Recipe: Mustard Potato Salad (for a crowd)

I put this recipe together for my friends Melissa and Shane, who left Monday for Kentucky. Stephanie and Jonah hosted a great good-bye bash in their yard and we all enjoyed burgers, salads, watermelon push pops and an array of pies. Yum. And sniff. I also made Mildred's Baked Beans, a personal favorite.

Recipe: Mustard Potato Salad

For the vinaigrette:
3 tablespoons favorite mustard (not yellow)
3 tablespoons Champagne wine vinegar
3/4 cup olive oil
2-3 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:
6 pounds red potatoes, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
6 green onions, thinly sliced
Faux bacon bits (Such as Bac-uns from Whole Foods)

Bring a large pot and a small pot of water to a boil. Blanch the onion for 1-2 minutes, then run under cold water to stop the cooking. Cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally, until they are just tender. About 12-15 minutes. Run under cold water to stop the cooking.

In the meantime, in a big yellow bowl, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil and whisk until emulsified. Add the potatoes, onion, green onion, tarragon and Bac-uns if using. Toss to combine, then taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper. Chill for at least an hour, but overnight if you wish, to let the flavors meld. Then bring to room temperature, toss again and adjust seasoning.

Kitchen Tips: Mashed Potatoes

I have had a real hankering for mashed potatoes lately, but I'm not sure why. Regardless, what better excuse to make a giant bowl of creamy goodness?

My secrets to delicious mashed potatoes?
1. Room temperature butter and cream (Yes, cream. Don't use skim or soy milk if you want the most divine spuds.)
2. A little garlic. You can roast it, but I prefer it at full power.
3. A potato ricer. My mother and Big Martha are/were able to achieve smooth potatoes with a stand mixer, but mine never come out quite right. But, a ricer does the trick and is a breeze to use.
4. Follow the rule francais: white food or white sauce requires white pepper.

Oh, mashed potatoes, how will I eat thee? Let me count the ways:
1. Hot and fresh with a BBQ riblet.
2. Formed into patties and fried in a skillet.
3. On top of chili like an American shepherd's pie.
4. Warmed in a skillet and topped with more butter.
5. Mashed potato soup?
6. Layered in a tortilla with scrambled egg and topped with salsa.

I could go on and on....but I have potatoes to eat!

Mangez!

Domo arigato, Mr. Morimoto

I've received several new cookbooks to review, the most beautiful of which is The New Art of Japanese Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto. You may know this famous chef from Iron Chef America on the Food Network, one of his eponymous restaurants, or his recent appearance on The Martha Stewart Show where he made daikon fettucine. This new publication illustrates how Chef Morimoto stretches the traditional vocabulary of Japanese cuisine to include both Western forms and ingredients. Each recipe, meticulously photographed and detailed, provides introduction to his famous kitchen and innovative palate. Chef Morimoto intersperses recipes with welcome information on the many exotic ingredients and techniques he employs and encourages his reader to try. While many of his ideas are tempting and unusual (like the sushi omelet, frozen lettuce and curried mushroom salad), the one I'm most likely to utilize (or at least borrow from) is the mashed potato soup.

Recipe to try: Mashed Potato Soup with wasabi and chives
1 large baking potato, such as Idaho or russet
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
3/4 cup half-and-half
4 cups Dashi
2 tablespoons saki
3 tablespoons soy sauce
salt
1-ounce caviar, optional
freshly grated wasabi, and finely sliced chives for garnish

Prick the potato in a couple of places and steam over boiling water until the potato is tender when pierced with a knife, 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool, then peel potato and rice the potato or force through a fine sieve into a saucepan.

In a small saucepan, combine the butter and half-and-half. Warm over medium heat until the butter melts and the liquid is steaming.

Place the saucepan of mashed potatoes over low heat, then slowly whisk in the hot butter mixture until potatoes are thick and smooth. Cover to keep warm. Bring the Dashi, sake and soy sauce to a boil over high heat. Spoon equal amounts of the mashed potato into four soup bowls. Gently ladle the hot Dashi over and around the potatoes. Top with a spoonful of caviar and garnish with wasabi and chives.

Mangez?