Potato Salad – Two Ways

I used gold potatoes, which make for a particularly creamy tasting potato salad. Cut the potatoes into Boil the potatoes until they can easily be pierced by a fork. Try not to cook them too long; if they are too soft they will turn into mush as you mix everything together. Drain the potatoes and let cool.

Cilantro Potato Salad

Caramelize a large onion (chop the onion and sauté in olive oil on medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the onions turn golden brown). Remove from heat and let cool.

Finely chop a big bunch of cilantro (just go ahead and chop the entire bunch that you get from the grocery store). Finely mince 1-2 cloves of garlic.

Combine some olive oil and lime juice together in about a ratio of 3:2. I really have no idea how much I used, but I’m guessing that 3 teaspoons of olive oil to 2 teaspoons lime juice might be good. It also might not be enough dressing. Add the cilantro and shake up everything together. I like to do this in a small Tupperware. I find this is the best way of mixing and emulsifying everything together.

Grate some parmesan cheese. Really however much you want. Mix this together with the potatoes, onions and Cilantro-Lime Dressing. It’s perfectly enjoyable right away, even still slightly warm, but it is even more delicious the next day.

Mustard Potato Salad

This potato salad is even simpler. Because I was feeling sick and lazy perhaps. But just ask Heather to choose her favorite.

Make a vinaigrette with olive oil and a good quality mustard. This time I might try a ratio closer to 2:1. Though again, I’m really not sure what I did.

Chop up some garlic chives (or green onions). Mince 1-2 cloves of garlic. Add these to the vinaigrette and shake everything up. Mix with the potatoes and enjoy.

A Simple and Most Delicious Salad

This salad was the perfect accompaniment to Heather's golden beat gnocchi.

Start with fresh greens. I used red leaf lettuce, but a mixture of baby greens would also be wonderful. Take a nicely ripe pear, quarter it and remove the core. Slice the quarters as you like.

To make the dressing, combine 2-3 parts olive oil with one part balsamic vinegar. If you can, try to get some good quality stuff, it really does make a difference. I like to combine the oil and vinegar with one part soft goat cheese in a container with a lid and shake it vigorously. A lot of the cheese will emulsify, making a creamy dressing. To incorporate more of the cheese you can use a fork to mash it up and separate the clumps, then shake again.

Top salad greens with pear, dressing, and if you want to be really fancy, pecans that you've just roasted in the oven or in a pan on the stove top. You just have to be really careful not to burn them. But really, freshly roasted pecans is a transformative experience.

While I will admit that this salad is influenced by what so many restaurants are serving now, but with quality ingredients, your salad will far surpass most restaurants, at least the ones I can afford.

Grilled Tuna with Spinach Salad

Ingredients

1 Tuna Steak (frozen or fresh)

3-4 pieces garlic

1 teaspoon cilantro

4-5 olives

1 teaspoon capers

1/2 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon scallions

olive oil (4 tables spoons approx)

2 tablestpoon balsamic vinegar

fresh spinach (or other salad green)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

mix all ingredients except tuna, spinach and olive oil, and chop up all the ingredients together

Take a tablespoon of mixture with 2 tablespoons each olive oil and balsamic for salad dressing

rinse defrosted tuna, pat dry and drizzle olive oil on the tuna. and rub in the rest of the mix

let tuna sit for 5-10 minutes, then "grill" tuna on a very hot pan about 4 minutes each side.

an electric grill or real grill would probably work better, but i did fine with a very hot cast iron pan (preheated on medium for 2 - 3 minutes)