Distracted by Bali

Since my last post, I have made several, simple yet satisfying, dishes: lemon curd, spicy tomato soup, crab-stuffed jalapeños, and warm spinach & roasted potato salad. All required little cooking time but featured good, bright flavors. The lemon curd and tomato soup were motivated in part for a friend who recently underwent oral surgery and was on a week-long, soft food diet. My beau found recipes for stuffed jalapeños in celebration of Cinco de Mayo; we substituted with crab salad and washed it down with jalapeño margaritas. Roasting jalapeños mellows their flavor, so we wanted the spice back! He flambed the jalapeños in tequila to release the heat before mixing up the drinks. Mmm.

I will expand on the posts and publish the recipes at some point, but I am currently distracted because we're going to Bali! Consequently, I've been obsessed with reading and researching for the trip. Drop me a line if you have any good tips!  

Stack 'em up!

I had 12 of these stacks for dinner tonight, but they would be excellent hors d'oeuvres for a party, served warm with the blue cheese slightly oozy. Alternatively, bring them as a salad for a potluck picnic, with a light squeeze of fresh orange juice.



Roasted beet + roasted fennel + blue cheese stacks

3 medium beets
1 fennel bulb
salt + pepper
olive oil
blue cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean beets and fennel. Slice beets into ¼” rounds. Cut fronds off fennel bulb and discard any tough, outer layers. Cut fennel lengthwise into ¼” slices. Arrange beets and fennel on a baking sheet/roasting pan in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt + pepper; toss to coat evenly. Bake for 30 min, or until beets are tender and fennel is golden brown.

Stack beets, fennel, and blue cheese to desired ratios and heights.

Banh mi, take 2