Roasted Beets with Balsamic Glaze

Beets are a very nutritious root vegetable, though when you see them in the grocery store they are covered in soil and may not be the most appealing looking veggie. They can be eaten raw or cooked, and are very tasty either way. With this recipe you can cook up some beets with a delicious balsamic glaze. 

Fun Fact: Apparently if you boil beets and massage them on your head each night it is said to be effective in curing dandruff. Someone try this and let us know if it works...

What You'll Need:
-2 pounds red beets, medium sized, scrubbed clean and green tops removed.
-olive oil
-salt
-1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
-2 teaspoons sugar
-1 teaspoon grated orange zest
-freshly ground black pepper

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a roasting pan with aluminum foil. Place the beets in the pan. Rub olive oil over the beets, and sprinkle with salt. Cover the beets with another sheet of aluminum foil. Roast for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the size of the beets and how old they are. After 1 hour, test every fifteen minutes by poking a beet with the tines of a fork. Once the fork tines go in easily, the beets are tender and cooked. Remove from oven. 

2. While the beets are cooling, prepare the balsamic glaze. In a small, shallow sauté pan, add the balsamic vinegar and sugar. Heat on high until the vinegar has reduced to a syrup consistency. Remove from heat.

3. After the beets have cooled for several minutes, but are still warm to the touch, peel off the outer skins and discard. Cut the beets into quarters or more bite-sized pieces. 

4. Place beets in serving bowl. Pour balsamic glaze over the beets. Stir in grated orange zest, and add salt and pepper to fast. Garnish with a littler orange zest and serve!!


Time to try a new vegetable if you are not already familiar with beets! Comment and let us know how you enjoyed it or any changes in the recipe you made.

Also-check out the website because the SALE is still going on. Just type Time to be Trendy 20 at checkout to get 20% off EVERYTHING you purchase!!

Latest Lemon Drop Martini Taste

This is the latest taste of the Lemon Drop Martini. We had it at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. Great presentation and very fresh flavor! One of the best we have had. 

What is your favorite martini and your favorite place to enjoy it?

Cheers!!

www.thetrendykitchen.com

Have you ever heard of a Romanesco Cauliflower? Us either, until now!

From the farm fresh veggies we get delivered, there is always something interesting in there. Recently, it was a Romanesco Cauliflower! Luckily, they sent a couple recipes with it because I don't think I would have known what to do with it. This vegetable is like no other, its florets spiral into a pyramid shape. It can be eaten raw like cauliflower and broccoli or cooked. It has high levels of carotenoids which is great for glowing skin, Iron, Vitamin C and Folate.

Here is a picture of my cauliflower, I had to send a picture to my friends/family just because it was so interesting looking!

Recipe 

Roasted Romanesco

What You'll Need:

1 head of Romanesco Cauliflower

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons shredded Pecorino Romano cheese

1/8 teaspoon salt

15 turns of fresh ground pepper

hot paprika or red pepper flakes (optional for a little extra kick!)

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 400F and like baking sheet with parchment paper or nonstick spray.

2. Cut off Romanesco florets (same as you would with broccoli or cauliflower) and place in medium-sized bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

3. If you are using the hot paprika or red pepper flakes, lightly spring them to taste over top (not too much!)

4. Add olive oil and 1 tablespoon of the Romano cheese and toss to coat. Lay Romanesco in single layer on baking sheet and bake for 20min, turning once halfway through.

5. Sprinkle remaining shredded Romano cheese over the top just before serving. YUM.

Try this and let us know what you think! We loved it!

Cheers!

P.S. www.thetrendykitchen.com is still running our sale. 20% off your entire purchase if you type Time to be Trendy 20 at checkout! Deals Deals Deals!

Friends and Family Sale 20% off of everything!

Our Friends and Family sale is going on NOW!!! 20% off your entire purchase on our website--that means everything!! Just type 
Time to be Trendy 20 at checkout to get the discount. 

Mothers Day is coming up fast, as well as spring cleaning!
Come check out what your beautiful kitchen is missing!

www.thetrendykitchen.com

Cheers!

Oprah's Lemon Drop Martini Recipe

 

Oprah LOVES Lemon Drop Martinis! This Lemon Drop was served at the Legends Ball!

Servings: Serves 2

Ingredients

• Juice of 6 lemons
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 6 fresh mint fresh mint leaves
• 4 shots vodka
• Ice in shaker
• 1 sugar-rimmed martini martini glass

Directions

Mix lemon juice, sugar and vodka in a martini shaker filled with ice. Shake well and pour into sugar-rimmed martini glass. Garnish with mint.

Let us know what you think of this recipe, or share your own!

Cheers! 

Spring Is Here, And So Is Asparagus!

A member of the Lily family, Asparagus is an excellent source of Vitamins A, K & C and is known to have an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrient composition.

This is one of our favorite really easy Asparagus recipes!!

Lemon Roasted Asparagus with Goat Cheese and Garlic
Serves 6

What You'll Need:
1 bunch of asparagus spears-chopped in thirds
6 slices crusty french bread
About 1/3 cup soft goat cheese
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the top thirds of the asparagus (the part with the leafy detail!) in a casserole dish (this is the only portion of the asparagus you'll be using for this recipe, so save the rest for another dish!)
Chop garlic cloves in thirds and add to the casserole dish. Top with olive old, lemon, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes or until very fragrant and the veggies are soft.

2. Add bread to the oven (in separate dish than asparagus) and bake for another 5-6 minutes, or until golden brown. Top the bread with one tablespoon of goat cheese. Then layer each slice with three spears of asparagus, chopped garlic and additional salt and pepper. 

This recipe is so delicious and SO easy! Try it and let us know how much you loved it!

Cheers,
The Trendy Kitchen!

www.thetrendykitchen.com

Mason Jar Party Glasses

We had  milestone birthday party recently and didn't want to buy 50 or 60 wineglasses, nor did we want to rent them, so we came up with a birthday theme of Texas/Western and bought 4 dozen jam jars for our drinks.  We put water soluble labels on the jars and piled them into a large wicker basket lined with a big red napkin.  As our guests arrived we had them put their name on a jar with a Sharpie and that was their glass for the night!   (You know how people put their glass down, forget about it, and then need another glass).

Our guests thought it was a fabulous idea, quite the topic of entertainment.  The labels came off easily in the dishwasher and we now have jars for our marmalade or antipasto when we are ready to can.

Another idea for fun party glasses that are re-usable would be the Chalk It Up glasses here -

Chalk It Up Glasses