A Homegrown Potato Salad

Summer, where does the time go? I went to out to pull weeds one day and three weeks passed. In that time the garden had developed early blight which sent me into a tizzy being that ¾ of what was planted is susceptible. I will never plant the garden without pretreating for this nasty fungus again. Think I may have stemmed the tide but the thought of losing everything is not a good one.

After the events of June, I had what I thought was a week off for some commando gardening to find out we were hosting a July 4th party for some 11 friends in a mere 2 days. No problem, that’s what caterers do, right? Well, as you all know, when it’s your own home and garden a tiny bit of panic sets in. My home has that “lived in” look and I grew up with a mother whose philosophy is that if you are coming to see what kind of housekeeper I am you can keep on going. Did I mention one of the party guests would be my mother, who would be staying a few days?

So as I am dealing with the onset of early blight in the vegetable garden I set out to prepare for my guests, gathering up those extra chairs and making sure they are clean, pulling the July 4th decorations out of hiding, getting the room Mom will be staying in squared away, filling bins with all the flotsam and jetsam of my daily life to be stowed till the revelers go, beverages in, ice procured and I have to make a menu. I am fortunate, there is no question, with what I do for a living, so I went to my own freezer and frig, took inventory and made the menu and food for about 20 without hitting the stores.

The point is, before making a menu, look to see what you already have; chances are good you are more than halfway there. Pull out that vegetable drawer (s) and take a complete inventory, tweak your recipes and menu to include what you have. Have you begun my habit of tucking away odds and ends into the freezer? If you are organized and keep a list, pull it out, if you just shove them into the freezer like some people I know (me), take a good look, there is a gold mine in there of work you have already done and beautiful ingredients ready to be showcased.

The Menu:

• Grilled Garlic Chicken
• House Smoked Pork Loin
• Hot Dogs (can it be the 4th without them?)
• Newly harvested homegrown Fingerling Potato & Pea Salad
• Sweet Potato, Carrot and Chickpea Salad in an Orange Pecan Dressing
• Black Bean and Corn Salad
• Watermelon and Mint
• Homemade Pickled Jalapenos
• Homemade Fennel Pickles
• Cream Corn Scones with softened Butter
• Brownies, Blondies and Pecan Bars
• Ice Cream Bars from the Ice Cream man as we watched the fireworks over the lake

 My Favorite Potato Salad

Yield: 4 quarts or anywhere from 12-20 guests

This recipe came out of Bon Appetite so many years ago I have lost the copy of it and being that I am growing my own potatoes now, well, it has only become more of a favorite.

Prep Time: 30-40 minutes

Equipment:

• Pot to boil potatoes in
• Small mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Rubbermaid Spatula

Ingredients:

• 3 -4 pounds Fingerling or Red Potatoes, scrubbed with skin on
• ½ to 2/3 cup shelled Peas briefly cooked. (Frozen is perfectly acceptable)
• Salt
• 3/4 to 1  cup Hellmann’s Mayo
• 1/3 cup good Dijon Mustard
• Salt
• White pepper
• ¼ cup or more of chopped chives. Scallions may be substituted.

 Method:

1. Cook your peas and set aside or pull peas from freezer and run under lukewarm water.

2. Place potatoes in pot of cold water with enough salt to fill the cup you make with the palm of your hand about 2-3 Tablespoons.

NOTE: In harvesting my own potatoes, they came up in many sizes. Place the larger ones in first to cook a bit, then work your way down to the smallest ones to ensure you do not overcook the potatoes. The same size differential often happens with bags of potatoes purchased at the market. Cook according to size.

3. Stir occasionally to keep cooking even and with a skewer test for doneness. The potato should be easily pierced but still have a bit of resistance.

4. Drain and cut into ¾ to 1 inch chunks.

5. While potatoes are cooking whisk the mayo, mustard, salt and pepper together to make a creamy dressing.

a. When making dressing if you prefer more or less of a bite from the mustard, adjust amount of mustard. Same goes for mayo, some like it creamier than others.

6. Pour dressing over warm potatoes, correct seasoning.

If the salad is not to be eaten right away, cover everything and put in frig. Prior to serving, add peas and chives

Pea Tendrils

The tips of your pea plants are an amazing delicacy. While I am picking these from my garden you can find these marvels at Asian grocers. Purchase at least twice as much weight as you need because you will need to discard the lower tougher leaves and stalks. I know this sounds like a waste, if you can compost, do so, but using only the tenderest part of the tendrils is optimal.  The first time I tried these darlings I was with my pal Estelle and we were at Ollie’s Noodle Shop on 44th St. in the heart of the theatre district. As an aside Ollie’s is a great spot to pop into when hitting the theatre without making it “A NIGHT”. Great soups, stir fry’s, duck. Anyway, Estelle ordered one of the specials, this pea tendril stir fry and I crave it ever since.

Nutritionally, they are loaded with A, more C than blueberries, folic acid and caratenoids like beta carotene.

For cooking and experimenting you can treat the tendrils much like you would spinach. Saute’ them and place under a nice piece of broiled salmon cooked with a Sweet Chili Glaze like outlined on www.Epicurious.com. Add them to a Pho or Chinese Soup. Sauté them and add to an omelet or make them the way The Cialntropist does and use them as a base for an Orange, Feta and oil cured Olive Salad. http://cilantropist.blogspot.com/2011/02/pea-tendrils-have-you-tried-them.html    Sautéed with garlic (again, the garlic) and add your favorite pasta. I believe the key to these beauties is simplicity, so please try them and please experiment.

As for me, I am stir frying them with garlic & ginger and eating them with a bowl of steamed rice. Perfectly simple, perfectly heaven.

Garlic Ginger Stir Fried Pea Tendrils

EQUIPMENT:

• Wok or sauté’ pan
• Long handeled spoons
• Large holed grater or microplane.
• Spatter guard (if you have one)

 INGREDIENTS:

• 6 Cups Pea Tendrils (triple washed to remove –sorry- garden bugs….organic has its price….)
•  4 cloves garlic grated
•  Thumb sized piece of peeled freshest ginger – grated
•  Plain oil like Grapeseed, Safflower, Canola or even a light vegetable oil.
•  Salt

 METHOD:

1. Heat oil till wavy in appearance. If you can work quickly then grate the ginger into the oil and then the garlic. Stir a moment to release fragrance.
2. Add your tendrils; being careful to avoid the popping of hot oil when water meets it (the spatter guard comes in handy here).
3. Once tendrils are coated with ginger garlic oil, keep moving steadily till greens are adequately wilted.
4. Serve with steamed Jasmine Rice!

Best Summer Meat Marinade ....Ever

Well the livin' ain't been so easy with all this heat so when it's time for comestibles here, I turn to the grill for nearly all my hot weather cooking. That and a good take out place and when you find one in my area PLEASE tell me!

I like my beef salty. I worked at the Beekman Arms in Rhinebeck when I went to the Culinary Institute, there was a crazy group of guys in the kitchen then, the broiler guy had his own secret marinade for all meats. This is my version of what he used and I think it is just about as close to perfect as you can get.


The easiest best beef marinade I have

1-cup good soy sauce
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/3 – 1 cup water.
1/3-cup vegetable oil
4 tsp chili garlic sauce * (I use one from Thailand but they are all good) This is a spicy mixture. Use less if you do not appreciate the heat!!)

Mix all ingredients together
Marinate steak anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight for a deeper flavor.


The cheapskate in me cannot throw out a perfectly good marinade just because it has been used once. IF you kept this under refrigeration and did not leave the meat in there for a week, freeze the marinade, I use a code- don’t laugh now, 0, 1x, 2x. I know you have cracked my code. 0 is fresh never used, 1x means used once, 2x which is rarely seen around here but on occasion is used twice. After that we are finished I feel I have gotten my monies worth out of this. NOTE: I only reuse marinades for my hubby and I; somehow I can’t do that for company.

When you are grilling you want to heat that puppy UP. Turn the grill on, all the way up for a good 15 minutes before you put on the steaks.

Lifting the steaks up out of the marinade place them on the grill at a 45 degree angle to the grate. I turn 1 ¼ inch steaks 5-7 minutes after they begin for medium rare. If you want to create a cross hatch pattern like the steakhouses do, after 3 minutes, ONCE THE STEAK can lift off the grates without leaving bits behind, turn the steak (leaving the same cooked side towards the grill) so it is at a 45 degree angle in the opposite direction. Imagine an X. First the steak goes one way, like so / , then the other \ .

PLEASE PLEASE do not cut into this juicy slab of artery clogging protein! Without benefit of photos, maybe I’ll get to that, let me tell you how the chefs do it.
1. Figure out which hand you write with….. Good. Now with the OTHER hand hanging loosely from your wrist (shake it a couple of times to make sure you are loose.) poke the fleshy part where your thumb and index finger (Mr. Pointer) meet. Push in to this fleshy part, you will meet with little resistance, it’s mushy. This is VERY RARE.
2. Straighten out your fingers but not very tightly poking the fleshy part. This is MEDIUM RARE
3. Now flex your fingers out rather stiffly. Poke that fleshy part. This is MEDIUM.
4. Ball up your fist. Poke that part that was fleshy and it now a knot. This is WELL DONE.
I hope on all that is sacred you will stop cutting into your grilled meats to see if they are done now! Even stabbing at this defenseless steak with a meat thermometer lets all the juices run into your grill and not over your deprived taste buds. A sin if I ever heard of one.