Kurt's friend Alison is subletting a fabulous apartment just down the street from us with an enormous garden. They decided to take advantage of the outdoor space to co-host a Memorial Day weekend cookout.
They spent two days cooking and shopping, and the menu was amazing.
Chicken satay with peanut sauce.
Yours truly was in charge of potato salad, which Kurt and I agreed had to be vinaigrette-based -- it's too hot for mayonnaise to sit out on a buffet table. I wasn't really expecting it to get much attention with all the other treats, but Neil liked it so much he had seconds, and a woman named Debbie said it was the best potato salad she'd ever had!
How handsome is Neil in his Nantucket reds? Nate was styling in Madras shorts.
Kurt grilled mini-turkey cheeseburgers. He even pickled onions for a topping. Heavenly! Along with the asparagus, the sliders were my favorite part (with the chicken satay a close second). I didn't get photos of some things -- bruschetta with olive tapenade, veggies and dip, strawberry shortcake and chocolate crepes with Nutella for dessert. Kurt even made his own crepes!
By now, I've gotten to meet some of Kurt's friends several times, which is really fun. The party was a good mix of his friends and Alison's friends, with a heavy representation from our neighborhood bar, The Cubbyhole, where both Kurt and Alison are regulars.
The potato salad came from The Joy of Cooking. The recipe serves four, so you can just adjust it for a crowd: Boil red potatoes; cool and slice. Toss with a basic vinaigrette: 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and Dijon mustard. Your proportion is about two cups of sliced potatoes for every 1/2 cup of vinaigrette. Before serving, add fresh chopped parsley and chives or scallions. (The recipe says 1 tablespoon parsley and 1 tablespoon chopped chives for every 2 cups of potatoes, but I didn't really measure.)
Since I didn't make it too long before serving it, I just tossed everything together at once, including the herbs. Dill or tarragon would be fantastic in addition to or instead of the chives and parsley. You can also add garlic to the vinaigrette.
4 comments:
Um, I had 3.5 servings of the potato salad. At least.
What a lovely setting, gourmet menu, and interesting friends...a memorable Memorial Day.
For potato salad, celery seed has become a stable in my pantry. It gives the flavor of celery without having to actually eat it. It depends on the day as to whether I have an aversion to celery.
Loving him in his Nantucket reds. Prepster all the way! All the food sounds amazing.
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