Table for Two - Warm Potato Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love the ease that comes with summer cooking, but it does present some problems for smaller families. Most recipes for summer sides make enough food to feed the entire neighborhood, and unless you really, really like potato or three bean salad, their leftovers can become ponderous. The recipe I'm featuring tonight is an adaption of one that first appeared in Bon Appetit magazine. The salad, which is very pleasant, is similar to German potato salad but it contains no bacon. The Silver Fox insists that German potato salad must have bacon, so I've removed country of origin from the recipe title to please him. In addition to reducing the quantity of ingredients used in its preparation, I've substantially changed the way the recipe is made, and use a microwave to make the dish faster to assemble. It can be table ready in about 20 minutes. I suspect that those of you in the small family category will really like this salad, but I must admit to a personal prejudice. I'm a mayonnaise kind of gal and I miss its presence in my salad. If you have a small batch recipe for a mayonnaise-type salad, I hope you'll share it with me. It would be appreciated. In the meantime, here is how this fast and easy, warm potato salad is made.

Take Two - Sweet and Spicy Potato Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite... Having worked on new versions of macaroni and cucumber salad, it would have been poor form not to include a riff on classic potato salad as well. I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Food and Wine magazine and thought I'd give it a try. It is much like a traditional potato salad, save for the addition of smoked paprika and finely diced radish, and the absence of eggs. The salad is pleasant and its flavors are nicely balanced, but the changes are subtle and the salad, in its new form, doesn't really give the old standard a run for its money. I make potato salad several times a year, so, I'm always looking for new ways to make or improve it. Several years ago, I began to use the microwave to cook potatoes that were going to be used in salads. I found the microwave produced nicely formed cubes of potatoes that kept their shape when mixed with other ingredients. I film the bottom of a microwave container with water and cook medium-sized, halved but unpeeled, potatoes on HIGH power for 15 to 20 minutes. Once they can be pierced with the tip of a knife, I peel them and proceed with whatever recipe I'm using. I haven't had a goopy salad since I started using this method. If you are looking for a new way to prepare potato salad, I hope you will give this version a try. It will neither make or break your reputation as a cook, but I think you might enjoy it. Here's the recipe.

Sweet and Spicy Potato Salad...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Brian Perrone via Food and Wine magazine

Ingredients:
3 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes, halved but not peeled
Salt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 red radishes, cut into 1/3-inch dice
3 celery ribs, cut into 1/3-inch dice
1/2 medium red onion, cut into 1/3-inch dice

Directions:
1) Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Cook over moderately high heat until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and return them to pot. Shake pot over moderately high heat for about 10 seconds to dry potatoes. Transfer potatoes to a large rimmed baking sheet and let cool completely. When cool, peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces.
2) Combine mayonnaise with the relish, vinegar, mustard powder, paprika, black pepper, cayenne, radishes, celery and onion in a large bowl. Blend well. Gently fold in potatoes and season with salt. Refrigerate potato salad for at least 4 hours or overnight. Serve cold or lightly chilled. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Make Ahead The potato salad can be refrigerated for up to 2 days

One Year Ago Today: Mango Salsa

Two Years Ago Today: Sour Cherry Gelato

Three Years Ago Today: Blueberry Fool

Pumpkin-Peanut Risotto

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This lovely risotto is really a perfect dish for Meatless Mondays. It has wonderful color and a flavor profile that is sure to please. The recipe was developed at the Culinary Institute of America and it is nearly foolproof to make. You must, however, be careful not to over cook the arborio rice, and make sure that the risotto is served while it is piping hot. The rice gets gummy as it cools and it does not reheat well. If you do have leftovers, plan to use them to make risotto cakes or use them as a binder in chopped or ground meat. I use canned, unseasoned puree to make this, though I'm sure the risotto would be even better made with fresh pumpkin or squash. I made no changes to the recipe, save for the addition of salt and a pinch of nutmeg. I like this well enough to incorporate it into our Easter dinner. I have yet to decide if I'll serve it as a separate course or use it as a side along with other dishes. All the ingredients needed to make the risotto can be found in any well-stocked grocery store. Here's the recipe which I first found at The Peanut Institute.

Pumpkin-Peanut Risotto...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of the Culinary Institute of America

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoons peanut oil
1/3 cup onion, finely minced
1-1/2 cups arborio rice
5-1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup peanuts, toasted
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt to taste

Directions:
1) Heat butter and peanut oil in a heavy 4-quart casserole over moderate heat. Add onion and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes, until it begins to soften, being careful not to brown it.
2) Add rice to onions and stir for 1 minute, using a wooden spoon to make sure all grains are well coated. Bring the broth to a steady simmer in a saucepan on top of stove. Begin to add simmering broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently. Wait until each addition is almost completely absorbed before adding next 1/2 cup, reserving about 1/4 cup to add at end. Stir frequently to prevent sticking.
3) When rice is tender but still firm, about 18 minutes, add reserved broth, pumpkin, lemon juice and parsley. Turn off heat and immediately add butter and Parmesan and stir vigorously to combine with rice. Garnish with peanuts. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Shrimp Risotto - One Perfect Bite
Asparagus and Lemon Grass Risotto - One Perfect Bite
Risotto with Smoked Salmon Spinach and Peas - One Perfect Bite
.
Risotto all Milanese(2) - Love through the Stomach
Farro Risotto - Christine's Cuisine
Brown Rice Risotto with Roasted Tomatoes - Deliciously Organic
Lobster Risotto - In Danny's Kitchen
Mushroom Risotto - Closet Cooking
Sausage and Mushroom Risotto - Sugar Crafter
Roasted Garlic Risotto - Handle the Heat
Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto - Life's Ambrosia
Mexican Risotto - What's Cooking, Mexico
Salmon and Pea Risotto - Coconut and Lime
Mushroom and Leek Risotto - Sweet Salty Spicy
Lemon and Roasted Red Pepper Risotto - Food is Love
Tomato Risotto - Phem Fatale
Butternut Squash Risotto - So Easy, So Tasty
Turkey Mushroom Risotto - Simply Recipes
Fresh Corn Risotto - Culinary in the Desert
Barley Risotto with Mushrooms and Thyme - Kalyn's Kitchen

This post is being linked to:
Smiling Sally - Blue Monday

Spring Vegetable Ragout

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Despite a forecast of bad weather, we're heading to the coast for the holiday. Bob and I both love the sea and, strange as it might seem, we love it most when it's raging and buried in drifts of fog. This has the makings of our kind of weekend. Pounding waves and screeching gulls will be music to our ears. While we'll do some eating out, provisions for Easter dinner will come with us. The traveling larder will include gravlaxs, double-cut lamb chops and the fixing for soy glazed potatoes and this lovely vegetable ragout. Dessert will probably be a simple lemon pudding with apricot sauce. The ragout comes from Alice Waters, who does simple better than the legions who try to imitate her. I absolutely love this recipe and the bright shot of green it puts on any table. Three basic ingredients are quickly cooked in what becomes a light butter sauce. If not overcooked the ragout would be fit for Lucullus. The downside of this is the amount of chopping required to bring the dish to the table. That is the only downside. The beautiful ragout, especially if made with the very freshest of vegetables, will bring Spring to your table. Here's the recipe.

Spring Vegetable Ragout...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy Of Alice Waters

Ingredients:
3/4 pounds fresh green peas (See Cook's Note)
3/4 pound asparagus
3 spring onions (about 3/4 cup sliced)
3 tablespoons butter, divided use
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon chopped parsley or chervil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1) Shell fresh peas or thaw 1 cup frozen petite peas under cold running water. Set aside. Snap tough ends from asparagus. Discard. Slice stalks into diagonal slices 1/4-inch thick. Cut tips into 1-1/2-inch pieces. Set aside. Trim and thinly slice spring onions.
2) Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large heavy bottomed skillet. Add onions and cook over medium heat until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add asparagus and peas; stir to combine. Add water and cook until vegetables are just tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add reserved 1 tablespoon butter and parsley or chervil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot. Yield: 4 servings.

Cook's Note: If fresh peas are not available, substitute 1 cup best quality thawed frozen peas.

You might also enjoy these recipes:

Moroccan Carrots - One Perfect Bite
Sugar Snap Peas with Sesame - One Perfect Bite
Green Beans with Sesame Miso Sauce - One Perfect Bite

Warm Asian-Style Rice Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I made a new rice dish to serve with miso chicken tonight. I decided to grill despite the rain, so, if you happened down our stretch of highway this evening, I would be the fool you saw manning the grill beneath that huge red golf umbrella. Miso chicken is delicious, but I'm always puzzled by what to serve with it. Summer is no problem. I make a Japanese potato salad that's a perfect compliment to the chicken. Winter is more problematic. Plain, unflavored rice simply will not do and my winter palate refuses to embrace mayonnaise based salads. So, I decided to combine hot rice with mirin wine and broccoli slaw and see what happened. In Japan, sweet rice would be used to make a dish like this. Despite its name, this rice isn't sweet and it doesn't contain gluten. It is, instead, a very sticky, short-grain rice that's used to make sushi or sweet rice desserts. As you can see, I used basmati rice to make mine. It works well, but would be difficult to eat with chopsticks because the grains do not clump. I made enough rice to feed four, but the ingredients here can easily be doubled. I used mirin, a rice wine, because I think it's less sweet than sake and is more to our taste. The rice must be hot when the mirin and vegetables are folded into it. This is a really, really easy to make and it's quite good. Here's the recipe.

Warm Asian-Style Rice Salad...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 cups hot cooked rice
6 tablespoons mirin cooking wine
1-1/2 cups broccoli or cabbage slaw
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Fold mirin and broccoli slaw into hot rice. Mix well. Cover pot and let sit for 15 minutes, or until mirin is absorbed. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss. Transfer to rice bowls. Yield: 4 servings.

Potato Gratin a la Flamande

Flemish cuisine has a split personality. It's part French and part Belgian. The food is delicious trencherman fare and the regional drink is beer. Parisian's cook with wine, the Flemish prefer beer. While the food of Flanders and Picardy lacks the finesse of other regions, it's not without sophistication and it's layered flavors are delicious. The bitter aftertaste that's ascribed to much of the regions cooking is really due to a poor choice of beer. In an effort to make a perfect carbonnarde, I've tested lots of beer. I discovered one that's perfect for cooking. It's O'Doul's Amber Non-Alcoholic Brew; it can be found everywhere for centimes on the dollar and, because it's non-alcoholic, it can be used by folks who might normally have to bypass a recipe because of its alcohol content. Beer is an important part of today's recipe. It adds a distinct flavor to the potatoes. I define a potato gratin as scalloped potatoes made without milk and I think I'm close to being correct. Today's potatoes are flavored with flat beer and a little butter, so we're going to call it a gratin. It's less rich and, I think more flavorful, than old-fashioned scalloped potatoes. Men love this.

Potato Gratin a la Flamande

Ingredients:
1 8-ounce yellow onion, halved, then finely sliced
1-1/2 pounds potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup flat beer (i.e. O'Doul's Amber Non-Alcoholic Brew)
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt
Black pepper, coarsely ground
Optional garnish: chopped parsley

Directions:
1) Preheat oven at 425F. Spray bottom and sides of a deep baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2) Alternate layers of onions and potatoes in casserole. First layer should be onions, last layer should be potatoes. Lightly salt and pepper layers as their built.
3) Combine beer and brown sugar in a small bowl. Pour over potatoes. Dot top of potatoes with butter.
4) Cover dish and place in oven. After 10 minutes reduce oven thermostat to 375 degrees F. Bake, covered, for 40 minutes longer. Remove cover, pour cream over potatoes and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes longer. Let rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley if using. Yield: 4 servings.

I'm sending this entry to Cathy at Noble Pig for the May Potato Ho Down.

Scallion Pancakes

These salty Asian flatbreads are a favorite of my family. They are sold by street vendors all over Asia. Once you get the knack of rolling they are easy to make and they are beautiful to look at. They are best eaten right after they are made.

Scallion Pancakes

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup water
4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided use
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions

Directions:
1) Combine flour and water in a medium bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon until it turns into a dough.
2) Lightly flour a work surface. Turn dough onto surface and knead for 5 minutes until a smooth, soft dough forms. Cover dough with bowl. Let rest for 5 minutes.
3) Divide the dough into three portions. Working with 1 portion at a time, roll each piece into a circle, 6 to 8-inches in diameter. Cover until ready to use.
4) Use 1 teaspoon oil to lightly coat surface of a pancake. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/3 of scallions. Starting at the far end and pulling it toward you, roll the pancake into a plump log. Shape log into a tight spiral, tucking loose ends under. Press gently but firmly to flatten into a big thick cake. Using a rolling pin, roll cake into a 7-inch pancake. Repeat with other 2 portions of dough.
5) Heat a medium sized skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add 2 teaspoons of oil turning to coat pan with oil. When hot, add a pancake and cook until underside is lightly browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Turn and cook other side until bread is cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Repeat with remaining two pancakes. Cut each pancake into quarters. Serve warm or hot. Yield: 3 pancakes to serve 4 to 6.

Adapted from a recipe by Nancy Mc Dermott

Warm Chanterelle Salad

Today was a nearly perfect day. Our destination - a grove of fir and hemlock in the headlands of the Oregon coast. Our goal - wild mushrooms. Poking through the duff beneath the trees were clumps of Chanterelles standing tall, inviting harvest. I won't speak of cheese or bread or wine or perfect pears shared with gulls as we perched on an ancient ledge above the edge of the world. The sight and scent of sea and the faint white noise of breaking waves only deepened the inner silence of the day. The hunt - a bonanza! A lug of Chanterelles for not a sou save labor. The first few pounds will become a favorite of mine - Warm Chanterelle Salad. Really fast. Really simple. Really good. Today was a nearly perfect day.

Warm Chanterelle Salad

Ingredients:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds Chanterelle or Crimini mushrooms, torn or cut in half
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot or red onion
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons drained, chopped pimento
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
Coarse salt

Directions:.
1) Heat butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add mushrooms and saute until just tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in shallots and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add sherry and cook until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
2) Add vinegar, parsley, pimento and pepper. Toss well. Season to taste with coarse salt. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature. Yield: 6 servings.