Roasted Beet Salad (Page 147)

• Date: Sunday, August 6, 2006 - 8pm
• Location: Somerville, MA
• Kitchen: My Apartment
• Fellow Chefs: Mike, Vigleik, and Shihchi
• Dining Companions: Haynes, Juli, and Tim
• Recipe Rating: A-
  

I picked this one because the last beet dish I made from The Book was so good, so I thought I would try another one. For some reason I had trouble deciding if I liked this dish or not while I was eating it. I had no complaints about it, I just didn't want to finish it. In retrospect I think my portion was just too big. The salad was quite good. The beets had a lovely flavor and color, and the dressing had a clean, pleasant taste that didn't overpower the flavor of the beets. I thought the crunchiness of the pears and almonds and the bite of the arugula provided nice contrast. For some reason Asian pears were impossible to find, so I used some European pears instead, and they worked really well, although I think the Asian pears would have been even better. This salad also had a lot of visual appeal. I was surprised, when we went around the room for comments, by how many people had never had beets before. Even the beet newcomers really liked this salad though!

I am flying out to California this afternoon. My friend Bret is getting married over the weekend on the shore of Lake Tahoe. I am flying in to San Francisco today and on Friday afternoon Emilee, Brian, and I will drive out to Nevada. I am really looking forward to it. For one thing, there will be quite a few people at this wedding that I haven't seen in years! And the people I know well who will be there are all so fun! Whenever I mention that I am going to a wedding this weekend, people ask, "Who are you taking as a date?" Why is it not acceptable to go to a wedding alone? I was going to bring Paul to Bret's wedding, but then I decided that I didn't want to confuse matters. We broke up, so probably it's better for both of us to not go on pseudo-dates, especially ones that involve thousands of miles of travel! And I have tons of male friends that I could have asked, but I just don't understand what's wrong with going dateless. Emilee and Brian will be there, along with lots of other people that I know, so I am not going to be bored or lonely!

Honestly, I am not worried about eventually meeting the right guy, and settling down, etc... When I was younger, the idea that I might not find someone worried me a lot. Now, being 26 years old seems so young. I don't feel like I need to rush. I am starting to feel pressure from other people in my life though. Even my parents, who are the last people I would expect to pressure me to get married, seem to be subtley pushing me. And if I mention to one of my friends that I think someone is cute, or I have a crush, it becomes this huge thing... If you go to a wedding alone though, random people really feel at liberty to ask you all sorts of personal questions about why you don't have a date. Maybe that's why no one goes alone!

Ok, I should finish packing... I am sure I will do plenty of cooking and blogging from California!