Bite the Apple

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Saturday, November 7, 2009

And Teens are From Pluto

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Do any of you all have teenagers?
If so, is shopping always like this?

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Alrighty then! After giving oodles of serious think, thank, thunk to this latest culinary throw down, I have finally arrived at a winner of the Great Eat to the Beet Challenge of 2009.

It wasn't easy. A full eight participants rolled up their sleeves, preheated their ovens, and dug into the challenge with all their might. And, in some cases, humor.

So without further beeting around the bush, here's the rundown:

Karl, winner of last month’s Throw Down, flexed his culinary muscles once again with a juicy looking beet burger that any one of Moi’s vegetamarian friends would be delighted to eat while I wantonly fling buffalo burgers on the grill for myself.

Chef Troll came out swinging with not one, not two, but three dishes, plus a beautifully colored beet-tini aperitif (I’m choosing to call it an aperitif, since the Scandinavians and Russians often serve a shot of ice cold vodka before dinner).

Kym likewise made a lovely beet salad and endeared herself to the judge with the inclusion of a grilled elk steak the size of Texas. Game meat is always my first protein of choice (the animals are truly free ranging and as free of hormones and other yew-ey injectables as you’re gonna get, so make friends with a hunter in your neighborhood or better yet, throw the finger to the Fascist Piggies disguised as “pacifists” in Washington and go buy yourself a hunting rifle) and if ever two flavors most likely complimented each other, it’s elk and beets.

First time player Miss Allison admitted she was like an 8-year-old when it came to beets but game gal that she is, jumped right in by preparing a roasted beet with arugula salad completely from scratch. Muy brave, given the tenacity of beet juice to stain everything within a tri-county radius. And arugula, mmmmm. Fun to pronounce, too.

Senor Buzz made his dish a couple weeks ago as part of Shamu’s Dim Sum Sunday and while he admits the flavor lacked a certain something-something, I do so loves me pureed soups. Not only did he give us a recipe with which we can fiddle, his presentation both pre and post endeavor was simply gawjus.

That fab foodie La Diva Cucina was once again too busy making the world a safer place for cooking in stilettos to properly participate, but she posted a link to a past post she’d done featuring a white beet salad and pasta with beet greens. I will be making this soon, you can bet on that.

Fishy, oh, now she was clever! She went right for Moi’s sweet tooth with a luscious chocolate beet cake that is also on my list to make this month. Only, I won’t be leaving mine nekkid like that with only a dusting of powdered sugar to protect all that moist goodness from the cold cruel world.

Finally, Most Honorable Mentions simply must go to the two gals who, while not crafting beet dishes per se, most definitely presented the theme in an equally “gut busting” manner.

Boxer started off our day with a video cooking show send-up that mixes one part Mr. Bill, one part Mr. Potato Head, and, I’m certain, one part entire bottle of vodka, all filtered through her own delightfully skewed world view into a distillation of pure, unadulterated, laugh-until-you-pee-your-pants hilarity.

You’d think that K9, whose alter ego has “boutique farmer” written all over her future, would have jumped into the challenge with apron waving, but, no. Instead, she strode into the kitchen to affirm with distinctive Mad Maxian élan that “beets suck,” and chose instead to make out of them a lovely centerpiece that would have looked tres chic at any one of our tables.

So as you can see, my decision was not an easy one. But I have made it and I am sticking to it.

The winner of the Great Eat to the Beet Challenge 2009 is . . .

CHEF TROLL. Here’s why: Three dishes. One using beets themselves, the other, their greens. And a beautifully colored aperitif. Alkeehol always gets my attention, as does bacon and the use of greens. Which, I feel I should add, was also done brilliantly by La Diva, who almost won but didn’t out of fairness to the folks who crafted a dish specifically for this challenge. Finally, Troll got Major Moi Points for not only posting all his recipes but also for taking all his own photos, which regardless of quality (quality goes to K9 hands down), were nonetheless not only sufficiently illustrative but also original.

So, Chef Troll, that puts you in charge of hosting and picking the topic for the next Culinary Throw Down, and also perhaps judging it, if we can’t find a non-participating judge to handle that part. Which I think would be fun, because it would allow your dish to be in the running.

P.S. Actually, I don't mind doing it again. I am fine with keeping myself out of the running. You decide.

Smooches to all!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Culinary THROW DOWN: Don't That Just Beet All

Beets are one of my favorite root vegetables – I love their sweet earthiness – and for this challenge, I thought it would be fun to spin off the classic Alsace onion tart, which also happened to be one of my mother's specialties. It was a regular feature in my lunch box for years. I used a combination of her recipe and the one I found on the Leite's Culinaria Web site.

I made it for dinner last night and although S.B. was game for a bite, he politely declined eating more than that before moving on to polish off Sunday's left over pot roast.

Oh well. More for Moi.

Here's how I did it:

Goat Cheese, Onion, and Beet Tart

For the Pastry:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes and well chilled.
5 tablespoons ice water

In a mixing bowl, combine flour and salt, then quickly cut in the cubed butter using your fingers or a pastry blender, reducing the butter to the size of very small peas. Dump the mixture out onto a clean work surface, make a well in the center, and pour the ice water into the center of the well. Using your fingers and working from the outside in, incorporate the flour and water together into a rough dough. Work the dough into a log shape about 10 inches long. Using the heel of your hand, start at the top edge of the dough and push and smear about an inch of dough at a time down and away from you. Gather dough together into a log and repeat. When finished, gather dough into a ball, flatten into about a 7" diameter round, wrap in plastic or parchment, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to two days (you can also freeze the dough, very well wrapped, for up to six months – defrost overnight in the fridge before using).

When ready to make the pastry, roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until about 11 to 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8" thick. Fold into quarters and place one quarter at the bottom right side of a 10" tart pan with removable bottom. Unfold and carefully pat dough down into the pan. Fold the excess overhanging dough down to reinforce the sides. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 375º F. Line tart pan with foil and then fill with baking weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove beans and foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes until pastry just turns golden. Fill as per below.

For the filling:
2 15 ounce cans whole beets (or three to four large fresh beets, roasted, cooled, and peeled)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
One large yellow union, cut into thin rings
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons sherry or Marsala wine
3 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup cream
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 ounces goat cheese

Heat butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add sherry or Marsala wine and cook until alcohol has evaporated and onions are tender, another 1-2 minutes. Slice cooked or canned beets into 1/8" slices. If using canned beets, dry well with paper towels before slicing. Mix beets and onions together.

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Pour the onion/beet mixture into the tart shell and spread evenly to cover. Whisk together the three eggs, sour cream, cream, and grated nutmeg. Pour mixture over beets and onions making sure the egg/cream mixture seeps evenly throughout the tart. Sprinkle with goat cheese and bake until mixture looks sets and the cheese begins to brown just slightly, about 30-35 minutes.

Let tart rest about 5 minutes before slicing and serve with a mixed greens salad.

So, how does it taste? First of all, I have to say, this is the best tart dough recipe ever. It comes out light and flaky, with a texture very similar to puff pastry, and a delicate, buttery flavor. And while goat cheese and beets are always a great pairing, I'm not so sure they do their best work together in an onion/cheese tart. Don't get me wrong, the dish is perfectly tasty, and would make for a nice lunch or brunch dish, but I think the beets get a little lost. Next time, onion and cheese tart, with the beets as a side dish.

Beet It

Culinary Throwdown deadline is tomorrow! Theme is beets, glorious beets! All you have to do is make your dish, take photo or two, and post it – along with the recipe, if you like – on your blog. Then skedaddle over here and leave a comment saying you're UP! Then Troll and I will come around and declare a winner by the end of the week.

Some of you have asked if you can use pickled or canned beets and the answer is: YES. You may use them in any form you wish.