A Very Brady Beet Salad

"Hey guys, you know what we should do? Give Alice the night off and make something great for mom and dad."

Great idea, Peter. Let's do it!

I've already passed along my recipe for Beer Sorbet and Bar Stool Brittle, aka: Bad Girl on a Bar Stool, from this week's episode of Private Chefs of Beverly Hills, but here's another of my favorite recipes from our Very Brady Birthday episode: Golden Beet Salad with Gorganzola Flan and Candied Pecans.

The flan, which is savory, starts with fresh chives and parsley...

Then some eggs, cream and half and half...
And it's baked until it's silky and rich, the perfect counterpoint to the sweet earthiness of golden beets and shaved fennel.
Private Chefs of Beverly Hills airs tonight at 9pm on Food Network

Golden Beet and Fennel Salad with Gorgonzola Flan and Candied Pecans
Makes 6 servings

Beet Salad:
2 bunches (about 10) mini golden beets
1 bulb fennel, as thinly sliced as possible, plus 1 tablespoon green fennel fronds, chopped
juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons Italian parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Gorgonzola Flan:
5 large egg yolks
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 cup half-and-half
5 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons chives, snipped
3 tablespoons minced Italian parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Candied Pecans:
1 ½ cups pecans
3 tablespoons corn syrup
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and trim beets. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and roast until tender (time will vary depending on size of beets). Remove from the oven. When beets are cool enough to handle, remove skins, quarter and toss with fennel, lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, oil, salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.

Reduce oven to 325 degrees. Toss pecans in corn syrup, sugar, cayenne and salt and pepper to taste. Bake five minutes, stir and cook 10 more minutes. Remove candied pecans from oven and separate with a fork.

Reduce oven to 275 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks until pale yellow. Heat cream and half-and-half in a small saucepan and add slowly to the eggs. Add Gorgonzola, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Place six ramekins in a baking pan and fill pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins with boiling water. Divide flan mixture evenly between dishes. Cover baking pan with aluminum foil and bake 35 to 40 minutes, until the center of each custard is firm. Remove from oven and place on serving plates alongside golden beet salad and candied pecans.