Nanny Florida’s Classic Potato Salad

Tags

barbecue, picnic, pot luck, potato, potato salad, salad, side dish, vegetarian

Here’s another side-dish from Nanny Florida’s recipe box. You can’t go wrong with a classic. Although Nanny Florida & Hubster never had the opportunity to meet, I’m sure she’d approve my addition of bacon crumbles for him. If you’re taking this dish to a pot-luck picnic/barbecue, I suggest serving the bacon crumbles on the side, so more people can enjoy the dish.

Nanny Florida’s Classic Potato Salad

Forgive me for the dark photos, it was a very cloudy day.

Nanny Florida’s Classic Potato Salad with Bacon Crumbles

Ingredients:
4 c. cooked, peeled and cubed potatoes, 1 c. slices celery, 1/2 c. chopped onion, 2 hard-boiled eggs (separated and chopped), 1 c. mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp. Vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, turkey bacon crumbles (optional)

Directions:
Mix together potatoes, egg whites, onion & celery. To make dressing, mix together mayo, egg yolk, vinegar, sugar, salt & pepper. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Do you prefer your potato salad with or without bacon?

Nanny Florida’s Classic Coleslaw

Tags

barbecue, coleslaw, food, foodie, picnic, recipe, salad, side dish, slaw, vegetarian

I only made one substitution to Nanny Florida’s coleslaw recipe: She uses 1 whole green cabbage, and I use 1/2 green cabbage and 1/2 red cabbage.

Nanny Florida’s Classic Coleslaw

Ingredients:
1/2 head of green cabbage, 1/2 head of red cabbage, 2-3 carrots or 2 c. julienne carrots, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 c. mayonnaise, 1/2 vinegar, 1 tsp. celery seed, fresh ground sea salt

Directions:
In a food processor, shred cabbage and carrots. In a small bowl mix sugar, mayo, vinegar, celery seed, and salt. Toss together all ingredients until well coated. Allow to set for 24 hours, tossing occasionally.

Serve as a side dish, or over pulled chicken barbecue.

What’s on your dinner plate tonight?

Carrot Slaw

Tags

carrot, food, foodie, picnic, salad, slaw, vegan, vegetarian

I love carrot slaw, but the not the type you see at most picnics. You know, the one with too much mayonnaise and raisins in it (I really dislike raisins). I want my carrot slaw to be crunchy and cleansing to my palette.

Carrot Slaw

Ingredients:
3 c. julienne carrots, 1 golden delicious apple, 1 c. lemon juice, 3 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley, 3 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard, 1 tsp. celery seed, fresh ground sea salt

Directions:
Cut apple into julienne strips and immediately soak in lemon juice for 1 minutes. Toss apple and carrot sticks together. Mix together lemon juice, parsley, sugar, mustard, celery seed, and sea salt. Pour dressing over carrot slaw and toss to coat.

What’s on your plate?

Fourth of July Menu

Tags

4th of July, BBQ, food, foodie, Independence Day, picnic

Happy Independence Day!

We had a small family gathering yesterday, but we had enough food to feed the masses. Thanks to everyone who contributed. Our menu was a little different from originally planned when we found out that our grill’s burners were recalled (the new ones conveniently arrived today), but the crockpot entrée allowed us for more time visiting with our guests.

Greek Salad

Appetizers:
Salsa
Crudité
Taco Dip
Cheese Platter
Pickle & Olive Tray
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Assorted Chips, Crackers & Pretzels for Dipping

Cucumber Salad

Main Course:
Pulled Chicken BBQ Sandwiches
Steamed Corn-On-The-Cob
Cucumber Salad
Deviled Eggs
Chopped Greek Salad
Pasta Salad
Coleslaw

Coleslaw

Desserts:
Fruit Salsa w/Cinnamon Tortillas
Strawberry & Raspberry Fruit Pizza

Strawberry & Raspberry Fruit Pizza

Beverages:
Earl Grey Iced Tea
Assorted Beer
Lemonade
Ice Water

I also had punch, chicken dogs, and marshmallows (for roasting) available for the wee ones.

Despite the awesome menu, my 4-year-old nephew wasn’t satisfied after eating a second helping of chicken BBQ, corn and coleslaw. I over heard him talking with my sister-in-law.
Him: Mom, I want oatmeal.
Her: Are you sure? How about more corn on the cob?
Him: NO! I want oatmeal!
Her: I don’t think they have oatmeal here.
Him: Yes they do! I had it last time I was here. Then he proceeded to take her to our pantry door, opened it, pointed to where we keep our oatmeal. So we turned on the tea kettle to warm the water. 🙂

I hope everyone had a great Independence Day!!!

How did you celebrate?

Radish Salad

Tags

BBQ, food, foodie, picnic, pot luck, recipe, side dish

Hubster loves radishes, and around here radishes are ready for harvesting. So, I’ve been playing around with radish salads… Summer means tasty food that requires little prep. This tangy and crisp salad is the perfect cool refreshing bite on a hot summer day.

Radish Salad

Ingredients:
10 large radishes, 1/2 c. shredded carrots, 4 scallions, 1/2 c. red wine vinegar, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Slice radishes and scallions, sprinkle with salt, and allow to sit for a few minutes. Toss together all ingredients. Allow salad to marinate in fridge for 12 hours, tossing every so often.

What have you been harvesting from your garden?  
What’s cooking in your kitchen?

Colorful Caprese

Tags

appetizer, basil, BBQ, bocconcini, ciliegine, cold food, dinner, entree, food, foodie, fresh mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, grape tomatoes, light fare, light lunch, lighter fare, lunch, mozzarella, mozzarella balls, picnic, postaday2011, pot luck, raw foods, recipe, salad, side dishes, tomatoes, vegetable, yellow tomatoes

Caprese is a summer classic, that’s why it’s my go to recipe. It’s always requested, but never the same. You can serve it sliced and stacked, as a kabob or cut and mixed as salad. At the beginning of the year, I served yellow tomato caprese for the teachers’ back-to-school. It seemed only fitting to use yellow tomatoes in my caprese for the end-of-the-year party today! So since I never serve anything exactly the same way twice, I’ll share my current variation. I halved golden grape tomatoes (first time I’ve found these at the store!!!), red grape tomatoes and the mozzarella balls (ciliegine). Then, I tossed them together with extra virgin olive oil, fresh chopped sweet basil, fresh ground sea salt, and fresh cracked black pepper. Just before serving I will drizzle with some balsamic vinegar.

Colorful Caprese

The hardest part is making sure the caprese is not devoured before leaving the house… with this dish, it’s not just Hubster, it’s also me!

Which summer dish do you prepare multiple variations?

Fresh Corn & Zucchini Salad

Tags

barbacue, BBQ, corn, food, foodie, lunch, picnic, postaday2011, recipe, relish, salad, side dishes, vegetarian, zucchini

Summer is unofficially here… Grilling food is the main way to keep temperature cool indoors. Now just add the sun and salad side dishes.  Last year, my sister made a delicious corn salad for our 4th of July picnic. This isn’t the same dish, but it did inspire mine…

Fresh Corn & Zucchini Salad

Ingredients:
6 ears of corn (some yellow and some white), 2 zucchini, 1/4 c. fresh parsley, 1 bunch green onions, 2 tsp. Dijon mustard, 2 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. hot sauce, 1/2 c. vinegar, 1/2 c. vegetable oil, fresh ground sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper

Directions:
Cook corn and slice off ears. Peel and chop zucchini. Chop green onions and parsley. To make dressing, mix together mustard, sugar, cumin, hot sauce, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Mix ingredients together and keep chilled.

Next time I think I’ll add some red pepper to the mix.

What’s your favorite corn recipe?