Roasted Beet Salad

Believe it or not, Beep found the original recipe for this salad, which has a much snappier title, Warm Tri Beet Salad with Hand-Torn Croutons, on a Discovery Health link. (I included the link to the original above.) And to think . . . Beep always despised beets, said, "They taste like dirt smells!" I don't go to all the trouble that the original recipe does, but I think mine is just as good and much less fuss.
This is a great basic that you can tailor to your specific tastes or maybe to whatever you happen to have in the pantry and fridge. I swap out the cheese, the greens, and the nuts depending how the mood strikes me or what I have on hand, so get creative and make it your own. May I also suggest that you make a few extra beets, serve them warm the night before as a side dish.

INGREDIENTS:
Roasted Beets:
3 golden beets
3 red beets
1-2 T olive oil
1/3 C hot water
1 chicken bouillon cube
S & P to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash the beets well and remove the greens. Dissolve the bouillon in the water. In a roasting pan just large enough to accommodate the beets, add the beets along with the remaining ingredients, drizzling the olive oil over the beets. Cover with foil and roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until the beets are fork tender. Remove from the oven when tender and allow beets to cool enough to handle. Wipe of the skins, throwing them away and cut off the stem and root. Cut the beets into the desired shape, keeping them in separate bowl so the colors won't bleed. I usually cut them into a large julienne, but you can slice them, dice them, whatever you like. Drizzle with a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Salad:
mixed greens to serve 4
8 oz. blue cheese
1 C pecans chopped & toasted

Clean greens, toss with cheese & nuts.

Dressing:
1 1/2 tsp. dijon style mustard ( I use, German Thomy Scharfer Senf)
1/2 C light vinegar, cider, white wine, whatever you have on hand
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 T orange juice
1/2 tsp. salt
12 grinds fresh black pepper
2 oz. olive oil
pinch of sugar to taste

Stir together first 6 ingredients, then slowly drizzle in olive oil while whisking to emulsify. Whisk in sugar, taste and add additional seasoning if needed.

ASSEMBLY:
Casual, toss all the ingredients and dress, serve. Formal, dress the greens and beets separately, arrange cheese, beets and pecans on top of greens, serve.

WOW

I don't often drink white wines, but I do cook with them. Since a normal recipe asks for about a cup or so, I feel obligated to finish the bottle, so follow that well known rule, "don't cook with a wine that you wouldn't want to drink". A great white for drinking and cooking is Kim Crawford Marlborough Savignon Blanc.

"We do things unconventionally, take risks, start things, welcome different. Screw caps keep wine fresher than corks. So we started championing them. We decided the world needed a clean, top quality, fruit driven Chardonnay devoid of the heavy oak. So we started making one. Indeed, when we first started Kim Crawford, we didn't even have a vineyard or winery. Just an idea and a lot of energy."

This New Zealand winemaker's philosophy matches it's wine! I find this one at Central Market, like most others it is priced at $20 or under. I threw away my receipt, so I'm not certain exactly what I paid. WELL worth the price.

Greek Cookies "Karithata" or Sands

This recipe comes from my first generation Greek neighbor. It started with Bo's 3rd grade country project . . . extra credit if you make a food native to your country. Bo had chosen Greece, and as luck would have it, I had one living across the street!



I had no idea what I was making, but was pleased to find that these buttery confections were incredibly similar to the Mexican Wedding Cake cookies I adored as a child, but had never quite found a recipe for them that was satisfactory. Cut with a knife for a more rustic cookie or with a shaped cookie cutter, you will love them either way!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb. butter, softened
9 t. or 3 T confectioners sugar, additional 1/4 cup for dusting
2 T ice water
2 t. vanilla
1 C chopped pecans
2 C flour

Preparation:
I am typing this exactly how it was printed in the book, just because I know some cute little old Greek grandmother wrote it, in parentheses are my corrections.
Beat butter with sugar for 15 minutes. Add water, vanilla, pecan and sifted flour. Knead slightly. Shape with a cooky cutter. ( I roll to about 1/4 inch thickness, then cut). Bake on ungreased cooky sheet in oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes. Cookies will be firm and slightly browned.
Remove from pan, and place on clean surface, which has been sprinkled with confectioners' sugar. (While cookies are baking, dust a parchment lined shallow baking dish with a thin layer of powdered sugar. Remove hot cookies from sheet and place on prepared baking dish and dust with additional powdered sugar.) Sprinkle confectioners' sugar over cookies. Allow to cool. Makes 30.

creme brulee

By far one of my all time favorite desserts, this is a simple recipe that works like a charm. This recipe is from Dallas Dish, the Junior League book I helped to create. Another great thing about this recipe is that it makes 12 desserts, and has a couple of flavor variations, it is easily cut in half if you don't have a crowd or split the mixture prior to adding the flavorings and make two different flavors. I have done both with absolute success. I, as usual, have made one small change to the recipe in the book, it is listed below. Note: Please use the BEST ingredients you can find/afford, when a recipe has so few ingredients it makes such a difference.

Ingredients
4 Cups Heavy Cream, Chilled
2/3 Cup Granulated sugar
Pinch of Salt
12 egg yolks, I use high quality eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract, I use a vanilla bean*
1/4 Cup Turbinado or large grain sugar for dusting, I also use regular granulated
12 4 ounce ramekins

Variations:
White Chocolate:
8 ounces White Chocolate, chopped

Praline:
1 1/2 tsp. Praline liqueur
12 Pecan halves, toasted


Directions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees, move oven rack to lower third of oven. Prepare a baking dish that fits 12 ramekins or two with 6 ramekins each. Place a tea towel in the bottom of the baking dish and place ramekins on top. Bring a large teapot of water to a boil. This will be used to pour into the baking dish for a water bath.
Separate egg yolks into a mixing bowl and whisk, set aside.
In a small saucepan bring 2 cups of the cream, 2/3 c.sugar, vanilla bean and salt to a temperature of 155 over medium heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in remaining cream and fish out the vanilla bean. Slowly stir warm mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. Split the bean with a sharp knife, scrape seeds, add them to the custard and mix well.
Pour an equal amount of custard into each ramekin and place baking dish on the oven rack. With the oven open, pour enough boiling water into the baking dish to reach 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ramekins. Bake 30-45 minutes. The centers should be set but show no color.
Remove ramekins to a wire rack to cool. Once the ramekins are at room temperature, place on a large baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap to refrigerate. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. This can be done up to 2 days ahead.
Remove custards at least 30 minutes prior to serving. Just before serving, blot any moisture from top of custard and dust with 1-2 teaspoons of sugar and caramelize the sugar using a kitchen torch or under your broiler. Watch carefully to prevent burning.
For the variations, add the flavoring to scalded milk and stir to incorporate. Be certain to melt and combine the chocolate completely. To garnish the praline, place a toasted pecan halve on the melted sugar before it hardens. Have fun with it and invent your own flavors!

Wow

Edge Wines, the latest greatest find for under $20! Beep brought this one home from our good friends in Baton Rouge. Thanks Eric! Voted best Cab under $20 by Food & Wine in 2007, I will have to concur. This Nappa Valley red is smoother than a baby's bottom, easy in the glass and on the pocketbook. This Cab will age well for five to eight years, so put a couple bottles on the shelf for an "anyday" treat. We found it locally at Central Market for just under $18 a bottle. Check them out at: http://www.edgewines.com/ and enjoy.

WOW Wine of the week

I know it has been a while. . . hopefully worth the wait. I have compiled a new list of wines consumed over the holiday season and plan to post with more consistency.
This wine is one that I have mentioned in recipes on this blog, but neglected to honor as a WOW.
As with most of mine wine selections, this one found it's way into the Schuh household via Beep. It is a terrific every day red table wine and I have especially found it wonderful to use as a cooking wine.
I prepared short ribs over the holiday break and used it again in that recipe and it performed superbly. It performs in price point as well, $14.99 at Central Market, I found it listed at the Gauge Wines site at $13.99, here is the link . . . http://www.gaugewines.com/gauge/index.jsp
12 Gauge Cab is a must have staple!
More things to love about this wine . . . #1 - the screw top makes it easy to pour a glass and even easier when adding to your favorite recipe. #2 - the attitude of the company . . . "Wine for the not-so-delicate palate" the red is described as Perfect, paired with anything retired by a shotgun or rifle, and the white, Perfect for anything hauled in by a hook.

BEST way to cook a whole Filet Mignon

The Filet is such a wonderful cut of beef. If cut into a single portion steak, I prefer to have it grilled, but this recipe from Ina Garten is by far the best way to prepare a whole filet. I do have a wonderful seared, oven prepared version for pork or beef loins served with a creamy peppercorn sauce, that I learned in a class hosted by Chef Jean Pierre, but I will post that at a later date.
A whole tenderloin is an entirely different story and following is the EASIEST way I have found to prepare one. Years ago I was watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa and Ina Garten gave a simple and delicious method for cooking a whole filet of beef.
Ina's Tenderloin
4-5 pound whole tenderloin
2 T butter room temperature
1 T salt
1 T fresh cracked black pepper
I also use equal amounts garlic powder and steak seasoning from Morton's Steak House. (Mix all your seasonings together in a small bowl to season evenly.)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees, line a half sheet pan with foil. Allow meat to come to room temperature, remove from the refrigerator about 20 minutes prior to preparation. Tie meat to even thickness, to ensure even cooking. I just tuck under the "tail" if it is much smaller than the rest of the loin. If you have someone who likes their meat well done(a sin against nature for this piece of meat), leave it untied or unfolded to suit their taste.
Pat loin dry with a piece of paper towel, rub with softened butter and coat with seasonings. Place loin on foil lined baking sheet and roast in the oven 22 minutes (for rare), 25 minutes(medium rare). Remove from oven, transfer to a warm platter and cover tightly with foil for 20 minutes.
I have successfully roasted smaller and bigger tenderloins and simply adjusted the cooking time accordingly. Slice and enjoy! You won't even need a steak knife . . . the meat is that tender.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

This should tell you something . . . the page in my cookbook, The Good Cookie that holds this recipe is smudged with chocolate. The original recipe has walnuts. I usually omit the nuts, primarily because my kids won't eat anything with nuts. I was the same way as a kid. These cookies are almost like a brownie in cookie form, chewy and moist, baking them can be somewhat difficult. It is a very thin line between under or over baking them. This recipe is great to make ahead, because the dough needs to chill prior to scooping. You can also scoop a few at time, bake and scoop the rest the next day. As with all my cookies, I scoop the entire batch, use what I need, individually freeze the rest of the cookies and then once frozen . . . bag the cookies, label and save for a rainy day. This way I always have a variety of cookies in the freezer ready to bake at a moments notice.

Ingredients:
1/4 C flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
14 oz. bittersweet chocolate (I sometimes use 8 oz. bittersweet and 6 oz semisweet)
2 T unsalted butter
2 large eggs
1 C brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 C chopped walnuts


Preparation:
In a small bowl, whisk flour and baking powder, set aside. Divide the chocolate into 8 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet and 6 ounces bittersweet finely chopped or semisweet chips. I like using the semisweet chips. In a glass bowl over simmering water melt the 8 ounces of chocolate and butter. Set aside and cool once melted. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar and vanilla on high about 3 minutes, the mixture should double in volume.
On low speed, blend in melted chocolate and then the dry ingredients. Stir in the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate and nuts (if desired) by hand. Cover and chill dough for at least an hour and up to 24 hours.
Once chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray. Scoop cookies by the teaspoon full or like I do with a #40 cookie scoop. (You can also scoop, flatten and freeze in individual layers to bag once frozen and bake a later time.)
Place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheets and bake 9-11 minutes, until cookies appear set. Rotate pans half way though cooking. If you over bake cookies will be dry. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes then remove to wire racks. Remove cookies with a spatula. They like to stick!
Store airtight for up to one week.

Snicker Doodles

Another cookie that has crisp exterior with a chewy texture that my kids love, as this cookie bakes your home will fill with the warming scent of cinnamon. This particular snicker doodle recipe can be found in one of my favorite cookbooks that I received from my mom. The Hoosier Cookbook, has all of those great recipes that I remember growing up, should you ever have a chance to pick one up, I highly recommend adding it to your collection. The book contains recipes from people all over the state of Indiana. The snicker doodle recipe was contributed by Kathleen Ingle of Crawford County. Be careful not to over bake, the cookies will loose their softness if they bake too long.
Like most of the other cookies I make, these freeze great once they have been scooped.

Ingredients:
1 C shortening
1 1/2 C sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 C flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 T sugar
2 tsp. cinnnamon
Yield: 33 cookies with a 40 scoop

Prepartation:
Combine shortening and 1 1/2 C sugar, beat in eggs one at a time. Mix flour, soda, cream of tartar and salt in a separate bowl. Gradually beat flour mixture into the wet ingredients until combined. Scoop with desired size cookie scoop or roll into approximately one teaspoon sized balls. At this point you can freeze in an individual layer and bag once frozen or combine remaining sugar and cinnamon and roll cookies in this mixture to coat. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake 8-10 minutes at 375 degrees.

Mountain Bar Cookies

I haven't proclaimed this in my blog yet, but my mom is my HERO! She has done many amazing things, but this was one of those things that she remained persistent about and it was something only a mother would do out of love for a child.
My high school made these wonderful fudge like cookies that I absolutely loved. It was one of those things that when you saw it in the lunch line, it was like Christmas morning! It would make my day. Years later, in my adulthood, my mom surprised me with the recipe! She tracked down some lunch lady and pestered her until she got the recipe. They are not complicated, they are not even baked, but I love them today as much as I did at 15.
Ingredients:
2 C sugar
1/2 C whole milk
3 T cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C coconut
dash of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 C quick cooking oatmeal

Preparation:
In a medium stock pot, mix the first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil, boil one minute. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, coconut, salt and vanilla. Next, mix in oatmeal. Stir one or two minutes to cool, so mixture is slightly firm. Drop by the teaspoonful or #70 scoop on to wax or parchment paper in small mounds. Cool completely until set and store in an airtight container.