Roasted Beet Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Last week my husband and I decided to take a few days off and fly to Arizona to escape the Midwest weather, and get some much needed rest and relaxation. We enjoyed our time, sleeping in, exercising, having some spa treatments and eating out.

My husband isn't much into trying new foods but he was a trooper this time, and let me make all the selections.  All the restaurants we dined at were superb, but St. Francis was at the top of our list.  

When we first drove up, my husband said, "I hate this restaurant already."  Why?  It took too long to get there due to traffic, and he didn't like the parking arrangements.  OK!  I thought the place looked great.  Casual, yet trendy, with a relaxed atmosphere.  The menu had a wide selection, each with a twist.  

My husband was starved, so he ordered the Pork Chile Verde for an appetizer thinking I'd have some, but I had my eye on the Beet Salad instead.  Plus, he ordered the Roasted Chicken.  Of course, his eyes were bigger than his stomach, but he loved both dishes.  In fact, he couldn't stop raving about the roasted garlic sauce on the chicken.  He even complained to me when they brought it since it had capers on it (he dislikes capers), but after trying it, said the sauce made them taste good.  Hurrah!!!  I had the Beet Salad and Roasted Salmon Superfood.  Everything was incredible, even the wine was perfect.  We were so stuffed we had no room for dessert.  

After coming back to St. Louis all I could think of was that beet salad.  St. Francis used tiny, whole golden beets that were purchased from a local market in Phoenix.  I went to Whole Foods hoping to find some, but only found the larger golden beets, so opted for those. 

If you've never roasted beets before, don't be intimidated by them.   They're so simple to prepare, delicious and highly nutritious! You can read about them in a post I wrote back in March of 2012 here.  However, you do need to be careful with red beets, they tend to stain your fingers and everything they touch, but not golden beets.  Plus they're so sweet and flavorful - I could eat them plain.

For this recipe I made one batch of beets just enough for my family. There are so many wonderful ways to serve them, plus they're colorful & beautiful - they'd make a lovely presentation for your dinner guests.  Here are a couple ways I've served beets that you might like to duplicate.

In my opinion, if you're making a beet salad, be sure to serve it with arugula - it makes all the difference in the world.  The peppery flavor of the arugula goes perfect with beets.  Here's my recipe, I hope you like it.....

Roasted Beet Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Roasted Beets (1 beet per person), sliced

Arugula

Avocado, diced

slivered almonds

shaved red onions

Clementines, segmented

Plate salad individually for each person with a small amount of arugula, sliced beets, followed by remaining ingredients.  Top lightly with citrus vinaigrette. 

Citrus Vinaigrette

4 Tbsp. Blood Orange Olive Oil

2 Tbsp. fresh squeezed Clementine juice

1/2 tsp. agave nectar (see Health Benefits)

1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard

salt & pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and drizzle lightly over Beet Salad.

Enjoy!!!

Salmon with Orange and Fennel Salad

During the holidays my friends at Melissa's Produce sent me their new cookbook, "50 Best Plants on the Planet" The Most Nutrient-Dense Fruits and Vegetables, in 150 Delicious Recipes.  Brightly colored pages fill the book with produce ranging from A - Arugula to W - Watermelon each with photos and fresh recipes to try.

The photos, so stunning and life-like, make you salivate just viewing them.  With 150 recipes, deciding which one to try first was difficult.  My family loves salmon, and after receiving a box of Melissa's Ojai Pixie Tangerines I opted for the Salmon with Orange and Fennel Salad.

Simple to prepare, with a light, refreshing vinaigrette, tossed with the crisp fennel salad to top a perfectly roasted salmon - this dish was a winner!   

I wish I could show you every page of this extraordinary cookbook but instead, if you're of fan of fresh fruit and vegetables, I highly recommend purchasing one of your own.  Eating a rainbow of foods on your plate each day is key to a healthy and long life.  "50 Best Plants on the Planet" by Cathy Thomas, Angie Cao and Cherl Forberg, is sure to deliver just that.

To get the recipe for this heart healthy, refreshing dish, please read below........

Salmon with Orange and Fennel Salad

serves 4

Ingredients:

Four 4-ounce skinless salmon fillets
salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground fennel seed
2 large *oranges, 1 zested and juiced; 1 cut into supremes**
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, cut in 1/2 from top to bottom, thinly sliced
2 medium bulbs fresh fennel, untrimmed 

***Canola oil or vegetable oil for brushing grill pan or grill (see #1 directions)

1 cup baby arugula

Directions:

1. Place salmon fillets in a single layer on a large plate.  Season with salt, pepper, and the fennel seeds.  If using a grill, preheat to medium-high heat and clean the grate. (I roasted my salmon instead, due to cold weather, in a 500F degree preheated oven for 10 minutes.  If done this way, leave skin on, place on heavy-duty foil lined pan.  No oil is needed.)
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the zest, orange juice, and mustard, then season with salt and pepper. Whisk in oil in a thin stream.  Add onion and toss.  Set aside.
3. Trim off dark green stalks and feathery fronds from fennel bulbs.  Roughly chop fronds and set aside for garnish.  Quarter bulbs lengthwise; cut out and discard cores.  Cut the quarters into very thin crosswise slices with a mandoline or sharp knife.  Add fennel slices, chopped fronds, and orange sections to vinaigrette.  Gently toss.
4. If using a grill pan, heat it on medium-high heat.  Brush grill grate or pan with oil.  Add salmon, seasoned-side down.  Grill about 5 minutes per side, or until just barely cooked through.  Grilling times vary depending on the thickness of the fillets and heat of the grill.(I roasted my salmon instead of grilling - see #1 above)
5. Place salmon on four dinner plates.  Add the arugula to fennel mixture and toss; spoon the salad over salmon and serve.

Notes:

* I used Ojai Pixie Tangerines in place of oranges. Not only are they delicious, juicy and sweet but they're easy to separate - perfect for this dish. 

** Supremes - To cut citrus fruit into supremes (peeled segments): Cut the top and bottom off through the white pith to reveal the flesh.  Place fruit cuttside down on a work surface.  Following the contour of the fruit, cut off the peel and pith in strips with a sharp knife, starting at the top and cutting down.  Working over a bowl (to collect juice), use a small sharp knife to cut parallel to each section's membrane, cutting toward the center.  Repeat until all the sections are removed.  Squeeze the "skeleton" membranes over the bowl to remove any remaining juice.  

*** I didn't use any canola oil since I roasted my salmon in the oven.  When roasting or grilling if you leave the skin on it's not necessary, in my opinion, to use oil.  When removing salmon from the oven or grill, simply take your spatula and gently slide it above the skin and under the salmon - lifting salmon up and placing onto your plate.  This method is quite simple and avoids the fish sticking to the grate or pan.  That said, I do not flip my salmon using this method.  If you prefer flipping your salmon then follow step #4 above.    

Enjoy!!!

Cranberry Orange Pistachio Biscotti

With the holidays quickly approaching, all I feel like doing is baking - cakes, cookies, pies, and biscotti.  I love biscotti and never feel stuffed after eating one or two.  I love them with my coffee, tea or even as a midday snack.  They're so light and delicious!

A favorite recipe I've been making for years is Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti.  After viewing a biscotti recipe on one of the many blogs I frequent, I decided this morning when I woke up that I was going to make mine -  however, I thought I'd change it up a bit.  

I had some delicious Blood Orange Olive Oil that I purchased from a store that recently opened  at Plaza Frontenac in St. Louis, called DiOlivas.  I love Olive Oil and Vinegar stores as you're probably aware, if you've been following my blog for a while.  With a myriad of choices, each one delicious and unique in their own way (I was able to sample whatever I wanted), I walked out with quite a few varieties to take home and create, culinary masterpieces!

DiOlivas is a locally owned family business, so if you live in or around the St. Louis, Missouri area you should definitely pay them a visit.  If not, you can always purchase their products online - everything I tasted was so good, you can't go wrong with any of them.

So, this morning I decided to make biscotti.   Instead of my usual recipe that I often make during the holidays, I decided to use my Blood Orange Olive Oil instead of plain Olive Oil, plus, add the zest of an orange.  

OMG!  You have no idea how moist and delicious these were!  Even my daughter said they were the best biscotti I've ever made.  

So of course I knew I had to share the recipe with you.  I know you're going to love them.  Besides making them for yourself, don't forget to package some up to give as a holiday gift.  Who wouldn't love these?

Cranberry Orange Pistachio Biscotti

Makes approximately 28-30

¼ cup DiOlivas Blood Orange Olive Oil

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla

½ teaspoon almond extract

2 large eggs

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cups, unbleached flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ cup dried cranberries

1 ½ cups pistachio nuts, shelled

Zest of one Orange

Preheat oven to 300F degrees.  Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, blend olive oil and sugar together. 

Then add vanilla and almond extracts and eggs, beating until the mixture is completely blended.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt and baking powder until thoroughly combined.  On low speed, gradually add to the egg mixture.  Fold in orange zest, pistachios and dried cranberries.

Divide dough in half.  On the cookie sheet, form each half into a log about 12 inches long and 2 inches wide.  Space logs about 4 inches apart.  (Dough will be sticky so lightly moisten hands in cold water before forming into logs).

Bake in center of oven for 35 minutes or until the logs are light brown.  Remove from oven and turn heat down to 275F degrees.  Let logs cool on baking sheet 10 minutes.

With a large metal spatula, remove the logs to cutting board and using a long, sharp knife, cut each log on the diagonal into ¾ -inch slices. 

Stand slices upright on cookie sheet and return to oven for 8-10 minutes, until they are light brown.

Cool biscotti on rack and store in a tin between sheets of waxed paper.  They can be kept at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Enjoy!!!

The Art of Eating an Orange!

I'm not sure there really is an Art to Eating an Orange, but it's the way I grew up eating one.  I honestly believe it's the best way to savor each and every drop of juice that pours into your mouth, feel the threads of the carpels as you sink your teeth into the meat of the orange while juice oozes from the vesicles, all while you delicately grasp this round, somewhat uneven textured, piece of fruit.

When I was a little girl each and everyday I came home from school my snack of choice was an orange and a pickle.  I know, it sounds weird but I loved having the sweet with the sour, I suppose.  What else could it be?

The way I ate the orange then and now are different however, not by choice.  One day my husband walked into the house just as I was eating my orange the way I like it.  He looked at me and said, "What on earth are you doing?"  I said, "eating an orange."  He said it was so disgusting the way I ate it, that I quit eating it that way, unless of course no one is at home.

I mean, I don't want to look disgusting while eating it but then again, why not enjoy it the way I like to, at least in the privacy of my own home!  So when no one is at home, I'll eat it that way, otherwise I conform when in public.

I know I've peaked your curiosity with the way I savor this orange, baseball looking piece of fruit, so I'll share my eating method but, don't hold it against me.  In fact, do me a favor - try an orange this way.  PLEASE, report back, with your own critique! 

The Art of Eating an Orange

First, wash the skin of the orange to get off any pesticides.  Of course, when I was a child we didn't know about these things, so I never washed it unless it was covered with dirt.

Slice the orange in half, perpendicular to the stem.

Then, holding one half in your hand, place an edge of the cut side into your mouth and with your upper teeth proceed to scrape the meat of the orange into your mouth.

Once you have gone all the way around the orange doing this, you then squeeze the remaining orange juice into your mouth!

That's not it, there's still more?  Now turn the orange inside out, so the remaining meat is arched outward.

With your teeth, peel off the remaining meat and tissue.  Eat and enjoy!

When I was growing up I would toss the skin away.  However, now I use the zest of an orange in a variety of recipes.  If this is something you like to do as well, I'd suggest zesting the orange before devouring the insides.

How awful is this eating method?  Honestly I wasn't raised in a barn but for some reason this is how I ate them.  No one taught me, it just happened to be the way I found the most satisfaction from my oranges.

How do you eat an orange?  Do you peel the skin away, sectioning out each segment, then placing each half moon in your mouth?  Do you eat it like I've described above or do you have your own special way? 

If you've never tried eating an orange the artsy way, like I love to, then please do, and report back to me, right here. I'd enjoy hearing what you think.

Do you have a favorite way of eating fruit that you would never reveal in front of others?  If so, please share it with us.  We won't judge you, after all we all have something odd that we do, right?

Words of Caution if eating an orange this way!  Watch out for spurts of juice in your eye and don't forget the floss, your teeth will need it when your done.  But hey, it's all worth it.  It's the most fun you'll ever have eating an orange. At least I think so!

Click here for more information and tips on this wonderful fruit

Tips for Juicing Lemons, Limes and Oranges

If you're like me when you purchase most fruit you bring it home and put it in the refrigerator. But then when you need to use the fruit juice in a recipe it's next to impossible to get any juice out of it.

What to do?

To get the greatest yield of juice from your lemon, lime or orange, squeeze it when it's at room temperature. If left in the refrigerator, place it in the microwave for about 15 seconds before squeezing. This way yields a greater amount of juice versus trying to juice it when it's cold. Don't over microwave and boil the juice, then of course it won't be good at all.

It's also a good idea to roll the fruit on the countertop pressing firmly between the palm of your hand and the countertop before squeezing. This will help to release the juice.

What do you do if you only need a small amount of juice and don't want to waste the fruit?

Use a toothpick to puncture the skin and squeeze out the amount that's needed. Then plug the hole back up with that same toothpick, place in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Fresh squeezed juice can be stored in the refrigerator for about one week. If you need to store it longer try placing the juice in ice cube trays and freezing it for later. Then only pop out the amount you need for next time.

Wondering how many lemons, limes or oranges that you'll need for a recipe?

1 medium Lemon =

approximately 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice
approximately 1 tablespoon of lemon zest or peel

1 medium lime =

approximately 2 tablespoons of lime juice
approximately 1 teaspoon of lime zest or peel

1 medium orange =

approximately 1/3 - 1/2 cup orange juice
approximately 2 tablespoons of orange zest or peel














This is one of my favorite tools for juicing.