Cauliflower cheese - yay or nay?

[Bonheurdupasse]

Does anyone do cauliflower cheese as a side at Christmas? Or if not, would you consider it (eating it)?

For those who do it - are there any ways to fancy it up?
One fancy version on BBC good food had the cauliflower being roasted initially, rather than parboiled. Sounds like it would be lovely - but then all in all it would be an hour in the oven for it - wouldn't that dry it out? Especially if I did the first step the night before?

Love cauliflower cheese but never with a roast!

Not for Christmas dinner. I am of the view it’s a main meal in itself, not a side.

Hell yeah. I do a mean cauliflower brocolli and leek cheese and it's a staple.

It's very good with a roast ham.

Yes, if you enjoy it then why not? It wasn't part of our traditional meal growing up but traditions evolve. I don't eat much meat these days so the more veg options the better.

Not everyone will eat it in our family so I've cheated this year and bought ready made. I don't want to spend too much oven time on it if I'm the only one who ends up eating it!

I love it, but not with Christmas dinner, I do not want cheese sauce mingling with gravy.

I was going to ask that. It must bugger up the gravy. I never heard of this until couple of years ago. Lovely with Boxing Day ham, yeah.

You do have to make a broccoli dam.

I'm not keen on cauliflower cheese, but broccoli cheese is the food of the gods. Probably not with Christmas dinner though, there's already so much on the plate.

We never do, but I happily would. I'd eat it with every meal!

No, I like just not with gravy

@EmmaStone
I can highly recommend the Heck vegan chipolatas

Chips with cheese and gravy is a Welsh delicacy!!!

Intriguing. But the only time I roasted a cauliflower it was burnt rubber on the outside and raw at the innards. What’s the secret?

Love it. Sometimes do roasted broccoli and cauliflower together. Always with Dijon mustard in the sauce.

if I don’t do that, I do creamed leeks. Also lovely topped with breadcrumbs.

We usually don't have it at Christmas dinner, but do have it with roast pork on New Year's Day instead. But to each their own, if it was up to me we would have a side of cauliflower cheese with every meal! It s the food of the Gods.

A big yes to cauliflower cheese!!!
I'm vegetarian so my Christmas dinner is all roasties, veg, and sides. It's HEAVEN

Without a doubt. I make mine nice & mustardy do it goes beautifully with the beef we're having.

To quote Peep Show - "Cauliflower is NOT traditional!" Haha but on a personal note, I love it, so why not?! :)

neither was turkey, but look at it now

I have made Jamie Olivers cauliflower cheese the last two years, leaves an all. This year Im going to try a different recipe and roast the cauliflower first, will make the cheese sauce up a day before - ready to pour over the roasted cauliflower

@mrsm43s smoked cheddar sounds wonderful, I shall try that!

Yay and Nay. Nay because I make it with broccoli instead of cauliflower. Yay because DH loves the stuff, and what is Christmas for, if not to make the ones we love happy. I add chives and a wee bit of garlic to mine to get some extra flavour. I would do mustard, but DH hates it sadly.

There would be many devastated people in our house if there wasn't cauliflower cheese on Christmas Day!

No because I don’t think it goes with poultry. Or gravy. I like it with salty stuff like gammon.

But it’s your dinner, if you like it, go for it.

Did you roast it whole? Maybe it's better broken up, I've never tried doing a whole one.

I love cauli cheese but there is so much food on Christmas day that it simply wouldn't fit on the plate!