Classic Potato Salad (Small Batch)

   

 Classic Potato Salad.  Potato salad is something which I have always loved.  That is not really much of a stretch to believe when you know that my favorite vegetable is the potato! 

I love potatoes in any way, shape or form.  Boiled, fried, baked, mashed, hot, cold and everything in between.  And in the summer months, I love, Love, LOVE potato salad!

Sometimes when a person lives on their own, or is the part of a smaller family, they might not think it is worth making a batch of potato salad just for themselves.  But I can tell you, it is totally worth it, and it really doesn't take a whole lot of effort!  

Potato salad is something which goes together very quickly and easily and need not be complicated in the least.  And you don't have to make barrel's full either. It is quite possible for a singleton or smaller family to make a batch of potato salad that won't be lingering in their refrigerator for days and days and days.

 

It is really not that hard to make your own and homemade is infinitely better tasting than anything you can buy that is already prepared.

The few times I have been tempted to buy ready made potato salad, I have always, always been disappointed. I kid you not.

 

Swimming in mayonnaise. Lacking in flavor. Containing potatoes that are either mushy or too hard in spots.  There is not much that is redeemable about these over-priced, preservative filled options.

You cannot beat a good, homemade, Classic Potato Salad for comfort.  Especially in the summer months when we all are craving cool foods, having BBQ's, wanting cold plates, etc.

 

I always loved watching my mother make potato salad. She was always very methodical about it.  I can still see her standing at the counter peeling potatoes.  Chopping onion and celery.

Peeling and cubing cucumber, mixing it all together, tasting, perhaps adding a touch of this or a touch of that, and mixing it again.  It was such a treat.   Both the watching and the inevitable eating.

Potato salad is something which I am always asked to bring to pot lucks and get-togethers.  People just love my potato salad.  I think that is because I keep it simple.

Sometimes people try to add too much to a potato salad and in doing so they actually take away from the overall deliciousness of it.  Potato salad need not be complicated and shouldn't be complicate.

  

The flavors and textures should be simple, and wholesome.  You don't need a bazillion add-ins.  Just a few simple ingredients.

Potatoes, a bit of onion, eggs, celery, sometimes cucumber, and a decent dressing that is also unhampered with a bazillion add-ins.

 

I always start by boiling my potatoes (in the skin) in a pot of water just until they are fork tender. You don't want them to be falling apart. You just want a knife to be able to pierce them without a lot of resistance.

You should always use a newer potato, a waxy potato, not the same kind of potato that you would use to make mashed potatoes.

 

You want your potatoes to hold their shape when you mix everything together, not fall apart.  I can only think that mashed potato salad was created by someone who used the wrong potatoes and just went with it, when they all fell apart.

Although that is very good . . . . mashed potato salad . . . . .  it is not as good as the Classic Potato Salad in my opinion.  You cannot beat the classics. 

 

While my potatoes are boiling I like to make a preliminary dressing. It is a simple vinaigrette dressing using fresh lemon juice and a bit of oil, some salt and I like to grate some fresh onion into it.

This gives it a bit of onion flavor, without it going over the top.  Its quite nice actually.

 

Once the potatoes are done, I drain them and let them cool somewhat. Just until I can comfortably handle them.  I then spear them with a fork and use a sharp knife to slip the skins off.

They should come off fairly easily. Mine always do anyways, and if the skin sticks to some of it, then just slip your knife beneath the skin and peel it off that way.  

 

Once I have peeled them, I cube them and drop them into that preliminary vinaigrette dressing.  This dressing serves to give them even more flavor than the mayonnaise alone, and it also helps to prevent them from absorbing too much mayonnaise as the salad stands and chills.

I always add boiled egg to my potato salad. I know some people don't like chopped egg in their potato salad and if you are one of those, then just leave it out!

 

I like to add it and the yolk of the egg kind of melds into the dressing, giving it a lovely rich creaminess.  The whites of course stay in their little pieces.  I also like to add some chopped celery for crunch, and yes a tiny bit of color.

You can destring the celery before you chop it if you like. I always do. Sometimes the strings can be a bit tough. 

 

I know I add a bit of grated onion in the vinaigrette, but I also like to add some chopped green/spring onion to the salad as well. Not a lot, but it does add color, and a bit of flavor.

Spring onions are not as sharp as regular onions and they do have quite a pleasant taste, which goes very well in this salad.

 

The creamy dressing itself is quite simple.  Just mayonnaise and some cider vinegar, salt and pepper.  That's all really.  You don't need anything else.

Its not too thin or gloopy.  I do not like gloopy potato salad. I like a potato salad that holds up well.

I also like to garnish the top so that it looks pretty. On a larger potato salad, I might add a layer of thinly sliced boiled egg, but for this smaller version, I simply added a sprinkle of paprika and some finely chopped chives.  Beautiful.

You can add a touch of mustard to it if you want some extra zing.  You can of course add a few other bits to your salad if you wish . . . sweet pickle relish, parsley, cucumber.  Just remember to not over do it.

A little bit goes a long way in a potato salad. I guarantee if you keep it simple, people will love it!  Its a great side dish to all of your BBQ's, cold plates, etc.  I can't think of anything it wouldn't go with! 

Today I enjoyed it with some deli roast beef, a simple salad and a deviled egg. It went down a real treat!

Classic Potato Salad (small batch)

Yield: Serves 2-3

Author: Marie Rayner

You just cannot improve upon perfection. A classic, deliciously sized down to serve only 2 to 3 people.

Ingredients

• 4 medium sized new potatoes
• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 TBS vegetable oil
• 1/2 TBS grated onion
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1 stalk celery, trimmed and finely chopped
• 2 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
• 3/4 cup (165g) full fat mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 TBS cider vinegar

Instructions

1. Put the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and cook just until tender when pierced with a fork. Drain, and as soon as you can handle them comfortably, peel and dice.
2. Whisk the lemon juice, oil, salt to taste and grated onion together in a bowl. Add the paprika and then toss in the warm potatoes. Coat with this vinaigrette dressing.  Leave to cool completely..
3. Add the celery, chopped egg, pepper to taste. 
4. Blend 1/2 cup (110g) of the mayonnaise with the cider vinegar and then pour over the potato salad. Fold together gently. Only add the remaining mayonnaise if it seems dry.
5. Pile into a bowl, chill and serve.
6. I like to garnish it with minced chives and a dusting of paprika.

Notes:

Feel free to add any of the following: 4 TBS peeled, seeded and diced English Cucumber, 1 spring onion minced, 1 1/2 TBS sweet pickle relish, 1 TBS minced parsley

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Seven Layer Salad for One

 

We have been really blessed with the weather this June and it looks as if June is going to be slipping off the calendar with quite the heat wave!  No surprise there.  I can remember all of my children's graduations being sweltering!

There is nothing like being stuck in a really hot school gymnasium with a couple hundred other people on a hot and humid June evening to whet your appetite for hot weather food!

Seven Layered Salad has been a part  of my summers for as long as I can remember.  Its filled with plenty of color, crunch and flavor!

 

It is a beautiful salad composed of seven different layers of tasty salad ingredients, topped with a creamy sour cream and mayonnaise dressing.  Kind of like the icing on the cake, and on top of that cheese and bacon.

BACON!  Yep, bacon does make everything taste infinitely better! I'm a bacon lover!

 

You may think that because you are only one person the idea of an overnight layered salad is off your menu unless you are having company.  It does make rather a lot for one person to handle.

For that reason today I decided to downsize, small batch, my regular recipe which feeds about 10 people  to serve only one.  You can find that tasty recipe here if you are looking to feed more than one person.

 

The full-sized recipe is a very popular salad to take to pot-lucks and family get-togethers.  God willing we are able to start having some of those soon!!  I have been back in Canada for seven months now and am quite eager to see the rest of my family.  Its been over 8 years since! 

In the meantime, I don't like to deprive me of my favorite summer flavors and so I created a single sized serving of this salad just for me.  It really wasn't hard to do and you probably don't even need a recipe to do it, but I thought I would write it up for you just in case. 

 

Make sure you use the freshest, tastiest ingredients that you can!  Also now is when you will be really happy that you took my advice and froze some of your cooked bacon ahead.  (A tutorial on how to cook bacon in the oven.)

A quick refresh in the microwave for 30 seconds or so and you will have plenty to top your salad with! Yum yum!!

 

I always, always use frozen peas for this. They taste fabulous thawed out.  There is no need to cook them whatsoever! 

I like to use red onion, both for the contrast of color and for the flavor. You can use spring onion if you would rather, or a combination of both.

 

In the summer months I will boil myself several eggs ahead of time. They come in so handy for salads such as there, for egg salad, for sandwiches, etc.  I usually do about 4 at a time and they always get used.

They are also great for Deviled Eggs. Just use 1 tsp of grainy mustard and 1 tsp of mayonnaise per egg yolk and you will have beautifully flavored Deviled Eggs. Another yum! And so easy to do!

 

The dressing for this salad is such an easy make. I used only one tablespoon each of sour cream and mayonnaise, plus a tiny pinch of sugar.

It was just enough to coat the top of my salad. This seals the salad in, keeps it fresh in the refrigerator overnight and serves as a beautiful dressing. No need for anything else.

 

A final topping of grated cheddar and crisp bacon completes the picture for the win! Today I indulged myself and add some alfalfa sprouts for extra color and as a garnish.

I had them in the refrigerator and thought to myself why not!  You eat with your eyes just as much as you eat with your stomach!

 

I just thought it looked really, really pretty. You could also use mustard cress if you had it, or micro salad greens.  All would be very pretty. 

I think the food we eat should be really pretty. Even if we are only cooking for one or two. It doesn't take a lot of effort just to dress things up a tiny bit.

 

You don't have to serve this in a mason jar if you don't want to. A bowl serves perfectly well, but again  . . .  why bother with layers if you aren't going to see them? 

Plus if you use a mason jar it serves a dual purpose as you can close the lid when you put it in the refrigerator to chill.  Easy peasy!

 

This looks so pretty and really whets the appetite. It would make a great starter for a larger meal, or a light lunch, served with some crisp bread sticks or a crisp roll. 

You can make it for one, or two, or three or four!  What a fun starter this would be for a ladies luncheon served out on the patio! 

 

Its also easily adaptable to whatever flavors and tastes you enjoy.  So long as they are colourful, I say go for it.

A layer of chopped peppers would be lovely.  Crisp salad onions (French's Crispy Fried Onions) adds a lovely touch to the topping as well and a bit of additional crunch!  As would some chopped and toasted nuts!

 

Just make sure you choose a jar with a wide mouth to make and serve it in. That way you can dig down to the bottom of the jar easily to haul up more fillings.

Setting it on a plate to serve also helps to minimize any mess that might be created.  My ex boss at the manor would never serve a salad or a soup without a plate underneath the cup/bowl/jar. It just wasn't done!

She would have considered that pretty crass and common.  I suppose she had a point.  

In any case, I hope you will be inspired to make yourself your very own layered salad this summer and that you will enjoy every mouthful just as much as I have!  Bon Appetit and Happy Summer!

Seven Layer Salad for One

Yield: 1

Author: Marie Rayner

Why miss out on one of summer's best flavors because you are a singleton. My favorite salad, downsized for just one. Such an easy make and so delicious!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup chopped iceberg lettuce
• 1 TBS chopped red onion
• 2 TBS chopped fresh tomato
• 2 TBS frozen peas, thawed
• 1 small hardboiled egg, chopped
• 2 TBS thinly sliced celery
• 1 TBS sour cream
• 1 TBS good mayonnaise
• pinch sugar
• 2 TBS grated cheddar
• 1 TBS crisp bacon bits

Instructions

1. You will need a wide mouth jar, about large enough to hold about 1 cup of salad altogether.
2. Layer in the jar as follows, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, peas, egg, and finally celery.
3. Whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream, adding a pinch of sugar.  Spread this over the top of the celery.  
4. Sprinkle the top with the cheese and finally the bacon bits.  You can eat this right away, or you can cover it and leave it in the refrigerator overnight.
5. This actually tastes even better if you leave it overnight before eating. Delicious!

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Peanut Sauced Easy Thai Noodles (small batch)

   

I've been really busy working on a special project this past week, getting it off the ground. I have been looking for quick and easy things to prepare and to eat. You don't get much easier or quicker than these delicious spicy Thai noodles with vegetables.

I have always been fond of Asian flavors.  I have never traveled in the far East, but I have eaten in quite a few Chinese and Thai restaurants in my life to know what I like!

 

Chinese and Thai are very much not the same thing.  Thai flavors tend to be quite a bit spicier!  I first tasted Thai food several years ago at a restaurant in Chester.

My friend Jo and her husband Colin were up for a few days and they have very adventurous palates.  They suggested that we all go to this Thai restaurant for supper and we were up for it. I guess we had adventurous palates also!

 

We ended up in a Thai restaurant on Lower Bridge Street in Chester city, called the Ruan Orchid and had a great time.

We decided we would each order something different, including starters, have them put in the middle of the table and then share everything. That way we would all get a little taste of a lot of different things. Kind of like a mini buffet.

 

For me, it was love at first bite.  I loved the fresh new flavors and textures.  So different than Chinese food.  

It was a beautiful combination of sweet, sour, spicy, salty and bitter.  With plenty of fresh vegetables, color and crunch. I think the favorite thing I had on that day was their fish cakes.  They were so delicious!

 

I especially loved the chicken curry.  I immediately wanted to go home and replicate it.  That's what I did. You can find the recipe here for a Thai Green Chicken Curry. Its fabulously tasty and one of my favorites! 

Thai food is completely different than Indian food, and Chinese food.  It can be very spicy, but not in an obnoxious way.  Well, I suppose that all depends on your.  Mine is never obnoxious because I don't really like overly spiced food.

 

I wasn't so bothered when I was younger about spicy, but now I am in my winter years, my digestion can't really tolerate too much heat or spice.

These Thai Noodles with a Peanut Sauce were something which I made for my dinner the other day.  I was really happy with the way they turned out.

 

The whole dish went together very quickly.  That is because I had everything ready to go before I even started.  Crisp carrot and red pepper.

I cut them on my Swiss mandolin cutter.  That is not something which I use very often.  Mostly because I am a tiny bit afraid of it, having really cut my finger badly once.  Never get cocky with a mandolin cutter.  Always wear a cut-proof glove and use the vegetable holder.

 

There are really only two vegetables in this dish, because mainly that is what I had the other day. You could switch that out a bit and add a few more, its up to you.  Just don't go crazy.

Simple is always best.  There isn't a lot of any one vegetable that you need. I used half a carrot and half a red pepper.

 

You will need some kind of long thin noodle as well. I used spaghettini.  It is a bit thinner than spaghetti. 

You could also use linguini, or fettuccine, etc. Just make sure it is long and it is thin.  This is not the time to use tagliatelle or Mafalda. Ramen noodles also work beautifully.

 

The real star here is that lush peanut sauce. I adore peanut sauce. It is the perfect combination of flavors.

I could eat it with  a spoon.  Salty soy, creamy peanut butter, sweet honey, a touch of sriracha sauce for some heat and garlic flavor.

 

Sriracha sauce is something I only started using a few years ago, and I do confess I use it quite judiciously.  I know people who squirt it all over their food.

That is not me.  I like a bit, but that's it.  Its far too hot for my taste in any large quantity!!  Call me a wimp, but it is what it is.

 

I like to be the one who does the biting when it comes to eating, and I am not very fond of food that bites back!

But this sauce, in the quantities given . . . its a tad bit spicy, but not overly so, and like I said, I could eat it with a spoon.

 

The garnishes are also really nice and add a lot both in terms of flavor and crunch to the dish, not to mention colour!

Chopped peanuts. I used roasted peanuts.  Sliced spring onions. They lend a touch of green and a certain fresh sharpness.

 

More green also comes from the use of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro). If you are not a fan, use flat leaf parsley in its place.  

Then there are sesame seeds, again for color and looks. There is not an appreciable amount so it adds no flavor.

 

Once you have everything prepped, it goes together in a flash.  Like magic.

You can be sitting down and enjoying this tasty dish in not much more than 10 minutes.  I small batched the recipe because there is only one of me and I didn't want to be eating it for a week. 

As it was half the recipe was more than ample for little old me. I couldn't even finish the half of that which I put into my bowl. Very filling.

 

It did make for a lovely lunch/dinner though and I really enjoyed it.  I adapted the recipe from one that I found here. 

And, yes it was easy and very tasty!

I don't have any chopsticks now, so I had to make do with a fork.  Mental note to self, buy some chopsticks one of these days.  They come in handy for all sorts.

If you are looking for a nice, quick, easy and tasty lunch, then you can't go far wrong with this.  Its also vegetarian and if you use rice noodles, gluten free!

Enjoy!

Peanut Sauced Easy Thai Noodles

Yield: 2

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min

These spicy noodles are so simple to make a wonderfully easy and tasty lunch! This goes together very quickly if you have everything ready to go before you start cooking.

Ingredients

• 1 TBS vegetable oil
• 6 ounces (170g) spaghettini, fettuccini, etc. (you want a long thin noodle)
• 1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/2 medium carrot, peeled and julienned
• 1/2 red bell pepper, trimmed and julienned
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1/2 TBS honey
• 2 TBS creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp sriracha sauce
• 2 TBS chopped roasted peanuts
• 1 spring onion, trimmed and sliced
• 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
• chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Instructions

1. Cook your noodles according to the package directions. Drain well and rinse.
2.  Whisk together the soy sauce, honey, peanut butter and sriracha sauce.  Set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the carrots, peppers and garlic. Cook, stirring, until crispy tender and fragrant, about 3 minutes. 
4. Add the noodles and sauce.  Toss well together and heat through.
5. Sprinkle with the chopped peanuts, sliced spring onions, coriander and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

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