Dinner and a Movie

Evan, LB, and I went to the Sunday matinee showing of Daybreakers. First of all, did you know that matinees are now like…$8.50!? Boy do I feel old. I remember (back in the good ol’ days) when a matinee was cheap, like $4, and a prime-time movie was more like $7.50, rather than $13.00. So anyway, we went to an afternoon show…and good thing we did because it was still light out when we left, and I certainly didn’t want to be a human walking around when the sun went down after that movie… with all that nighttime vampire business going on…and not to mention the underground subsider activity… (you’ll just have to see it to understand). I actually liked the movie a lot more than I thought I would, but hey, vampires, Ethan Hawk, and Willem Dafoe, what’s not to like? Well, I suppose the vampires’ excessive amounts of blood consumption (a little O-negative in your coffee?) was a bit much right before dinner time. I like my horror movies, and I like gory movies… but this one was a little hard to stomach.

I couldn’t bring myself to prepare meat after the movie, which worked out just fine since Evan and I had made a haul at the Farmer’s Market earlier that morning. Evan, with his vampire tendencies, would have loved a big bloody steak (steak, not stake…get it) right after the movie. I, on the other hand, was perfectly content with a meat free (with the exception of chicken broth) mix of roasted tubers and roots over lemony braised kale. Unfortunately, I hit up the farmer’s market prior to the blood-sucking vampire movie, and didn’t think twice about buying dark, blood-red beets that stained everything a bright crimson and left a slightly unsettling red juice in the bottom of the roasting pan…good thing the sweet earthy caramelized veggies and tangy kale were so delicious that I dismissed the color and devoured every last bite (juice and all) with the ravenous blood-thirst of a thousand vampires.

You can take my word for it, or you can make it for yourself… but be careful, once the sun goes down, all bets are off.

Roasted Roots and Tubers over Lemony Braised Kale
This is one of those un-recipe recipes… more of a method

For Roasted Veggies:
1 large parsnip- sliced in ‘fries’
1 large turnip- sliced in thickish slices
2-3 medium size beets- halved and quartered
2-3 medium size sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes)- cut in ‘chunks’
4ish cloves of garlic- peeled
1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
A spoonful of dark molasses
Sea salt
Ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Toss everything in a roasting pan with a splash of water and roast until golden brown, caramelized, and delicious. Anywhere between 25-40 minutes (just fork and taste check it).

For Lemony Braised Kale:
1 thinly sliced shallot
Olive oil
Salt
Red pepper flakes
Chicken broth (1-2 cups)
Juice from half of a large lemon
1 big bunch kale

Sauté shallot in olive oil in a large pot (I used my large nonstick wok). When golden, add salt (about a ½ teaspoonish…or more, depending), a pinch of red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and broth. Slowly add kale, letting wilt before adding more. Cook down in this fashion for 5-10 minutes, to desired consistency.
Serve kale and juices in a shallow bowl, topped with roasted veggies.