Category: Potato Salad

February 2005 – Asian Food

Welcome back, time travellers! Today, we are journeying back in time to February 2005 and, concurrently, embarking on a culinary expedition across Asia. I am incredibly excited about this month’s culinary adventure because Asian cuisine holds a special place in my heart, with Thai, Malaysian and Japanese food being among my favourites. Furthermore, my blog favourite, Delicious Magazine, inspired today’s menu. Nevertheless, before we delve into the culinary delights it provides, let’s set the stage for our time-travelling feast.

Chinese Duck Coleslaw

What Was Hot – February 2005

Books

The fiction list contained the usual suspects of The Da Vinci Code and Five People You Meet in Heaven. However, the non-fiction list is, to my mind, a bit more interesting:

While both 1 and 2 sound really interesting, as someone who loves a true crime pod or ten, Witness was the one that caught my eye. Specifically, Amber Frey was one of the key prosecution witnesses in the case against Scott Peterson who was accused of killing his wife Laci. Therefore, this would be a fascinating read!

Thai Style Egg Salad 2

Movies

  1. Hitch
  2. Constantine
  3. Diary of A Mad Black Woman

I haven’t seen any of these which either says something about them or me  If these are on your favourite film list/s please let me know.  I will give them a try!  How little I know about these film is exemplified by the fact that I thought Hitch was the film about Alfred Hitchcock!  Given that one came out in 2012 I may also not know much about time!

Music

  1. Let Me Love You  – Mario
  2. 1, 2 Step – Ciara featuring Missy Elliott
  3. Soldier – Destiny’s Child Featuring T.I. & Lil Wayne

Ok, so I don’t know what I was doing in February 2005 but it was neither going to the movies nor listening to music.  I only remembered 2 songs in the Top Ten which were Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day and Since You’ve Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson.  

   The Menu

Asian Menu feb 2005

 

Lemongrass & Mint Tea

I positioned this herbal team at the beginning of the meal, but it would undoubtedly serve as an equally delightful palate cleanser or digestive at the meal’s conclusion. Furthermore, I enjoyed several cups of this beverage as an iced tea, finding it incredibly refreshing on a hot day. Either way, I encourage you to give this recipe a try as it is a delight!

 

Lemongrass and Mint Tea Recipe
aa feb lemongrass and mint tea

Thai Style Egg Salad

I loved this.  It is simple and delicious with a bit of a deviled egg vibe.  It is also jam-packed with flavour.  This was a revelation!   It may not be an authentic Thai recipe but it was an absolute winner with me!

Thai Style Egg Salad

Thai Style Egg Salad Recipe

aa feb thai style egg salad

Chinese Duck Coleslaw

Chinese Duck Coleslaw2

So this was a winner-winner duck dinner!  It’s was so bright and colourful!  Again, it was really easy as it uses a bought roast duck.  It was a perfect dinner on a hot summer day.  

Chinese Duck Coleslaw Recipe

aa feb chinese duck coleslaw

Coconut and Lime Sorbet

You put the lime in the coconut, you drink ’em bot’ togetherPut the lime in the coconut and you’ll feel better

Harry Nilsson – Coconut

After the disappointment of the blueberry gelato last month this was a surprising success.  I am saying it was surprising because with this…first you get the tangy lime…then you get the warmth of the cinnamon…then you get the creamy mellowness of the coconut.  It’s a triple whammy of delish!!!!

Coconut and Lime Sorbet

 

Coconut and Lime Sorbet Recipe

Lime and Coconut Sorbet (1)

 

My Nigella Moment – Potato Salad with Sour Cream, Chives and Pancetta

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious.  In the context of these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that may not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share. 

Potato Salad

I generally adore potato salad, but unfortunately, I found this particular rendition somewhat underwhelming. This recipe originated from a Jamie Oliver article that promised ‘lovely tweaks on the old classic.’  However, the purported ‘tweak’ was a topping of crouton-like fried breadcrumbs on a rather standard potato salad. I believe I understand Jamie’s intention – to introduce a textural contrast and inject some much-needed crunchiness into what is typically a rather soft salad.  

Nevertheless, in my opinion, the combination of carbs proved somewhat overwhelming. Moreover, the bread became disappointingly soggy the next day, completely negating the purpose of its inclusion.  To be honest, I would have preferred this salad without the bread altogether. I cannot emphasize this enough: for a truly exceptional potato salad, one cannot surpass the recipe by Rosanne Cash!

Have a wonderful week! 


Signature2

Feb 2004 – From the Garden

Hello dear readers!  I was updating the index for the Twenty Years Ago Today posts this week and I realised I had not actually posted this one from way back in February!  Given that today’s post was just a little teaser for Murder is Announced which will be released on Tuesday, I thought why not post this today so you also get some real content.  Enjoy!  

Hello, retro food lovers! Buckle up for a delicious journey back in time! Today, we’re using the magic of Australian Table magazine to teleport ourselves to February 2004, and build a menu that celebrates the vibrant bounty of the garden. Talk about perfect timing, with our own gardens bursting at the seams right now! But before we whip up some culinary magic, let’s take a nostalgic stroll down memory lane and see what was buzzing in pop culture back then.

First up, music: Australia was rocking out to Shannon Noll’s powerful cover of the Moving Pictures classic “What about Me?”. Fun fact, this very song just gave me some serious bragging rights in a pub quiz! So, while it might have retired from the charts, it’s clearly not forgotten.

Now, onto the literary world: can you guess the top-selling book of the first half of February 2004? Drumroll please… yep, you guessed it, it was the phenomenon that was The Da Vinci Code. And if you think its grip on pop culture was about to loosen anytime soon, think again!  Speaking of cultural giants, Jesus himself made a big splash on the big screen, with The Passion of the Christ becoming the highest-grossing film of the month. So, get ready for a menu that’s not only fresh and seasonal, but also infused with a touch of early 2004 nostalgia. 

Fun Fact From Australian Table February 2004

I found this little timeline of how food evolved in Australia over the last 70 years fascinating  I particularly liked it that they did this by looking at old magazines.  Hmm…now what does that remind me of?

Feb 2004 70 years

Now, let’s take a look at our menu.  

The Menu – February 2004

Feb 2004 Menu

Summer Cocktail

Garden ingredient : Mint

This was a take on a Classic Pimms Punch combining gingerale, lemonade, Pimms, cucumber, mint and orange.  Many of these recipes often also contain strawberries which we also have growing but this one didn’t.  It was however delicious.  This was summer in a glass! 

 

Summer Cocktail

Summer Cocktail Recipe

Feb 2004 Summer Cocktail

 

Seared Scallop Salad with Macadamia and Coriander Pesto

Garden Ingredients, Mint, Lime

Seared Scallop Salad

While I am not a huge scallop fan this was delicious!  Next time I make it I would use prawns.  Confession: I took some liberties with the salad, swapping out the red capsicum and beansprouts.  I can’t eat red capsicum and I could only find huge bags of beansprouts at the greengrocer.  Bean sprouts aren’t bad, but buying a giant bag just for a few felt wasteful! I opted for cherry tomatoes (home grown) and red onion instead.   This dish is colourful and pretty and the macadamia and coriander pesto is divine!

Seared Scallop Salad with Macadamia and Coriander Pesto

Feb2004 Seared Scallop Salad

Rosemary and Lemon Chicken with Mint Dressing

Garden Ingredients:  Rosemary, Lemon, Mint

This was a great quick and easy midweek meal.  Nothing elaborate but relatively quick and tasty. 

Rosemary and Lemon Chicken

 

Rosemary and Lemon Chicken with Mint Dressing – Recipe

Rosemary and Lemon Chicken Recipe (1)

Potato Salad with Garlic and Caper Mayonnaise

Garden Ingredients:  Lemon, Parsley

I love potato salad.  Roseanne Cash Potato Salad remains one of my favourites but the Garlic and Caper Mayo on this one was superb!

Potato Salad with Garlic and Caper Mayonnaise

Potato Salad with Garlic and Caper Mayonnaise – Recipe

Feb 2004 Potato Salad with Garlic and Caper Mayonnaise

Angel Cheesecake

Garden Ingredients:  Limes

I am not 100% sure why this is called an Angel Cheesecake.  Maybe because there are egg whites in the filling to make it lighter?  Maybe because the combination of lime and passionfruit is divine?  

Angel Cheesecake

We have a passionfruit vine in the garden but it is only tiny so has not had any fruit on it yet.  I am looking forward to making this again with some homegrown passionfruit sometime in the future!  

Angel Cheesecake – Recipe

My Nigella Moment  – Barbecued Green Rice

For first-time readers, this refers to the moment at the end of Nigella Lawson’s cooking shows when she sneaks back to the fridge to have another bite of something delicious.  In these Twenty Years Ago posts, it is something contained in the magazine that does not fit with the overall menu theme but I’m sneaking it in because it is too good not to share.  

This month I chose a recipe that used a technique that was new to me.  I have never thought of putting rice on the bbq.  But I made the sushi with crispy rice out of the book Eat California by Vivian Lui (highly recommended BTW) and I loved it.  And this gave me the same vibes.  It was really tasty and I did get the crispy rice I was after but this recipe really needed some salt to make it a 10/10 instead of an 8/10!  We also do not have a bbq at the moment so I made this in a pan on the stove.  

Bbqed Green Rice

Barbecued Green Rice Recipe

Feb 2004 Barbecued Green Rice

 

I really enjoyed this month, it just felt very lemon and mint-heavy in terms of garden produce!  There were some absolute winners in the taste department too – the pesto, the potato salad, the cheesecake, and the rice are things that will become part of my repertoire!  

 

 

Use By: Pesto Potato Salad

What did people eat before the pesto boom of the ’80’s? I love pesto and eat it by the bucketful but I always seem to end up with a bit left in the jar that is not enough for a batch of pasta.  Well, this Pesto Potato Salad is one of my favourite ways of using up that annoying last bit. It’s also good for using up some of those veggies you have sitting in the bottom of your fridge.

I used radishes, edamame and red onion in mine.  You could use beans, peas, tomatoes, zucchini whatever you have in the house or your favourite veggies.

The idea behind this is that you use what is left in the jar to make the dressing.  Add some oil and lemon juice into your jar of pesto, close it up tight and give it a good shake.

Taste – add salt, pepper, some chilli flakes, maybe a little more garlic if you like.  I added some extra parmesan cheese to really ramp up some of those pesto flavours.

Shake again and pour over freshly boiled potatoes while they are still warm.  This will allow the flavour to really infuse into the potatoes as they cool.  Cos no one likes a bland potato salad!

You can make it up to this point in the morning or even the day before you are planning to have the salad.  Just pop the potatoes and dressing into the fridge until you are almost ready to serve.

At that time, remove from the fridge, stir through the rest of your veggies, throw in some toasted pine nuts and, some finely chopped basil leaves (I didn’t have basil and felt it would be against the spirit of a Use By Post to buy some just for the Pesto Potato Salad so mine is garnished with chives).

This salad is great with BBQ’s, seafood, chicken, anywhere you would have regular potato salad but maybe want to shake things up a bit.  I could eat potato salad every day of the week so something a bit different from the classic mayo-based salad (but for a great one of them, see here) makes a refreshing change.

Pesto Potato Salad2

Here’s the recipe.

 

Print

Pesto Potato Salad

A delicious and versatile potato salad

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 medium potatoes, diced
  • 1/2 cup edamame
  • 1/2 red onion, diced
  • 4 radishes, sliced
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
  • 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese
  • Basil leaves, chives to garnish
  • Dressing!
  • 1 jar of bought pesto with around 1 tbsp of pesto left in the bottom
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 clove of finely chopped garlic (optional)
  • A sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper to Taste

Instructions

  1. Dressing!
  2. Place all the ingredients in the jar of pesto, seal and shake well until mixed.
  3. Boil the potatoes until just tender
  4. Pour the dressing over the top.
  5. Just before serving mix through the remaining vegetables and pine nuts.
  6. Top with the herbs.
  7. Enjoy!

Notes

  • Feel free to add whatever cooked or raw vegetables you have into this salad!

 

Pesto,  may well be  the quiche of the ’80’s but it also makes a damn fine potato salad!

I also wrote "Pesto is the quiche of the '80s."

Have a great week!

 

 

Rosanne Cash’s Potato Salad – Repost from October 2018

Regular readers will know what a fan I am of the serendipitous find.  So, imagine my joy when, in the middle of writing the post on Johnny Cash’s Chili, sorting through a huge pile of recipes I had collected over the last year or so, I found a recipe from his daughter Rosanne Cash for Potato Salad.

I felt that finding it was either a sign from the universe to make some potato salad or that the Cash family were stalking me in a really weird way.

I decided to make potato salad.

Rosanne Cash Potato Salad

Have I ever told you how much I love potato salad?

Like LOVE it.  😍

I have CRIED when I have tasted a potato salad that looked gorgeous only to find the potato was half raw.  Or the dressing was watery

That’s how much I love potato salad.

And I have incredibly high standards.  So far in my life, the only ‘tatie salad that even comes close to my mum’s is my best friend Monica’s.  It’s one of the reasons I adore her.

Maybe THAT’s how much I love potato salad…

Good potato salad?  Friend.  For. Life.

Bad potato salad? Never darken my door again!

Rosanne Cash Potato Salad

And Rosanne Cash’s had all the hallmarks of being a GOOD potato salad.  Or the one.  Which is the inclusion . of hard-boiled eggs. Seriously.  Mum’s potato salad has them.  Monica’s potato salad has them.  And this one has them.  And, spoiler alert. We are now talking my top-three potato salads.

Because Rosanne Cash’s potato salad is AWESOME.

https://www.retrofoodformoderntimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Rosanne-Cash-Potato-Salad-7.jpg

The only problem with the Rosanne Cash Potato Salad?

There was not enough of it!

Basic user error.  Before making anything check your ingredients.  ALWAYS check your ingredients.  All of them.  Even the ones where you think “Oh I always have plenty of that / those / them”

Especially those ones. Otherwise, you will go to the shops to buy celery and pickles.  And come home to discover you only have three tiny potatoes.  But it’s getting late and if you want to be eating this delicious sounding potato salad any time before midnight then you don’t have time to go all the way back to the store to buy more potatoes.

So…a tiny potato salad it was…

Tiny Potato

You can also do the thing….cos here’s the recipe.  Just make sure you have potatoes a plenty!

Rosanne Cash’s Potato Salad

And here is he of the chilli and she of the potato salad way back in 1956!

johnny_rosanne_cash01-280x336

Have a great week!

Signature 1

Brazo Di Gitano – The Gypsy’s Arm

Cross my palm with silver and I will tell you tales of magic and wonder.  Or just keep reading ‘cos I cooked something really good!

GypsyI see, in your future a little taste of Spain….because today in a final piece of birthday indulgence, I bring to you The Gypsy’s Arm…aka The Brazo Di Gitano.

And what you may ask is the Brazo Di Gitano?  Well remember back at Christmas when my family took against me for bringing a Potato Salad Roll  to our Christmas festivities?  I felt then that despite their negativity it was my duty to bring the PSR to the world.  This did not start well.  My St Patrick’s Day Corned Beef PSR was an mitigated disaster.  But redemption is at hand with The Gypsy’s Arm. 

I LOVE this recipe.  And yes, I am yelling at you because it’s that good. It’s like someone took every lovely taste of Spain and mixed it together and then wrapped it up in potato.  And mayo.

Gypsy's Arm
Gypsy’s Arm

 Why a Gypsy’s Arm?  I have no idea.  But when something tastes this good why question it?  I found the original version of this recipe in Anya Von Bremzen’s The New Spanish Table which I thought was an amazing book even before I discovered it had a potato salad roll.

New Spanish TableSo what’s so good about this recipe?  Well, potatoes and mayo…

 But also tuna, tomatoes, olives, capers, red onions and anchovies.  And to make things even better, I added some avocado to mine, hence the greenish tinge. 

Gypsy's Arm2The flavours of this dish took me right back to a trip to Barcelona a few years ago.  It really is Spain on a plate.  And so easy.

Make your mashed potato and spread out on a tray.

 Gypsy's Arm3I left mine a bit chunky so it was still a bit like a regular potato salad.  Then put your tuna filling on  top.  Spread to the edges.

Gypsy's Arm4Then, shake, rattle and roll!!!

Gypsy's Arm5Don’t worry if it cracks a little, or a lot, you can just press it together.  Plus you will shortly be adding your mayo (and avocado topping) so small cracks won’t matter.

Then, channel your inner Gaudi and decorate the outside of roll as you see fit. 

Gypsy's Arm7
Gypsy’s Arm7

 Trim the edges so you have a nice clean line before serving. 

Gypsy's Arm6Eat and transport yourself back to the streets of Barcelona…

Enjoy!

Barcelona Barcelona4 Barcelona Gaudi Barcelona1 Barcelona - Casa Batllo 4 Barcelona - Casa Batllo Barcelona3 Barcelona2Have a great week!  And there are only 2 days to go for the Birthday giveaway.  Subscribe or get one of your friends to subscribe to win a fabulous vintage cookbook.  Prize drawn on Monday!

 Recipe Card

[yumprint-recipe id=’30’]Signature 1 Vintage Valentine Quick as Wink2