Loaded Potato Salad

A little while ago I decided to invest in a Canon 20D and brush up on my photography. Seeing as the camera came to me with previous experience I probably should have spent a little more time getting to know it. Blinded by it's beauty I went too far too fast. And now I'm paying for it. Currently I'm trying to figure a way of retrieving the results of my hasty trigger finger, because all of the data was taken as RAW. I barely know what that is myself, but to explain to you better it basically means that the files are too big for my software to handle, or most photo kiosks for that matter. If I had a way to handle it, apparently I could do all kinds of stunning things to my photos. But for now they are stuck on my camera, including the shots of my loaded potato salad.

For the last 2 days I've been lounging on the beach up at Wasaga with a few of my friends and plenty food. We all love to cook so it was quite the feast. Part of my contribution was a potato salad for the baked potato lover.

Loaded Potato Salad
8 large Chef's Potatoes*, peeled and cut into cubes
5 strips of bacon
3 green onions, washed and thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp white vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

• boil potatoes in salted water until al dente** (about 8-10 minutes)
• drain but do not rinse (rinsing washes away the starch that helps bind the salad and may also break the potatoes)
• transfer to a stainless steal bowl, sprinkle with vinegar, salt and pepper and place in the freezer to cool. Stir gently every few minutes to help them cool faster, to prevent carry over cooking***.
• while the potatoes are cooling, cook the bacon. I like to cook my bacon in the oven because it's quicker. Place the strips on a parchment lined pan and bake in at 475F for at least 8 minutes or until very crispy. Remove the excess fat and cut the bacon into very thin strips or bits.
• Add bacon, onions mayo and sour cream to the cooled potatoes all at once and stir. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.

*Chef's potatoes- A Russet or Idaho potato. These potatoes are usually best for mashing or baking but I chose them to use for this dish because I wanted the taste and texture to resemble a loaded baked potato.

**Al dente- when referring to vegetables means tender on the outside and firm on the inside. Cooking potatoes, for salad, beyond this point will mean the potatoes will not hold their desired shape.

***Carry-over cooking- refers to the amount of cooking that occurs in foods after it's been removed from the cooking source. Over cooking can occur in this time because the carry over cooking was not factored into the preparation of the food.

Cool Cous Cous Salad

Summer salads: the perfect match for anything BBQ'd. Tonight I'm grilling up my Ribs and to go along side, I pulled together some fresh ingredients I had on hand. The result is a little something to cool the flames.

1 cup cous cous
1 cup water or stock

• bring liquid to a boil, add cous cous, stir, remove from heat and cover. After 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and refrigerate till cooled.

1/4 cup celery, diced small
1/2 cup cucumber, diced small
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in quarters
1/4 cup red onion, diced fine
1 cup chick peas (if canned, drained and rinsed)
1 clove garlic, minced
hand-full fresh dill, chopped
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

• Once cous cous has cooled add the above ingredients, toss and taste. Adjust seasonings if needed.

Serve on a leaf of lettuce. Try something long and leafy like Red Leaf lettuce or Romaine because it is also firm.
OR
Try stuffing it into half a fresh pepper, cut lengthwise.

~ you're welcome ;o)

English Style Potato Salad

I don't quite recall what inspired me to create this recipe. Maybe my own heritage. Maybe my love of anything potato. Either way, it is certainly a great spin on an old standard.

First thing:

1 1lb bag frozen, cubed home fries

• spread on a baking sheet and cook according to package directions

Mean time:

In a bowl, combine

• 1/2 cup of mayo
• 1/4 cup of malt vinegar
• 1tsp Worcestershire sauce
  
• 1 can peas, drained
• 1/2 cup diced ham
• 1/2 tsp salt

Finishing touch:

• Salt the cooked potatoes and set them aside to cool.
• Once cooled, gently stir potatoes into the rest of the ingredients.
• correct to taste

Try it instead of chips the next time you have fish.

~You're welcome ;o)

Summer Salads

Here are a few summer salads to keep you cool around the bbq.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

1 seedless, English cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and very thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
2 cups Balkan style yogurt (5%)
dash each of herbal seasoning (or salt), onion powder, garlic powder and mustard powder

Method

Place ingredients in a bowl. Stir and cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve.



Chick Pea Salad

Ingredients

1 can chick peas, washed and drained
1 medium red pepper, diced
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1/4 cup feta cheese
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp red pepper flavoured vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
onion powder, salt and cracked pepper to taste

Method

Combine ingredients in bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Goes great along with the cucumber salad and whatever you've got cookin' on the grill.

Roasted Butternut Salad

1. Peel, clean and cut into chunks, 1 butternut squash. Coat in olive oil and roast in a 425F oven until browned. Let cool.
   
2. Thinly slice 1/2 a red onion.
3. Measure 1/4 cup each of dried cranberries and toasted walnuts.
4. Heat to a bubble and let reduce, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 1 heaping tbsp brown sugar, then let cool.
   
5. Toss gently all ingredients with a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, cracked pepper and a pinch of salt.

Lamb Sausages and Broccoli Salad

1. Rinse 2 heads of broccoli then break into florets
2. A can of peaches in juice, cut into chunks. Reserve liquid.
3. 1/2 a large red onion, cut into thirds then thinly sliced*
   
4. Slice 20g of fresh basil into ribbons.
5. Toast 1/4 cup of slivered almonds.
6. Whisk 1/3 cup light mayo, 1tsp lemon juice, 1tbsp each of rice and apple cider vinegars**, 3tbsp of peach juice, fresh cracked pepper.
7. Toss.
   

VOILA!

1. Fry up the lamb links until done. Don't clean the pan.
2. Immediately add the other half of the onion, sliced, and let them cook in the drippings for a minute or so.
3. Add a good shot of red wine to deglaze the pan.
4. Serve the 2 on a bun with a roasted red pepper glaze (RRpepper sauce***, dijon mustard, mustard powder and honey.)
   

Is Nice!

* the thinner shaved the onion, the sweeter.
** I would have rather used plum vinegar but I did not have any.
***You can buy it prepared or make your own. Today I used Ajvar. I keep it on hand for lots of things. Makes a great sandwich spread.

Mexicana Salad

Ingredients

2 cups baby spinach
4 cups field greens or california mix greens
pint of cherry tomatoes
1 small red onion very thinly sliced
1/2 cup shelled pistachios
1 small red pepper, diced

~for the dressing~
1 small, ripened avacado pit and skin removed
2 egg yolks
2-3 tbsp olive oil
the juice of one lime
dash or so of cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp of cumin powder
1/8 tsp onion powder
1 clove of garlic
cracked pepper and margarita salt, to taste

Method

Prepare the dressing by mixing the ingredients in a blender or by using an immersion mixer. You can add a little more seasoning or lime here or there to adjust to your own tastes.
Toss the dressing with the spinach, peppers and onions. Top with tomatoes and pistachios to serve.

Dill-licious Potato Salad

Ingredients

5 lbs red potatoes, washed, skins on
1/2 cup fresh dill
1/4 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
Seasoned rice vinegar
onion powder
salt and fresh cracked pepper

Method

Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes, roughly. Boil in 6 litres salted water until tender yet firm. Remove, drain. Transfer to bowl and cover with a generous portion of vinegar. Place in fridge to cool. Once cooled stir in dill, mayo and onion adding the seasonings to taste. Serve and enjoy :o)