used 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 1 cup of fat-free half & half
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• My addition:  2 shallots, finely chopped

Preparation 

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Place cauliflower in a 2-quart broiler-safe baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; coat cauliflower with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt; toss.  Bake at  400°F for 30 minutes or until almost tender.  Cool 5 minutes.
3. Preheat broiler.
4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Remove from heat.  Stir in panko.  Stir in ¼ cup of cheese and chives.  
5. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.  Coat pan with cooking spray.  Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until almost tender, stirring frequently.  Add garlic, sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Add flour, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk; bring to a boil.  Cook 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat; stirring in remaining ¼ cup cheese, remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, parsley, and pepper.  Pour milk mixture over cauliflower mixture; toss.  Top evenly with cheese mixture.  Broil 3 minutes or until golden brown and thoroughly heated.  

I love, love, love the sauce and I will use it on seafood, poultry or beef in the future.  

Happy eating!