Tom's Roasted Beet and Blue Cheese Salad
-One bunch of beets, topped and rinsed clean
-1/4 lb of pecans, chopped
-2 Tablespoons of raw sugar
-Letuce
-One small block of blue cheese, crumbled
-Any lite oil-based dressing (we made our own with rice wine vinegar, oilive oil, lemon juice a dash of Hungry Bear garlic salt and a dash of pepper)
Wrap the beets tightly in aluminum foil and place in an oven proof dish
Roast the beets for about 45 minutes in a 425 degree oven until they are soft (you can poke a fork through the foil towards the end to make sure that they are done).
Set the beets aside until they are just cool enough for you to handle, (you can use this time to chop the nuts, rinse and chop the lettuce or make the dressing).
With a paring knife, take the top, the root and the skin off the beets and then slice the beets into 1/4” slices.
Set aside the beets and begin warming the butter in a skillett-being careful to not let it burn. Toss the chopped pecans into the skillett and stir to coat them with the butter. While keeping the nuts moving around in the pan, sprinkle the sugar over them. Continue tossing the nuts and sugar for another moment so that the sugar begins to melt and coat the nuts. Remove the nuts from the heat.
Top the lettuce with the sliced beets, the nuts and the cheese.
Serve with the dressing.
