Roast Beet Salad with Tarragon Dressing

One of my favorite plants to grow in the garden is beets. There is a variety of things you can do with beets, but unfortunately people are tainted against beets. how many of us have a horror story about tinny canned beets or God forbid the pickled ones. Beets are my friend. Welcome to my favorite garden salad - Cold roasted beets with tarragon dressing. These beets are roasted until caramelized. Yum! (and you can improvise and add carrots or onions, but plain beets works best with this dressing). Tonight's dish honors the last beets of this years crop - and they are the white ones in the picture! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 to 2 bunches beets
olive oil (sprayed)
for dressing:
2 Tablespoons Tarragon Vinegar
1 Teaspoon Dijon Mustard
A grind of salt
1/4 cup virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons freshly chopped tarragon (the dry spice shelf stuff works fine in a pinch)
A grind of pepper

Process:

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees.

2. Wash, peel and chop beets.

3. Place beets in 9 x 13 baking dish with a spray of olive oil.

4. Cook in oven until caramelized 30 minutes or so. Chill in fridge.

5. Plate

6. Make Dressing: Stir together vinegar and mustard. Season with a grind of sea salt. Pour in olive oil in slow steady stream, whisking while you work! When emulsified, stir in sour cream and tarragon. Season with a grind of pepper.

7. Pour small amounts of dressing over salad and serve.

Sprigged Lamb

In honor of the fall round up that is occurring, from cattle weighing out west to Tom's slaughters on a small farm in CT, I chose this as my next recipe. I can recall many a family dinners that involved lamb, particularly the Easter dinners that didn't serve goose. I remember my sister's love of lamb and my dislike - I was always bothered by the animal being an adorable fuzzy little baby. If you know me well, you know I have gotten over this. Lamb is one of my favorite meats to cook and eat with Indian foods. Before I digress into the joys of Indian foods and my beloved Uncle Shani, may I present Mima's sprigged lamb.

Sprigged Lamb
Serves 8 and is very good warmed over in slices.

Ingredients:
Leg of lamb - 5 1/2 to 6 lbs, boned and rolled if preferred.
bunch of parsley, all stems removed
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Process:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  
• Wipe the meat with a cloth wrung out in hot water that contains a little vinegar.
  
• With point of a sharp knife, make 25 to 30 incisions in the tops and sides of meaty part and insert 2 or 3 leafy tops parsley in each.
• Rub roast with seasoning. (that's all it says but I think she meant the S and P)
• Place on a rack, meaty side up, in roasting pan and roast, uncovered, in a moderate slow oven (325) ( *what is a slow oven?*) for 2 and 1/4 hours or until tender - allowing 25 minutes per pound.
• Baste every 15 minutes after the first hour. (near end boil water as you will need it when the meat is done)
  
• If not a crusty brown when done, turn heat up to 500 degrees for 5 minutes (* let me insert that DH and I are fans of Barbara Kafka's high temp roasting methods*)
• Remove meat to a platter and add boiling water to the pan to make as much sauce as you desire. Bring to a boil stirring around edges. The juice is so delicious it seems a pity to make regulation gravy.
  

I love that and it brought tears in my eyes to write out her words. Even my Grandmother was a nonconformist in the kitchen!