Cold Potato Salad

Earlier this week, our heat was shut off because our landlord did not pay the bill.  At 47 degrees inside the house, we don’t even bother taking off our coats or shoes.   Yesterday we opened the doors to heat the house – in January.  On this grey morning, I peddled through low-hanging clouds and a bitterly cold rain even my vintage rubber rain jacket could not shield me from entirely.   Still sopping wet, I made not hot chocolate or steamy soup, but a cold dill potato salad for lunch.  Potato salad seems an odd choice without any picnics, pitch-ins, or warm weather in the foreseeable future.  I blame my subconscious for trying to keep with this week’s theme of “cold”.  The irony made it taste more satisfying.

Some people have this general aversion to mayonnaise.  Reasons vary from health concerns to taste, but some will pass up any dish that has even a remote trace of mayonnaise.   But making a potato salad without any mayo seems blasphemous.  Limiting myself to only a tablespoon, I had to turn to milk and parmesan cheese to help me stretch the sauce.  Flavoring it with lemon, dill, oregano, and garlic gave it a fresher, light taste.  The recipe made just enough for a personal potato salad that lasted me two lunches.  It is well matched with sandwiches, burgers, or even just by itself.  Not a standard stick-to-your-sides winter meal, but it keeps you wishing for sunny days!

Potato Salad                                              

Ingredients:

1 large potato, diced

¼ red pepper, diced

2 medium stalks celery, sliced

2 hard boiled egg whites, chopped

1 T mayonnaise

2 T milk

¼ cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried dill weed

¼ tsp dried oregano

½ tsp garlic powder

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1.       In a saucepan, boil potatoes for about 10 minutes or until just fork tender.

2.       In another small saucepan, boil eggs for 8-10 minutes.

3.       In a small bowl, combine mayo, milk, cheese, lemon juice, dill weed, oregano, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to make sauce.

4.       Combine sauce with the rest of the ingredients.

5.       Chill for at least 2 hours.

More than One Way to Get Sauced: Barbeque Chicken Pasta Salad

Some like it hot. Others like it with a twang of vinegar or a smidge of smokiness. I like it sweet and buttery. I am a Southern Girl after all. Ah, can you smell that smoky charcoal burning? Hear the crackle of the flame? See the coals or chips turn from inky black to sooty white? This is a regular barbeque. The flavors of the grill mixed with the taste of slow roasted meats are enough to make you want eternal summer. Alas, most of us college kids don’t have a grill. Buzzkill, right? Now you’re craving barbeque, but you don’t have the means to make it happen. My suggestion: get sauced.

“Wait, what? It’s only noon!” No, no. I’m talking about barbeque sauce.

So you are in this cramped, closet-like dorm kitchen with little more than a mini fridge and an easy-bake oven. You definitely don’t have a grill; doesn’t matter. You can turn even a piece of rotisserie chicken into a barbequed bird by just beginning with the sauce.

Barbeque sauce has to be among the most variant food traditions I’ve come across. Unless you are buying it from the bottle, you cannot have the same type twice. Restaurants might have a “secret recipe”, but you know there is someone in back taste-testing it to her particular preference. Having a recipe may seem sacrilege for those barbeque-ers who cook with the soul, but it’s a necessary crutch we all need until find the barbeque sauce that speaks [to] our tongue.

The best thing about this pasta salad, surprisingly, was that it was cold. The sweet, juicy chicken smothered in buttery barbeque sauce, tossed with fried corn and fresh green peppers was enough to make your mouth say “mmmmm”. It’s the best of your backyard barbeque all made on your stovetop. And it can be eaten cold! What’s not to love? So, when you find yourself reminiscing about a summer forgotten, make yourself a batch of this Barbeque Chicken Pasta Salad.

Barbeque Chicken Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast

1 T olive oil

Salt and pepper

About 2 cups pasta

1 ear of corn/ ½ cup frozen

2-3 T butter

½-1 cup chicken broth or water

1 fresh green pepper, diced

Barbeque sauce [basic directions to follow]

Instructions:

1. In a medium pot, make pasta. Once cooked, rinse with cold water. Place in large container, set in fridge to chill.

2. In a skillet, high oil until hot. Salt and pepper the chicken. Pan sear – be careful not to overcook. Cook about 3-5 min a side [check inside, not pink].

3. Remove chicken after cooked, allow to cool. Then cut into bite sized pieces and add to pasta container.

4. In same skillet, fry corn and butter for about 5 min. Slowly add water, bring to a boil. Cover. Cook until corn is soft and cooked through.

5. Remove from heat. Toss corn and diced peppers with chicken and pasta. Store in fridge.

6. Make barbeque sauce. Mix all together, chill, eat!

Barbeque Sauce

Ingredients:

¾ c ketchup

3 T butter

3 T brown sugar

1 t Worcestershire sauce

1 T vinegar

2 t lemon juice

1 t mustard

2 T minced onions

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Mix all together in small saucepan over medium low until hot.

2. Taste test! See what you like.

3. Remove from heat to cool slightly.

4. Add to pasta salad.

5. Eat!

Curry Wheat Berry Salad

I was imagining whole wheat…strawberries? No. Blueberries? Definitely not. Okay, so it’s actually the flower of a wheat plant. How I got a hold of these is one thing; how to cook said “berries” was another. I would liken them to something such as barley: tons of natural fiber, a bit lacking in the flavor department. Like beans, they had to be soaked overnight and then boiled for a good while over the stove to achieve an edible tenderness. Add to the mix a slew of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and a tart dressing and we had ourselves a full bodied salad.

Mind you, I was skeptical. It sounded a bit “crunchy granola” for my tastes, but I figure give everything a go, at least once. I was pleasantly surprised by the unique and healthy salad that resided in my dinner bowl. While it’s no main course dish, it is definitely one to accompany a barbecued, pulled pork sandwich and some buttery corn on the cob. The acidic tones will please the palate when balanced with something savory or sweet. Bold enough to spark conversation at dinner, this nontraditional salad won’t replace mac n’ cheese, but it will speak volumes for your creative abilities.

This recipe was adjusted from the Lower Byrd Farm’s, an organic farm in Virginia.

Curry Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients:

1 ½ c wheat berries

1 apple, peeled and diced

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

½ green bell pepper, diced

1/3 c Craisins

1/3 c almonds, chopped

1/3 c olive oil

¼ c apple cider vinegar – CRUCIAL, don’t use regular vinegar

3 T honey

2 T shallots, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T lemon juice

1 T curry powder

Salt and pepper

Instruction:

1. Soak wheat berries overnight in water.

2. Bring to boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Drain and chill.

3. Combine wheat berries, apple, pepper, cucumber, almonds and raisins.

4. In a separate bowl olive oil, vinegar, honey, onion, garlic, lemon juice, and curry powder.

5. Pour over wheat berry mixture and stir to combine.

6. Chill and serve.

Cold Noodle and Sesame Chicken Salad

Cold pasta for dinner? It’s like cold pizza, only much more versatile. While I would normally question reverting back to a typical pre-adolescent’s choice meal for dinner, I assure you that this will suit your aged tastes. The bite of rice vinegar and soy sauce is tamed by the sweetness of a few spoonfuls of sugar; then the nuttiness of the sesame pervades your taste buds. This recipe, while so tangy and fresh, is also light and convenient. Convenient in the sense that it can be made ahead, left in the fridge for dinner, easily brought to lunch or work, or enjoyed as a late night snack. Hands down, this is perfect for the unpredictable schedule of a twenty-something-year-old in college.

Beware of strong fragrances when you reopen the container after a few days – if it even lasts that long. I received quite a strong sesame greeting when I opened the container after a few days. With this recipe, tangy is good; more than two day old tanginess – not so much. My bet is on the fresh green onions that got a little too pushy in the smell department. I would suggest keeping those separate, as a garnish. Make sure to include them though once you eat, as it adds a lovely color and flavor balance to the entire dish.

Overall, it’s a great sweet sesame meal – which is a flavor combo winner in my book. For those of you who like to turn up the heat however, I might suggest some Sriracha or another Asian hot sauce. It’s not always about the heat with hot sauce, but the flavor; so Texas Pete or Tabasco might not be the best choices.

Cold Noodle and Sesame Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

4 T sesame seeds

6 oz bowtie pasta

¼ cup vegetable oil

1/6 cup soy sauce

1/6 cup rice vinegar

½ t sesame oil

1 ½ T white sugar

¼ t ground ginger

Dash ground pepper

1 ½ cups cooked chicken, chopped

5 carrots, cooked and sliced

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

4 green onions, sliced

Instructions:

1. Heat small skillet over medium high heat. Add sesame seeds, stirring constantly until lightly toasted. Remove from heat.

2. Cook pasta and carrots, rinse with cold water. Put in large plastic container.

3. Meanwhile, make sauce: in a tightly sealable container, mix oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and seeds, sugar, ginger, and pepper. Shake well.

4. Add chicken to pasta and carrots. Pour sauce over all. Chill.

5. Garnish with fresh green onions and cilantro before serving.