This is a fantastic, fresh, light, vibrant salad that's perfect for late winter into early Spring when all of the ingredients are in season. The mélange of flavors and textures work together in perfect harmony.

For a recent recent dinner gathering with friends, we selected to bring the salad course. The theme of the gathering was "Farm to Table." I noticed what was in season on our weekly Farmer's Market visits. When I saw a salad in one of my Alice Water's cookbooks it matched up perfectly with what was available at the Farmer's Market. Our citrus vendor was getting close to finishing up with the blood oranges. Our vegetable vendor had plenty of beets and always has bags of arugula. Waters' salad called for endive but I did a trial run for some friends and decided to make a switch from endive to arugula. I also decided to use pistachios instead of walnuts. The addition of crumbled goat cheese was the perfect ingredient to give the salad a hint of creaminess.

Why use blood oranges when you can just use more common oranges? First, there's the deep red color that will be present in the fruit and the juice. While it may appear "blood-like," it's actually anthocyanin, a natural chemical compound. This compound is present in blueberries, blackberries, tomatoes, rhubarb, etc. The deep red color, along with the red beets, gives this salad an interesting color. Blood oranges also taste slightly different from other oranges. They are sweeter than regular oranges but also less tart making it a better choice for this salad. But, yes, you can use other oranges but if you can get blood oranges, go for it and give it a try. 

Serve the salad on one or two large platters and let your guests take as much as they want. 

Beets, Blood Oranges, and Arugula Salad

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• Beets - 10 medium beets, mixed red and gold
• Blood oranges - 6, peeled with a knife
• Arugula - 5-6 oz.
• Avocados - 4, cut in half, pitted, and diced
• Roasted pistachios - 3/4 cup
• Goat cheese - 6 oz.
• Orange juice - 4 Tbsp., fresh is better but store bought will work
• Orange zest - from 1 orange (regular if using fresh oranges or use the blood oranges)
• Olive oil - 1/2 cup
• White balsamic vinegar - 4 Tbsp.
• Honey - 2 Tbsp. 
• Salt and pepper - to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400º
2. Trim and wash the beets and roast them in a covered dish with just enough water to cover the bottom. Roast colors separately. 
3. Zest one of the oranges using a microplane. 
4. While the beets roast, use a knife to trim off the top and bottom of each blood orange. Pare off the rest of the peel and remove the pith.
5. 
   Slice the oranges crosswise into 1/4 inch rounds and quarter each slice. 
   
6. When beets are done and cool enough to handle, peel them and slice into rounds and quartered.
7. Make the vinaigrette by mixing the vinegar, orange juice, zest, and honey. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
8. To serve, place all beets in a large bowl and add a little bit of the vinaigrette and stir to coat. 
9. Cover the bottom of a serving platter with the beets. 
10. Place arugula, blood oranges, and pistachios in a large bowl. Slowly add the some dressing and stir to mix and allow the vinaigrette to break down the arugula ever so slightly. 
11. Distribute the salad mix on top of the plated beets. Top with additional pistachios and crumbled goat cheese.

If you were a child of the 60s or 70s your parents probably had frozen vegetables in the freezer throughout the year that someone in your house would heat up as a side vegetable for dinner.

Fast forward to today, where we (speaking from California) can get fresh vegetables most of the year. Yes, there are seasons here (well, one or two) but fresh vegetables are so much more available than in the 60s or 70s. So this idea of keeping a bag of frozen vegetables in your freezer seems so antiquated. But I've come to learn that that's wrong. 

I've learned that keeping bags of frozen peas and corn are the most often used frozen vegetables. But there are lots of frozen vegetables so your favorite might be available frozen. 

That's where this recipe shines. A bag of frozen peas is transformed into a tasty pesto. The peas impart a brilliant green color and a fresh Spring flavor. But the other ingredients elevate it above a bowl of mashed peas. 

We've served it as an appetizer but it could be a pesto and pasta meal, a spread on a sandwich, a topping for you side dish (such a roasted potatoes, asparagus, or carrots). But most of the time I serve it as an appetizer. 

Pea Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 lb. (16 oz.) frozen peas, thawed
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1 tsp. Kosher salt
• 1/8 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup EVOO, plus more for processing
• 1/4 tsp. white pepper
• 5-6 drops of hot sauce, Tabasco, Crystal, etc. (or more to taste/preference)
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Red pepper flakes

Instructions

Process all ingredients in a food processor. Continue to process and slowly add more EVOO until reaching desired smoothness. Taste and adjust ingredients to taste.

Served with crostini crackers or cut vegetables.

"Seacuterie" Christmas Wreath

We had some friends over for Christmas dinner and we made this impressive appetizer that was well received. It's a seafood-based variation of a charcuterie. But because of the holidays, it's also intended to mimic a Christmas wreath. 

The recipe comes from the Cornish Sea Salt company. We were buying some Cornish salt for a close friend whose recent DNA results showed that his ancestors were Cornish. As we explored the website, we found this recipe a few months before Christmas and we decided to try it as a part of our Christmas dinner.

There is one ingredient that needs to be addressed: Caper berries. We all know capers--the small, round, brined berries used in picatta recipes and more. The capers we mostly know are the flower buds of Mediterranean caper bush. The caper berries are the fruit that grows from flower of the caper bush. Each one is about the size of an elongated olive. There are many of the same salty and briny flavors but the inside of the caper berries contains seeds and they are way larger. Eating them is a different experience. Caper berries may not be available at your local supermarket but you can find them on Amazon (and, by extension, Whole Foods).

Ingredients:

Cream Cheese Dip:

• Chives - 1/8 cup, finely chopped
• Parsley - 1/8 cup, finely chopped
• Dill - 1/8 cup, finely chopped
• Cream cheese - 6 oz., brought to room temperature
• Lemon zest - zest from 1/2 lemon
• Lemon juice - from 1 or more lemons (mostly used for flavor but also to thin the thickness of the cream cheese)
• Salt - 1/2 - 1 tsp. 

This can be made up to three days ahead of time.

Shrimp:

• Shrimp - 1/2 lb., peeled and deveined
• Olive oil - 2 tbsp.
• Lemon zest - zest from the other half of the lemon
• Salt - 1/2 - 1 tsp. 

Main Ingredients:

• Smoked salmon - 1/3 lb. 
• Radishes - 2-4, thinly sliced
• Cucumber - thinly sliced using a vegetable peeler and rolled into a spiral
• Caper Berries - 3 oz. 

Instructions:

Here are the original directions (with some of my edits):

1. Finely chop the herbs and then combine in a bowl with the cream cheese and the lemon zest of 1/2 of a lemon and the juice of 1-2 lemons. Season with salt.  (Can be made a few days ahead)
2. Heat the oil in a skillet. When hot and shimmering, add the shrimp. Cook for 3-5 minutes until pink, curled, and cooked through (Let sit for  3-5 mins. and then stir occasionally until shrimp are cooked through.) Add the lemon zest,  and lemon juice
3. To assemble the wreath get a large round 12" platter. Use the back of a teaspoon to spread some of the cream mixture around the edge of the platter. Then build a "wreath" out of the cooked prawns, smoked salmon, sliced radishes, cucumber ribbons, and caper berries.
4. Serve with optional lemon wedges, bread, or crackers (optional)