BEETS!

Remember the beets that were indistinguishable from cranberry sauce in a can? You know, the "way too red" blobs or slices? I remember, as a kid, my grandfather eating beets on his salad and urging me to try them. After one taste, I quickly spit the rest out of my mouth and vowed never again. Never again would I put those weird roots in my mouth -- those roots that taste like dirt and were actually used to dye clothes back in the day. Really? Why would I seek out a food that was used to make red dresses? Beets me!! (No more beet jokes. I don't want to beet them to death. Okay, now that was the last beet joke)

Yes, beets don't have the best PR campaign. However, knowing that they could convert an anti-beetite like me, I think it's time for a resurgence. It all started in 2010, in Yountville, CA. The restaurant was Ad Hoc. The dish was a homegrown salad with golden beets (see below pic).

When I saw that beets were in the salad, I was indifferent. My wife, also an anti-beetite, took the first bite and immediately asked what the little yellow diced items were. Having never consumed golden beets, I had to assume that's what it was. They were delightful, and we couldn't get enough of them. I was shocked that something I once hated was so delicious. What else was I missing? Was the stem of broccoli now tasty (it isn't)? It's almost as if I had been lied to this whole time. My wife and I have now embraced beets, looking for ways to incorporate them into dishes and seeking them out on restaurant menus.

Is there a food that you might have been afraid of when you were younger? Perhaps it's time to take another look at it. You might be surprised at what you've been missing.

Beet Green Salad with Warm Goat Cheese and Figs (+Scallops over Grilled Corn Off the Cob)