“I don’t wanna eat them,” my 5-year-old self said to my
mother.
The foul food?
The puckery ends of a hot dog.
Sure, I ate the middle part, but something about the weird ends
really bothered me that day.
Apparently, they also bothered our dog, George. I surreptitiously threw the offensive bits on the floor
hoping he would eat the evidence. Even HE wouldn’t touch them. George ate garbage and he wouldn’t eat the
damn ends of those hot dogs.
At the end of dinner, my mother discovered them under my chair. I don’t remember the exact chain of
events, but those pieces of hotdog found their way back to my dinner plate. I certainly hope she rinsed them,
considering the garbage-eating dog and everything.
“You ate the middle but you won’t eat the ends? They’re the same thing! They taste the same! If you don’t eat them, no dessert. And no Lassie,” my horribly unfit and
abusive mother said to me.
I thought I was in the clear here, in spite of my foolhardy attempt
to poison the dog with those pieces of unsightly processed meat. You see, we had a simple food rule in
our house: You Don’t Have To
Finish It. You Just Have To Try It.
I figured that since I ate the MIDDLE of the hot dog, that was totally within
the “Try” requirements of our family food rule. But the fact that I had happily and readily eaten entire hot
dogs, ends and all for probably as long as I could eat solid food was not lost
on my mother.
My mother silently cleaned up around me. The rest of the family – Dad, Jen &
Kevin, went into the living room and turned on our black & white TV to
watch "Lassie" (our second favorite family TV show after “Bonanza”.
The show was about to start and I was sitting at the kitchen table alone, staring down those two little bites and giving my mean mom the evil eye. Even George, our dog, had abandoned me, probably pissed off that I had tried to kill him earlier.
The show was about to start and I was sitting at the kitchen table alone, staring down those two little bites and giving my mean mom the evil eye. Even George, our dog, had abandoned me, probably pissed off that I had tried to kill him earlier.
When my horrible mother finished cleaning up, she took my
plate and wordlessly put me in my room.
What? No Lassie? NO ICE CREAM? As fate would have it, the room I shared with my sister was
just off the living room where everyone was watching television. I could hear every word of the episode I was missing
and the sound of every family member's spoon-clink as they scraped up the last bit of vanilla ice cream and
Hershey’s syrup from the bottom of their bowls. It was torture.
After my Lassie-and-ice-cream deprived evening, the next
time I faced down a hot dog, I acted the martyr and choked down the ends
first.
Mom was right.
They did taste just like the middle.
Food aversions aren’t always about taste. Sometimes, it’s just the way it
looks. I have issues
with guacamole: something that color shouldn’t be that consistency. My
70-something-year-old uncle has never willingly eaten a mushroom because of the
way it feels in his mouth. My
grandfather detested onions because of childhood trauma that had something to
do with gathering an untold amount of onions from his parents’ garden as a
child. I have a friend who refuses
to eat a sandwich because…
Well… I’m not really sure
why she won’t eat a sandwich, because that’s really weird.
I love beets.
They’re pretty. They’re
delicious. They’re easy to
make. My husband’s dad was
horrified by beets (his words, not mine).
They are a commonly and unnecessarily reviled food.
But trust me on this recipe. It’s good.
Roasted Beet Salad with Goat
Cheese & Caramelized Walnuts
Makes 6 Servings
1 Large beet (bigger than a baseball) or
2 smaller beets, rinsed but unpeeled
¾
Cup Whole walnuts
¼ Cup Brown sugar
¼
Cup Water
1
teaspoon Dijon Mustard
1
Tablespoon Honey
1
Tablespoon White wine vinegar
2
Tablespoons Olive Oil
1
teaspoon Kosher salt
4
oz Good
quality goat cheese, crumbled
Directions
·
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
·
Wrap beet(s) in tin foil and bake for 1 ½ hours if using a large
beet. Test after 1 hour if using
smaller beets. Peel beets (see
note).
Cut into wedges and set aside.
Cut into wedges and set aside.
·
Combine walnuts and sugar and water in a sauté pan over medium heat. Stir frequently until the sugar becomes
dark. Remove walnuts and cool on a
piece of foil or parchment paper, being careful to make sure the walnuts aren’t
touching. The nuts will harden
upon cooling, so you want to be sure they aren’t in a big clump.
·
Combine Dijon, honey, vinegar, olive oil and Kosher salt for vinaigrette.
·
Arrange beets on a plate, sprinkle walnuts over the top & drizzle
vinaigrette and goat cheese.
Serve.
Serve.
Tips
and Shortcuts:
·
Beets are done when a sharp knife easily slides
through. Set aside to cool.
·
When beets are cool, take a bunch of paper
towels and place the cooked beet inside the paper towels and rub
vigorously. This gets rid of the
skin and avoids stained hands. But it’s handy as a lip stain.
·
The whole dish, unassembled, can be made
ahead.
o Up
to one day ahead, roast the beet(s) and cool. Peel and wrap in plastic wrap or place in a plastic baggie
and refrigerate.
o The
walnuts can be made up to one week ahead and stored in an airtight plastic
container at room temperature.
o Make
the vinaigrette the day before to let the flavors meld.
Post comments here!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up I never had a problem getting George to eat anything but peas.....he must have trusted me more...lol
ReplyDeleteI cook. It's what I do. And I love a party, but then again, how to get a girlfriend who doesn't? But too many people get freaked out about it...
ReplyDeleteMy son loves this dish. I have a question for you. We can use the vacuum sealer to preserve longer?
ReplyDelete