Tri-color Potato Salad

Potato salad: whether it's made with vinegar or mayo, I have a hard time not consuming at least a pound of it at a time. I'll shamelessly go back for seconds (maybe sneak some thirds too) whenever I can find it homemade. Truth be told, I sometimes grab a tub of the ready made stuff found in grocery delis. Yeah, it's usually too tangy and has a weird aftertaste (mmm, preservatives?). But, hey, it's potato salad and I love it.




Fresh new potatoes are one of my favorite multi-season crops in the area. For this old fashioned potato salad, I used a mix of red, yellow and purple potatoes found at the Farmer's Market. Since they all varied in size, I pre-cut them into bite sized portions before boiling. I usually like to boil the potatoes whole. But, since the size difference was so dramatic, I figured it was better to have them cut to the same size. To keep them from disintegrating too while cooking, I stole a boil and steam technique from Ina Garten. Worked like a charm and produced a less mushy potato chunk.

Don't forget to taste as you go and adjust seasonings as necessary. A good way to play with any potato salad recipe would be to change the type of mayo (like garlic flavored, olive oil based, etc), mustard, or switch out the onions with chives. Go crazy with it.

Tri Color Potato Salad

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. mix of small red, yellow, and purple potatoes
1/2 c. Mayonnaise
1 to 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. minced onions
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tsp yellow mustard (for a little color)
Salt and people to taste

Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. GENTLY with a slotted spoon, add potatoes to pot, being careful not to splash boiling water on yourself.

After the pot returns to a boil, reduce the heat to a gentle bubbling so the potatoes don't bang up against each other. This is to prevent the pre-cut pieces from disintegrating too much in the pot.

Gently boil for 6 to 10 minutes or until not-quite done. Transfer potatoes to a steamer with a lid. Sprinkle the potatoes with vinegar and steam for 10 to 15 minutes until tender.

In a large mixing bowl, add onions, mustard, and mayo. Add the cooked potatoes to the mixture. Gently fold everything together. Adjust mustard and mayonnaise to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 as a big heaping side dish.

In Season: Fresh Figs

The fig tree beside my garage apartment... it teases me. Everyday I walk by it's lush green foliage. In the summer, the tree produces a plethora of tiny green fruits. Tiny, green, perpetually unripe fruit. I wait for their skin to darken. But, at some point, the birds will descend. They'll be hardly any trace of them left, save for one or two strays under a leaf. I'm left with the nagging feeling that if I could protect them, I would eventually have delicious plump figs.

I've since discovered that some varieties of our localized figs never ripen. Also, neglecting to fertilize and water the trees on a regular basis can contribute to immature fruit.

So to stay at my current, comfortable level of plant neglect, I'm going to go with the theory that the garage apartment's fig tree just isn't able to bare ripened fruit. Because otherwise it's gorgeous and appears to be healthy. You know, too pretty and healthy to need anymore attention from me! Luckily, it's July and I can get fresh purple figs from the farmers market. I usually buy them from Gunderman Farms since they tend to have the biggest and plumpest. This year I've seen smaller LSU purple figs from other vendors. I bet they're tasty too.

The following is a classic way to serve figs as an appetizer or dessert. It's so easy I'm sort of embarrassed to present it as a recipe. Since it's so fast and non-fussy it's a great, elegant extra for any night of the week.

I think the savoriness of blue cheese would make this a great appetizer . Otherwise, I serve it as a dessert using plain goat cheese. My tip for for Houstonians: use Blue Heron Farm's Perfectly Plain Chevre with local honey drizzled on top. Beautiful.


Fresh Figs with Soft Cheese

4-6 large fresh figs cut in half long ways
Small log of goat cheese or a small wedge of blue cheese
Honey to drizzle

Prepare figs on a plate with cut side facing up. On each fig, add a dollop of cheese. Drizzle with honey. Serves 4 as a light dessert / appetizer