7. Calico Potato Salad

The lovely people at Arganica gave me a free mixed produce crate to work my magic on and give their subscribers some ideas on what to do with the massive quantities of delicious produce that arrives on their doorstep. And Dinner is Served! was a great starting point for me to make a dish for a Memorial Day fete I attended at my friend Jon’s house.

I would like to mention that I do not actually have this card in my possession. In my set I have duplicates of #6 Broiled Rock Lobster Tails. But through the magic of my blog I came across GA Danny and he supplied me with a scan. Sorry, I don’t have the back of the card to share–it is in .pdf and won’t load.

As I have mentioned in the past, GA Danny owns the rest of the DiS! set. He’s got the mythical 1973 cards and I want them. But he’s said that he’s not interested in selling right now because they may be worth more in the future. Pshaw! No one else wants those cards and no one is going to pay BIG BUCKS for those cards. But I’d definitely pay something! Anyone know what a good offer would be for those? OMG, do I need to get a Kickstarter account going? How do I get one of those up? Would any of you guys throw a couple George Washingtons into the bucket?

For only pennies a day you can keep Marjon Promotions Inc.’s culinary delights in your life, far after the original 110 dinners…

But anyhoo, I made the Calico Potato Salad and just the Calico Potato Salad because I brought it to a cookout. Thank God. The last thing I needed was to cook a big ol’ steak.

This is what I wrote, which initially appeared on the Arganica blog:

If you’re like me, I’m sure that there have been times when you’ve received your mixed vegetable crate and have been absolutely overwhelmed by its contents.

And as a possible solution to this (good) dilemma, I present to you Calico Potato Salad. This recipe is not only perfect for utilizing extra vegetables; it’s a super, change-of-pace salad for all of those summer cookouts and picnics.

Start with the potatoes. I used 5 small red potatoes ($1.79/lb). Boil them until slightly tender, let them cool, cube them, and then toss them in dressing.

The dressing, as with standard all-American potato salad, is mayo-based. But this version eschews the typical celery-seed and mustard combo in favor of herbs. To 1 cup mayo add 1 minced spring onion ($2.99/bunch), 1 tablespoon fresh dill ($3.49/packet) and a few minced garlic cloves. This can be easily modified according to your taste and what herbs are handy—fresh or dry.

Your creativity and ingenuity comes in once the potatoes are dressed. In my version I folded in ½ pound fresh, blanched green beans ($2.85/lb), 10 oz frozen (defrosted) peas, and 1 bunch of blanched, chopped broccoli ($2.19/lb).

Once combined, I chilled the salad and, for serving, spooned it into a hydroponic Bibb lettuce ($2.49/head) lined-bowl. I topped it with a ring of blanched asparagus ($6.99/lb), sliced hard-cooked eggs, and wedges of green heirloom tomatoes. And to garnish, black olives, capers, and a healthy sprinkle of fresh parsley ($1.99/bunch).

But I can imagine that the addition of radishes would be welcome. Or how about some bell pepper? The beauty of a calico salad is that there is no set recipe. Mix together Arganica items with what you already have in your home—fresh, canned, frozen—the more varied in texture and flavor, the better this salad will be. If you have it, use it! Because what is the point of buying local, organic food if it’s going to go to waste?

So there’s the finished product. It’s nowhere near as colorful as the original, but it’s loaded up with just as many goodies. It’s just very, very green. Everyone seemed to like it so I’m counting this as a winner.

Per #7’s menu, I did bring cornbread. I bought a pack of Marie Callender’s cornbread, which was appealing to me because it only required the addition of water and could be microwaved (it was hot as balls Memorial Day weekend). As you can see in the above photo, it cooked, but there was nothing about it that would justify it being called a baked good. It’s all Jiffy all the way for me the next time I have a hankering for cornbread.

Overall the Calico Potato Salad was a success. Hey, I’ve been invited over to Jon’s again for another cookout tonight! I am bringing 5-cup Salad (I got this gem of a recipe from Caker Cooking).  I do love dishes that have such vague monikers, don’t you?  5 cups of what? Pasta? Gelatin? Miracle Whip?

I’ll share a photo tomorrow and give you my review. I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to absolutely adore it.