August 2013 Cooking Tips : COOKING LIGHT Ultra-Easy Recipes

Tips on Reinventing Your Original Potato Salad

Instead of using waxy potatoes try an alternative like russet potatoes.

Add vinegar to the boiling water with salt when cooking the potatoes to help them retain their firmness.

If you haven't had super soft potatoes in a potato salad before you'll notice the difference.

For my taste I prefer a nice bite.

Drain the water from the pot and spread the potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet.

Drizzle about 1/2 tablespoon of white wine vinegar per pound of  the hot potatoes.

Try a lighter vinaigrette style dressing

Lighter to settle at the bottom of the bowl for tossing.  

This next part will really blow you away!

To create a dressing coating for your potatoes that will stick to every bite use:

1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or whole-grain mustard

*THE KEY...

Take 1/2 cup of the cooked potatoes and press through a ricer!

"This creates a creamy, highly seasoned dressing that coats the potatoes & really stays in place"

 -Kenji Lopez-Alt

Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats http://seriouseats.com

where he writes The Food Lab, unraveling the science of home cooking.

🏠❤️ 🍽 Weekday Meal: Seasoned Broiled Pork Chops

Seasoned Pork chops & Fresh yellow corn

Seasoned Broiled Pork Chops with parsley, buttered sour cream & chive mashed potatoes, & yellow corn with melted butter

 This was great during the week. Fast without much hassle. Approx. 30 minutes.

• Medium size pork chop on medium high heat in a griddle skillet with olive oil covered with aluminum foil.
•  Boil red potatoes or russet potatoes in pot with water and salt until tender. Use a potato masher, hand-held mixer or blender until whipped smooth. Add sour cream and chives/green onions. Add butter for creaminess and pepper for seasoning to taste. If you prefer other seasonings for the taste that suits you please add to your liking!
• Heat water to boiling, add salt, and add corn. Add melted or stick butter when it's done. Use corn skewers as shown above to handle hot corn.  

I've been wondering for the longest about a way to cover corn on the cob with butter without it sliding down the sides from the heat and having to reapply. One day there will be a way I know it!

This is actually one of my favorites with the potatoes as a new edition. We usually eat regular mash potatoes but homemade potatoes are easy to make and are hearty. Try it if you haven't before.