Indulge your resolution

Ten days into the new year... how is your resolution?  I have stepped rather slowly into my healthy resolution.  I only recently relinquished my weekday wine and this week's French Friday's post involves nearly two sticks of butter.  However, I have also resolved to be more positive and, therefore, decided to focus on my successful dinners; one in particular involving more leafy greens and less fermented grapes.  I first came across this beet salad during our spring 2010 CSA when fresh beets were delivered to our door each week.  With a creamy dressing and flecks of indulgent goat cheese this salad is a favorite mid week meal.  

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese
Recipe Created by: Guy Fieri


1/2 pound beets, cleaned with ends trimmed
1/2 TB olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts
4 ounces goat cheese
4 cups baby greens
4 cups baby spinach
Tarragon dressing, recipe follows
4 very thin slices red onion, separated

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Take a large sheet of aluminum foil, 12 X 18 and double it over.  Put the beets in the middle, drizzle with olive oil and season with the salt and pepper.  Bring the sides of the foil up around the beets to make a pouch.  Put in the hot oven and bake until the beets are tender, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.  When cool enough to handle, gently peel off the skin and slice into julienne pieces, about 2 inches long by 1/2 inch thick. Chill until ready to use.  (I prefer to cut the beets into thick wedges and toss with the goat cheese, omitting the pine nuts.)
3. Lightly toss the pine nuts in a small saute pan over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove to a plate or small bowl and cool.  Slice the goat cheese into 1/2 inch rounds and press the pine nuts onto both sides.  Chill until service. 
4. When ready to serve, lightly toss the baby greens and the spinach together in a large bowl and dress the edge of your serving bowl with 1/4 cup of the tarragon dressing.  Toss the greens and then top with the beets and the goat cheese rounds.  Drizzle with additional dressing and serve immediately.  

Personally, I prefer to wedge the warm beets and toss them with the goat cheese. On the average day, I omit the pine nuts altogether and choose to throw in sliced radishes and cherry tomatoes.  Although this method offers less time in the kitchen, the original recipe produces a beautiful salad perfect for company.  The tarragon dressing is a triumph of its own.  Made from basic pantry staples, this is a creamy salvation for those craving Caesar salad when it is clearly the month for vinaigrette.

Tarragon Dressing
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp dried tarragon
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 TB mayonnaise
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• In a small bowl or glass jar, combine all the ingredients, except the olive oil.  Whisk until well combined, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil.  This recipe works really well with a stick blender.  

Keep this salad on file and try it the next time you are tempted to cheat.  It is the perfect indulgence to put you back on a healthy track.

it's cold, it's raining, it's French!

Once in a while, everyone needs a good rainstorm. Rain either inspires me to bake delicious treats, or barely move from the couch. This past week, I choose the latter.  With my youngest at my side I indulged in an afternoon of hot tea and Charlie Brown specials as rain pounded our windows.  Wanting to continue our quiet afternoon but not wanting to order a pizza, I gladly attempted another recipe from Around My French Table appropriately titled Roast Chicken for Les Paresseux translation: Roast Chicken for Lazy People.


Roast chicken is one of my favorite meals if only for the mouth watering aroma. Resting on two slices of bread, this low maintenance chicken shared tight quarters with onions, carrots and potatoes and roasted to perfection. After a mere ninety minutes in the oven, the family, happy to be in front of our fireplace,  came together and enjoyed this simple and delicious meal.  How wonderful it felt to take a break from the maddening schedules of our daily grind; even more wonderful is a meal that actually celebrates this break.  For me, this simple meal alleviated any guilt from spending an afternoon on the couch and reminded me to enjoy the people for whom I spend hours in the kitchen.


Any leftovers? We nearly devoured the entire bird in one sitting; however the leftover meat added to a wonderful lunch the following day when tossed with fresh arugula and an equally low maintenance dressing.   Consider this the salad dressing for les paresseux.


Dijon Salad Dressing:
Food Network Magazine November 2010
2 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar
3 TB olive oil
salt and pepper

1. In a small bowl combine the mustard and vinegar.  Whisk in the olive oil and season to taste. 

*For the roast chicken for les paresseux and other fantastic recipes, I encourage you to purchase Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table available via My Loves on Amazon.