Sweet & Sour Beets

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IMPORTANT: Because this recipe requires an overnight marinade, it should be prepared the day before it will be served.

2 lbs. of cooked and sliced fresh beets
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup Sorrell Ridge Strawberry

Preparation & Cooking Time
The day before you wish to serve this dish, you will need to spend roughly two hours preparing it. Since most of this time goes into boiling the fresh beets, and since throughout the boiling process your attention is not constantly required, it makes sense to pick a time when you're going to be home anyway. Once the beets are done, the actual preparation only requires about 15 minutes of work. You may use canned beets (make sure they are made without sugar), but fresh beets are far more special.

1. To boil the beets, leave on an inch of the stems and the root ends. Wash the beets well and boil, covered, in salted water until tender when pricked with a fork. Young, small beets are better because they will reach desired tenderness in 30 to 50 minutes while older, larger beets may take as long as two hours. When tender, drain off the water and allow the beets to cool a bit before removing the skins, stems and roots.

2. Slice the beets into 1/4 inch thick slices. You can make thinner or thicker slices according to personal taste, keeping in mind that thicker slices will not be as quickly or as completely permiated by flavors and will therefore need to marinate longer than thin slices.

2. In a large skillet-type pan, over a low heat, combine the oil, Sorrell Ridge and cider vinegar. Toss in the beets to coat with the mixture and warm through. You're just warming the beets and coating them with the mixture, so be careful not to leave them in the pan for too long.

3. Pour contents of pan into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for at least 8 hours. Naturally, the longer they sit, the more completely the flavors will permiate into the beets.

Serve as-is or toss over shredded lettuce, shredded carrots and raisins for a delicious and unusual side-dish. These sweet and sour beets go well with pork and barbecued meats of all kinds.