Roasted Beets, Blood Orange Vinaigrette and Pink Wine

We did a fun MOOD MINGLE wine dinner this weekend. 

For the first course I did a Roasted Beet Salad. This turned out so beautiful and was made WAY easier by using the amazing Blood Orange Dipping Oil from White Swan - I KNOW-I KNOW, I sound like a commercial, but wait until you try it...

White Swan and Roasted Beets

So, let's take a closer look at this salad and I'll give you a quick rundown on how I composed it...

Roasted Beet Salad

Here's what I did:

1. First I wrapped my baby beets in foil... since they were small I lined them all up (by color) in a piece of foil and wrapped them in a tube. I baked them at 350 for about an hour... once they are pressed on and give a little they are done
2. Once the beets were roasted and cooled I simply slipped the skin off and quartered them.
3. I made a simple vinaigrette using the White Swan Blood Orange Dipping Oil, along with minced shallots and white balsamic. 
4. Next I peeled and separated some cuties and sliced some red onions. I took about half of the vinaigrette and tossed the cuties and onions, and then divided the remaining vinaigrette and tossed the yellow and red beets separately. I did the veggies earlier in the day so they could sit in the vinaigrette for a few hours before plating
5. When I was ready to plate - I scattered arugula on the bottom of the plate. I then loosely mounded the yellow beets, put some goat cheese on them and then mounded the red on top. 
6. Finally I scattered the marinated cuties and onions around the perimeter of the plate and finished with some cracked pepper. 

This is OFFICIALLY one of my favorite salad compositions!

We served this with an amazing wine...

Hart Winery Blanc d' Franc

I love this Hart Winery Blanc d' Franc rose... it's fresh, bright, bursting with red cherries and strawberries. It is slightly sweet, but still retains nice clean acidity and freshness creating a perfect pairing with the earthy sweetness of the beets along with the combo of arugula, citrus and onions.... SCORE!!!

Stay-tuned, I'm working on getting this beautiful wine in our Mood Wine Store and should have it available for a fun Summer Survival promotion we are working on... plus I hope to include it in our white wine club option.