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Katie Davis

@PopCultureCuisine

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They Call Me Tater Salad…

Monday, April 4, 2011 @ 05:04 PM

034I love salads…, salads of all kinds; and although I know to most people that sounds utterly boring, to me it is a way to mix things up.  I find that salads offer so many opportunities to put together a lot of fun combinations to create one complete meal or side dish.  Now, sure, I have to admit that I’ve never been very fond of those “salads” that you often find in the deli section of your local grocery store…you know the ones I mean…., the mayonnaise heavy potato, pasta, or egg varieties. It’s just I find them to be tasteless and pointless calories.  That being said, I know potato salad is often present at many a summer cook-out, so I am always on the lookout for varieties I can try that are a bit more adventurous. 

So I happened to be looking through one of my trusty Food Network Magazines one day to discover a new take on potato salad, and I came upon one from none other than the queen of butter herself, Paula Deen.  At first glance I would have never thought that this recipe came from her, because…well, let’s face it…, the ingredient list is all pretty healthy. I was even more excited that the dressing was not mayo based, but rather more of a mustard-vinaigrette.  Needless to say, I quickly cut it out and knew I was going to be making this recipe soon!

Red Potato Salad With Bacon

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen for Food Network Magazine

Prep Time:
10 min
Inactive Prep Time:
Cook Time:
15 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 6 cups cubed red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled (about 1 1/4 pounds)
  • Salt
  • 2 ounces bacon (2 or 3 strips)
  • 1 cup chopped bell pepper (any color or a combination)
  • 1/4 cup minced red onion
  • 1/4 cup sliced scallions (about 2 scallions)
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • Freshly ground pepper

Directions

Put the potatoes in a large pot; add water just to cover and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to aboil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain on paper towels and finely chop.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, chopped bacon, bell pepper, onion and scallions.

In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, mustard, mayonnaise, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Pour over the potato mixture, tossing gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate or serve at room temperature.

Source

 

I decided to try this recipe out on a night when we were getting together with Adam’s nanny, Gloria (more affectionately known as "Momma Glo") and her nephew for dinner. She was teaching me how to make REAL southern fried chicken, so I figured this would be the perfect recipe to go alongside. 

One great thing about this recipe is that it does not lie in the fact that it only takes about 15 minutes to put together. It took me maybe a 1/2 hour, only because I had to cook the bacon and potatoes before assembling the whole salad together.  But, you can prep all the other ingredients while those two items are cooking.  Then, all you have to do is toss it all together and let it sit until you are ready to eat it. It can be served warm or chilled. 

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Momma Glo absolutely loved this potato salad…, so much so she asked for the leftovers for lunch the next day. That meant a lot from someone who has cooked for a profession for the better part of 50 years and has them down home southern roots. I too enjoyed it, with all the different flavors from the peppers to the onion to the bacon that gave every bite a little zip; and even better, I loved that this dressing had a tang, rather than the bland flat taste that heavy mayonnaise based salads typically do.  Sadly, Adam wasn’t a huge fan…, he said it was good, but he is one of those store bought potato salad types.  Still, I loved the dressing so much I have continued to use it on a variety of other things like broccoli and spinach, because it just whips up so fast!

TASTE: Personally I thought it was delicious and Momma Glo agreed; and although my husband wasn’t a big fan, I know if made for a crowd, it would definitely please.  Also, it makes you feel much less guilty, since it is not slathered in a bunch of mayonnaise.

EASE OF PREPARATION: This was possibly one of the easiest recipes I’ve taken on yet. It is just so simple to put together I don’t know why I would ever use the excuse of needing to buy one at the store.  This was just a matter of chopping and assembling a variety of things and then pouring the dressing over top and tossing.

COST: This dish is very cost effective, especially since it requires very little ingredients, and the ones it does require we either have on hand regularly or were easy enough to pick up.  It would even be more cost effective the more of it you made.

COMPLEXITY: As I mentioned above, this dish is so far from complicated, rather if you can cook some bacon and potatoes all while chopping up the veggies, you are good to go!

PORTION SIZE: The serving size is definitely accurate, seeing that it fed the four of us a great portion and left enough for someone to eat the next day.  Obviously if you were cooking it for a larger crowd, you may want to double or even triple the recipe.

Even if you like the store bought variety of salad, I beg you to give this one a try just once.  I am not trying to change your mind completely, just allowing you to introduce some uniqueness and variety into your cook out this summer. clip_image002 I think you’ll enjoy this 5 ‘Little Piggy’ recipe!

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