But you'll love it the way I cook it!

[escondido123]

Also known as "I hate vegetable xxxxxxxxxx" and someone responds with "You'll love it the way that I make it!" So working from the list of vegetables chosen at the earlier posting http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/849667 what is the recipe that you think will turn a hater into a lover? Mine is for those who hate brussels sprouts: shred them raw with a sharp knife or mandoline and then stir fry with bacon/pancetta, pine nuts and garlic with olive oil, s&p until tender. Squeeze of lemon juice can't hurt.

[ATAVOLASTORE]

Sounds good!
Next time try to boil the brussels sprouts first, with a drip of milk, and then continues with your recipe:)
www.atavolastore.com

[iL Divo]

mine is brussels sprouts too.
it's the au gratin recipe using the bacon, onion, garlic and lots of cheese throughout and on top, then bake.
it should be "what's for dinner" period, add salad and garlic bread, so good.

what's with all the greens that come up so often in cooking shows or on food websites?

collard greens
kale
rainbow kale
beet greens
mustard greens
dandelion greens (why would anyone want to eat the leaves of those small yellow weed flowers?)

plus I'm not eating yukka or yucca or Yucatan or yuke or yuk in general

[Rella]

Yuca fries - the best! I'd never heard of it until a few months ago. Better than french fries, or sweet potato fries, which seem to be the rage now.

If one can't deal with prepparing a fresh vegetable, you can find them already cleaned in the frozen food department - for those who want to try them.

[eclecticsynergy]

When I was a child, the only way I could tolerate cauliflower was when it was covered in breadcrumbs browned in butter.

Here's a good zucchini casserole recipe from my family; the clove/bay/tomato flavor predominates along with the cheese, so it's a good one for zucchini haters.

Zucchini Squash
Oma doubles this recipe- list below

6 med zucchini squash (1#)
3 Tb butter
3 Tb flour
2 C canned tomatoes*
1 small green pepper, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 t. Herbamare (or seasoned salt, or sea salt)
1 Tb honey (orig. recipe called for brown sugar, could also use maple syrup)
½ bay leaf
1 small clove
½ C grated sharp Cheddar
Parmesan cheese
Butter

Slice zucchini and place in a greased baking dish. Melt butter, blend in flour & add tomatoes.
Add green pepper & onion, salt, honey, bay leaf and clove. Cook sauce for five minutes.
Pour over zucchini. Dot with butter and cover with grated Cheddar.
Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

for double recipe:

2 lbs medium zucchini (about a dozen)
6 Tb butter
6 Tb flour
28 oz can tomatoes, "plus juice (extra)"
1 C grated Cheddar
2 sm green pepper
2 sm onion
1 t Herbamare (or sea salt)
2 Tb honey (brown sugar)
1 bay leaf, 2 small cloves
Parmesan cheese
Butter

[Wtg2Retire]

I love to prepare and eat Brussels sprouts as follows: Pour into a baking dish and try to make into one layer. Melt a stick of butter and drizzle over sprouts. Take a handful of light brown sugar and sprinkle over all. Roast until sprouts are tender. Yumm. The contrast is delightful.

[scubadoo97]

Does sound good but a stick of butter? Wow

[Rella]

I'll add to that, "but a handful of light brown sugar""

I'm sure that is good, but there is something awesome about steaming brussel sprouts, sticking your fork into one, adding a little from a shaker of salt and if it is small enough, putting the whole brussel into your mouth and tasting the garden delight.

[Wtg2Retire]

I love Brussels sprouts just steamed, too. I prepare them in many ways, depending on my mood. The butter and brown sugar roasting is about a once-a-year occurrence.

[sunshine842]

best Brussels sprouts I ever had was at a restaurant in Zurich - they were halved, then sauteed in browned garlic butter. I gave serious thought to begging for more, but the saddle of venison was enormous, and I couldn't finish that, either, even though I was starving.

[sandylc]

HEY! Some of us are trying to diet here.......:-(

[sunshine842]

yeah, they weren't diet, but I never thought that I'd want seconds of Brussels sprouts...now I make 'em that way all the time!

(that restaurant brought a little carrier of side dishes - homemade spaetzle light enough that they needed to be held down, the amazing Brussels sprouts, and the most mindblowingly amazing Rotkohl I've ever had, before or since. Weird vegetables, but incredibly good)

[Wtg2Retire]

That sounds delicious, sunshine. Will have to try it.

[Sparklebright]

I grew up not being a vegetable lover.
Mostly they are just plain bitter with a few exceptions.

But now when I go to a putluck people rave about the veggies I bring.
I add dairy or bacon--or a combination thereof.
The richness of the animal fat balances out the bitterness and I think it was the book Nourishing Traditions which says how good it is to combine the water soluble nutrients of vegetables with the fat soluble activators in animal fat.

[LJS]

Parsnips-not everyone's cup of tea, but they are my Dad's fave so we had them a lot when I was a kid...always plain boiled, maybe with a smear of margarine (it was the '50's and we didn't go in for 'the high-priced spread'), how could a veg be bitter and bland at the same time?...sigh...

Then I roasted them under a chicken (I was driven to it-no carrots or celery root, my usual go-to roasting pals)....drenched in chicken fat and browned to a sweet goodness...I have never looked back and now do parsnips creamed and sauteed and raw, like carrots,with apples in a slaw...it was me that was boring, not the veg!!!

[sunshine842]

if you ever get the chance to peruse a British foods shop, keep an eye out for parsnip chips -- thin slices of parsnips, deep fried and salted -- there's a sweet-peppery-salty-crispy thing going on that should qualify them for status as a controlled substance.

I *love* parsnips.

[INDIANRIVERFL]

Publix here in Florida has them. In the British section of the ethnic food aisle. Near the bottle of Heinz Salad Sauce.

[piccola]

I had a roasted parsnip hummus in a restaurant once and I loved it so much it's now in my rotation at home. The tahini and lemon works off the sweetness of the parsnip beautifully.

[sunshine842]

oh yum -- recipe, please?

[piccola]

I basically wing it -- just cube and roast some parsnip, then dump it in the blender with cooked or canned chickpeas, and tahini, lemon juice and salt to taste. Blend until super smooth. I like a lot of cumin in there, too, but not everyone does.

[sunshine842]

thanks - that sounds really good!

[sandylc]

That does sound really good!

[laliz]

I had never eaten eggplant in my life that I didn't detest.
Then I tasted eggplant my Sicilian MIL made, and was transformed. Salting it; no breading or batter; and good pecorino romano were the keys.

I love eggplant.

[Rella]

Just opened a package of pecorino romano for dinner. $7.59 a lb. at Costco. Hey, it is so good, I don't know why I don't eat it morning-noon-and-and-night. I had it because I'm one of those "who don't love it the way I cook it" when it comes to beef. Our newly purchased grass-fed beef this last week was grilled by DH who loved it, but I had pecorino romano for my protein.

I've read that eggplant has no redeeming value when it comes to vitamins, so I don't worry about whether I should like it or not, yet I do buy it. One of the worse-est tasting baba-ganoush I EVER had was from an Egyptian deli - We always remark when we drive by it - I'm going to have to look at a Sicilian recipe for it in my two Sicilian cookbooks. Thanks.

[discombobulated]

My boyfriend always hated broccoli, but had only ever had it steamed or raw. I cooked it by blanching it for a minute, and then sauteing it in some olive oil with a bit of garlic and cayenne pepper. Now he likes broccoli and we have another vegetable we can eat together.

Thanks for everyone's responses, btw, your vegetables sound delicious and I'm going to try them.

[NanH]

Personally, I don't see the point of trying to turn a hater into a lover. There are lots of veggies and not everyone has to like every one. DH doesn't like beets. That's just more for me!

[sunshine842]

BUT there are things - like asparagus (we only ever had it out of a can when I was a kid), fresh lima beans, Brussels sprouts (only ever had frozen) -- that had someone not goaded me into trying again, would never have been moved from my "don't like" list to my "get outta my way" list.

[LauraGrace]

As seems to be the pattern today, sunshine, once again we find ourselves in agreement!

[LauraGrace]

I see the point! I don't have to be successful at every attempt -- you're certainly right that not everyone has to like every veggie) but if I can help someone go from a brussels-sprouts-hater to a brussels-sprouts-lover (just to choose an example), I'm helping to increase their enjoyment of life! I think that's a moderately worthy cause, at least! ;)

[Rella]

A great attiude.

I've seen this happen when at a fresh-fish- establishment, where a certain fish was offered/suggested to a child. Not a breath was taken by the mother before she said to the child, "You won't like that." and to the other person, "He won't eat anything like that."

As a rule, eating with any certain-food hater with an attitude about the food, does not make for good table happiness. So keep up the good work!

[NanH]

Oh, I think there is a difference between, "I don't like that." and "I WON'T like that." Cilantro springs to mind and I can't help but think cilantro is not the only food that has a different taste to different people. Okra seems to be a textural thing so why go through the hassle of finding the one way to cook it, when there are other veggies?

It's like wine. Why must I find a malbec that I like when I can have a Pinot Noir or a Cab? Or even why must I find a beer to like (none, so far) when I am happy drinking wine?

It's one thing to expand the childhood horizons of canned or frozen veggies. It's another to have tried something grilled and roasted and boiled and sauced, been underwhelmed each time and somehow feeling the need (or worse, someone else feeling the need) to find the one way to prepare that item so you will like it.

[melpy]

Doesn't just happen with children. At a seafood restaurant recently a middle aged couple was discussing their choices and te husband was considering the scallops but the wife told him he didnt think he would like it. I think he ended up with frozen boxed fried shrimp instead if the beautiful grilled scallops. Very sad.

[Rella]

This is all too common, I believe in a lot of couples' lives. For instance, I see more often than I'd like in a grocery market a husband or child who are suggesting something they'd like to buy or try, but the mother poo-poo's it, so they walk on by. I can read the sad faces. Makes me sad as I relate this.

[sandylc]

Me, too. There is no excuse on earth to tell a child they won't like a perfectly healthy and delicious food. These are the same folks who give their kids chicken nuggets 5 nights a week.

[megjp]

Amen.

That said, I marvel at kids who want to try vegetables and new foods because we were so picky growing up. It gives our mother fits that we're both huge foodies now with ever-shrinking lists of things we don't like / haven't tried. I cringe when these magical kids' parents don't indulge them in healthy curiosity.

[NonnieMuss]

Agreed! About half the replies are along the lines of "Have you tried it this way?", which I translate as "You'll love it the way I cook it!". I'm a lifelong fish-hater. And I swear I have tried. I have tried fresh fish from the Gulf, fried fish from McDonalds, smoked salmon from Oregon. You name a fish or fish preparation, and I promise I will hate it. I don't want to - I've spent years and years tasting and trying and hoping to find one that I like, but I just can't. I'd love to broaden my cooking repertoire with new dishes, eat healthier, etc. And the most common reaction is "Have you tried _____?" YES I have! And I. Don't. Like. It.

[sunshine842]

Yes -- there's a fine line that you don't dare cross -- when someone says no, just back off.

[Rella]

In our house, it is a comic situation. Here is the scenario: "Here, have a piece of watermelon," when we know the other one can't stand even the smell of it.

Whenever one of us buys something for ourselves that the other one would never eat, we pull this just for laughs, just to see the reaction, or fake reaction.

Even outside the family, people can get really annoyed about it. I've seen it my family that if someone 'accidentally' mentions that they like onions in their chili (or whatever - beans?) the other person who doesn't like onions or beans goes into a tither about it and just won't let it go. To them, I say, Lighten up!

[sandylc]

My mother has some strange food intolerances, and whenever she sees or hears about food that she can't have, she makes a big deal out of it - as though she finds it amazing that ANYONE would EVER eat that! She claims to not be able to figure out, for example, why anyone would cook with or eat cinnamon - she is mystified over this and always calls attention to herself over it. Argh.

[escondido123]

Same in my family. My mother (now gone) and my sister share the same food hates--lamb, duck, goose, dark meat of any poultry. When my sister asks about a meal I had/made and it includes one of those I always know there will be some negative comment.

[Rella]

The elders AND the young'uns do this, too. Perhaps in the youngsters it is described as a small tantrum :-))

[discombobulated]

Haha, I have to watch myself so that I don't do this. My family and I have VERY different taste in food. They are mostly vegetarians who like tofu and eat a lot of frozen veggies. I'm an omnivore who finds tofu repulsive and usually avoids frozen veggies. Whenever they're making one of their boring tofu dishes, it's an effort to stop myself from saying, "Better you than me" or "Yeah, I don't care for that", or just a disdainful "Oh." when they didn't ask for my opinion. I have to stop.

[hyde]

@ nonniemuss:

wow! i am with you all the way, leave 'em all in the ocean.

here in new england this is tantamount to treason. in fact, when i first read the thread title i instantly thought of the multitude of friends who insisted that i would be swayed by their rendition of... bluefish in a mustard sauce/roasted cod on fresh tomatoes/ smelts/catfish/snapper and on and on....

never converted, in fact, i think all those cod/scrod/halibut/sole/sable/whatever, white type fish are just carved from a single giant fish and called different names

[megjp]

I'll try a friend's fish entree every so often at a restaurant but no, I don't like it either. I'm not saying it can't happen, I'm saying I'm not all that eager to keep trying again and again.

Seafood, on the other hand, is a bridge too far. Eff that. :)

[Fydeaux]

I have a long-term friend who insists that the reason I dont like Opera is because I was 'never properly exposed to it'. It doesnt matter that that I am 57 years old, have been a musician all my life, I have been a musicologist for much of it; I was somehow never 'properly exposed' to Opera. And it's somehow OK for her to not like Blues, Salsa, Native American pow-wow music, but my not liking Opera is a failing on my part.

It never has and never will occur to her that the reason I dont like Opera is because I DONT LIKE OPERA!

So please dont try to convince me that if I try your recipe for beets-cauliflower-broccoli-lasagna-meatloaf-tomatoes, I will be instantly converted. I wont. Others have tried; none have accomplished anything other than confirming that I am right to not like beets-cauliflower-broccoli-lasagna-meatloaf-tomatoes. Or Opera.

More for you, OK?

[Rella]

I am reminded that I didn't like country music until I was 57 -

There's still hope for you to like those darned beets, etc. There might be a conversion yet!

[NonnieMuss]

+1.
Hell, +10!

[jujuthomas]

I've tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to get DH to enjoy more veggies just because he has a very limited list of what veggies he *will* eat. He's a good sport, he'll try things once or twice and then go back to his peas, corn, carrots... while I enjoy my roasted veggies of the week. :)

[Klary]

Oh and I just remembered I once made salmon fishcakes for a friend who after dinner said: "that was delicious, and I don't even like salmon."

[Klary]

roasted cauliflower
roasted broccoli
roasted brussel sprouts!

[DeLobstah]

I have roasted Cauliflower and in the last 10 minutes covered the florets with Parmesan cheese and upped the temp so the cheese gets browned and crispy. Haters loved it.

[scubadoo97]

Agree about the brussels sprouts. I've served shredded brussels sprouts to people who after eating them said they like it but didn't know they were brussels sprouts because they have always hated them.

[megjp]

Eggplant I don't like in Italian preparations, but baigan ka bharta and Indian sweet and sour eggplant are delicious. It's important to salt out the bitterness first.

Ina Garten's Brussels sprouts instantly converted my ex into a lover of the little gems, and I've also made good sprouts that are similar to the one escondido started with. I'll often use bacon fat instead of bacon proper, though.

Lima beans are frozen and packaged exclusively for use in Brunswick stew, AFAIK.

If Southern-style collards aren't your thing, Epicurious has a good recipe for quicker-cooked ones ("Collard Greens Miniera"). They're good.

Belgian endives are delicious halved lengthwise and braised, or grilled.

Mushrooms (like white or crimini) are delicious roasted, after tossing with your favourite oil, your favourite vinegar, and fresh thyme.

There are truly only a few vegetables I won't eat. Broccoli and cauliflower are chief among them, and I currently have a shaky truce with green peas but am not historically a fan. Radishes are right out.

[Isolda]

My truce with green peas extends to one dish: blanch and puree them with a ton of olive oil and salt, spread on toasted baguette slices, garnish with mint, parm and balsamic vinegar.

[melpy]

I want that. You could toss that with pasta too. My favorite way is with pesto and spinach pasta salad by Ina Garten. Her pesto is sublime and really does a lot for the peas.

[megjp]

Ooh, I'm definitely going to try this with some kind of sturdy cracker or flatbread. Maybe there'll be a non-Indian prep for peas that I enjoy!

[INDIANRIVERFL]

I felt that bringing chocolat covered ants and grubs to a birthday party would be the laugh of the party. Glad not to be thirteen again. After most had been scarfed down, I was discovered which ensued some gagging and much yelling. Once I got home, my Mom had already been informed, and suggested that I clear things with her in the future.

Shortly later, the birthday girl's mother came to give her opinion of me. Mom finally responded with "Put enough chocolate on a turd and a kid will eat it."

Anybody can disguise something. The original use for spices and rotten meat in Europe. Show me who you can accentuate what makes tripe tripe, and a way for me to enjoy it. 5 years and 7 countries later, the tripe casserole in Strasburg is one of my favorites. Followed by thinly cut tripe cooked with wine and kraut for 3-4 hours.

[bitchincook]

Cauliflower prepared per Marcella Hazan's Baked Tuscan Cauliflower will entice even those who "hate cauliflower". Remove the leaves and cook the intact head at a slow boil for about ten minutes until fork-tender but not mushy. (Marcella would have you cook it too long.) Drain, let cool until you can handle it, then chop it up into chunks about 1 1/2 inches long.

Melt about 2 T of butter in a large pan and add the cauliflower, tossing gently to coat. Turn off the heat and let it cool down a bit.

Meanwhile, beat two eggs with a fork in a large bowl. Separately, make a Bechamel sauce using one T butter, 1 1/2 T flour, and one cup of whole milk.

Put the cauliflower in the bowl with the eggs. Add all but a couple of tablespoons of the Bechamel, 2/3 C of Parmesan, a good grinding of pepper and a generous amount of freshly grated nutmeg.

Transfer to a buttered baking dish. Top it with the remaining sauce and a few more tablespoons of Parmesan.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, until it is set and the top is golden brown.

[Cliocooks]

I can't remember where I saw this--one of the Food Network shows, I think. Try roasting radishes. I don't like them normally, but roasted they are indeed very good.

[ipsedixit]

Kohlrabi.

I love it, but some folks seems to really dislike it.

So here's my remedy: Pureed Kohlrabi.

Sautee some onions and garlic in EVOO. Peel and cube the kohlrabi and boil. Drain kohlrabi, puree in a food processor with the onions and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reheat on a skillet and serve warm. Squirt some Sriracha if you'd like (and I do.)

[piccola]

It's really great shredded as a slaw, too.

[magiesmom]

I love brussels sprouts that way too, but I don't add panchetta.
Kale chips come to mind too

[nomadchowwoman]

How do you do the kale chips? I have tried to do these, but mine were not very tasty. What type of kale? Oven temperature? Recipes are all over the place on temperature.

[nemo]

Nomad

Agree it's random. This works for us.

Wash and spin dry/ pat dry kale. Tear out the rib and save in the freezer for stock bits. Pluck apart the leaves into pieces. They shrink when baked. Put in a plastic bag, add a tablespoon or so of oil, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, toss. Spread on a baking sheet, with parchment paper or silpat. Bake at 425 to 450 checking often.

You should really do one layer, but I often pile it up and take the crispy ones off the top and restir as it goes. We prefer them quite crisp, almost black. They should be so crisp that they melt in your mouth.

We've only gotten the regular kale in our CSA box. Not tried the super curly dragon kale.
More oil if you need. High oven temp and WATCH them.

[nomadchowwoman]

Thanks--I dried a much lower heat, but I'm going to try the high heat method. I want to like these.

[sandylc]

I do the same thing.....WITH the dragon kale. It works well. A few red pepper flakes can be good, too.

[ceekskat]

I was thinking similarly after reading that post..."but have you had it in Indian cuisine?" Thanks for starting this thread.

Following are vegetables I prefer with Indian cooking

Spinach - with dhal, Saag paneer (sans paneer for me :)
Okra - never slimy: sliced small & stir fried with onions & spices, sliced small & deep fried/chips -
Chayote squash - raita but with just enough yogurt to coat the cubed, cooked, salted chayote & seasoned with standard S.Indian spices. Even some Indians are unfamiliar with this prep.
Beets- http://www.spicytasty.com/veggie-entrees-sides/beetroot-poriyalcurry/ - I prefer to more than soft, almost roasted.
eggplant - http://www.tarladalal.com/Bagara-Baingan-13142r
Banana flower (someone had mentioned this) -
Vadai (similar to falafel) http://spicy-curry.blogspot.com/2007/11/valai-poo-vadai.html
http://priyaeasyntastyrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/09/vazhaipoobanana-blossom-kootu.html
Bitter melon - http://indian.food.com/recipe/karela-... - but without the potatoes

[Rella]

I would have said, "I hate yuca" a few months ago when on one of the COTM's (I believe) a recipe for yuca fries occurred and I have been making both yuca fries in a fry pan on top of stove and oven fries.

No one could resist this after a first taste. To me, better than fries made from potatoes, and equal to fries made from sweet potatoes.

Also they are equally good with a typical Heinz-type ketchup and any of the ketchups you see available, say: Indonesian ketchup or Australian ketchup.

[macca]

I agree- anyone would like brussel sprouts cooked that way. It is similar to a Lida B recipe- except her recipe calls for the removal of each individual leaf from each sprout, and is served with a lemon sauce. But I love the garlic and pine nuts idea.

[ceekskat]

I had the best brussel sprouts a few years ago at Osteria Mozza in L.A. It too was served as individual leaves (roasted or fried? Nicely crisp around edges). It came as a side but whole family including two kids would gladly have eaten more.

[biondanonima]

Deep fried Brussels sprouts would probably convert a lot of haters too - they are AMAZING.

[macca]

Everything tastes good fried- and, as my 9 yo nephew says, "everything tastes better with bacon".

[mamachef]

Eggplant: mashed and made into croquettes. There's not much not to like, since the 'plant's pretty darn neutral by that time, but you do get the vegetable texture and the taste is well-tamed. At any rate, it's a starting point, because by the time someone's snarfed down six of them and I cheerfully point out that it's eggplant, they're waaay more willing to try, say, eggplant parmigiana.

[RUK]

I had posted this into the Least Favorite Vegetable Poll -
Celeriac - I ate it a lot growing up and I still like it. Every so often I will repeat my mother's dishes.
The first is a warm salad - peel and cut into ca 1 inch cubes, boil until just about done. Add Vinaigrette dressing with some Caraway seeds and some diced tart Apples and eat still warm. The temperature is really the key here.

The second one was served as meat substitute - peel and cut into thick slices ( ca 1 cm) and parboil. Bread ( flour - eggs - bread crumbs) and pan fry. Really good!!

And - Jerusalem Artichokes taste really good when substituted for Potatoes when making Potato pancakes. Ditto for Sweet Potatoes.

[megjp]

I looked at the thread & was scandalized that people wouldn't like celeriac, sunchokes, or sweet potatoes. My goodness.. my goodness.

[LisaPA]

For years, I thought I hated sweet potatoes because they only ever came topped with sugar and marshmallows. Turns out I like them in savory applications.

[Isolda]

Yes! I started putting them in beef stew as a substitute for white potatoes and everyone loves it. They're also great cooked with chicken in red wine.

[iL Divo]

isolda, yummmmmmmm

[RUK]

Same thing here. Those candied Sweet potatoes at Thanksgiving were simply aweful!

[sandylc]

ditto.

[megjp]

You know, I'm canajun and had never had my palate besmirched with this marshmallow concoction before meeting good sweet potatoes. It sounds vile so I suppose I can forgive the disdain..

[sunshine842]

I have a Thanksgiving lesson for my adult ESL students, and I put together a powerpoint presentation to show them pictures of a traditional Thanksgiving meal.

For the sweet potatoes, I ask them to guess what the white stuff on the top is-- they usually guess cheese or bechamel -- to a one, they give me a look that is a mix of shock, disbelief and utter disgust when I tell them it's marshmallow.

We never eat it with marshmallows - nobody likes it -- but we do bake it with cinnamon and a little brown sugar, which most are curious to try. I include it because it's one of the mainstays and a lot of other people *do* eat it that way.

[sandylc]

If I HAVE to make them sweet, I do a bit of brown sugar and some bourbon or rum - makes it bearable!

[sunshine842]

but then the kids won't eat them.... ;/

[sandylc]

Mine did!

[iL Divo]

RUK

funny, one of our favorites.
nanna used to do them baked, then out of their skins, then blended with butter salt and pepper a little brown sugar, then whipped, more butter, then topped with mini mallows and baked. like dessert only for dinner, soooooooooooooo good

[iL Divo]

megjp

ditto ditto ditto

[Chowrin]

Beets: it's not how I cook them (boiled 15 minutes, add pinchy salt), but the varietal and time of picking. The itty bitty early beets are way better than late beets -- so sweet and flavorful and tender!

[Chowrin]

Also, do the beet greens together with the beets.
Who likes beet greens but not beets? anyone?

[escondido123]

I can tolerate the yellow beets when I peel them raw, slice and fry until dark golden in olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, eat hot.

[megjp]

Golden beets are delicious in this soup: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...

Otherwise, I thought I disliked red beets my entire life -- it turns out I just dislike the Bick's or whatever pickled beets -- but what changed my mind was a Bittman idea:

- Steam 6 small (or equivalent large) beets while whole, until easily pierced with knife
- Peel/rub away skins, slice/chop, and toss in prepared dressing & serve warm.
- Dressing is an emulsion of 1/2t. each S&P, 1t. cumin, juice of 1 lemon, 1t. garlic powder/minced clove garlic, and >2T. EVOO.

[Jjjr]

I'll have to try this sometime. I have had red beets done other ways than jarred/preserved/pickled ect and still hated them. I'd give them one more chance if they were done something similar to this.

[melpy]

Why doesn't anyone on the East coast regularly sell yellow beets? In Seattle they were everywhere but here only the red kind.

[Rella]

I'm not sure if I'm 'east coast," however, I do see yellow beets in my local Winchester, VA, supermarket; not as common to see as the all-the-time red beets, but they are often there.

[megjp]

I'm sort of far west to be considered east-coast but I only see them at intervals and have made mental (or physical) note of stores/greengrocers that often carry them.

Independent places, like greengrocers or health food places, are the best bet in my area. Good luck!

[biondanonima]

I will eat beet greens (not my favorite green, but they're fine) - however, I detest beets themselves. They taste like sweet dirt. Totally foul.

[sunshine842]

Me too, neither. I've tried beets made just about every possible way, from fresh, frozen, and canned, in restaurants and in private homes....and I just don't like them. I have finally reached a point where I am no longer apologetic about it -- I have tried them again and again and again -- and I still would let my stomach growl for a very long time before I was hungry enough to eat one by my own choice.

I will eat them if etiquette means I can't gracefully get out of it...but I will get out of it any chance I get.

[Rella]

Yesterday I noticed at Costco a mason-type jar filled with beets and whatever else ingredients; ingredients included lots of sugar, IMO; beet and cane sugar. Some can only appreciate beets with a lot of sugar - similar to those big jars of 3-bean salad. You've probably tried something similar under the name of "pickled beets." I used to love them - but now I limit sugar, so I don't eat them.

[sunshine842]

I have had beets prepared just about any way you could think of, from just about any source you could think of, on two continents.

I don't like them.

[biondanonima]

My mother always made pickled eggs and beets for Easter when I was a kid - a big Mason jar with beets and hard boiled eggs in a pickling solution that contained vinegar, sugar, water and lots of beet juice. I loved the eggs as a kid and still do (despite the beet juice permeating them), but I cannot STAND the beets.

[Rella]

And I cannot STAND the eggs in that scenario. We would make a good pair at the table for this dish. All gone!

[sunshine842]

My ex asked if I knew how to make pickled eggs. Yes, I told him, I do -- so out I went, and bought a jar of pickled beets.

Fished all the beets out and threw them away (he didn't like beets, either) -- boiled the eggs, and put them in the beet juice, like I'd seen my grandmother do dozens of times.

A couple of days later, he returned from a business trip, and I trotted out my jar of rosy pickled eggs.

THEY'RE PINK! Who the hell eats pink pickled eggs!!!

So the pink eggs went in the trash, too...and I never made pickled eggs again -- I still don't know how to make them any other way.

[biondanonima]

Of course they're pink! That's why they're a special Easter treat - they're so pretty! A friend of mine served them this year at Easter but to fancy them up she deviled the yolks, which I had never thought to do myself - but I will from now on, they were AMAZING!

Anyway, if you don't want pink pickled eggs, just make a simple pickling solution of white vinegar, sugar, salt and whatever spices you like (all-purpose pickling spice is fine). But how boring. They're so much better when they're pink!

[sunshine842]

I don't like pickled eggs anyway -- and the key reference to the ex is the word 'ex' --- so I'll pass, but thanks.

[antimony]

That dish made it take years for me to learn to like beets -- I loathe vinegar, and even when beets had none on them, I had an instinctual oh-god-no-yuck reaction to them because I expected pickled beets. (Eggs I had lots of other times; my dad doesn't like beets at all, so my mom only made the Easter dish for tradition's sake and we never had them in the house otherwise.)

[Dee S]

We are twins separated at birth. I detest beets but will eat those pink pickled eggs.

[Isolda]

They do taste like sweet dirt, but I happen to like that flavor. Weird, I know.

[EWSflash]

+1

[megjp]

Yeah, "earthy"! :)

[Jjjr]

Ha, good description. That's why I hate them though. Guess I'm just not a beet person.

[iL Divo]

bion, I ate dirt as a kid, could spot a nice bunch of soft silky dirt a mile away.
I'd get off my horse, set a spell and consume the stuff, mighty good too :)

my husband and I had our first epiphany's when we were at dinner at the Silver Spur where our salads came with sliced beets on them. we'd both had beets in our lives but always both hated them and couldn't understand why anyone would choose to eat those sweet briney things. the salad there at the Silver Spur is special and we now both love beets. go figure..............

[thursday]

We often hang around the stall at the market that sells beets for a few minutes just to get someone's spare greens - inevitably within 3 minutes someone will ask to cut off the tops, and we'll ask if we can take them and split their cost. Win win! Love beet greens, but it's taken two years before I can stomach beets, and only when roasted into chips with lots of salt.

[iL Divo]

thursday (and by the way today it's Saturday:)))))

can you share what you do with beet greens cause I'll do that method too if I can get the greens. and I'd assume I'd be going to the farmers markets around town on Saturday's to find anyone selling fresh vegs right? I mean in our supermarkets they sell beets with the greens on but like in the olden days at the market, people would buy fresh stem on carrots and ask for the stems to be cut off, I'd take 'em home for my horsies :)

[thursday]

Beet greens (like all bitter greens, IMO) = best with bacon. =) But now that we've gotten more used to them, we can eat them with less pork-y accompaniment.

Clean, shred, and sautee in olive oil or bacon fat. You can discard some of the tougher parts of stem if you want, but we usually keep it. Toss with pasta or other carb of choice and any (or all) of the following: bacon, goat cheese, walnuts, roasted beets, sauteed or carmelized red onions, garlic. They're not as bitter as many of the other greens out there, so we actually like them best.

http://strangeandyummy.com

[Rella]

IMO, spinach and beet greens boiled in water cook in approximately the same amount of time; very short. Squeeze and add to any casserole.

I can imagine using beet greens in just about anything that is a casserole, in place of spinach or chard. When cooked, beet greens are just as fine and silky as spinach when it is cooked.

Spinach and beet greens both boil down to such a small amount. When we buy beets; say a bunch of 3, there is hardly enough to worry about except a few bitefuls, which sometimes we just add a tad/bit of good vinegar to them on our separate little bowls full.

[LauraGrace]

I love beet greens -- they're probably my favorite green -- but the beets themselves? Yeesh. I can tolerate them in small quantities but they're never tops on my list. (Oh, though I do like this pickled beet recipe of Alton Brown's: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/al...)

[iL Divo]

LauraGrace, "yeesh".......................... I'm laughing out loud here, that's a GREAT word, hahahhhah

[iL Divo]

never had beet greens and come to think of it, barely had beets.
coming from southern California, I can't say greens of any sort was anything I grew up with.

[gingershelley]

Chowrin, I DO think for most people, it IS how you cook a beet. Roast them, like how they are treated all over Europe, and they are a revelation; sweet, earthy, nutty. Much better than boiled.

Even older beets are wonderful after roasting!

[Rella]

I made roasted beets for dinner - basically I cut them in small-medium dice, mixed in the food-processored parsley and dill with olive oil. 420F. Someone mentioned vermouth - hey, that wouldn't be bad either.
Served: salmon with the same topping, parsley, dill and olive oil, roasted, and salad.

[jujuthomas]

I love roasted beets, still can't get DH to eat them. oh well, more for me! :)

[iL Divo]

hiding behind a couch here, I bought 2 very large beets about a year ago from a let's just say "less than savory store". they were old-ish too as they had a bit of "give" when I was felt them.
washed 'em good, salt and peppered the outside rubbed them with a little olive oil, foiled them up and baked in convection oven until I assumed they'd be done.
very very good but you can tell I have no idea how to prepare beets from this lame description.
sliced thin, I'd do them again with vigor.

[Sparklebright]

I love beets just about any way they come.
Oven roasted and served with sour cream. Yay

My favorite though is beet juice and carrot juice with some heavy cream mixed in.
SO sweet and creamy like a lovely creamsicle!
only 3 ingredients but man is it good!

[iL Divo]

I know how to come by carrot juice, from my juicer, but how do you get beet juice? same way, juicing? that'd be pretty expensive and messy if spilled.

[Rella]

I have a juicer, and have wondered myself, why anyone would want to drink juiced beets except for health reasons - Yes, I know; that's the reason for juicing.

I love cooked beets, but raw? Whoa, not me.
Also, I just cannot imagine the dirt from those beets that weren't rinsed off well - what about e coli?

[Sparklebright]

Yes! I juice beets the same way I do carrots. I peel the beets.
I know, beets are pretty expensive most of the time but sometimes I luck out at the farmer's market.
I would definitely say that my creamsicle does NOT taste like health food in any way.
Beets it seems, have way more sugar than carrots even.

And I may be on my own but I juice because I love the taste of freshly pessed juice. Health reasons? Borrrring. :-)

[Sparklebright]

And I know it's an old thread but has anyone mentioned beet kvass?
I crave the stuff sometimes, usually in winter when beets are the most expensive--but I can get 2 batches out of the same few beets. Just refill with salty water.

[Rella]

Something I'd never seen

http://livingmaxwell.com/beet-kvass

. As I received today my first batch of Pickl-It jars, so I am glad you mentioned it (Fed-Ex). Thanks.

[Sparklebright]

Yay! I'm so happy! Done right it tastes just like great pickle juice--sweet and savory and sour all at the same time ..and oh yeah--good for you too.

[Uncle Bob]

Okra ~~~ Cooked in Gumbo ~~ By the time the Gumbo is done...you'll never know it was there....and you'll slurp down two big bowls!! :)

[Cliocooks]

Take it from a confirmed okra-phobe. I'll still know it's there . I also understand that gumbo by definition has okra, so I absolutely don't object to its presence and I don't expect anyone to make it okraless. I just don't order gumbo.

[Uncle Bob]

"I also understand that gumbo by definition has okra"

Not necessarily..........Some do.....Some don't.

[Isolda]

Mine doesn't, but only because I'm living with a pathetic bunch of okra haters.If I really needed a pot of gumbo just for myself, it would include okra.

Oh, and people who hate okra should just dust it in cornmeal and deep fry it. Deep-frying anything (except brussels sprouts, which are inedible) can make it taste good.

[Cliocooks]

I've been hearing "it's good fried" ever since I can remember; sorry, but it just doesn't work for me.

[tcamp]

This is the recipe that won me over to the okra side. No attempt to disguise it however also no trace of slime or other okra-phobe triggers. I add slivered jalapenos to the recipe.

http://www.thebittenword.com/thebitte...

[LisaPA]

Try it pickled! Crunchy and not slimy at all. Talk O Texas hot okra pickles are my favorite.

[iheartcooking]

yes! this is the best way to eat Okra! I bought some for a bloody mary and now I can't stop snacking on them!

[Tehama]

Let me join the chorus of pickled okra! Yummm, yum, yum! Doesn't even taste like okra (which I like fried or in gumbo, but not too crazy about on their own).

[sandiasingh]

Isn't there a way to ' de-slime' okra? Adding vinegar to it or something?

[iL Divo]

the few and only times I've ever had gumbo, it's been in there.
I'd find it odd if it went missing.
doesn't bother me at all and it's does sort of fade out in the distance.

[DeLobstah]

We make Gumbo without Okra. There, I said it and I expect all self respecting Gumbo experts to start the scoffing. Go ahead slime fans,.mock away :).

p.s. Gumbo without Okra is amazing.

[CocoaNut]

Fried down with the roux and others vegs. and agree with "by definition" - regional. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/_/di...

[Cliocooks]

I'm not certain, but I think the name "gumbo" actually derives from a name for okra. I can't remember which African language it comes from.

[nomadchowwoman]

Yes, it does, but gumbo(the dish) has as many iterations as it has cooks. Roux-based gumbo, usually (not always) does not contain okra. Distinctions are often made between Creole/Cajun gumbo with the former typically containing okra and tomato. I make a cajun-style gumbo based on a Paul Prudhomme recipe that contains no okra, no tomato.

The lines are often crossed, distinctions blurred. But you can certainly find delicious gumbo with or without okra. It does not, by definition, contain okra.

[Uncle Bob]

Mmmmmm no Okra, no tomato, dark roux....My favorite!!!!

[NanH]

Mine too!

[Uncle Bob]

That's certainly one popular 'story'! ~~ Another one, just as credible, is that the name comes from the Choctaw Indian word for Sassafras....The leaves ground into a powder (File) to thicken soups, etc.... An old trick the Choctaws taught the very earliest/first French explorers.. ...LaSalle and his merry band of soup lovers upon arriving in the lower Mississippi Valley... Oh..The Choctaw word for Sassafras? ~~ Kombo

[sunshine842]

and the French word for okra? Gomba.

Interesting stuff, this language thing.

[eclecticsynergy]

Yep, they always said okra puts the "gum" in gumbo!

[Njchicaa]

Slice zucchini in half, scoop out center, and fill with cream cheese. Top with tomato sauce, chopped parsley, and a sprinkle of grated mozzarella.

[Caroline1]

`Do you cook it?

[sunshine842]

Nothing like a buzzkill for a first post....

Baby spinach, *very* lightly sauteed in olive oil and crushed garlic. Even the most ardent spinach-haters will eat it!

[hyde]

jeez, just a little humor. the site is so EARNEST all the time.

that said, roasting any of the root vegetables (celery root, parsnips, carrots, shallots, rutabaga) at fairly high heat after tossing them with vermouth and butter, s&p, completely changes their nature and you can even sell them to kids.

[Hank Hanover]

Grow a whole garden of eggplant and keep taking it down to all the soup kitchens and food pantries. You would probably get accolades heaped upon you. Little would they know that you don't like eggplant or poor people. :-) :-)

[iL Divo]

HH...............they'd be right! < about the eggplant................hahahahahhah

[megjp]

Vermouth, hey? Must try, once I turn on my oven again in the fall.

[Pia]

You know what else that works well with?
Zucchini!
Grilling too.

[Tehama]

Hyde, I agree! I thought your post was funny. On another note, I've never used Vermouth for anything except martinis! What does it do for vegetables? I'd love to expand my Vermouth repertoire.

[Rella]

I read somewhere here on chowhound that that person keeps a bottle beside the stove for cooking. I bought a bottle, but I've yet to use it but once. I'm wondering if I should 'put it in the cupboard.'

[LauraGrace]

I certainly keep a bottle on hand for a quick deglaze.

[Rella]

Ah ha! thanks LauraGrace. I hope I can remember that. I like that idea.

[iL Divo]

mine has always been kept in the liquor cabinet under the wet bar with other alcohol.
finally I used the last of the white vermouth in the French Onion soup I was craving after buying the largest bag ever of onions. delish, gave a little spark to the broth.

[Heidi cooks and bakes]

I'm not a wine drinker, but I always keep a bottle of vermouth for any recipe that asks for white wine. It's quick and easy, and adds a depth of flavor that otherwise I wouldn't get in my food. And it won't go bad like a bottle of opened wine.

[iL Divo]

just to let you know hyde, you will NEVER EVER IN YOUR LIFE get this adult or kid [me] to eat or come anywhere near a rutabaga...................they are nasty smelly disgusting things that come straight from the devil himself....................blechhhhhhhhhhhhhh

[Rella]

Oh, my, how can you say that! Nothing better from the devil has been given to us. Just a little salt, maybe a little good butter - Loving it! :-))

[hyde]

fair enough. full disclosure, im not really much of a veggie guy but i will eat the roasted root vegetables. celery root and cauliflower are completely changed by an hour in a 400 degree oven ( or currently if you live in the midwest you could put them on your back porch and they will be roasted in four hours or so)..

my sister lives in st louis and just sent me a picture of the thermometer on her back porch. it says 108.

that is messed up.

[tim irvine]

Agree. I hate cooked spinach but this is good.

[iL Divo]

when we were first married I knew my husband liked cooked spinach as his mom often made it. but at our house, we ate it seldom and when we did, it was squeezed dry from frozen, sauteed in pan with butter salt and pepper plus a tsp of vinegar and finished at the end with Parmesan cheese. hubby liked it still his moms way or mine now.

[CocoaNut]

With a pinch of red pepper flakes and a bare sprinkle of a mild vinegar.

[iL Divo]

boy you're right about VERY little salt as I've brought home the cute box of baby spinach, the see thru box in the specialty section, only to ruin it with just a tad over on the salt, then it's gotta be dumped. there's $5 down the drain and now what's the veg for the meal?

I liked his/her buzzkill and read it because for a second I was envisioning the outcome of this new fabulous veg recipe, but he/she then got me........................hahah

[hyde]

take several large zucchini ( preferably given to one for free from friends overplanted garden), shred them on the large holes of a grater, salt them, put them in a colander and let them drain,press the water out with your hands, pour them directly on an open sports section of the sunday Times, wrap them carefully and place them directly in the compost heap as that is all they are good for.

then order pizza from your favorite place and consume immediately with beer.

[RUK]

And here I thought for a second you were making fritters.....@_@......:-)

[escondido123]

I was not a big fan of zucchini until we started getting the smallest we could find (not miniature,) then slicing them vertically and frying in olive oil until nice and brown. With just a sprinkle of salt they are sweet and nutty all by the themselves--and great tossed with penne and Parmigiano.

[RUK]

I would like them too like that, except perhaps for the Parmigiano, although I think I am actually getting used to the latter.

[escondido123]

You can certainly use another grating cheese, or goat cheese, or not cheese at all.

[Rella]

Grana Padano is a cheese that many Italians use as a substitute for Parmisan Reggiano, i.e., one might call it an everyday cheese, or house cheese, or table cheese. Actually I like it most of the time better than Parm Regg. Not as strong tasting.

[megjp]

This is how I do my zukes too, and I also buy the smallest available - I find them better than the larger more waterlogged ones. (Is it weird that I really prefer yellow ones to green? :)

[escondido123]

I did a taste test last week, thinking I would like the yellow better--but with my eyes closed I found the green had more flavor and were a little sweeter.

[megjp]

I'm sure it's psychological: yellow vegetables that aren't corn are so rare!

[iL Divo]

megjp, I've never understood why people get so jacked up sideways about those extra huge zukes that are supposedly so wonderful stuffed with ground beef. to me they're only being used as a vessel for the beef, don't really think anyone eats the big fat zuke ;:-/

[Rella]

The first time I ever ate a baked big fat zuke was in a French restaurant in Seattle in the 70's. It was stuffed with pork, however. Pork not being my favorite meat, but I loved it. I tried making it myself, but it never was delicious.

[Leepa]

I do the same but add some red pepper flakes.

[Logrus9]

I almost swallowed my gum! Thumbs up

[jimmyjo1]

waste of salt

[iL Divo]

hyde....................speaking of compost piles/bins/heaps could you please come churn mine, thanks :)