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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 30, 2009 2:35:39 GMT
Ahhhhh, T63 ~~ that is the classic, for sure! Now I'm wondering if we don't need a fried chicken thread, as well. Probably someone with a good passed-down-from-grandmother recipe should start it.
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Post by Deleted on May 4, 2010 11:09:43 GMT
To reply to another thread, I think you could chop up a lot of chervil in potato salad.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2010 17:22:14 GMT
Chervil would be a wonderful addition.
Looking back over this excellent thread, I see I never put down my grandmother's version. She'd boil the potatoes, then put them hot into the bowl and immediately dress them with olive oil, vinegar, and black pepper. Then she'd fold in hard boiled eggs and parsley. This version is also very good with fennel or dill instead of parsley.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2010 19:47:14 GMT
Was it eaten hot?
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Post by lagatta on May 6, 2010 21:06:58 GMT
bixa, I've often had that too - is that Sicilian; a Sicilian close to me (thesis adviser) made it. And my friend C from Argentina makes a similar potato and egg salad.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2010 21:56:27 GMT
Kerouac, it was eaten either hot or at room temperature.
LaGatta, I assume so. She was an incredibly good cook and liked reading and saving recipes. But lots of stuff she made, like that potato salad, seemed to have an ancient, unwritten pedigree.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2010 0:30:24 GMT
I will make a potato salad and use up the remainder of my chervil this weekend. Thanks.
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Post by lagatta on May 7, 2010 0:58:00 GMT
I'll definitely make that potato salad, bixa, with some of my duck eggs. Much as I love dill, I think I'll use flat-leafed parsley. I have some very good white-wine vinegar that won't overpower the salad.
Sicilian friend always served it tiepido, but so many foods are served tiepido in Italy. (Lukewarm, room temperature). There are hot and cold exceptions of course, but tiepido is not negative in Italian.
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Post by lagatta on May 8, 2010 18:41:39 GMT
I've made the egg and potato salad; between the duck eggs and Yukon Gold potatoes it is a nice sunny colour. Finally wound up using finely-chopped green onion and (dried) dill because I didn't feel like shopping for parsley - I have cilantro, but one of my friends hates it, and I know she likes this kind of potato salad.
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2010 19:49:31 GMT
I have never made a super spicy potato salad, of the sort that would make my nose run. The thought of such a thing is beginning to appeal to me for some reason. I have read that humans are strange creatures, the only ones who will return to a spice that hurts them.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 8, 2010 20:07:33 GMT
LaGatta, that sounds perfect. Much as I like cilantro, I think dill was the better choice.
Kerouac, really?! Potatoes are the perfect foil for incendiary spices. I'm curious as to what you'll come up with for your first time.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 13, 2010 0:17:13 GMT
Well, I made The Ancestral Potato Salad about an hour and a half ago. It's setting on the kitchen table melding into itself and waiting to be served alongside smoked fish and either sliced tomatoes or cucumber.
I boiled unpeeled little whole potatoes and, while they were still quite hot, broke them into pieces instead of cutting them. Thus, I took off some of the peel, but didn't get compulsive about it.
This batch has minced white onion, tons of parsley, lime juice, and some toasted ground cayenne pepper mixed with the potatoes, boiled eggs, & olive oil. I can't wait!
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Post by Deleted on Sept 6, 2011 7:42:30 GMT
I came across this recipe which sounds super simple and interesting.
Warm Bacon Tarragon Potato Salad
Ingredients
2 pounds medium red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered 1 tablespoon table salt 8 ounces thick-cut bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch strips 1 small yellow onion, diced 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard, German-style preferred Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
Cooking Directions
Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with cold water to 1-inch above the potatoes. Season the water with the table salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until a knife gently plunges through the potatoes, about 15 minutes. Reserve 1/3 cup of the cooking water, drain the potatoes and put back into the pot (off the heat) to keep warm.
Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy, stirring occasionally. Reserve the bacon and drain all but 1/4 cup bacon fat.
Add the onions and saute until slightly golden. Add the vinegar and, with a wooden spoon, scrape up any bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add in the reserved cooking water and reduce until it thickens, about 3 minutes.
Off the heat, whisk in the mustard and season with salt and pepper. Add in the potatoes, bacon and tarragon and toss to combine. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
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LouisXIV
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L'estat c'est moi.
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Post by LouisXIV on Sept 8, 2011 12:46:17 GMT
That sounds good. It is very similar to the hot German potato salad I make except for the tarragon. I will be trying this.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 10, 2011 18:17:43 GMT
Everything about that recipe is interesting, from saving the potato cooking water as a thickener to using vinegar to deglaze the saute pan. And of course, with the combo of textures and flavors, including the perpetual winner of potatoes+vinegar, it's got to be good.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2011 18:32:48 GMT
I'm going to have to use frozen tarragon, though. I don't want to pay the highway robbery prices of fresh tarragon. (Grrr! It was free and unlimited in my grandmother's garden!)
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 10, 2011 18:59:10 GMT
I've never used frozen tarragon. Dried tarragon holds its flavor quite nicely, although you have to remember to use less of it in the recipe than the fresh amount called for.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2011 19:19:29 GMT
Okay, so I tried to make this tonight, although I got step or two in the wrong order. I ignored the instruction to put salt in the water for the potatoes, because I figured that the bacon would provide sufficient salt (I was right). And fresh tarragon would definitely have been better than frozen tarragon, but the whole thing actually tasted pretty damned good. I would have trouble referring to it as a salad, though.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 3, 2019 17:14:01 GMT
I grow quite a lot of tarragon. I shall try this.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jun 3, 2019 17:18:09 GMT
Tarragon has always been one of my favourite fresh herbs (along with basil).
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Post by mickthecactus on Jun 3, 2019 17:38:49 GMT
Just bought a pot of basil in the supermarket for 50pence. I can divide it into 4 and plant in 2 wall pots. We shall have much basil!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 3, 2019 20:06:59 GMT
Every little stand selling potted herbs in Naples has lushly healthy young tarragon plants. It's killing me! I can't get it where I live and I love it so. Also adore hot potato salad and that bacon version looks perfect.
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Post by tod2 on Sept 7, 2020 10:40:02 GMT
We all go the extra mile when entertaining as we want our guests to feel special and that we are presenting them with a meal that has taken some thought and a bit of trouble. So when I found this recipe I knew it would impress at a summer BBQ.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 7, 2020 13:58:31 GMT
That looks very interesting, but I would consider it to be a main dish and not just a salad.
We probably need to discuss this subject a bit more.
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Post by htmb on Sept 7, 2020 14:27:33 GMT
Looks delicious. I would add some grilled sausage and/or shrimp.
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Post by casimira on Sept 7, 2020 14:51:29 GMT
COOK'S ILLUSTRATED which is a magazine that uses a test kitchen for all their recipes, cookware, gadgets etc. much to my surprise, recommends using RUSSET potatoes for making potato salad. They went into detailed reasons for this. The main reason was the absorption of russets being greater than any other potato.
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Post by bixaorellana on Sept 7, 2020 17:16:55 GMT
Htmb's suggestion would be heavenly -- either shrimp or sausage would be the perfect foil for the corn, which in my opinion adds a note of unnecessary sweetness to too many dishes.
The russet suggestion makes sense in terms of absorption. Most of the potatoes I can get are more of the waxy type, which is why I like to crush them slightly rather than neatly cutting them. It does help with absorption.
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Post by kerouac2 on Sept 7, 2020 17:29:36 GMT
I think that russet potatoes were the kind that my mother generally used for potato salad.
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