Potato Salad - Summertime Favorite!

Hi folks! Its been awhile again since I last posted. Looks like spring weather has turned into summer weather overnight and with summer comes barbeques. Ribs and baked beans cant stand alone..you gotta have some potato salad on that plate to make it complete. The potato salad  presented here is the same one I grew up eating. I learned to make it years ago while living at home, but with most things passed down like that, you never measure anything. I finally took out a pad and pen along with the measuring cups and measured each and every ingredient that I usually just threw in there. The potato salad is best served cold so make it early enough to allow it to chill before serving. I like to make mine the day before and refrigerate it overnight so the flavors mellow out and get to know each other. Enjoy...Just Harv.

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Potato Salad

3-4lbs potatoes (peeled, washed, and cubed)

1-1/2 cup yellow onion (1 medium), finely diced

2/3 cup dill pickles - finely diced

1/2 cup pickle juice

2-1/2 tbsp. cider vinegar

1/2 tbsp. salt

1 cup mayo

2/3 cup yellow mustard

6 eggs (boiled, cooled, and peeled)

Paprika - for garnish

In a large stock pot, cover the cubed potatoes with water to about 1 inch above them. Bring to a boil. Boil for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes break easily with a fork. Drain carefully. To speed up the process of waiting for the potatoes to cool, I put the cooked potatoes in a strainer, refill the pot with COLD water and add lots of ice cubes, and then set the strainer of potatoes back into the water to chill quickly. Using hot potatoes or eggs in a recipe that includes mayo is a sure fire way to "cook" the mayo and ruin the dish. Chilled is best.

While I am waiting on the potatoes to cool, I cut up my onions, pickles, and 5 of the 6 boiled egss. Once the potatoes are cooled, I dump them into a large mixing bowl (or sometimes I just use the same pot that I boiled them in). Using a hand potato masher, I mash some, about a third of the potatoes. This will make the salad a little smoother while still providing a nice balanced amount of cubed potatoes. Add in the mayo and mustard, mix well by hand. A nice large wooden spoon works best for me. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Once blended well, spoon the completed salad into a large bowl. Using an egg slicer, I make thin slices of the remaining boiled egg. Top the completed salad with these and lightly sprinkle with paprika for garnish. Allow to chill for two hours (overnight is best).....Serve and enjoy!!! Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the potato salad. I know I sure do.....I had some over the weekend with some BBQ ribs!

Honey Glazed Salmon with Dill

Honey Glazed Salmon with Dill

Hi folks! Good to be back again. The day job has been really working me hard lately so I haven't had the chance to blog very much. I've tried a few more things since I got back home and this is one of them Its a super delicious salmon dish! I had a dish similar to this in a fancy schmancy place in downtown Boise and found it worth trying to prepare here at home. It took about three tries to get it right, and have been told that my version exceeds the restuarants version!! I hope you like it....remember to write back and tell me your thoughts. Harv
The ingredients are very basic for this dish, but the taste will get your attention quickly.
The ingredients below will glaze 4 or so 6oz. salmon fillets.
~~~~ Honey Glazed Salmon with Dill ~~~~

4 - Fresh Salmon Fillets - app. 6oz. each (skin on is OK)
1/3 cup Sourwood or other DARK honey
2 cloves garlic (milked - see instructions below)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh dillweed (finely minced)
1-1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard (the coarse "Country" style works great)
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp olive oil (not used in the glaze, but to drizzle on the grill to get some nice flames)
(the pic shows some cooking wine, disregard this..I find it better without it)

Rinse and pat dry the salmon fillets. In a medium mixing bowl or glass measuring cup blend the ingredients listed above. The garlic is listed as "milked". By doing this to the garlic, you get all the garlic flavor but without the chance of having garlic chunks or bits on the fish that can overpower the flavor we're shooting for. Heres how ya' do that. Since we are using some salt in the glaze, we will use the salt as a grinding agent to help make our minced garlic "creamy". Basically chop or crush the garlic first, then sprinkle the salt over the garlic. Using the back of a flat knife work the salt into the garlic. As it spreads out, draw it back together into a mound and repeat the grinding action. Dont add any more salt, just keep working the existing salt into the garlic. In just a minute or two you will have a nice creamy garlic layer on your cutting board. Thats what we'll use whenever we need "milked or creamed garlic".

Preheat the grill to a medium-hi heat. Using a non-stick oil such a PAM for the GRILL, spray the rack well. The fear of fish sticking to a grill rack seems to keep alot of folks from grilling fish, but if you keep the rack nice and clean/smooth and oiled down it can be done just as easy as any other favorite you have for outdoor cooking. Just a note of caution - make sure you use a spray rated for a grill. Some can flame up very fast while spraying. If you experience this, turn the flame off for sec and then spray. BE CAREFUL, PLEASE.

Ok, back to cooking! With the salmon rinsed and patted dry, use a BBQ brush and glaze both side of the salmon fillets. Be generous here, brush that glaze on heavy. With the grill preheated and well oiled up, place the salmon skin side down on the rack. After about 15 seconds or so, I move the fish slightly just to insure it isnt sticking. Allow the fillet to cook for 6 minutes, then flip them over. As I flip the fish, I select a new spot on the grill so I get alot of heat into the fish at once. This gives you those beautiful grill marks on the salmon. Cook the fish another 6 minutes on this side. After about three of the six minutes, I rotate the fish half way around so I get some new grill marks perpendicular to the first ones. Before I forget to mention it, the olive oil listed in the ingredients is used to lightly drizzle over the burner shrouds. This will cause the oil to ignite and flame up, once again giving you some nice singed edges on the fish and enhancing the grill marks on the fish.
Now that the fish has cooked 6 minutes on each side, flip the fillets back over to skin side down. Using the BBQ brush, mop the remaining glaze on the fish. Be very generous here. Allow the fish to cook another minute or so....remove and serve hot. I served the fish on a bed of rice pilaf or saffron rice. A side of grilled asparagus works great also with this dish. Garnish with a thinly sliced lemon twist or a sprig of dill weed. I hope you enjoy dinner!!! I found it great and worth sharing.... Have a great day/night.....and dont forget to write. Let me know someone out there is actually reading this....8-)   Harv.