Sassy Radish

I, apparently, have so much to say about potato salad, that I’ve been staring at this page for the last four days not sure of what to write. At first, blamed writer’s block, but then I realized it wasn’t so much as that I didn’t know what to say about potatoes, it was more that I didn’t know how to start writing because at once I had so many thoughts running through my head.

I grew up eating a lot of potatoes in all its permutations – I don’t think I’ve ever come across a potato I didn’t like. Boiled, fried, baked, mashed – I’ve loved every version in its own way. I can eat potatoes cold straight from the fridge with a bit of salt, olive oil and freshly cut onion, topped with a few pieces of herring or some other smoked fish. To me – this meal is heaven. And I don’t think the Sassy Radish household has spent a day without potatoes in its pantry – it would feel naked and empty otherwise.

In these hot, sticky months, my thoughts shift to potato salad – cold, perfect-for-a-barbecue potato salad. I could really spend a lifetime celebrating eternal summer with corn on the cob, lobster rolls and blueberry pie. Oh, and potato salad. Because what summer potluck is complete without one?

My favorite way to do this salad in the summer, because Sassy Radish loves potato salad enough to already feature two versions, is to throw everything but the kitchen sink in. True to form, I couldn’t abstain from throwing a bit of horseradish in there for an extra bite, and I think it was the right call to make.

I never know how to classify potatoes – starch or vegetable? It’s always a bit confusing to me, as I want to do both. Not a grain and definitely technically a vegetable – for something so pedestrian, potatoes have managed to be enigmatic. One thing is clear however – they are versatile, filling and comforting no how you view them. And with a plateful of this salad on your plate, eternal summer, if you want it, can be yours as well.

Continue reading classic potato salad.

I feel a bit of a cheat just posting these pictures and not including a recipe? I mean, really, who do I think I am, disappearing for weeks on end, and the resurfacing just to show you a couple of pretty food pictures only to vanish into cyber-darkness leaving no recipe for digestion? I know, I’m playing with fire here, even with trying to be coy, but I swear, the whirlwind of 2008 has taken me quite by surprise.

For one, our new toy is beautiful and stunning and we can’t get enough of it, except. Oh, well, there’s that feature it offers iPhoto, which has me all up in arms. For all the great, amazing things Apple offers, surely it can include its free photo editor to be better than this? I mean, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I actually miss Picasa on my old pc! Shame on me, right?

Except, I have been reading Deb and Luisa’s complaints on Flickr and I’m glad I’m not the only one angry with the product. It simply doesn’t edit well, and it’s not because I didn’t take the time to learn its features! I suppose I am long-overdue for Elements anyway – it’s way cheaper the the full-blast Photoshop!

Halfway into the month, 1/24th of the way done with 2008. Where does the time go?

I hope that your 2008 so far has been nothing short of bliss. Me? I’m just trying to eke out some time to simply cook. Cook without taking a single picture. Cook just so we can have a home-made meal. With my job now being a great deal more demanding now, it’s a new, wonderful challenge.

A special thanks to all of you who made suggestions on how to make SassyRadish better in 2008. I, and my intrepid web designer friend, are working on making this site a whole lot better this year. Even if I don’t post more often, I am at least hoping to up the functionality of the site!

Updated: now with the dill potatoes recipe!! See below

Continue reading creamer potatoes with garlic and dill.

I can be a real bore sometimes, I really can. I get one idea of a meal in my head and when someone tries to throw me a curve ball, I have a cow. It’s not that I’m unwilling to rethink a recipe, turn it upside down and change its appearance – it’s just that I get a vision in my head and then I’m hopelessly stuck in it, at least for the duration of the recipe. Call it “recipe tunnel vision”.

It’s been awfully un-summery outside as of late. Temperatures in the fifties, winds, rain and me shivering outside. I pulled my trench coat out, my sweaters are back on shelves out of their temporary storage. I was going to make gazpacho for you people, and now what? I’ve been so distracted by this early onset of fall, that I not only made my favorite porcini mushroom soup, but also, so distraught by my distress, failed again, to take pictures of this soul and belly warming concoction. Gazpacho? Salads? Where are my soups and squashes to roast?

So when I emailed KS about dinner a few nights ago and he emailed me back that he was already on top of it (I know, I’m a lucky girl!), the nosy me, of course, just had to know what would be served. The response – vegetarian shepherd’s pie.

Oh and then the dreaming ensued. For the remaining hours at work, I was awash with anticipation – flaky pastry with potatoes, peas, corn, and other vegetables. I think that if you put a plain potato in front me of me, I’m in pure heaven, but mashed potatoes with the accouterments, or some other incarnation of them – few things make me happier. And so with visions of flaky pastry, I went rushing home, picking up a bottle of wine en route – to make our dinner all the more comforting. But KS, finding inspiration in the kitchen took the idea of shepherd’s pie and changed its structure by removing meat and crust. The result, not so much a shepherd’s pie, but rather fancy mashed potatoes. And yet, it tasted so much like shepherd’s pie that I took back my pouty face which was my initial reaction “What no crust? Why no crust? Must have crust!” But then again, my love of potatoes made that missing crust but a faint memory. I got so carried away with eating, that you get only one picture to feast your eyes on. See, this is what you get when KS makes me dinner – gushy write-ups and no pictures. I have much to improve upon!

Continue reading shepherd’s pie.