Soups/Salads

Creamy Potato Salad

Well it’s 4th of July week and that means lots of barbecues, cookouts, parties, events, and summertime food!  The fact that the 4th is on Thursday this week kind of stinks unless you are one of those lucky folks who gets/takes Friday off (which I’m sad to say isn’t me). So this week I’ll be bringing you some great July 4th-friendly recipes, like this Creamy Potato Salad to get you in the mood for our delicious day off in celebration of our country’s independence.

Fingerling potatoes are boiled until nice and tender along with one egg which becomes perfectly hard-boiled.  A creamy mixture of sour cream (I used Greek yogurt instead), yellow mustard and light mayonaisse gives this salad a light consistency.  Fresh celery and red onion add bits of crunch and flavor to this salad which makes a great complement to your holiday burgers or dogs. If you’re looking for a simple, basic yet lighter potato salad without all the calories, give this a try. It’s even better the next day.

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The ingredients:

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Place a saucepan filled two-thirds with water over high heat; add egg, and cover. Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces. Add potatoes to pan; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high; cook 5 minutes or until tender. Drain.

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Combine remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; add potatoes.

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Peel and coarsely chop egg; add to potatoes.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:  None

Overall Rating:

Source:  Cooking Light Magazine

Baby Potatoes with Tomato-Corn Sauté

Memorial Day weekend is finally here and even though it’s rainy here in the Northeast, I’ll happily take the extra day off to chill out, relax and widdle away the stresses of working life.  While I don’t have any real plans for the weekend, hopefully some of you are getting out there and enjoying yourselves, either at the beach, the park, the lake or wherever it is that you love to go most.  We’re entering the season of grilling and cookouts so for the unofficial start of summer I’m giving you Baby Potatoes with Tomato-Corn Sauté.

Baby potatoes are mixed with olive oil, corn, grape tomatoes and garlic to give you a simple sort-of potato salad that travels well and can be eaten hot or cold.  No mayonnaise means no worrying about taking this dish to an outdoor event and with summer corn and bright tomatoes, what a better dish to kick off the summer.  Topped with fresh cilantro and salty parmesan cheese, these potatoes get the slightest kick from red pepper flake and will be a great addition to any get-together you might be attending this weekend.  Get out, enjoy the weather and have yourselves a fantastic weekend!

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The ingredients:

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Place potatoes in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes or until tender; drain.

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Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add corn, garlic, salt and red pepper flake to pan; sauté 2 minutes.

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Add potatoes and tomatoes to pan; cook 1 minute.

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Top with cilantro and cheese.

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Additions:  None

Omissions:  None

Substitutions:

  • Crushed garlic

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Cooking Light magazine

Sesame-Lime Chicken Salad

Something must be going wrong in the universe because I’ve been craving salad.  As in green leafy vegetables with other vegetables with a light dressing.  When, why and how did this happen?  I don’t even recognize myself in the mirror anymore.  I’m specifically craving the Thai Chopped Chicken Salad from Panera Bread.  I could eat it morning, noon and night.  And there for a little while, I pretty much was.  I got a little embarrassed at my local Panera after my third night in a row there and hoped and prayed that different staff was working and didn’t recognize my loser self.  So I decided instead of spending money on this salad that I can’t get enough of, I might as well try to make my own.  This Sesame-Lime Chicken Salad comes pretty close.

Romaine lettuce, chicken, carrots and red pepper are mixed together with a light sesame-lime dressing.  Crispy Chinese noodles top the salad for crunch and toasted sesame seeds and cilantro are added for another layer of flavor.  Instead of a jalapeño pepper, I used a good old red pepper which I cut up and roasted in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  To add a little bit of heat and make it a little bit more like Panera’s salad, I threw some dashes of peanut sauce over the top too (my favorite is House of Tsang’s Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce).  Luckily this recipe makes one gigantic bowl of salad so I can eat it often without worrying that someone out there might be judging me.

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The ingredients:

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In a large bowl, whisk together the canola oil, lime juice, sugar, sesame oil, chili, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Add the lettuce, carrots, and chicken and toss to combine.

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Serve the salad sprinkled with the sesame seeds, noodles, and cilantro.

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Additions:

  • Peanut sauce

Omissions:  none

Substitutions:

  • Red pepper

Overall Rating:  Love It

Source:  Real Simple magazine

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