Gratin of Beets with Walnuts and Roquefort Cheese

I found this recipe years ago in a little tiny Bon Appetit cookbook. Marc and I love it and I still make it lo these many years later. (With my passion for trying new things, not that many recipes stay in rotation.) If you think you don't like beets, it may be that you've only tried pickled beets. Roasted beets are a different thing completely -- earthy, delicately sweet -- and if you're lucky enough to have garden-fresh beets, well... you're just really lucky. This is delightful alongside a steak.

2 medium beets, stems trimmed to 1 inch
2 t. balsamic vinegar
1/2 t. sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 T. butter
3/4 c. fresh breadcrumbs
3 T. chopped walnuts
1 1/2 T. snipped chives or minced green onions
2 oz. Roquefort, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap beets in foil. Place in baking pan and cook until tender, about 1 hour. Maintain oven temperature. Cool beets slightly. Peel and cut into 1/2" dice. Mix with vinegar and sugar. Season with salt and pepper, spoon into a buttered gratin dish.

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs and stir until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Mix in walnuts and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Add Roquefort and crumbs to beets and mix gently to distribute evenly. Return to oven and bake until hot, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Serves 2, but can easily be doubled or tripled.

Carrot Rice

(Denise got this from Rachel Ray)

4 t. olive oil
3 large carrots, peeled and grated
1 1/2 c. white rice
2 1/2 c. chicken stock

Cook carrot in olive oil with salt and pepper.

Add rice, stir to coat and cook until rice is golden brown.

Add chicken stock and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer 15-18 minutes, or until liquid is evaporated.

Broccoli with Blue Cheese

2 T. butter
2 T. flour
1 c. milk
4 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. crumbled blue cheese
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, steamed

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Whisk in flour and heat until bubbly. Slowly add milk, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat until mixture thickens. Add cream cheese and blue cheese to sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Pour over broccoli and serve.

(Arrange broccoli spears on a platter, alternating stems and tops. Pour the sauce down though the middle of the stalks.) Serve with rice.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Walnuts, Caramelized Shallots and Garlic

From Jamie's Palate in the Bucks County News

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

3 shallots, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup walnut pieces

1/4 cup olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees. Next, remove the exposed (cut) end of the sprouts. Then, cut them in half and place them in a bowl, mixing them with an eighth of a cup of olive oil and salt and pepper.

From there, spread the sprouts out evenly on a baking sheet. If they are bunched together, they will steam instead of roast, and you’ll lose the beautiful flavor because the sprouts will not caramelize. Put them in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes. It’s okay if the outer leaves turn brown.

The shallots and garlic really make this dish. While the sprouts roast, heat an eighth of a cup of olive oil in a skillet. Then add the shallots, chopped thyme and garlic and sauté the mixture until it begins to soften and turns translucent.

Once you remove the sprouts from the oven, add them to the garlic-and-shallots mixture. Check the seasoning before serving.

Green Beans with Bacon/Balsamic Vinaigrette

2 lbs. fresh green beans, trimmed
2 bacon slices
1/4 c. minced shallots
3 T. coarsely chopped almonds
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 T. brown sugar

Cook beans in boiling water for 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Cook bacon in a small skillet over med. high heat until brown. Remove bacon from pan and crumble. Add shallots to bacon drippings in pan; saute 1 minute. Add almonds; sauté 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. Add vinegar and sugar to pan and stir until sugar dissolves. Add crumbled bacon. Pour vinaigrette over beans, tossing gently to coat. Serves 8.

Crab potatoes

(This recipe was originally crab-stuffed twice-baked potatoes, but Mom came up with a much simplified, casserole version -- it tastes just as good but is so much faster and easier!)

3 pkgs. Idahoan Baby Reds instant mashed potatoes
lg. can lump crabmeat
2 T. dried onion
6 T. butter
dollop of whipping cream or milk
salt and pepper
2 c. grated sharp cheddar

Mix up potatoes according to package directions. Stir in remaining ingredients and bake until browned and heated through. Serves a crowd! (may be reduced)

Butternut Squash Gratin w/Blue Cheese and Sage

6 servings

2 lbs. cubed, peeled butternut squash
1-2 slices bread
4 t. olive oil
2 c. thinly sliced onion
1 T. chopped fresh sage
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Steam squash, covered, until tender.

Pulse bread in food processor until it forms coarse crumbs. Place crumbs in a bowl and add 2 t. oil, toss with a fork.

Heat remaining oil over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes. Transfer onion to a bowl and add squash, sage, and salt and pepper.

Spoon into a 7x11 dish and bake for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle blue cheese and bread crumbs on top and bake an additional 10 minutes.