Wednesday, March 24, 2010

New Potato & Chive Salad with a Side of Sheepishness

Sorry I have been so slacking! I am embarrassed to have stepped away from my blog and my project for so long. I could provide all of the things that have taken up my time (CMP certification, new Mary Kay business, overscheduling myself) but really I should keep to my committments instead of moving on to new ones!! So here it is- my recommitment toward my resolution. Now where to start.....

I did prepare one new recipe in the down time. It was for John's 2nd birthday party! We made a lot of our usual dishes (pulled pork, Shawn's homemade slaw, my mac & cheese) and I wanted to do one new thing. I had a bunch of potatoes that needed to be prepared and decided that potato salad would fit in perfectly.

The next step was to take out all of my recipe books and create just the right one! I found an old book that I rarely use called "500 All Time Greatest Recipes". It's a bold statement, which the book doesn't totally live up to, but there are some really good things in here. The best thing about this book is an inscription under the front cover where my friend, Dana, wishes me a happy birthday (in 1999) and hopes that I'll be using it to cook for her when we're 50. Unfortunately, we're getting closer and closer to that prophecy!!!! The potato salad recipe looked simple but delicious, so I added it to the menu.

One thing that intrigued me about the method was that the recipe has you mix the oil, vinegar, and mustard and toss the hot drained potatoes with the vinaigrette and scallions before cooling. Once cooled, I added the mayonnaise and chives and chill in the fridge until ready to serve. The vinaigrette gave such a wonderful flavor to the potatoes, but the simplicity of the mayo and fresh herbs still shone through. It was so delicious!! It's funny- I made this over a month ago and the part I remember most is a few of us eating it out of the bowl at the very end of a long party. It's the true test of a good party dish!!

Simple, inexpensive, and delicious- I'd make this again in a hearbeat.

New Potato & Chive Salad- 500 All Time Great Recipes
1 1/2 lbs new potatoes
4 scallions
3T olive oil
1T white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good quality mayonnaise (I used Hellmanns because it's the best, in my opinion)
3T chopped fresh chives
salt & pepper

1. Cook the potatoes, unpeeled, in boiling water until tender. Meanwhile, finely chop the white parts of the scallions along with a little of the green parts.

2. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, and mustard. Drain potatoes well, then immediately toss with the vinegar mixture and scallions and allow to cool. Stir in the mayonnaise and chives and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

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