Garlicky Beet Dip with Walnuts by Alison Roman

Hot take: You have to really love beets, deep in your heart and without reservation, to also love, or even kind of like, this dip. The beet’s presence is as strong and consistent as your heart’s beat. It’s the first thing you taste, and the very last thing your mouth remembers. Yes, garlic and toasted walnuts and labne (or in my case, goat’s milk yogurt) have things to say. Their distinct flavors all have brief moments in the spotlight. But this is really a beet-centric dip, 2 cups of it to be exact. 

I made this dip, planning to take it to a friend’s home as an appetizer option. However, that friend wasn’t feeling well and cancelled an hour before we were to arrive for dinner. I was suddenly stuck with a giant bowl of this beet dip and a husband who, for lack of a better term, hates beets. He took one inquisitive bite and said, “that’s terrible.” Now to be fair, if you like beets, this dip isn’t terrible. I, for one, really enjoy roasted beets. But I have to concede that even I couldn’t have too much of this without feeling overwhelmed (beetwhelmed?). A full bite of pureed beets, even when interrupted by a cracker, is a lot to handle. 

We ended up rescheduling the dinner with friends a few nights later. The beet dip still sat largely untouched in my fridge. But sadly, I just couldn’t get myself to bring it with me. There the dip sat for about 5 days. Every time I opened the fridge door, I tried to avert my gaze as conflicting feelings of duty and aversion rose to the surface. I didn’t want to violate my standards for not wasting food. But I couldn’t get myself to eat it either. I don’t at all like to admit this, but I did end up tossing most of it in the trash. This is probably my least favorite dish so far. 

But again, if you’re an ardent beet lover, then you should give this a try. 

77 recipes cooked, 148 to go.

Decidedly Not-Sweet Granola by Alison Roman

Alison has two granola recipes. Kinda-sweet and Decidedly not-sweet. Both are really good.

In my previous granola post, I outlined my criteria for an excellent granola – because yes, I do have standards. Anyone serious about granola should. I will use my developed criteria to develop this rather not sweet granola. 

1. Every good granola recipe has an X factor. 

This granola has 2 X factors: 

Soy sauce (I’ll admit this made me hesitate. Would I like soy sauce on my granola? Would it be too savory to put on my plain yogurt? But it balanced well with the tiny bit of maple syrup, far better than I anticipated! And at least it wasn’t fish sauce!)

Aleppo pepper (the perfect amount of heat)

2. Every good granola recipe is also a template. 

So this recipe did not have as many options listed in it as the Kinda-Sweet one did. I think the spices and maple syrup to soy sauce ratio is non-negotiable. The flavor balance is what gives this granola its namesake. The egg whites must also stay the same - they give the granola its signature crunch. But she does list quite a lot of seeds to put in the granola, half of which I could not find or could not eat (gluten intolerance). In this way, it’s a template. I used: rolled oats, raw pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, white sesame seeds, fennel seed, aleppo pepper. I did not use: sunflower seeds, buckwheat groats, black sesame seeds, nigella seeds, or caraway seeds. 

3. Every good granola recipe makes a lot of granola. 

Once again, this made plenty of granola – enough to last me and my friend Molly about 4 days in Colorado. It could have sustained us longer, but hey, we were hungry from all the physical activity! We ate this on its own, and with plain goat’s milk yogurt (if you haven’t yet, try it, find it at TJ’s) and a dash of maple syrup. 

In summary, I’d say this is another good granola recipe. Savory with a kick, and begging for a drizzle of maple syrup. 

76 recipes cooked, 149 to go.

Baked Eggs with Chorizo, Chickpeas, and Bread Crumbs by Alison Roman

As I lay in bed this morning, I thought about the day ahead. Admittedly I have very few things to accomplish today – I’m on vacation in Colorado. One item on my short to-do list is making this dish. We already bought all of the ingredients and it’s our last full morning here; today’s the day to do it. But I felt tired and not super jazzed about spending 45 minutes cooking breakfast. I could feel perfectly satisfied with just some eggs and toast. 

And yet, every time I make an Alison recipe that I’m not necessarily in the mood for, it’s as if I can hear her say, “do you trust me?” 

My answer is always “yes.” It’s part of my Rules, and that answer hasn’t led to disappointment yet. 

Well, today’s “yes” was surely rewarded – this meal is amazing. I’ll take you through a brief step by step… 

Diced onion, cumin and chorizo spend the first few minutes together, softening and sharing flavor. This recipe calls for dry chorizo, and try as I did, I couldn’t find it. So I used wet pork chorizo instead. No way of telling if that severely altered anything, but let’s just say that I didn’t notice anything wrong. 

Next, diced fresh tomato joins the pan and cooks until it releases its juices and softens nicely. Then, a can of chickpeas and a bit of water go into the pan to simmer until the liquid reduces substantially. Alison instructs you to break the chickpeas a bit with your spatula, which helps them cook faster and turn out softer for eating purposes. 

Meanwhile, and this is the most ingenious part of the recipe in my opinion, Alison has you make her Spicy Bread Crumbs, which are just fresh bread crumbs fried in oil and aleppo pepper. This step was crucial to the overall texture of the dish. Without the crunchy breadcrumbs, the final thing is a softer, dare I say mushy, mixture that is, yes, delicious, but wanting in variety. Bread crumbs are the answer to this, and therefore cannot be skipped. 

With most of the liquid evaporated, four pockets are created in the pan and an egg fills each one. The pan is supposed to bake in the oven so that the eggs can cook, but none of the pans available in our cabin were oven-safe. Instead, I turned the stove’s heat down to medium-low and covered the pan to steam-cook the eggs. This worked perfectly, and only took about 6 minutes! Before plating I sprinkled the bread crumbs and fresh parsley over the top. 

This breakfast thoroughly exceeded all my expectations. The flavors and textures were vibrant, but not overpowering. It felt filling and satisfying, but not heavy. It paired perfectly with sliced avocado. 

Next time I have someone over for brunch, I will make this – without hesitation. 

75 recipes cooked, 150 to go. (ONE THIRD OF THE WAY TO MY GOAL!)

Citrusy Cucumbers with Red Onion and Toasted Sesame by Alison Roman

The first time I ate this salad was actually at my dear pal Kailey’s apartment. In fact, Kailey is one of the reasons I began this project. Since moving to Minneapolis, we’ve become really close -- the ease of our friendship matching that of other decades-old friends of mine. Kailey is a talented cook and owns both of Alison’s cookbooks. When we started hanging out at her apartment, I would steal one to peruse while she made me dinner. Eventually she let me take Dining In home for a few weeks, and that’s what inspired me to ask for it for Christmas! The rest, as they say, is history… 

Jordan and I both really liked this salad, which in my opinion is a win, because he hasn’t loved too many of Alison’s salads thus far. This salad is supposed to serve 4, but we ate all of it for dinner. Except the red onion. There was too much red onion in my opinion… 

The salad is simple. Red onion soaked in ice water to remove its bite. Thinly sliced cucumbers marinated in lemon juice, zest, and sumac. A creamy tahini spread at the base of the bowl. Drizzled with olive oil and toasted sesame seeds. Perfect for pairing with lamb, falafel, steak, chicken, the list goes on. I made this with Melissa Clark’s jalapeno honey steak and jasmine rice. It’s subtlety will complement a variety of bold flavors. I’ll definitely make this again!

74 recipes cooked, 151 to go.

Escarole with Mustard and Spicy Guanciale Bread Crumbs by Alison Roman

This is the kind of salad I could eat all the time. Texture for days, vinegary and spicy overtones, and bread crumbs. I mean, does it get better than that? 

For some people, it does. Jordan didn’t love this salad. For him, the whole grain mustard was too strong. Once he said this, I had to somewhat agree with him. I love mustard, but I could have done with about half the amount. 

The base of this salad is escarole, a member of the chicory family (see this post for fun facts and a corny joke about chicories). Chicories have a signature bitterness and their leaves are usually very soft to the touch. Escarole is less bitter than radicchio and has the texture of butter lettuce. Still, its bite required something fatty to balance it. 

Enter guanciale, the fattier cousin of pancetta. Sadly, I could not find guanciale in stores. I was really looking forward to trying it, but had to settle with a box of diced pancetta. Not ideal, but still a fatty pork alternative. I sauteed the pancetta over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes, allowing the fat to render before the pork got too crispy. Once there was enough fat in the pan, I added a cup of fresh sourdough breadcrumbs and chile flakes, and let them toast until golden brown. However, because I used pancetta, there wasn’t enough fat to soak all of the crumbs, and I had to add a little olive oil to make up the difference. 

Thinly sliced shallot adds a fabulous crunch. The shallot rings are first marinated in a few tablespoons of white wine vinegar. Alison suggests at least 10 minutes, but I say the longer the better so they get more pickle-y. 

Just before serving, I tossed the shallot, whole grain mustard, guanciale bread crumbs, parsley, and escarole together, and drizzled it with olive oil. Like I said, Jordan wasn’t a huge fan. But I loved it. I had two servings for dinner and ate the rest of it for lunch the next day. It made for really good leftovers. The leaves didn’t get too soggy and the shallot continued to pickle overnight. 

I served this salad with another round of Alison’s incredible Crispy Chicken Legs.

73 recipes cooked, 152 to go.