Side Note: Not your Mother's Potato Salad

I just don't get it. Why does potato salad get such a bad rap? Is it because it is usually some pre-made, supermarket purchased, lumps of unseasoned potatoes drowned in a gallon or two of mayonnaise? Or because we have forgotten how such a simple little side dish could be so wonderful and satiating to the soul. No. It has become a side player. An afterthought for summer picnics used to finish out a plate laden full of wonderful grilled meats. Well not anymore my friends. We will not let this old and dear friend go quietly into the good night. It's time for action!

I stayed away from the mayo in this dish, but you are more than welcome to put it in. And I gave you variations of where you can add more or less depending on what you like. As we say.....have fun and taste to your preference. And PLEASE don't be put off by what looks like a lot of ingredients. This is easier than it looks.OK...Let's prep...

Here's What You Need:

• 2 lbs Yukon Gold, red potatoes or any type of fingerling potatoes
• Half to a whole cucumber, sliced paper thin (Use a mandolin if you have one, if not as thin as you can cut it)
• Pinch caraway seeds (these go in the boiling water with the potatoes, NYC chef trick and it's amazing)
• 1 Chicken Bouillon Cube (for 1 cup stock)
• 1 half Onion chopped (you can add more if you really like onions)
• 1 tbsp Dijon Mustard (only have Stone Ground Mustard, that's OK too)
• 1/4 cup Cider Vinegar (white wine vinegar, if that's all you have, will suffice)
• 2 - 3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 tbsp Sour Cream (Optional, just as good without sour cream or mayo....or if you must...you can use mayo instead...ugh can't believe you did.)
• 1-2 tbsp chopped Dill (depending how much like dill)
• 4 Slices Bacon crisp and broken into small pieces (optional, try once without and once with)
• Sea Salt and FG Black Pepper to taste

Put the cucumber slices in a strainer over bowl, toss with 2 teaspoons salt, and set aside to allow the water to drain off the cucumbers. Press them later to push all the water out. This is important so you don't have watery Potato Salad.

In a pot of cold water cover the potatoes, add generous pinch of salt and caraway, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are just tender. Drain, peel, and slice into a large bowl while still warm. Season with salt and FG pepper.

TPC NOTE: I know the potatoes are hot but two things. ALWAYS peel them after you boil them and if you can TRY to mix in the ingredients while the potatoes are still warm. It makes ALL the difference in the infusion of flavor.

While the potatoes are boiling, in a saucepan, cook down half the onion and a quick swirl of olive oil. Add the chicken stock to the onions and simmer. Add to onion/stock mix gradually to the potatoes, and toss gently until you start to see a nice mix occurring. You may not need all the stock.

Fold in mustard, vinegar, oil and dill. (Trend to the lighter side here as you can and will ALWAYS add more a little later). Now bend down a bit and inhale...The dill really gives off a wonderful smell when it hits the warm potatoes....yeah!

Mix in the cucumbers and sour cream (if adding). TASTE! Add more salt, fg pepper, mustard and vinegar if needed.

Finally mix in the bacon if you are using it. You can even use JUST the bacon and leave OUT the cucumber. Try both! I always save a little more dill to sprinkle on when plating as it gives it a really nice look. And it is HARD to make potato salad look fancy. And there you have it. Feel free to pair with Burgers, BBQ Chicken, just about anything you'd use at a picnic. I do the sour "creamless" version with a nice Chicken Roast at home...very tasty.



WINE NOTE: If you're at a BBQ you're probably doing some ice cold beer, BUT a chilled down Riesling just adds to the refreshing quality of this rejuvenated dish!

Until we do this again....

Enjoy....Have Fun...and Eat Well!

TPC

Guest Cook Thursday: A Salad for the Busy!

With the nice weather upon us, you can't help but think of healthy salads and this week's guest cook was thinking JUST that. She's an "On the Go" kind of girl and she doesn't always have a lot time to spend in the kitchen. So instead, she put together a quick little salad that is quite filling and tasty. In fact it was so tasty, that she named it accordingly. Without further ado Ladies and Gentleman let me have dear Amanda present to you her "Salad of Deliciousness"...OK...Let's prep..

Why hello there TPC! Here is my information for my guest appearance on your blog..mwahahahaha.

Salad full of deliciousness ingredients (all of these are to your liking and how much you want to put in the salad):

Lettuce of your choice (I used a spring mix, but if you can get fresh red leaf lettuce = awesome)

Pancetta

Pistachios

Asiago Cheese (I used Parmesan this time around, but it tastes amazing with Asiago, too)

Homemade Balsamic Dressing:

1/2 C Olive Oil

1/3 - 1/2 C AGED Balsamic (depends on how Balsamicy you like your dressing)

1 TBSP garlic (or more if you like it extra spicy)

Salt and Pepper to Flavor

Start by cooking the pancetta to your liking. I like mine EXTRA crispy so I cook it until it's pretty much burned. Once it's cooked, set it to the side to briefly cool. Prepare your bowl of salad and top with pistachios, asiago cheese and pancetta.

To make the dressing, mix olive oil, aged balsamic, garlic, salt and pepper. I combined them in something I could shake to ensure thorough mixing. Pour over salad and serve!!!

Sounds super easy, and it is..that's what makes it so great. ANYONE can make this! But the flavors combined are wonderful! I've had it two nights in a row now! Great for a dinner salad or full meal! :)

Well there you have it folks....AND we all learned a new word today....Balsamicy!

WINE NOTE: For a Balsamic dressing you could hit two ways here. You could go red with a Dolcetto OR you could go white with a sweet Riesling......or if you're like me....try both!! OR get crazy and try a frizzante Lambrusco, which is kind of an Italian red slightly sparking wine!

Until we do this again....Keep those recipes coming in!

Enjoy....Have Fun...and Eat Well!

TPC

Getting Healthy.....Salad Italian Style

Last night was a rough night, you had a big meal...maybe a few glasses of wine. And right now you just need to feel healthy. You now that feeling? Fear not TPC has just the thing that will get you back in the game, it's very healthy for you and of course tastes great. Today we're going to throw together a Tuscan Salad. Like many of things we talk about there are basics of a Tuscan salad with room for many variants, so again, it's what you have in the fridge and what you like to eat. And this is SO easy to make. If it take you longer than 10 minutes to make you're doing something wrong. Let's go see what's in the fridge and cupboard first...shall we? OK let's prep...

What you'll Need:
Some Lettuce (any kind of lettuce will do, arugula is great here but I love romaine) enough to fill as many bowls as your serving.
Some Cheese (Feta, Havarti, Swiss, Cheddar are all fine and you probably have them on the fridge, but if you have it....Parmesan Reggiano would be perfect)
One onion sliced (Red, White, Yellow all work, but be careful this can be overpowering, I literally take one slice, the semi dice up the slices)
1 Can of Beans drained and rinsed (Kidney Dark or Light, but as an Italian I always have a can or two of Cannelini beans lying around)
1 Lemon Some Olive Oil (You know what kind)
Some Olives (Simple Black or Kalamata work really great here pitted please.....OH and you go with canned black olives, SAVE a wee bit of the juice for the dressing)
FG Pepper Sea Salt (Course not fine)
Some Tomatoes (Grape, Cherry, Roma...whatever you have on hand)
Artichoke hearts...if you have them? Sure why not!
Nuts? Almond? Walnut? Go for it!

Here's what I had on hand: TPC NOTE: Just for clarification when I use the term "some" here I mean you will have to eyeball. This dish is about presentation and eyeballing. So have all your ingredients ready to go and as you're assembling put just enough but not too much in each bowl. You'll see what I mean as you make this. It's easier than it sounds. Would I give you something hard to do?

In a very large serving bowl or separate bowls combine the lettuce, beans, olives, tomatoes and onions. Give it a quick toss. Juice your lemon (remember to roll it first!) and drizzle over your salad. Follow with some olive oil. Coat but don't soak! And now the little secret....drizzle on some of the juice from the canned black olives (room temp if possible)....no one will ever guess and it's a wonderful mysterious flavor.

Grind the pepper and sprinkle on the coarse sea salt (course gives such a better texture to the salad). Take a peeler and slowly peel some of the Parmesan on to the salad. You can grate but not as impressive visually. If you are going with another cheese. Cubes are fine too. And if you really have a need for meat, tear up some Prosciutto, Speck, Serrano or even some Black Forrest Ham. Like below:
Nice. Simple. Quick. Healthy and of course very tasty. Great for lunch or a light dinner. And quite filling....

WINE NOTE: Here you can go with a nice Pinot, Chardonnay, Riesling.....orrrr....What ever you like to drink! Most reds go nicely here.

Enjoy, have fun....and eat well!

TPC