Mustard Potato Salad
Mustard Potato Salad
For a recent dinner with friends I was doing a potato salad. I love potato salad and always try to do something different. This time I went with an old stand by. It was the way I remember my Mom making it when I was a kid. I didn’t like mustard back then, but I sure liked it in her potato salad. The plan was for me to make a home made Bavarian mustard with beer in it- but alas time got the better of me so I used a nice whole grain mustard. Just a few ingredients but the flavors worked well together. Mom knew what she was doing. Here is the version I made.
Mustard Potato Salad
4 lbs. potatoes- I used Klondike Rose and I did not peel them
4 hard cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
1 sweet pepper, seeded and chopped
1 c. mayo- maybe a little less
1/4 c. prepared mustard
salt and pepper to taste
dash of hot sauce
Bake whole potatoes until tender and allow to cool. Cube potatoes into large bowl and combine with remaining ingredients. Chill until ready to serve. Serves 8.
Raspberry Lemonade
Raspberry Lemonade
Often the best things are the simple things. I will admit to making some pretty fancy dishes at times. I am not afraid of adding lots of ingredients for layers of flavor. But sometimes less is more. I had about 8 oz. of frozen raspberries. Well, they weren’t frozen anymore. I had thawed out a bag of raspberries for use in a cake. I had some extra and didn’t really want to freeze them again. I also had some fresh lemon juice so I decided to make a raspberry lemonade. I started with lemon juice, the berries and all the juices from the berries and a little sugar. Mixed it all together and added some water. At first I thought I’d strain out the berries but I decided to leave them in. Simple and delicious. Perfect refresher for a warm day.
Berry White Cake
Berry White Cake
I wanted a dessert that included fresh berries. I ended up making a white cake and then studded it with raspberries and blueberries. I topped it off with a lemon butter cream frosting and since it was the 4th of July I added a few star sprinkles. I loved the cake and it was a big hit with friends. After the cake was all done I decided to call it the Berry White Cake and found myself humming Barry White songs!!
To make the cake start by making a white cake batter. I used homemade -recipe follows- but you could use a box mix if that is what you prefer. After you pour the batter into your pans, or pans, sprinkle with some blueberries and raspberries- or whatever berries you happen to have. Fresh or frozen berries could be used. I used about 2 cups of berries in all, maybe a bit more.
Top the cake batter with berries before baking
Freshly baked
Finished with lemon butter cream and patriotic sprinkles
Once cooled frost the cake. I used a lemon butter cream- recipe follows.
Classic White Cake
2 c. sugar
1 c. butter
4 egg whites or whole eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 c. all-purpose flour
3 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 c. milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13×9-inch pan. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle berries over the surface of the cake. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch. Makes 1.
Note: I actually made 3 smaller cakes from this recipe- reduced baking time to 20- 25 minutes.
Lemon Butter Cream
½ cup butter
4 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
3 T. milk
1 T. lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
In a bowl beat butter until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the confectioners’ sugar, beating well. Slowly beat in the milk, juice and vanilla. Slowly beat in remaining sugar. Beat in additional milk, if needed, to make of spreading consistency.
Amy’s Baked Beans
Amy’s Baked Beans
I REALLY love homemade baked beans from scratch but rarely have the time to make them. Years ago I tasted my friend Amy’s baked beans and I knew they would always be a favorite of mine. Whenever she makes them people go back for seconds. It’s a simple recipe with relatively few ingredients. Because you start with canned beans the cooking time is shortened. These can be baked in the oven or done in a crock pot. Super easy and very tasty.
Amy’s Baked Beans*
6 c. chopped onion
1 lb. ground meat
1 lb. bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 cans tomato soup
3 can butter beans, rinsed and drained
Mix onion, meat and bacon in skillet and cook until onions are translucent. Drain off excess fat. Place in Dutch oven with remaining ingredients and cook, covered, in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes.
Note: You can also cook in a crock pot on high for 4 hours or longer. Uncover, for awhile, if you like, for thicker sauce.
*This recipe has been in the McWilliam family for several generations. They are also called Grandma McWilliam’s Beans and before that Aunt Eilizabeth’s Beans.
Beet and Carrot Salad
Beet and Carrot Salad
I enjoy the sweetness of both beets and carrots. This simple and tasty dish combines the earthy flavors of both vegetables in a simple, raw salad. It’s a great side dish and nice to make on a day when it is too hot to cook.
Beet and Carrot Salad
1 large- or 2 medium- beets
2 large carrots
4 T. olive oil
4 T. cider vinegar
2 T. honey, or to taste
1 t. fresh dill weed or about 1/2 t. dried
dash of hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Peel beets and shred or grate them using a hand grater or food processor. Place in a mixing bowl and set aside. Peel and shred the carrots and add to the beets. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over the beet mixture. Stir to coat and chill until ready to serve. Makes about 3 cups.
Strawberry Ice Cream
Strawberry Ice Cream
We had this for dessert last Saturday and Amy said I need to post the recipe. Studded with plenty of berries this ice cream will put anything store-bought to shame. Feel free to add blueberries or raspberries, too.
Strawberry Ice Cream
2 c. chopped strawberries
1 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla
2 c. cream or half and half or a combination. You can also use some milk or even almond or rice milk.
Additional sugar to taste
Place strawberries, vanilla and sugar in saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and chill. Combine chilled berry mixture with cream. Add additional sugar if you like. Remember that once it is frozen the ice cream will not taste as sweet so make this mixture a little sweeter than you want the final product to be. How much sugar you add varies with personal taste and how sweet the berries are. Place in an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer’s directions. Once finished put in an air- tight container and place in freezer. Makes about 1 quart.
Grilled Quesadillas
Grilled Quesadillas
We’ve been cooking out more and decided to cook quesadillas on the grill the other night. They were super easy and fast to cook. The nice thing is that you can really fill them with almost anything. We started with flour tortillas and shredded cheese. After that we used what we had on hand. You can set out ingredients and let everyone make their own. Just place some cheese on one half of a tortilla. Top with some other fillings and then a little more cheese. Fold the tortilla over to cover the fillings and press down. If the tortillas are not staying closed you can use a toothpick to secure them. The melting cheese will help the tortillas to stay closed once cooked , but you can make them without cheese. Brush the quesadillas with a little oil and grill until both sides are browned and the fillings have heated through. Depending on the heat of the grill this will take from 5-7 minutes per side- maybe less. You can brush them with extra oil once they are on the grill to make them ever crisper.
Some filling ideas: various cooked meats- we had bacon, pulled pork, corned beef and chicken, cooked and raw veggies- sweet peppers could be raw or sweet onion- we had cooking onions so I sauteed them in oil first, sliced olives, beans- we had kidney and black beans, diced tomatoes, sliced hot peppers, mushrooms- best if cooked first to get out some of the water in them, cooked spinach, summer squash, sliced. You get the idea here. See what you have and set out the fillings. Let guests make their own combinations. Serve them with salsa on the side. We also served our with guacamole and sour cream.
Place fillings on one half of the tortilla
Grill until toasted on both sides
Spinach and corned beef quesadilla
Cucumbers and Sour Cream
Cucumbers and Sour Cream
Feeling nostalgic today. I was looking for a cool salad for dinner. I had a couple of cucumbers and an open container of sour cream. Seemed like the best solution. Later we will have it with grilled quesadillas. The coolness of the salad will go well with the rest of the meal.It made me think of childhood summers. It was one of the first dishes I can remember helping my Mother make. She let me slice the cucumbers and mix the dressing. It seemed we often had it on the weekends when my Father was grilling.I can’t make this salad without thinking of the wonderful smells wafting into the kitchen from that grill. I’d pop the salad into the fridge and then run out to check on what my dad was doing. Sometimes he needed a platter to bring the food in on, or maybe just a cold drink. I would watch in fascination at his skill in cooking over the hot coals. Nothing tastes as good at something off the grill. It’s funny how certain foods bring on certain memories.
Cucumbers and Sour Cream
2-3 medium cukes, sliced
1 c. sour cream or strained yogurt
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. vinegar
2 green onions, chopped
1 –2 T. chopped fresh dill or 1-2 t. dried
Combine all ingredients and chill at least 10 minutes. Serves 4-6.
Chicken with Weed Sauce
Chicken with Weed Sauce
I know- not the most appetizing name for a dish- but it’s true. I harvested lambsquarters and oxalis from my yard to make the sauce for my chicken. I was tempted to just call it Chicken Florentine but that is made with spinach. I used a plant that tastes just like spinach when cooked so I was tempted. The nice thing is that lambsquarters are growing all over the place in my yard. It’s too hot for spinach but lambsquarters grow all summer long, giving me a free veggie whenever I want. The oxalis adds a lovely lemony flavor to the dish. It looks like clover and has yellow flowers. Oxalis is also called Wood Sorrel.
Chicken with Weed Sauce
6 boneless chicken thighs- you could use breasts
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
cornstarch
oil
1 onion, sliced
4 T. flour
1-2 c. chicken stock
6-8 cups fresh lambsquarters, leaves and small stems
1 c. oxalis
In bowl combine egg, salt and pepper. Dip chicken pieces in egg wash and then dredge in the cornstarch. Heat oil in skillet and cook the chicken over high heat to brown. When chicken is browned place in baking dish and place in 350 degree oven to finish cooking. Remove all but a couple of tablespoons of the oil from the skillet. Cook onion until tender. Stir in flour until mixed well. Add chicken stock and lambsquarters and cook over medium heat, stirring often until lambsquarters are cooked and mixture is thickened and bubbly. Add oxalis and heat through. Place chicken in the skillet, cover, and let it cook another couple of minutes. Add salt and pepper if needed. Serve over pasta or rice. Serves 4-6.
Lambsquarters
Oxalis
Simmer together a few minutes before serving
Mango Salsa
Mango Salsa
For as much as I love mangoes I don’t cook with them that much. Usually I just eat them fresh. I had several ripe mangoes and decided I wanted to do something more with them. Since we’ve been grilling more lately I went with this mango salsa. Like any salsa you can enjoy it with chips, but I love it as a topper for grilled meats, especially poultry or pork. Really good on grilled duck breast. I have also added it to cold rice for a mango salsa rice salad.
Mango Salsa
2 ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted and diced
1/2 c. minced sweet onion
1/2 c, minced sweet pepper
2-3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 T. hot sauce, or to taste
zest and juice from 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste, don’t be afraid to give this dish a good bit of salt
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until mixed. Check seasonings. Chill for at least 30 minutes and taste again- you will likely add more seasoning. Serve over grilled meats or with chips.
