Weekend Cooking: Winning Recipes for Fall Cooking

I'm hanging my head in shame this week because I never did get to any of your posts last week. I got home from my trip on Monday morning and hit the ground running to catch up with work. I will take time this weekend to read the Weekend Cooking posts from last week as well as the new ones from this week.

When I spend time with my girlfriends, food often takes center stage. We do eat real meals, but there are also tons of baked goods, cheese and crackers, snacks, and chocolate. When I was finally in my own kitchen, cooking for just the two of us, I was craving veggies and light meals. Today, I'm sharing our favorite dinner of the week.

Also on the menu this week was a chicken skillet dinner from Well Plated that was delicious, and I highly recommend you give it a try. Note, though, that I used only one apple because I didn't want the meal to be too sweet. I'm making updated tuna melts tonight (actually last night by the time you read this) from a new recipe. It's from Cooking Light, so I'm sure it will be delicious.

Roasted Beet, Apple and White Bean Salad
From Family Circle magazine (my photo)

This was a surprising winner. I think we could have eaten this whole salad in one sitting if we had let ourselves. It was just that good. I never thought I'd like raw kale so much. What's more, my husband is not usually a beet eater, but he happily ate this again for lunch the next day.

• 3 beets (about 1 pound with leaves trimmed), halved
• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/8 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1 bunch kale (about 1 pound), tough stems removed and sliced in 1/4-inch strips
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Heat oven to 425F. Toss beets in 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and 1/8 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Seal beets inside a large piece of aluminum foil. Place foil-wrapped beets on a baking sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until knife-tender. Allow to cool a bit, then remove skins with a paper towel or gloves. Cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, mustard, shallot, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Slowly whisk in remaining 1/3 cup olive oil.

Toss kale with half the dressing. Arrange on a platter with beets, beans and apple. Scatter cheese on top and drizzle with remaining dressing.

Beth Fish Reads Says: For once, I pretty much followed the recipe exactly. My only changes were to tear the kale instead of cutting it and putting the veggies on the platter willy-nilly instead of making a pretty composed salad. Oh, and I used a tart apple I already had in the house instead of a Granny Smith. What would I do differently in the future? I might add a few toasted pecans, but honestly the salad was perfect just as is.

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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