Approximately twelve hours ago a display of colourful
explosions were seen and heard by
locals along with hundreds of gaping tourists.
Still evident this morning as they were yesterday, oversized marshmallow
clouds are nudging against one another in our Las Vegas sky. Some blended with a soft charcoal grey amid
the white. The surge of rain that
emerged from the desert sky was no deterrent to the show of patriotism each of
the Big Name Hotels executed one-by-one along the Strip. What was once a stiff competition of sight
and sound has become a well choreographed, sequential dance of sparkling lights
literally shooting into the atmosphere.
Seemingly high above the beam that extends from the Luxor, diminishing
if only for a few moments, the horizontal movement of Neon below. It was loud and exciting. In today’s aftermath of sparklers and those
things that “pop” when thrown to the ground I grab my broom to sweep it all
away, as I ponder. My morning is
focused on prepping for that other 4th of July weekend tradition,
the family barbeque.
A couple of weeks
ago, I showed off and shared with you the barbeque event spent with friends
when I prepared a sumptuous Paella. This
afternoon my grandson, children and their dad will arrive with coolers and
appetites in tow to enjoy a more traditional barbecue menu. Grilled chicken slathered with a rich and
smoky homemade sauce, (after the meat is will almost fully cooked and not moved
every three minutes). Grilled corn-on-the-cob,
husks tied back in semblance of a hemp-belted skirt. Then spread with my compound butter of grated
Asiago and fresh cracked pepper. Of
course there will be burgers and dogs, but I’ll include a few large Portobello
mushrooms on the grill for my non-meat eaters.
Spheres of melted Provolone will sit atop each mushroom and beef/pork patty,
with a dollop of my “secret sauce,” a pesto aioli. Green salad and fresh watermelon, (which I’ve
decided to grill), will abound amid the chips and dip.
But the one side-dish
my family most associates with the 4th of July is potato salad. Yes, that pell mell of starch, hard boiled eggs
and mayonnaise, along with a vegetable or two, if you count black olives as
vegetables. Unfortunately I have among
my four children one who has never liked mayonnaise. Growing up his lunch sandwiches were prepared
with mustard only. This resulted in our
refrigerator going beyond the standard trifecta of condiments; ketchup, mustard
and mayonnaise. We had whole grain
mustard, spicy mustard, honey mustard, Grey Poupon even champagne mustard. Sometimes our son opted out of any condiment
smeared on the two slices of bread bookending his lunch meat.
With his then
small pudgy hand the spreadable gauntlet was thrown years ago. Since I am always up to the task of doing my
very best to create recipes for those who claim they don’t like something, I
strive to come up with adaptations or well disguised ingredients to entice
their wary and reluctant palates.
Obviously a new fandangled potato salad recipe is long overdue. In years past I have tried adding bacon,
pickles, more eggs, less mayonnaise.
I’ve labored, whisking together home-made mayonnaise. Once I prepared a potato salad that
completely omitted mayonnaise and used bacon fat, vinegar and mustard
instead. He was thrilled but no one else at my picnic table was. They said it was good, but it wasn’t regular potato salad.
This year I am
going to camouflage and conceal that rich mixture of egg yolk and oil by
redirecting this now, grown man’s taste buds.
I am going to give his mouth such a thrill he’ll never know what hit him
between the gums.
Now done with my
sweeping, I’m inspired to go for hot and firey.
Flavors his Puerto Rican tongue can rejoice in. I’m going to give him and the rest of the family,
a fusion of taste that will first yell HOT! - then HERBAL! - then SMOOOTH! I am going to use just a little mayonnaise,
(to appease the other members of our clan), but the cloak and dagger of my
efforts will come from the jalapeno, cilantro, black beans and sour cream.
This is what I
gathered together;
about 4 lbs of Red Bliss potatoes, (you want waxy ones;
Red or New, Yukon Gold)
1 large can of black beans – rinsed ½ large red
onion – medium diced
½ - 1 fresh jalapeno pepper – seeds and ribs removed,
minced - (I suggest wearing gloves)
½ cup fresh cilantro – chopped
3 cloves garlic – minced
¼ cup mayonnaise ¾ cup sour cream 1/8 cup mustard
salt & pepper to taste pinch cayenne pepper zest from 2 limes
*capers – optional
This is what I did;
1)
Cleaned the potatoes, then rough cut into easily
eaten cubes – all about the same size
2)
I placed my steamer basked into a pot and filled
it with only enough water to just touch the bottom of the basket. I salted the water, then brought it to a
boil.
3)
Once the water was boiling, I lowered the heat
to a simmer, then using tongs lowered the basket into the pot. I filled the
basket with about 1/3 of the potatoes. Covered the pot and let the potatoes steam
until tender – about 12 minutes. It took
about 3 batches, but trust me, steamed potatoes make a real difference in taste
and texture.
4)
Meanwhile I combine beans, onion, ½ the
cilantro, garlic & jalapeno,( the HEAT), and zest of one of the limes into
a large serving bowl , season with salt to taste and set aside
5)
When all the potatoes were steamed I season with
salt and pepper, allow them to cool, then added them to the serving bowl
mixture.
6)
Gently, I folded in the mayo, mustard, sour
cream, (the SMOOTH), remaining cilantro, (the HERBAL), and zest of second lime
7)
I seasoned with the salt, pepper and cayenne to
taste.
Now, Puerto Rican food is traditionally NOT spicy so all
this heat is a bit of a deviation. To
bring my potato salad home a bit, I decided to add 2 tablespoons of
capers. This serves to give the tang we
usually get from pickles and is a tribute to my Nana’s use of either green
pimento-stuffed olives or capers in her arroz
con pollo. They’re going to love
this!
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