Conquering Another Foodie Phobia: Roasted Beets

First I conquered my cooking phobia of Scallops, and now I'm tackling beets. I love beets. Napa Valley-based Bistro Jeanty's Salade de Betteraves is one of my favorites in the world. It's got beautiful jewel-toned beets, mâche and feta cheese and citrus dressing. It's fantastic, especially when accompanied by their tomato soup with puff pastry crust. But that's another blog for another day.

So I went to the Beverly Hills' Farmers Market last Sunday morning and bought two bunches of beets, one of Chioggia (interior white/red concentric rings) and the other, Burpee's Golden beets for $3. Talk about a deal. I asked the vendor to remove the stems; in my own mind, I was one step closer to clean beets. I got them home, let out a big sigh and opened the bag, ready to tackle the beets. Then it hit me; roasting beets can't be any different than roasting any other root veggie. And if that was the case, I knew how to do it. You just cut off the edges, scrub the skins and roast them in the oven for just under an hour (depending on the size). I could do this!

After roasting the beets, I have to admit I'm completely embarrassed I was ever intimidated by them. I feel like I'm a representative of The Idiots Guide to Cooking. No, seriously. I have roasted pretty much everything under the sun...beef, broccoli, root vegetables, peaches, etc. Why I thought beets would be beyond me is, well... beyond me. But I'll stop beating myself up and get to the recipe! :)

Oven-Roasted Beets

• 3 medium beets (red or gold), scrubbed, leaves trimmed
• Olive oil
• Aluminum foil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat beets lightly with oil (omit this step if you're going watching calories; the beets will steam in the foil even without the oil).

Cut top and bottom edges off beets

Scrub beets under running water until clean

Wrap beets in aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast in the oven until cooked through, approximately 45 to 60 minutes.

Wrap beets with aluminum foil and place on cooking sheet

Bake for 45-60 minutes, depending on size of beets

Remove from the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, and then peel. The skin should come off very easily, either using your fingers or a paring knife.

Remove beets from oven and let cool for 10 minutes

Unwrap beets and remove skin with fingers or paring knife

Discard the skin and the foil and use the beets however you want: slice into 1/4-inch thick slices for a gratin, quarter them and toss them in a salad with lentils, goat cheese and frisee. Whatever you do with them, enjoy!

Beautiful roasted beets, peeled and ready to go!

Conquering a Cooking Phobia: Scallops Provençal

This week is about conquering my cooking fears. Obviously I love to cook and hopefully am somewhat good at it, or else I wouldn't be writing this blog. But there are just some things that I feel are better ordered at restaurants, because my perception of their complicated, involved, lengthy preparations have me backed into my figurative kitchen corner. Take scallops for example. I don't mean tiny, fishy bay scallops. I mean gigantic, tender, gorgeous sea scallops. The ones you get at a restaurant like Gulfstream or Napa Valley's FARM, for example, where they're just perfect. So perfect you know anything you do at home will just be a disappointment. They've been pan seared and have a light, golden crust, a perfectly succulent texture and taste like heaven. I love when they come with roasted golden beets (another foodie phobia of mine), marcona almonds and frisee.

Conquering a cooking phobia: Pan-Seared Scallops Provençal

Photo courtesy of OnePerfectBite

So the other day I decided to tackle the shellfish head (or shell) on, spreading out my cookbooks and searching each index for the perfect scallop recipe. I was picky; after all, I figured the better the recipe, the better my chances of success. I found what seemed to be a great recipe from Ina Garten for Scallops Provençal, and while I had low expectations (yet high hopes), I have to say it turned out great!

I was so excited about the result that I actually bought scallops again for tonight. Now I'm going to try, try and try again until I get close to perfect. Most importantly, I'm one kitchen phobia down and only have a few more to go. Here's the recipe:

Scallops Provençal

• 1 pound fresh sea scallops
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• All-purpose flour, for dredging
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 1/3 cup dry white wine (make sure it's good...then drink the rest!)
• 1 lemon, cut in 1/2

A word to the wise: This recipe goes by FAST. Even one extra minute means tough scallops; and no one wants tough, chewy scallops. So make sure you've got everything ready chopped, measured and ready to go before you start.

Sprinkle scallops with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess. In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Dredge scallops in flour with salt & pepper, then brown in pan

Dice two large shallots & garlic clove

Wash and chop flat leaf parsley

Flip scallops once they are golden brown

Add shallot, garlic, flat leaf parsley and cook for two minutes. Then add the white wine and let all the flavors come together.

I tossed a mixed green, tomato and mozzarella salad on the side.

There you have it! Scallops Provençal