Lemony Potato Salad

Whenever I see a recipe for potato salad I start scheming to figure out when I can throw it together and who is going to eat it with me. Although the dog-eared July issue of Gourmet magazine has provided a myriad of delicious recipes, it wasn't until this past weekend that I finally made the Lemony Potato Salad.
I have to admit the addition of lemon zest and juice may have scared me off at first. Let me assure you, though, it is a fantastic combination! It gives the salad a lighter feel and with only a 1/2 cup of mayo to three pounds of potatoes, you can feel a little better about shoveling it in spoonful after spoonful. The original recipe suggests bringing the salad to room temp before serving, but I for one will not take a chance when serving mayonnaise in the summer heat.

Lemony Potato Salad
adapted from Gourmet Magazine

3 lb. small boiling potatoes (we used Yukon Golds)
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 T. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Cover potatoes with water in large pot and season well with salt. Bring to boil, then simmer until tender, 12 to 20 minutes. While potatoes cook, stir together celery, mayonnaise, green onions, lemon zest and juice, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Drain potatoes and cool completely, then halve or quarter. Add to dressing and toss to coat.

Corn Salad

I was looking for a light salad to play a supporting role to our protein last night and decided on Ina's version of corn salad. After the couscous debacle I had to right a wrong and this dish pulled through for a big win. Although we obviously don't have local corn yet, there happened to be a five-pack on sale this week and I had all the other ingredients on hand. It was just meant to be! The acidity of the vinegar paired well with the sweetness of the corn, and let me just say...basil and sweet corn are a match made in heaven.

Fresh Corn Salad
Ina Garten via Food Network

5 ears of corn, shucked
1/2 c. small diced red onion
3 T. cider vinegar
3 T. good olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. julienned fresh basil leaves

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

Barefoot Bloggers Curried Couscous

This edition of Barefoot Bloggers comes to us courtesy of Ellyn over at Recipe Collector and Tester. She chose Ina's Curried Couscous and has used the recipe as is for several years. I was excited to try something that I would not choose on my own, which is really one of the reasons I joined the group to begin with.
The dish was extremely easy and fast to prepare and had a great texture. After browsing the reviews on the Food Network website, I decided I would only add a little of the dressing at a time. I was glad I did. Matt loved the dish, but I just thought it was okay. Don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy the combination of the ingredients in the couscous mixture, but maybe I am just not a curry fan. I will certainly give it another chance, but I may make a different dressing for this particular salad.

Fresh Fish!

We try to incorporate fish into our diet, but it is not always the pick of the litter when your only option is the grocery store seafood counter. We happened to luck out with some very firm tilapia that was on sale this week at our market. I had seen Giada prepare a lemon vinaigrette for whitefish and I thought it would be a light and simple accompaniment to the fish. We paired it with some roasted asparagus drizzled with a balsamic reduction and had a fast, healthy meal that you could certainly serve to company. I simply placed the tilapia on some oiled parchment paper, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a shot of fresh lemon juice. After I wrapped them up, they went on the grill for about 10 minutes while the asparagus roasted and the balsamic reduced. The vinaigrette came together in a flash and was spooned on while the fish was hot off the grill.

Lemon Vinaigrette

courtesy of: Giada De Laurentiis

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Blend the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

*Note: I did not feel the need to add any additional seasoning. I used the stick blender to whip this together and it worked like a dream.

A Mother of a Week Continued

Another night guest blogging and I find myself reminiscing about the old days of summer. Both of these recipes were dishes that I would not touch with a ten foot pole when I was a child. When it came to food, I was more into the simple things in life. Hamburgers, chicken cheese nuggets, Banquet pot pies, you know, the things that a normal 12 year old boy loves to eat. I would sit at the dining room table on Sunday afternoon in the summer months and both the baked beans and the potato salad would normally be on the menu. When my grandparents or my sister or dad would pass the corning ware dishes my way for a helping, I would turn my nose and politely pass them on to the next person. My parents and grandparents would always shake their heads and say that I was missing out on the good things in life.

Eventually, my tastes grew up and I found that there were few things in life that I did not like. From baked beans to potato salad to calf sweetbreads, there was nothing that I wouldn't try and more than often nothing that I didn't like. The beans and the potato salad were staples for our family during the summer months on a lazy summer day. I did my best to recreate the recipes although I still don't think I did them justice.

A funny anecdote about the beans: My mother and father have been married for over 43 years and started dating when they were in their early teens. When my father first started coming around to my mom's family home, my grandma would occasionally serve the baked beans. My dad, always the polite one, would say, "No thank you," and pass the dish to the right. My grandma would always ask my dad, "If you've never had these beans before, how do you know you don't like them? Just take a spoonful Mike." My dad would and over time he grew to love these beans . These days, he is taking two helpings of these beans.

My mom has jazzed these beans up a bit over time but they continue to be a very simplistic recipe. They are as follows:

Baked Beans

2 C navy beans

Sort through navy beans then cover with cold water and let soak overnight.

Next morning rinse beans well and put into slow cooker and add:

1 medium sized onion - chopped fine

3/4 - 1 C brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

Salt - probably 1 good tsp full

Cover with water - probably 1-1/2" above bean mixture.

Turn cooker on high and let cook all day. Beans are done when you can easily mush bean with a fork.

Put cooked beans into a greased casserole dish and place a couple of slices of bacon on top. Bake the beans at 325 - 350 for a couple of hours. You can double the recipe and freeze the cooked beans to bake later.

Potato Salad

Not much of a real recipe to this one. Start with 4 potatoes and 8 eggs. Boil tater until starting to get soft but not cooked through the whole way. Boil the eggs until done. Chop both the eggs and taters into fine pieces. Chop 1 medium onion fine and add to bowl with taters and eggs. In a separate bowl add 1 cup of Miracle Whip and add milk until the consistency of the mix is easily pourable. Add to potato, egg, and onion mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

These recipes are both continued works that change each time we make them. Depending on the feel of the day or the group of people we have over, the dishes can be different works of art every time. I must say that my mom has these dishes down better than anyone. No matter how many times I attempt to recreate these, they are never the same. I guess there is something to be said about a mothers touch. My mother has always been a special part of my life and she has always been there for me. I hope that I can be as good a cook as her someday. I love you mom!

Kabob-less Kabobs

While we were at the market the other day, we were inspired by all the fresh (and some local) produce. This means lots of fruits and veggies this week! Tonight as Matt was throwing some chicken and veggies together for kabobs he realized we didn't have any skewers. Since we really didn't want to run to the store, we decided to cook the meat and veggies on a foil "pan" on the grill and they turned out really well. They were also easier to eat and took less time to prepare as a result. I did roast the asparagus in the oven with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper, and it was amazing. This is the first Michigan asparagus we have had this year and we can't wait to make more!!
As Matt was slaving over the grill, I stirred together a really tasty rice dish that I believe would be a real crowd pleaser. I found it over at Our Best Bites and I followed it nearly to a tee. The only thing I did differently was to add less cilantro than recommended and use fresh chopped pineapple instead of the canned. We both agree that cilantro can be a little overpowering, so I think I only added about 1/4 c. when it was said and done.

Lime-Cilantro Rice with Pineapple

Like I said, you really can just make this to taste, but here’s the basics.

1 cup dry white rice, cooked
2 T real butter
Juice from 1 large lime, or two smaller ones (taste as you go, I add a lot!)
1 C pineapple tidbits, drained
½ - ¾ C chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice. As soon as it’s done, toss in the butter and stir to melt. Add lime juice, pineapple, and cilantro. Stir to combine, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

* You’ll want to serve this right away, if you don’t, the flavors tend to mellow a bit and you’ll probably need to add more lime juice because the rice kind of sucks it up. If you’re not quite ready to eat when your rice finishes cooking, just toss in the butter and keep a lid on it so it stays warm. Then right before you serve it, toss it all together.

Sausage Fest '09

I know I said in an earlier post that we would be cooking a "challenging" dish with our friends Timm and Faith once a month, but when there is sausage to be made, who am I to argue? Timm and Faith have made sausage previously, but this was a first for Matt and I. Timm and Matt were brainstorming at the grocery store when shopping for ingredients when they thought of a grand idea!! Why not stuff these casings with themed meat goodies? Thus, the ideas started flowing. We made the following sausages:

1. Shepherd's Pie (ground chuck, carrots, leeks, celery, onion, garlic, potatoes, salt, and pepper)
   
2. Buffalo Chicken (ground chicken, fat, celery, Frank's Red Hot, bleu cheese, salt, and pepper)
3. Sweet and Savory Chicken (ground chicken, fat, apple, bacon, salt, and pepper)
4. Triple P (ground pork, pineapple, pepper-green and red, salt, and pepper)
5. Plain (ground pork, mace, salt, and pepper)

My only question is: Why haven't we done this sooner!? The sausages were delicious, and we all felt good about the fact that all the ingredients were fresh and we had complete control over the flavors. It was nice to know there were no artificial additives, and you could certainly tell the difference. We had good success with all the sausages except the Triple P. Unfortunately, the casing began to break down when they were chilling in the refrigerator and even when they were transferred to the hot part of the grill, they completely fell apart. We think this was due to the moisture of the pineapple and peppers, but since none of us had ever used those ingredients in sausage, we can't be sure. All in all, it was a great experience, and I have already priced the food grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid! In addition to the sausage, Timm requested that I make my mom's recipe for Confetti Coleslaw. You can see the picture below, but you should check out her adorable blog for the recipe and just to poke around:)

Pork with Rhubarb Chipotle Sauce

I have perused many a Williams Sonoma catalog with drool coming off my chin, but I have not previously paid much attention to their website. It is a great tool to find all the cooking gear you lust after and can't afford, but I have also found it to be a good resource for all the tasty recipes they print on the pages of their glossy catalog. That said, I have had some rhubarb in my freezer for some time and found a recipe on the WS that inspired this dish. M picked up some pork loin the other day and we had some bacon in the fridge, so I figured that more pork is always a better, tastier option. I simply seasoned the loin with salt and pepper, wrapped it in bacon, and drizzled with maple syrup. I have learned that with pork, if you remove from the oven a few degrees prior to doneness, cover with foil, and let rest, you have a juicier piece of meat. The rhubarb sauce was quite a good addition to the pork, but I really deviated from the recipe with this. I started with some sauteed onions, added the rhubarb, a little apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and finished it off with a heaping helping of adobo sauce. The adobo added a smoky bite with just the right amount of heat on the finish.
You'll notice that we have been eating a bit of starch with our meats, and last night was no exception. I gained inspiration for the potatoes at the WS site, as well. I often have an aversion to measuring when I am cooking (not baking!!), so I was very loose with the ingredients. I used the Idaho's I had on hand, mashed them with the half-n-half, and added the cheese, butter, and chives. In addition, I threw in a little sour cream and seasoned them with salt and pepper. Into the oven alongside the pork for the last 15 minutes and we had a great meal that finally used up some of the ingredients sitting in our freezer!

Steak and Potatoes

I have watched Giada numerous times on the Food Network, but I have never tried one of her recipes. Typically when the weekly ad for our grocery store debuts, I check the ingredients that are on sale and then search for recipes that feature said ingredients. This past week steak and potatoes were on sale, and since I love red meat, I knew I had to find a new way to prepare steak. Giada's recipe for Filet Mignon with Balsamic Syrup and Goat Cheese came up in my search engine, and those flavors immediately grabbed my attention. No we didn't have the filet, but the less expensive cut of beef we used worked well for the recipe. I also didn't have the full amount of balsamic, so I improvised with raspberry vinegar...also a decent substitution. For a steak cooked on the stove and finished under the broiler, I was impressed. Normally we would only use the grill when beef is involved, but this was a nice alternative on a snowy April night.
As for the potatoes, I simply cut some Idaho's in chunks and layered them-skin side up-on a bed of melted butter, fresh grated parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. I drizzled a little olive oil and a bit more parm on top and baked at 400 degrees until tender. Mmmm! Crispy goodness sprinkled with fresh chives.

Splurging Sunday

With Matt on WW, he usually chooses one splurge day per week where he can enjoy whatever dishes he feels like without the guilt. Today we decided Martha's Shepherd's Pie would fit the bill along with a Lemon Coconut Cake for dessert. We also had a mixed greens salad with goat cheese and Sauteed Cabbage as a side dish. I adapted the Shepherd's Pie recipe by adding some Merlot that we had on hand, and definately gave the dish more depth of flavor than the previous times we have made it. As for the Lemon Coconut Cake, I knew we would have a winner because my mom had fixed it for Sissy's birthday a few years ago and received rave reviews. It did not disappoint!!