You Can Always Change Your Mind

Here’s a line from one of our favorite Guster songs (Manifest Destiny) that often applies to Michelle deciding what she’d like to eat.  And many other decisions too, for that matter…

When you have trouble choosing, one solution  is to make a hodgepodge of random small plates ala Tapas style, which is just what we did for supper last night.

We started out with an arugula beet salad.  Nothing new for us, but always a favorite in the Fricks household.  The time-consuming part of this dish is the beet marinating process—a labor of love that was passed along to Dennis from his Grandma.  After that, it’s a breeze to toss together. 

BEET RECIPE

Ingredients:

 

·         Beets (minimum 2....up to 6)

·         Red Onion

·         1/2 cup red wine vinegar

·         1/2 cup white vinegar

·         1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

·         1/2 cup sugar

·         1 cup water

·         1-2 shallots

·         rosemary sprigs

·         olive oil

·         glass jar with tight fitting lid (save old condiment jars)

Directions:

 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

 

2. Wash beets, dice shallots (use 1 if you use 3 or fewer beets and 2 if you use 4 or more beets), roughly chop rosemary

3. Place beets, shallots, & rosemary in a foil pouch with the olive oil (lightly coat all ingredients)

4. Roast for 30-50 minutes (skin should start to "crinkle" or pull away from the edible inside)

5. Remove from oven and let cool

6. Peel the skin

7. Cut into "coins" about 1 centimeter in width

8. Cut the red onion into pieces slightly smaller (in width) than the beets

9. Layer beets and onions in a glass jar (one with a lid that fits tightly) and set aside

10. Place both vinegars, salt, sugar, and water in a small sauce pan--this is the pickling liquid

11. Bring the pickling liquid to a light boil and maintain the boil for about a minute

12. Remove the liquid from the burner for about one minute

13. Pour the liquid over the beets and onions such that the vegetables are submerged

14. Tightly lid the jar(s) and place in the refrigerator for 3-7 days before serving (length of time depends on thickness of your cut on the beets)

15. EAT!!!

 

ARUGULA BEET SALAD

 

Ingredients:

 

·         Arugula

·         Marinated Beets

·         Goat Cheese, crumbled

·         Walnuts (toasted, if you’re feeling fancy schmancy)

·         And a splash of Balsamic vinegar for moisture (this is optional as the beets tend to be pretty juicy on their own)

 Directions:

Combine and then eat!  (We weren’t kidding about this being easy to make)

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Next we moved on to pate.  Yes, Michelle ate and actually enjoyed pate-- although not in its traditional form.  A cookbook we have recommended substituting lentils for the nasty livers.  We served ours 2 ways: atop toasted baguette slices and piped into cherry tomatoes.  You could also combine these variations by topping your bread with the pate and tomato slices.  This is probably the ideal method.  Serve alongside cucumbers for a nice cool and crunch contrast.

 LEMONY LENTIL PATE

  

Ingredients:

 

·         1 ¼ cups refrigerated steamed lentils (available at Trader Joe’s)

·         3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

·         1/8 cup onion, roughly chopped

·         6 large Kalamata olives, pitted

·         ½ Tablespoon capers, with juice

·         1 heaping Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice + zest

·         1 teaspoon Olive oil

·         ½ Tablespoon chopped fresh Rosemary

·         freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1.       In a food processor or blender, process all ingredients together until combination is a smooth paste.  Taste and adjust flavors to your preference.

**you can store leftovers in the fridge for about a week or so.  remove at least 1/2 hour before serving and allow pate to warm up to room temperature before eating

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The randomness continues…potato salad was our 3^rd course of the night.  Although it paled in comparison to the infamous dish prepared by Michelle’s grandma, we both licked our bowls clean.  Here’s why…

 

TANGY MUSTARD POTATO SALAD

 

Indgredients:

·         potatoes

·         caraway seeds

·         Whole grain Dijon mustard

·         Normal Dijon mustard

·         White wine vinegar

·         fresh thyme (from our garden!!)

·         Greek yogurt (or another creamy element like mayo or sour cream)

 

 Directions:

1.       Start by boiling your potatoes until tender and cooked through.

 

2.       Meanwhile, lightly dry toast caraway seeds in a small sauté pan to bring out their full flavor.

 

3.       Combine remaining ingredients in a proportion to your liking.  Stir in caraway seeds then add potatoes. 

 

4.       Serve warm or chilled.

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And finally, we continued our endive boat obsession with a new spin off that included shredded chicken with some Asian flavors. 

 

ORANGE CHICKEN ENDIVE BOATS
 

Ingredients:

 

·         boneless skinless chicken breast

·         sweet onion, diced

·         jalapeno (we used the first from our garden this evening!!!), minced

·         shredded carrots

·         peanuts, chopped

·         freshly squeezed orange juice + zest

·         Lawry’s Sesame Ginger with Mandarin Orange marinade

·         splash of reduced sodium soy sauce

·         freshly ground black pepper

·         Belgian endive

·         Siracha, for serving (if you want to add a bit of a kick)

 

Directions:

1.       Boil chicken until tender.  Allow to cool and then shred into small pieces.

2.       Meanwhile, chop veggies and nuts.

3.       Lightly sauté onion, jalapeno, and carrots with olive oil.  Add peanuts and shredded chicken.

4.       Stir in OJ + zest, Lawry’s marinade, soy sauce, and pepper, to taste.

5.       Simmer for a few minutes and then remove from heat.  Allow mixture to cool while the flavors continue to meld.

6.       Spoon into endive cups and serve at room temp.