4 beets, peeled, cut into thick wedges
6 thick-cut slices of Hills Own House-Smoked Bacon, chopped
1/2 large red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dark beer (such as Great Lakes Brewing's Edmund Fitzgerald)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
2 small heads of Ohio bibb lettuce, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup raisins

Cook beets in boiling salted water until tender, about 12 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, sauté bacon in large skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 3 1/2 tablespoons drippings from skillet. Add onion to skillet; sauté 3 minutes. Mix in next 4 ingredients, then beets. Simmer until dressing coats beets, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Arrange lettuce on platter. Top with beets; sprinkle with bacon and raisins.

Ingredients:

3 medium beets
1 ½ teaspoons Ohio honey
1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons minced shallots
½ cup Olive Orchard Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups fresh spinach
4 oz. Ohio goat cheese
4 oz. walnuts, chopped

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the beets in foil and raost for about 1 ¼ hours, or until tender. Let cool, then peel the beets and cut them into ¼ inch dice.

In a bowl, whisk together the honey, vinegar, mustard, shallots and oil; season with salt and pepper. Add the beets and toss to coat. Arrange the spinach on a large plate and top with the beets, goat cheese and walnuts.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, sliced thin
4 cups water
3 cups fresh corn kernels
1 bay leaf
1 whole star anise
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup heavy cream

Asian Beet & Cucumber Relish
1 1/2 beets, peeled and diced
5 cucumbers, peeled, diced and seeded
1/4 cup Little Rosie’s Filipino Salad Dressing
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes or until translucent. Add water, corn, bay leaf, star anise and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 25 minutes. Add heavy cream; simmer 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and star anise.

With center part of cover removed to let steam escape, puree soup in batches in blender on high speed until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the relish, toss together beets, cucumbers, cilantro and dressing.

Break Hills Own Crab Cake or Salmon Cake into bite-size pieces. Gently place in soup with a teaspoon of the relish to garnish.

1 lb. beets
1 lb. summer squash (or zucchini)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, divided
salt, to taste

for ali-oli (Catalan spelling for aioli):
1 piece sandwich bread, crusts removed (to make 3 inch round)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and sliced
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
half teaspoon salt
approximately 1 1/2 cups olive oil

for napoleon:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, cut into 2 inch by 4 inch rectangles
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Peel and wash beets. Slice beets in half and then slice each half crosswise into thin slices. Slice each squash in half, lengthwise. Then slice each half crosswise into thin slices, same thickness as beets. (All your veggies will be shaped like thin half moons.) Line bottom of two roasting pans with parchment paper. Place beet slices in one pan, zucchini slices in the other.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons of balsamic vinegar and salt to taste in each pan, and stir to coat. Roast in a 350 degree oven until tender, approximately 20 minutes. Remove and cool.

Ali-oli:
Place bread in shallow bowl. Pour vinegar over bread and let the bread absorb vinegar. There should be some standing vinegar. If not, add more. Let stand two minutes. Remove bread from bowl, squeeze out excess vinegar and place in food processor along with garlic and egg. Process until garlic is finely chopped. With processor running, add olive oil in a thin stream and continue adding until mixture resembles the thickness of mayonnaise. (Mixture may be made thinner or thicker depending on preference.) Add lemon juice and salt and process to combine. Note: Best if used after resting one day. Can be refrigerated for up to 10 days.

Napoleons:
Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Paste puff pastry rectangles at least one inch apart. Brush tops with beaten egg wash. Let stand five minutes. Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan. Bake in 375 oven until puffed and golden, 10 to 15 minutes.

To assemble:
Carefully slice puff pastry in half lengthwise, horizontally. Place squash and beets on bottom half, overlapping and alternating. Drizzle with ali-oli. Replace top, and serve.

1/4 cup diced onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups quinoa
4 cups vegetable stock (or water)
1/2 lbs. root vegetables (beets, carrots, etc.) in small dice
olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

In saucepan, sauté diced onion and garlic in one teaspoon olive oil, until soft. Add stock and bring to boil over high heat. Add quinoa and return to boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, cool and fluff.

Place vegetables in roasting pan with one tablespoon olive oil an a pinch of salt. Roast until just crisp and tender. Cool.

In a small bowl, mix lemon juice with salt, cumin and ground pepper. Whisk in just enough olive oil until a vinaigrette is formed. In a bowl, mix together quinoa, roasted vegetables and green onion. Add vinaigrette and stir to coat.

from L.A. Times, June 4, 2008

Note: Adapted from chef Corina Weibel of Canelé (a restaurant in L.A.) The recipe for the vinaigrette will make more than is needed for the salad. The vinaigrette will keep for 3 days, refrigerated.

6 small  beets, trimmed
Salt
olive oil
2 TB. ground cumin
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Very small pinch cayenne pepper
Juice of 1 lemon, plus a squeeze, divided
8 very thin lemon slices
6 baby carrots
1 cup parsley, chopped
1/2 cup baby greens
1 small shallot, sliced thinly

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place beets in a shallow baking pan, with 1/4 cup water. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 2 TB. olive oil over the beets. Cover the pan with foil and roast in the oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Cool to room temperature, peel and quarter.

Meanwhile, make the dressing: Pound cumin and garlic to a paste. Add a pinch of salt, cayenne and juice of one lemon. When all the ingredients are incorporated and the salt is dissolved, drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil while stirring. Adjust to taste. Makes about 1/4 cup vinaigrette.

In a small pot of boiling salted water, blanch the lemon slices for 20 seconds, just to remove the tartness. Lift out with a slotted spoon and cool in ice water. Drain and set aside in a large bowl.

In the same pot of boiling water, add carrots and blanch 2 to 3 minutes, to bring out the vibrant color and soften just slightly. Remove and set aside to cool (do not shock in an ice bath). Add them to the bowl with the lemons.

To the bowl, add the lemon, parsley, greens, shallot and the remaining squeeze of lemon juice, tossing to combine. Add 2 teas. vinaigrette, or enough to lightly coat, and toss gently. Season to taste and divide among two plates. Separately, toss the beets with enough vinaigrette to coat, then divide the beets among the two plated salads. Serve immediately.



 from Bon Appetit, January 2005

Vinaigrette:

1 TB. whole coriander seeds
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 TB. white balsamic vinegar
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1/2 teas. coarse kosher salt
1/2 teas. freshly ground black pepper

Pesto:

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
1 bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 bunch fresh chives, coarsely chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
1 TB. chopped seeded jalapeño chile
1 small garlic clove, peeled
1 teas. (scant) coarse kosher salt
1/2 teas. freshly ground black pepper
3 TB. fresh lime juice

Beets:

2 lbs. 1-inch-diameter baby beets
1 TB. olive oil
Coarse kosher salt
6 cups assorted red baby lettuces

For vinaigrette:

Stir coriander in small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Cool. Coarsely grind coriander in mortar with pestle or in spice mill. Transfer to small bowl. Heat 1 TB. oil in same skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Transfer to bowl with coriander. Add vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Gradually whisk in 7 tablespoons oil. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill; discard garlic after 1 hour. Let vinaigrette stand at room temperature 1 hour before using.)

For pesto:

Puree first 9 ingredients in blender until smooth. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Reblend before continuing.) Whisk in lime juice.

For beets:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash and dry beets. Cut off beet greens 1 inch from top of beets; reserve for another use. Rub beets with oil. Place light-colored beets in 1 roasting pan and red beets in another; sprinkle with coarse salt. Cover pans tightly with foil. Roast until beets are just tender, about 55 minutes. Cool slightly. Using towel, rub off peel and stems from beets. Cut beets in half. Place light-colored beets and red beets in 2 separate bowls. Toss beets in each bowl with 2 TB. vinaigrette. Let stand 30 minutes. Toss lettuces in bowl with some of vinaigrette to coat lightly; divide among plates and top with beets. Drizzle pesto around salads and serve.