Pickled Beets and Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was a holiday for me this year. We traveled to San Jose to visit my wife's family. Instead of assembling a knockout meal as we've done in the past, my mother-in-law purchased a pre-prepared meal.

I didn't miss the home cooked meal. Family is the most important to a holiday meal. Thanksgiving turned into a relaxing day, a chef's holiday of sorts. I was able to enjoy family -- especially my granddaughter who stopped by later in the evening -- instead of slaving all day over the range.

Early in the afternoon I said that I was going to Safeway to grab a few groceries. My mother-in-law joked that I couldn't live through a holiday without cooking. She's right!

Mike (my brother-in-law from Oregon) and I purchased the fixin's for blue cheese dressing and Alton Brown's pickled beets. The dressing is now gone. I used the last of it this morning to dress my breakfast turkey sandwich. And the beets are on the menu for dinner tonight.

PICKLED BEETS

I viewed these recipes on Alton Brown's Good Eats Food Network show last week. They come from his "Beet It" episode.

Roasted beets, recipe follows
1 large red onion, sliced thin
1 cup tarragon wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup water

Remove the skin from the Roasted Beets and slice thinly. Arrange in 1-quart jars alternating layers with the onion. In a small pot boil the rest of the ingredients and pour over the beets. Tightly lid the jars and place in the refrigerator for 3 to 7 days before serving.

ROASTED BEETS

Check the beets after 40 minutes in the oven. I left the foil pouch in the oven an additional 15 minutes to ensure the beets were tender.

6 medium beets, cleaned with 1-inch stem remaining
2 large shallots, peeled
2 sprigs rosemary
2 teaspoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large bowl toss all of the ingredients. Place into a foil pouch and roast in the oven for 40 minutes.