French Red Potato Salad

I made this recipe for 4th of July so I made it into "American Red White & Blue Potato Salad".  I used baby red, white and blue potatoes.  If you can't find the blue potatoes, use the purple ones.  They will do just fine.  The main thing is to cook the potatoes just right.  Be careful not to over cook or under cook them.  This recipe was created by Catherine Kitcho for her "Use It Up Cookbook: Creative Recipes for the Frugal Cook."  She is a caterer turned author. This is one of her favorite recipes from her catering business.  She did not like the idea of serving salads with mayonnaise base for events that were held outdoors in hot weather.  Catherine Kitcho says that this potato salad actually tastes better when it's warm and I agree. 

French Red Potato Salad
by Catherine Kitcho

2 pounds red potatoes
8 green onions, sliced thin (scallions)
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
2 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil

Cut the potatoes into quarters, and steam for 15 minutes or until cooked through but not mushy.

Drain in a colander and rinse in cold water.  When cool enough to handle, cut the potatoes into cubes and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Add the onions, parsley, dill weed, salt and pepper, and stir to distribute.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, wine, garlic, and olive oil.  Pour over the potatoes and stir thoroughly.

Serve immediately or chill and serve later.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

This recipe looks much easier than the Baked Beans with Maple Glazed Bacon recipe I posted recently.  I think that I will try to combine the ingredients from the previous recipe (meaning the vinegars) to give this recipe some zing.  But the idea of cooking it all in a slow cooker is so much more appealing than spending two days trying to make baked beans.  Although the Baked Beans with Maple Glazed Bacon recipe got high praise from everyone who tried it, this one looks much simpler and less labor intensive.  I will definitely try it with a few of my own "tweaks."  {This recipe needed a lot of revisions.  I made my changes as noted below.  I doubled all the original ingredients except the onion but I increased the amount of water from 1 cup to 4-5 cups.}

Slow Cooker Baked Beans


Prep Time: 1 hr.
Cook Time: 10 hrs.
Servings:  12

Ingredients:

24 ounces dry white beans
1 pound bacon
1 onion, chopped
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
4-5 cup water
2 teaspoons maple flavoring
4 garlic cloves
1/4 cup molasses 
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 cup ketchup (or tomato paste)
1/4 tablespoons prepared mustard

Directions:


1.  The night before, combine the beans with water to cover by an inch or two.  Bring the beans to a boil and cook for 1-1/2 hours.  Pour beans and their liquid into a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.  Drain beans and place them in a slow cooker.  Add  bacon, onion, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, maple flavoring, molasses, garlic, vinegars and water.

2. Mix well, cover and cook on high setting for 5 hours, stirring occasionally.  Cook on low for another 7 to 9 hours.  During the final hour of cooking, add the ketchup and mustard, remove bacon, chop it and put it back into the slow cooker.  Mix well and serve.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook