Red flannel hash

Over brunch in San Francisco the other month, a dear old friend asked me what was currently in my garden. When I mentioned beets, she exclaimed that I had to make this recipe from one of her favorite breakfast spots in Berkeley, emailing the link to me from her phone on the spot. I quickly skimmed the ingredients and could hardly wait for my beets to mature.

And mature they finally did! I pulled the first few beautiful red globes from the garden last weekend and this breakfast hash from Rick and Ann's was first in the (long) beet recipe queue. I realize there are people out there who dislike beets, and if I had only eaten them from a can, I would probably be among them... but there is absolutely nothing like a fresh beet. They smell like clean soil after a rain, the embodiment of earth and nature itself. Used raw in salads (like this one I am making later this week with the cutest freakin' little pink and purple Easter Egg radishes I found), they are refreshingly crunchy and go well with all kinds of vinegar and citrus. Roasted (in my favorite beet dish ever), they become soft, buttery, and musky. What's not to love?

Bass in artichoke and tomato broth over mashed butternutty potatoes

 

I love, love this recipe from an old issue of Gourmet. The combination of flavors is not unexpected, but rather simple and classic: tomatoes, artichokes, wine, garlic, olives. Yet it still comes together as much more than the sum of its parts. It's crazy easy and delicious, another excellent recipe staple for the weeknight repertoire. Sure, it might seem a little winter-y, being basically a stew, but it's actually quite light.

This is best served atop soft mashed potatoes to sop up all the sauce and avoid challenging the delicate texture of the fish. If I have any butternut squash laying around such as today, I like to use half squash to make it a little more nutritious and interesting (and fabulously colored). I've used all kinds of white fish and can confirm that anything firm and relatively mild will do nicely.

Fish sticks with roasted potato wedges and minted green beans

Fish sticks, y'all. Minus the fins and eyeballs and guts and other unrecognizable ingredients you get in the ones from a box. This is food for a 3 year old,  fit for adults. They're incredibly quick and easy to make, not to mention tasty as all get-out.

I've mentioned before that I have a pathological fear of deep-frying. I just can't get over the thought that the oil will bubble over and burn my house down, or the whole (400 pound Le Creuset) pot will just spontaneously jump off the stove and murder us all... It's sad. But it is my reality, so I find ways to work around it, such as these potato wedges. All the tastiness of fries, none of the crippling fear. And they're healthier to boot. Huzzah!

Steak au poivre over mixed mashed potatoes and beets with caramelized onions and feta

Steak au poivre. Lovely tender hunks of beef liberally coated with cracked peppercorns and bathed in a buttery cognac pan sauce, as made by a Frenchie.

 

This is the second recipe I've made from Anthony Bourdain's excellent cookbook of dishes from his New York City bistro, Les Halles. The first was a wonderful rich and creamy cassoulet, although I did sort of merge that recipe with a couple of other recipes (but I'm sure it would have been great on its own, too). I think I'll try his roast chicken next.

This side is an absolute favorite in my house: earthy slow-roasted beets paired with sweet caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts, and creamy feta in a Dijon vinaigrette. I never imagined something as banal as the common beet could be this completely delicious (my fellow epicurious.com users obviously agree, as it has a perfect rating of four forks and 99% of the reviewers would make it again. Quite impressive, little beet.) If you're not a habitual beet-eater (shame on you), do note that this will turn your... stuff... very dark red. So before you assume you're bleeding internally after your coffee the following morning and rush to the emergency room, try to keep that in mind.