Beet and Butternut Squash Salad

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

I had more guests this weekend and am starting to really love this bed & breakfast life! My aunts are coming next weekend - at this point, book early! Spots are filling up quickly!

The girls got here Friday night and we found dinner nearby at La Taza. Fun Fact: they also have a coffee bar and sell absolutely incredible biscotti! We got the red velvet and the maple walnut to go with coffee the next morning.

Saturday afternoon was spent at the Farmer's Market where we scooped up some beets and butternut squash for one of my favorite salads!

We roamed around downtown for a bit and then headed back to put dinner together. I found the perfect print of Paris for the guest room and we also picked up lunch from Baggby's - the best sandwiches ever! I had the Sundown - their version of a thanksgiving sandwich and a cup of their chicken chowder.

The salad I put together is actually one of my absolute favorites from Gwyneth Paltrow's It's All Good. I had a gorgeous pomegranate, so I added that and some shaved pecorino romano on top and substituted honey for the maple syrup, but otherwise, it's all the same! I eat this salad all season!

You Will Need:

2 large beets, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)

6 large shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

extra virgin olive oil

4 ounces baby arugula

1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds

For The Dressing:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/2 cup olive oil

coarse sea salt

fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Combine the beets, squash, and shallots on the pan and drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt and pepper and roast, stirring now and then, until cooked through and caramelized, 30-34 minutes.

To make the dressing, whisk ingredients together and season to taste with salt and pepper. (Dressing will keep well in the drive for up to a week!)

Place the arugula in a large bowl and coat with half of the dressing. Arrange the roasted vegetables on top, then coat with remainder of dressing and top with pumpkin seeds. Serve while warm!

For our main course, I went with a roasted chicken with pan-fried smashed red potatoes. Roasting chicken is probably my favorite hobby. Recently, I've been especially into spatchcocking (or butterflying) the chicken. This makes it easier to eat (because I debone most of the bird) and faster to cook! Which means many, many more pheasants in my future.

This weekend's version was my typical chicken - I made an herb butter with sage, thyme, and rosemary, rubbed that under the skin and on top, hit it with some salt and pepper, then roasted the bird on top of a bed of lemons, onions, garlic, and green apples. Nom nom! Definitely save the jus to put a gravy together!

And about that Dijon dressing... Make extra. It's amazing.

It will definitely be finding its way into my lunches and dinners this week! I made this for dinner tonight - salad with cucumber and tomatoes. Then I topped it with some quinoa, Dijon dressing, and grilled chicken and onions. It was a good time.

Hello from our stroll around the block! Getting accustomed to that lakeside life!

Have a great week everyone!