Cooking for Others – Beet Salad with Arugula, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Pecans
In the mid-1980s when I was in high school, we held a series of memorable multi-day gatherings at our friend Jody’s house that came to be known as the “Swarthmore Parties.” I think there were two such events, possibly three, obviously at times when Jody’s parents were away on extended trips. It was mostly friends from the overnight camp where I was a camper and later worked.
We were a close bunch, spending our summers together from when we were young. Even though we were only together for a couple of months each year, these were my closest friends, the people I grew up with and shared some of the most important events of my early life.
Jody’s home in suburban Swarthmore was a huge old house with lots of bedrooms in which we spread out and slept, and spaces in which we could hang out. There was a ping pong table in the basement, and a sitting area in the attic. I recall a small den with a large television that came to be known as the “MTV room,” for she had cable TV, new at the time, and it was the first time many of us ever saw MTV. The beauty of the “Swarthmore Parties” was that we could relax and be ourselves, with no adult guidance to monitor us.
None of us had much money. We pooled together our few dollars for groceries to supplement what Jody’s parents had left for her. My friend Dave boiled several boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese and stirred in milk, butter, and the bright orange powdered cheese packet. Everyone was ecstatic; they couldn’t have been happier, even for such a simple meal. At the time, I think we were grateful that someone cooked and put food in front of us.
I had always cooked, but primarily for my family. They were pleased I shared in meal preparation and I was content with cooking; I didn’t need much more. When I saw how joyful my friends were that someone had prepared food for them, even if it was a simple, one course meal of engineered food in a box, I got a whole new perspective. I knew I could do much better than a box of macaroni and cheese, and I learned that people would appreciate almost anything they were served as long as it was reasonably tasty, and they didn’t have to make it on their own.
This was an important revelation for me and encouraged me to cook for others. Friends from high school would come to my house and join a family meal that I prepared, shoveling food as if they had never eaten. My freshman year in college I cooked in the dorm kitchen for a group of friends who needed to escape cafeteria food for an evening, scrounging together cookware and ingredients wherever I could. When I moved out of college housing, I took turns cooking evening meals, and others cooked for me. In graduate school I always volunteered when we needed a dish for some event, and when my future wife Marci and I moved in together, people often came back to our apartment on a Friday evening to continue the party and enjoy a meal. I became the primary cook in our home, feeding our children and encouraging them to cook. During COVID, with my kids home from college, I became more serious, preparing fancier dishes for Small Plates Saturday Night, to replace occasional restaurant meals, which were temporarily unavailable.
I cooked because of the reward I received when people finished eating a meal, with a full stomach and a smile on their face. While in retrospect it seems odd, considering I didn’t do any of the meal prep, the most important lesson I learned from the “Swarthmore Parties” was what a pleasure it can be to cook for others.
Beet Salad with Arugula, Goat Cheese, and Caramelized Pecans
This beet salad is simple but delicious, perfect for a winter dinner party. It will delight all your guests, even those who will be surprised that they actually like beets. And if they are stubborn and refuse to eat them, they are easy to push to the side and avoid.
I usually roast my own beets because it’s so simple and the results are tender, robust, and sweet. But for the sake of time and effort, cooked, packaged beets are also available at almost any supermarket. It is also possible to purchase caramelized nuts, but why bother, when these spiced caramelized pecans modified from David Lebovitz are ready in less than 15 minutes. (This recipe makes about double what you will need for the salad. But they are so good that you’ll want to sample plenty, leaving just the right amount for the salad.)
serves 6 to 8, about 1½ hours if cooking beets, about a ½ hour if beets are already prepared
3 or 4-2 to 3 inch beets, trimmed and scrubbed
6 Tbsp. powdered sugar
3 teaspoons water
1 tsp. kosher salt, divided
½ tsp. cayenne powder
2 cups untoasted pecans
8 oz. fresh arugula
¼ cup white wine vinegar
½ cup good quality olive oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey
¼ tsp. fresh ground black pepper
8 oz. chevre (goat cheese), crumbled
- Preheat the oven to 350 ºF.
- Wrap beets individually in aluminum foil and place on a sheet pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes to one hour, until the pointy end of a sharp knife slides in easily. Remove from oven and allow to cool until able to be handled. While still warm, use dry paper towels to rub off skins. Discard skins and slice beets into bite-size pieces. Set aside in a small bowl.
- While beets are cooking, line another sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Mix together the powdered sugar, water, ¾ teaspoons of salt, cayenne, and pecans in a bowl. Stir well so that the pecans are coated with the mixture, although there may be some wet clumps of sugar. The nuts should be covered in a thick slurry, not watery or with pooling liquid. Spread the nuts on the baking sheet and bake, stirring once or twice, until they are golden brown and shiny, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet, breaking up any clusters as they cool. Store in an airtight container until ready to serve.
- Prepare the dressing by whisking together vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, pepper, and remaining ¼ tsp. kosher salt in a small bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
- Just before serving toss arugula in enough dressing to thoroughly coat the leaves, but not enough so that it is dripping. (There may be dressing left over.) Arrange arugula on a large platter and top with beets, caramelized nuts, and crumbled goat cheese. Alternatively, leave salad undressed for guests to add their own dressing.
