No "beeting" around the bush: glazed beets with cheese

Annalena is very aware that, the use of the word "beets" in the above will cause at least a portion of her readership to say  "let's move along," and wait for the next one.  Indeed,  the love, or hatred, of beets, seems to be as divisive as issues like conservative/liberal, pro-life/women's choice, etc.  Food lovers, however, (at least for now), do not try to kill each other.  Let us keep it this way.

Annalena loves beets.  She does not love them, perhaps, as much as her friend Kenny, but she does love them.   And she loves "springing" them on people.  She remembers very fondly a time when she served forth a salad, with sliced golden beets in it.  One gentleman asked "these are terrific what are they?"  Annalena's response , of course, was "beets."  Came the riposte.  "No, the golden things.  I hate beets."  His partner answered  "they're beets and you're eating them from now on." 

AH, the fun one can have with food.  So Annalena looks for new ways of cooking these beautiful, sweet veggies (you did know that, as a root vegetable, beets are loaded with sugar, did you not?  No?  Well, remember "sugar beets."  And keep in mind that most white sugar ultimately comes, from sugar beets). 

Normally, she roasts them and then stores them.  Boiled beets are what turned many beet lovers off of these lovely creatures.  So Annalena abjures boiling them.  The recipe that follows, however, called for boiling in aromatics, and vinegar.  Now, flavored vinegars have a natural affinity for beets.  So it caught our lady's eye.  And while a bit time consuming, it is easy.  So let's make some beets.  (by the way, it is cheap too).


You need about a pound of beets.  Any type will do, but since you will be boiling them in red vinegar, red beets or chioggias would be better.  And bigger beets would be preferred.  NOT the ones that are as big as a child's head, but four to a pound is great.    Put them in a pot, and cover them with cold water.  Now add a half dozen or so sprigs of thyme, and a teaspoon or so of black peppercorns,  and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.  That's all you need.  Bring this to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about forty minutes.  Check the beets after thirty.  If you can pierce them, to the center with a small knife, you can stop.  And as the water boils away, add more.  Keep cooking till you get to that point of penetration.

Okay, now dump everything out, and let the beets cool.  PLEASE DO THIS, as these babies are hot, and they are dense, so if you do not wait, you will burn yourself. 

Peel them.  This will be very easy.  You'll find the skins kind of slip off, or if you need some help, the back of a small knife will scrape the skin.  Now cut them into dice - half to quarter inch is good, and don't feel a need to get OCD on this. 

The fun part starts now. Put them in a pot, with a half cup of a flavorful vinegar.  The recipe called for sherry vinegar, and Annalena used a mix of sherry and balsamic.  All balsamic would be REALLY good too.  Also add 2 tablespoons of sugar,  and if you have it, a sprig of rosemary.  Add a quarter cup of water.  Bring everything to a medium boil, and stir occasionally, for about ten minutes.  You will get a thick, sugary syrup that will coat the beets. 

You can stop here.  These babes are good.  BUT... Annalena saw the instructions, which called for piling them on bread with burrata cheese.  Now, burrata is one of Annalena's favorite things in the world, but the combination with beets, did not move her.  Soft goat cheese, however, did.  So, get some goat cheese.  How much?  Who cares.  A lot of goat cheese will limit the impact of the beets, a little will push it forward.  Stir up the cheese until it's soft, and then add the beets and stir it all together.

NOW, pile it on some toast, and serve it forth for an unusual first.  Or, the hell with the cheese, and put the beets into a salad.  Or add the cheese to the beets in the salad. 

Whatever you do , DO NOT "beet around the bush."  Get to the store, get your vinegar, and your beets, and get cooking. Betcha you'll change your mind and join our club of beet lovers.