Creamy (without any cream) Cauliflower Soup

Source: America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower (2 pounds)
8 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces (I used salted - I'm no foodie!)
1 leek, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin, and washed thoroughly
1 small onion, halved and sliced thin
Salt and pepper
4 1/2 – 5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar (I just have boring white vinegar, and it was fine)
3 Tablespoons minced fresh chives (no chives here, just a green onion, which was fantastic)

Directions:
Pull off outer leaves of cauliflower and trim stem. Using paring knife, cut around core to remove; thinly slice core and reserve. Cut heaping 1 cup of 1/2-inch florets from head of cauliflower; set aside. Cut remaining cauliflower crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leek, onion, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; cook, stirring frequently, until leek and onion are softened but not browned, about 7 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high; add 4 1/2 cups water, sliced core, and half of sliced cauliflower; and bring to simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add remaining sliced cauliflower, return to simmer, and continue to cook until cauliflower is tender and crumbles easily, 15 to 20 minutes longer.

While soup simmers, melt remaining 5 tablespoons butter in 8-inch skillet over medium heat. Add reserved florets and cook, stirring frequently, until florets are golden brown and butter is browned and imparts nutty aroma, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to transfer florets to small bowl. Toss florets with vinegar and season with salt to taste. Pour browned butter in skillet into small bowl and reserve for garnishing.

Process soup in blender until smooth, about 45 seconds. Rinse out pan. Return pureed soup to pan and return to simmer over medium heat, adjusting consistency with remaining water as needed (soup should have thick, velvety texture but should be thin enough to settle with flat surface after being stirred) and seasoning with salt to taste. Serve, garnishing individual bowls with browned florets, drizzle of browned butter, and chives and seasoning with pepper to taste.

Notes:
While spending some time in a hotel room with cable TV, I found myself glued to the cooking shows on various channels.  One of my favorites is America's Test Kitchen because it combines science with cooking (two of my loves).  On the episode I watched  (you can watch the clip here) they made this cauliflower soup and I thought, "Man, I think I could do that!"  I've never before made (or attempted to make) anything I've seen on a cooking show on TV, but this time I looked up the recipe and tried it myself.  And it was totally doable and totally delicious.  It was pretty tasty and surprisingly easy (even the browned butter cauliflower floret garnish wasn't too much of a headache, and it made me feel super fancy to dress up my bowl that way).  I have visions of making this as the base for other creamy soups like clam chowder.  It was pretty remarkable how creamy it was without any milk or cream.  That's science for you (more details of the whys of that on their site).