Roasted Beets

My only memory of beets from when I was a child is being sprawled out on the living room floor, early Saturday morning. On my belly with my hands beneath my chin, I watched as the characters from my favorite show, Doug, formed a band—The Beets—and performed their hit single, “Killer Tofu.” For a dose of nostalgia (or context), click here to watch the exact scene I am referencing.

Since I have been cooking professionally, beets have been a favorite of mine. I'm not sure why I love this vegetable so much—I have my suspicions it reminds me of a carrot, which is an entirely different conversation.  However, it is far more likely that, when combined with goat cheese, beets transform into a super food that is absolutely delicious and perfect.

Until recently, I usually cooked beets one way: covered in a pan with aromatics and some liquid, then peel and dice. Almost every restaurant I have worked at had beets on the menu, so, when I found out about a new way to cook them, I was shocked I had never been taught this method. 

• Step 1: Wash and peel beets with vegetable peeler

• Step 2: Dice into a uniform size (Medium dice for me)

• Step 3: Toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper

• Step 4: Place on parchment lined baking sheet (The parchment helps with clean up)

• Step 5: Roast in a preheated oven for 45 minutes at 375 degrees

How easy is that? Somehow it was bewildering to treat the beet like you would any other root vegetables: Peel, Dice, Season, Roast, yet, it was simple and effective

Now, I place this method in your hands. The hard part of is over. Your task now is to decide if you want to brighten your dish with lemon peel?  spice it up it with Garlic? or sweeten it with honey & thyme?

Beets ready to be roasted.

Tomato Salad

Hello Everyone!

It is time to write my first blog post, so bear with me as I get the hang of this. Cooking professionally for the last 7 years has left me wanting to do something more with my knowledge. So I have decided to start documenting and sharing my recipes along with my experiences.  

For this first post, I want to share with you the salad that I made last night as my chicken soup was finishing on the stove. Fresh tomatoes,cucumber, radish, and basil all came together with some peach infused vinegar, olive oil , and pink Himalayan salt.

I wouldn't usually have peach infused vinegar laying around but, as I was peeling some peaches the other day I decided to throw the peels in a jar with some vinegar and let them sit for a week before straining.

To make the salad was super simple. I sliced the tomatoes, cucumbers, radish and placed them spread out on a plate. Then I dressed them first with the peach infused vinegar, added some salt to taste, dressed with olive oil and garnished with fresh basil. The key to this salad is really the tomatoes. It is perfect time right now to get some great locally grown tomatoes so I took full advantage of that.  

Do not feel as if you need to arrange the vegetables perfectly. In all honestly this  would be just as good if you threw all the ingredients in a bowl tossed them up and put them on your favorite serving dish. That would give you the benefit of being able to taste the salad before hand so you know you have the perfect seasoning. Until next time!

Hearty Beef Stew

This recipe makes about 16 portions, making it perfect for anyone hosting family over the holidays. However, you don’t plan on consuming within a week, you can freeze the stew for up to six months. Of course, the sooner consumed the better.

Ingredients

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         1 ¼ pound lean beef

·         1.5 quart medium-diced large onion

·         1 cup red wine

·         1 quart medium-diced butternut squash (peeled)

·         1 quart medium-diced Red Potatoes (covered in water)

·         1 pint medium-diced Carrots

·         1 pint medium-diced celery

·         1 pint snow peas

·         1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes

·         6 pieces of chopped garlic

·         1 inch piece ginger (grated)

·         1 quart beef stock

·         ½ teaspoon ground coriander

·         ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper

·         1.2 teaspoon dried thyme

·         ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

·         2 dried bay leaves

·         1 teaspoon soy sauce

·         3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

·         ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

·         3 tablespoons kosher or sea salt

·         ½ cup chopped parsley

·         2 tablespoons corn starch

·         2 tablespoons water

·         1 pint braising liquid

In the kitchen, timing is everything. This is an undeniable truth held by all professional chefs. Nothing makes this point clearer than a stew. I have included the following recipe as a way for those of you at home to practice the culinary skill of timing.

I want to start off by saying, compared to my other recipes, this one requires a bit more skill. However, I have full faith in you. There are two keys to unlocking the potential of this recipe. The first: cutting the vegetables to the same size. The second: strict adherence as to when the varying components are added. By following these two instructions, you are insuring that all of the vegetables are cooked perfectly.

Directions

Step 1: Mise en Place

This French, culinary phrase means, “everything in its place.” Essentially, for this recipe this means having all of the vegetables cut before you start cooking. The cut-size we are trying to achieve here is ½ in by ½ in—this size is referred to as a medium dice in professional kitchens.

Step 2: Beef

Place olive oil in large stock pot and place on high heat. When the oil starts to simmer, add the beef and let sit for 3-4 minutes until well browned. Stir and let sear for an additional 2 minutes on medium heat.

Remove from pot and set aside. Place pot back on heat.

Step 2: Flavor

Add a bit more olive oil and onions to pan and caramelize over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Deglaze pan with red wine and scrape bottom of pan to get all the brown bits off. Add beef, beef stock, garlic, ginger, soy, balsamic, salt, and all dry spices to pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce to medium-low heat. Cook for 1 hour.

Step 3: Veggies

Add potatoes and butternut squash to pot. Cook for 20 minutes.

Step 4: More Veggies

Add carrots and celery to pot. Cook for 20 minutes.

Step 5: Even More Veggies

Add tomatoes and snow peas to the pot.

Step Six: Thickening

Important: this step should be taken at the same time as Step 5.

Remove 1 pint of liquid and place in a small, sauce pan. Turn on high heat—keep a close eye on the small, sauce pan because it could overflow while boiling. Meanwhile, combine cornstarch and water in small bowl and stir to mix. Once the liquid in the small, sauce pan has come to a boil, whisk in the cornstarch slurry and cook over high heat for 1 minute.

Step Seven: Finishing Touches

Place thickened liquid in with rest of soup. Combine by stirring gently. Remove from heat, stir in parsley and let cool for 20 minutes. Season with a bit more salt to taste

Step 8: Serving

You may serve this stew right away, or, this is my suggestion, let it sit overnight so the flavors will meld and become more cohesive. Either way, this recipe can be served over rice, or with a grilled baguette.

Until next time,

Chef Josh Charles