Birthday Beets

This past Friday a couple of us celebrated a friend's birthday (30th?). How great is it when the one you're celebrating for also does most of the grocery shopping, the prep work and half of the cooking before you arrive? She even asked *me* what I'd be interested in for the meal. I wanted beets, knowing they are one of her favorites as well. All I had to do was bring the wine.

So she decided on Marinated Giant White Beans and Beets from the New York Times, along with Skordalia and, for dessert, Lemon Bars. "Giant white beans" are just big lima beans in disguise, but they taste better maybe because they're bigger, or maybe because they're served with something else that's actually tasty.

We decided that Skordalia should be known as "German or Greek pesto". Garlicky Goodness! It was perfect with the beans and the entire loaf of bread we wolfed down.

Repeat after me: "Beets are delicious." I sometimes have cravings for beets. I don't care what crap your mom served to you when you were a kid - go get some, scrub, chop and roast them. Roasted beets with salt, pepper and olive oil are some of the most tastiest things on the planet. Add some sweet potatoes, shallots and maybe some dill or rosemary or topped with feta and some balsamic vinegar. It was change you into a beet lover. Golden yellow beets are also good and don't stain, but lack the peaty punch I crave. Canned beets should be banned. And pickled beets - meh. Beets are, of course, uber-healthy to boot.


Who can resist an ooey-gooey lemon bar? So glad that Pam added the lemon zest, which the recipe did not call for. Happy Birthday!

Cooking at the Kasbah

Every month or three for the past 4 years, Rob and I meet up with our friends Dave & Melissa to cook an extensive feast. I say 'extensive' because over time we've met earlier and earlier in the day since it takes hours to construct an entire meal. This is due, in part, to our abundant ingest of wine. We like wine. A lot. One time we didn't eat dinner until 10. I don't really remember it, but the ones sitting and waiting for the meal definitely do and remind us of it regularly.

Usually it's Dave & I doing the cooking, while Rob & Melissa eat and drink and discuss god-knows-what (most likely what hill they're going to tackle next in skiing or biking), or maybe they wax their skis. It seems to me that they're just buying time until we bring them something more to eat. Melissa, being a planner like myself, wants to eat on a regular schedule and preferably before bedtime, and therefore has been cracking the whip ever since the 10pm fiasco. Dave & I clearly need time limits (or wine limits). I really love these times together. Dave & I have cooking zen (except when drunk and cooking), and it's an opportunity for us to make something more advanced since we share a love of Cooks Illustrated (which is how this all started). Rob & Melissa are excellent tasters and critics - and easy to cook for, even when they're hungry and ornery.

Last night they came over and we made 4 dishes, 3 from Cooks. Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Lemon (chicken tagine, but don't tell Rob) and Couscous Pilaf with Raisins and Almonds. We also used this moroccan recipe from Cooking at the Kasbah: Carmelized Carrots with Sweet Paprika. The chicken and the couscous were especially tasty, and they were all fairly easy. I'm not sure how much better toasting the couscous made for its dish, but toasting the almonds was definitely a good thing. Anyway, we ate at a reasonable time - 8pm. Progress is good.

Then came the bread pudding. As a kid I wouldn't even think of eating something that resembles soggy bread. That all changed when Jo, my roommate in Madison, introduced me to cinnamon-toast-bread. Then she cleverly paired the bread with cream, eggs, chocolate, coffee and sugar, and baked it. How can anyone resist that? I actually remember the first bite: creamy (not soggy at all!), sweet and unlike what I had expected. I have been hooked on bread pudding ever since.

So this version includes rum and raisins. Yeah, I think I can handle a forkful of that (or 3). It's from Cooks - Rum Raisin Bread Pudding with Cinnamon. This isn't the healthy version, if one actually exists. We're talking about 2 cups of cream, milk, 9 egg yolks, challah bread, sugar, etc. Nothing wrong with that. It was pretty good - we all had it for breakfast. It was agreed that the challah made for an overly creamy bread choice, and it needed more crispy topping, but I'd make it again.