Roasted Beet Salad

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time in Raleigh-Durham and had a really great dinner with friends at a popular local restaurant with a highly acclaimed up-and-coming chef. One of the courses included a beet salad and, while I had not really been a big fan of beets in the past, the salad blew me away and changed my opinion completely. While everything they served was very good, the beets were really special. That meal, combined with the really wonderful health benefits of beets and the fact that they are in season now, inspired this dish.

 

  

Orange Cranberry Sauce

This is an easy recipe with an optional version listed below depending on which ingredients you have in the house. This makes a lot of cranberry sauce, so if you have any leftover, you will definitely want to make these muffins or these muffins.

 

Fruit Salad Dessert

1/2 pineapple, cut in chunks
1 gala apple (or any other sweet apple)
2-3 oranges, peeled and cut from sections & membranes
1 banana cut in half lengthwise and then sliced at an angle
2 T cream sherry
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Combine all fruit together in a medium sized bowl, drizzle with sherry.

Comments: You can toast the almonds and coconut flakes (on a cookie sheet for ten minutes) for added flavor, but it is very good without that step. It saves well in the refrigerator for about 1 day max. This is really delicious, light and refreshing and tastes a little like a pina colada. Really perfect for the summer.