American, Americano

It’s a two-fer! You get a drink, and a dish. An some random facts about me.
The “American” salad got me thinking about this here country, which got me thinking about race issues, which got me to pondering how I seem to have an affinity for being the minority, which is somewhat of a feat for a white girl from the Midwest.
I grew up in a school where being white put me in the minority. In college I played taiko drums, so I hung around a lot of Japanese folks. I acted with the St. Louis Black Rep (token white chick?). So when I moved to LA I moved to Koreatown because it felt good to be in the minority. Now I’m just East of K-town, almost downtown, in a pretty diverse neighborhood.
In general I think I am accustomed to not quite fitting in, to the point that I am actually more comfortable feeling like I am not blending in.
The exception being a trip to, say, Whole Foods, where white English speakers abound but no matter how nice I thought I looked before going I will never measure up to the super-hip clientele in all their lululemon glory. I may be in my demographic but I’m itchy as all get-out.

I get my chia seeds and run.

Safely at home I might just mix up some nibbles. And an almost-a-Negroni drink to make myself feel better. Which is inevitably dumped out before I’m done because I cannot drink too much alone. Nor should I drink whilst trying to chop potatoes for a nice potato salad and simultaneously working on scenes for an audition.

And so it goes.

Americano from The Ultimate Bar Book by Mittie Hellmich
1 1/2 oz. Campari
1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
3 oz. club soda
Twist of lemon peel
Twist of orange peel
Stir Campari and vermouth over ice, strain into glass of ice. Add club soda. Stir. Twist peels over and drop in. Salute. And salud.

American Potato Salad (adapted from The Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition)

1 pound potatoes (not the starchy type)
1 celery rib, dice dice baby
A couple Tbsp. diced bread and butter pickles
6 Tbsp. reduced fat mayo
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. brown mustard
Salt and pepper to taste
Sprinkle of dried parsley
Boil taters in salted water until cooked. Drain, chop into whatever bite-sized means to you. Toss with remaining ingredients. Put in fridge until cool.

Poturnip, potato

I admit I really like that old-school mayo-mustardy potato salad. Oddly enough I’m generally not the biggest mayonnaise person, but that salad I can get behind.
I wanted to use up the spate of potatoes and turnips I got from the CSA so I decided to adapt this recipe from the May Bon Appetit into a potato-turnip salad.

I also left out the chopped red onion because I can’t take tasting red onion all day.

Then, whilst mashing the hard-boiled egg yolks for the filling and looking at the whites I realized it:

This potato-turnip salad makes the best deviled eggs on earth.

And then you don’t waste the whites or have to eat them plain.

Seriously, BA, why did you not think if this? Slackers.

Eggy Potato Turnip Salad adapted from the May 2012 BonAppetit
1/2 pound boiled red potatoes, halved
2 c. Chopped boiled turnips
2 hard-boiled egg yolks, mashed
2 Tbsp. juice from a jar if sweet pickles
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. Reduced fat mayo
Heaping 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
Sweet pickle chips to garnish
paprika to garnish
Mash the potatoes, yolks and turnips coarsely, part it should have large chunks amidst the sea of mash. Mix salt, pepper, juice, mayo, and mustard. Stir into the mash. Divide amongst you, yourself and whoever and garnish with the sweet pickle chip and paprika. Yah.

OR be brilliant and fill the discarded whites with the salad. Pshaw.

Potatoes for Hamlet

Forgive me, gourmands. For I have sinned. I used dried parsley and chives. I’m sorry. I’ve been acting my bum off but I am on a budget and I’m not gonna buy a bunch of stuff to only use 2 teaspoons of it. Sorry.
Danish potato salad. What makes it Danish? I don’t know. In fact I know very little about Danish, except that in St. Louis, The St. Louis Bread Company(known in other parts of the country as Panera) made a gooey butter danish that rocked.
Hmmm. Danish. Denmark. I think of blonde people. Am I stereotyping? I think of Hamlet. I don’t think he ate potato salad, but if I had dinner with him, this is what I’d make.
I need to play Ophelia someday soon.
Leave me a comment and educate me on anything you know about Denmark, the Danes, or Danish:) Or just tell me the first thing you think of when you hear the word Danish.
UPDATE: According to the comment I got from a real Dane, this salad is not so traditional, but since health is an increasing concern for Denmark, it is not necessarily wrong. So I am renaming this salad Danish Modern:)Check out the comments below for a link to a picture of a more traditional Danish potato salad!
Danish Modern Potato Salad(adapted from Bon Appetit July 2004, yes I do save all my issues)
1 lb. Yukon gold potatoes
2 tsp. dried chives
2 tsp. dried parsley
2 tsp. drained capers
1 T. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. caper liquid
1 tsp. course grained Dijon mustard
salt
freshly ground pepper
Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Drain and let cool for 30 minutes. Slice about 1/3 of an inch thick. Add chives, parsley and capers. Whisk the remaining ingredients plus 1 tsp. of water and toss with potatoes. Wish you had a gooey butter danish for dessert.
Eat Reese’s peanut butter cups instead.

More questions: How do you like your potatoes? Bonus points for telling me what your favorite Danish is.

#EggsPicklesCelery

Okay, so I have used the whole hash tags theme before, but I can’t help it. I think that things like hash tags and emoticons are great. They are a unique way of enhancing the written(or typed) language.
But let’s talk about the gruel. I got a little crazy last week. Cheating on Mark Bittman with Chocolate Covered Katie. Mmm, mmm, mmmmmm. Tsk. This week I returned to my main man Mark and my beloved How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. This was another variation on straight-up Egg Hash. Vegans, never fear. There is a tempeh hash coming soon. Come to think of it, you could probably trade out the eggs for tempeh and the butter for olive oil and make this vegan.
This was good. Bittman describes it as being like a warm potato salad. I ate it warm, then I ate the leftovers cold which is what I prefered. Then again I like things cold that I am not supposed to. Like oatmeal…

Egg Hash with Celery and Pickles(adapted, just a bit, from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian)
olive oil spray
1 Tbsp. butter, separated into 1 tsp. and 2 tsps.
4 red new potatoes, chopped
salt
freshly ground pepper
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, whites chopped and yolks mashed(keep separate)
1 tsp. minced garlic
8 tsp. chopped scallions
8 tsp. minced celery
8 tsp. minced pickles
1 tsp. dijon mustard
Parsley for garnish(I am discovering these finishing touches really do make a difference, adding freshness and balance to the dish, so don’t omit and don’t use dried)
Mist pan with olive oil, add 1 tsp. butter and turn heat to medium-high. Add taters, sprinkle with salt and pepper and let cook undisturbed until edges brown. Toss, turn heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until crisp and golden. Add a splash of H2O, scrape up any browned bits and transfer all to a plate. Turn heat back to medium high, add 2 tsps. butter and melt. Add egg whites and let cook undisturbed until they start to sizzle. Add salt and pepper and toss. Turn heat to medium and add garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until garlic and eggs are golden, about 2 minutes. Add back the potatoes, along with the scallion, toss, and cook on medium-low for about 3 minutes. Stir in yolks, celery, pickles and dijon mustard. Put it on a plate, garnish with parsley, and gobble. Or daintily nibble. Whatever you like. I chilled and devoured it.