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Caramelized Onion and Thyme Pizza with Fontina Cheese

Summer means pizza on the grill. Even though it has cooled down a bit I’m not turning on the oven, especially to pizza baking temperatures. All in all, baked on a grill or in an oven, this caramelized onion and thyme pizza with Fontina Cheese is a delicious not-your-usual pizza.

Caramelized Three Onion and Thyme Pizza with Fontina Cheese on the grill
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Roasted Golden Beets and their Greens with Garlic Orange Dressing

Golden Beets and their greens

This week we roast the first of Ranui Garden garlic in the same casserole as the beets we also find in our CSA box. The garlic roasts into buttery goo and at the same time subtly infuses the beets with garlic essence. This recipe for roasted golden beets and their greens with garlic orange dressing features both the beets and their greens in one delicious dish.

Mellow roasted garlic orange vinaigrette seasons both the bed of warm sautéed beet greens underneath and the sliced roasted beets nestled on top. Sweet roasted beets juxtaposed with their barely bitter greens and tangy salty feta cheese, all in the same bite–sweet, sour, salty and bitter–yum!

Make this recipe as soon as you get the beets, because beet greens deteriorate more quickly than other greens. The cheapatarian in me hates to see them go to waste.

Some of the roasted garlic goes in the garlic orange dressing–the extra cloves are great spread on crackers or crostini.

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Golden Beets and their greens
Print Recipe
4.06 from 17 votes

Roasted Golden Beets and their Greens with Garlic Orange Dressing

Two vegetables in one--beets and their greens. Wilted beet greens become the bed for roasted beets--all are dressed with a delicious roasted garlic and orange dressing.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound golden beets
  • 1 head garlic
  • 3 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon Real Salt , or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tablespoon minced onion
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • ¼ cup feta cheese , optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim the beet tops, leaving a 1-inch tail, reserving the top greens. Scrub the beets.
  • Break the garlic up into individual cloves, but don’t peel them. Put the beets and the garlic cloves in a small casserole, add about ½ cup of water and cover with a lid or foil.
  • Bake until a knife slips easily into the largest beet, about 1 hour; the time will vary depending on the size of the beets.
  • Meanwhile tear the beet greens off their stems, discarding any yellowed or wilted greens. Cut them into 1-inch ribbons. Set aside.
  • When the beets are tender, let them cool enough so you can slip off the skins. Trim the tips and tails and cut the beets in wedges or slices.
  • Squeeze about half the cloves of cooked garlic into a bowl and mash it well with a fork. Add the first 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, orange juice, minced onion, salt and cayenne, and whisk together well. Toss the beets with half of this dressing.
  • Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet. Add the beet green ribbons. Cook and stir until the greens are wilted and tender. Toss in the remaining dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Transfer the greens to a serving plate. Arrange the dressed beets over the greens. If desired, sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese, .

Homemade Lemon Pasta with Chive Oil

Silken lemon-zested homemade pasta noodles in a light flavorful vegetable broth, accented with a simple herb oil, this lemon pasta with chive oil is about as elegant as a pretty gal in a fine lacy dress or a handsome man in a tuxedo!

Lemon Pasta with Chive Oil in Italian bowl with spoon

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Lemon and Chocolate Truffle Wedding Cakes

This post is about the process of baking and transporting a wedding cake, with recipes converted down for home cooks. The recipes are for are 9-inch versions of the original lemon and chocolate truffle wedding cakes, both flavors, including recipes for the fillings and the frosting! 

Tricia's wedding cakes--triple lemon and chocolate. A wedding cake made with love.


JUMP DIRECTLY TO RECIPE

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Homemade Basil Walnut Pesto

Stashing containers summer’s pesto is the simplest squirrel-like getting-ready-for-winter food ever. When fresh basil is garden plentiful, pull out the food processor and whip up a batch. This pesto freezes beautifully–all winter long, when you want pesto for pasta or pizza, there’s a stash of basil walnut pesto ready to use!

Walnut Basil Pesto in jar with spatula in background

Using a food processor, this pesto is quick to make–the work is in stripping the basil leaves off the stems. The garlic is super-easy to mince–begin your pesto by dropping whole garlic cloves in the work bowl while the processor is running and the blade is spinning. When the garlic stops hitting the sides of the processor bowl, it’s perfecty minced!

Compared to many other pesto recipes, this easy basil walnut pesto uses less olive oil than many pesto recipes–more basil bang for the buck. Not that extra virgin olive oil is a bad thing, I just think this pesto’s flavor and texture is dandy with less olive oil!

You’ll appreciate this budget-wise pesto. It’s made using walnuts and Pecorino Romano cheese in place of the more expensive pine nuts and Parmesan cheese called for in classic Italian Genovese pesto.

Click here to PIN Homemade Basil Walnut Pesto recipe!

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