We’re in full-on summer here in NYC and it’s blatantly obvious lately. It’s almost-brutally hot every day and night, extra-humid every time there’s a quick thunderstorm, and everyone and their brother is always throwing a BBQ for any (or no) reason.

On Monday, to celebrate Independence Day, my friend Kimberly threw a BBQ in her backyard. She’s got one of the most impressive outdoor spaces I’ve seen yet in the city, big enough to fit 30 people! We ate everything from staples like hot dogs and burgers to totally-not-traditional rice balls, and it was all really really good. My contribution? This Fingerling Potato Salad from the July 2011 issue for Bon Appetit. Step-by-step photos and the recipe after the jump!

Every time I get the itch to make potato salad I look for a new recipe to try. Maybe one day I’ll settle on “my” potato salad, but that hasn’t happened yet, I’m still auditioning potential candidates!

Like almost every potato salad recipe, this one calls for boiling the potatoes first. In the instructions it actually says to cut the potatoes and then boil them, but I always boil them whole and cut them later so I didn’t even realize the recipe said to do otherwise. The reason I always boil them whole is because I’ve found that boiling sliced (or peeled) potatoes makes the potato take up a bunch of water and leads to a soggy finished product. I’m not sure if that’s really true or if it’s all in my head, but I’m planning to do a semi-scientific test in the near future to see if my gut is right on this one . . .

But anyway, back to the potato salad.

I set the potatoes to boil and moved on to the rest of the prep work:

How beautiful are these freshly-washed leeks? I love them! The picture kind of takes my breath away, and really makes me thankful for the natural sunlight in my new apartment. Looking at these leeks again is making me want to go out and get some more to roast.

But again, I digress . . . these leeks were quickly broken down:

And while the potatoes kept working on the back burner, I started toasting the mustard seeds:

When you’re toasting spices in a pan, it’s important to take them off the heat as soon as they get aromatic. For mustard seeds, which don’t really have much of a scent, take them off the minute you see/hear the first one pop. They’ll keep popping even after you’ve taken the pan off the heat!

After moving the oil and seeds into a bowl, I added more oil and started sauteing the leeks:

If I had more patience, I would have done the leeks in batches as my frying pan was not large enough to accommodate all of them without crowding them, which leads to steaming rather than sauteing . . . but I decided that it was good enough for this salad and tried not to feel lazy about it as I stirred the leeks and kept checking on the potatoes, which still weren’t done by this point.

Once the leeks were just-soft, I turned the heat off and turned to the dishes while I waited for the potatoes to be done. When they finally were, I drained them, waited a few minutes for them to cool off a bit, and then started to break them down:

The secret to cutting cooked potatoes is little-to-no downward pressure. If you push down with the knife, the skin will pop off and the potato won’t slice neatly. If you use your knife the way you would to slice fish, you’ll get a nice smooth cut on the potatoes. Wiping the knife off reguarly (just like you would if you were breaking down fish!) helps too.

In the end, you have a bowl full of cut up potatoes:

And then it’s just toss toss toss, season season season, and you’re done!

The resulting potato salad was subtly-flavored yet interesting. Because it has no mayo, it’s a much drier potato salad than is traditional. Feel free to up the mustard/vinegar amount at the end to make it more tangy if that’s what you prefer! To be honest, that’s what I prefer, but I kept it as-is for the sake of following the recipe the first time (I usually don’t change too much the first time I make a recipe, otherwise I can’t trust the result to tell me whether to try the recipe again or not!). As written, the recipe produces a mellow potato salad that most people will love. Everyone who tried it at the BBQ said they loved it!

Fingerling Potato Salad
Modified from Fingerling Potato Salad, Bon Appetit July 2011

• 3. pounds fingerling potatoes, washed & unpeeled
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 9 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp mustard seeds
• 3 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4″ slices
• 1 tbsp (or more to taste) apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• Freshly ground black pepper

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water, making sure there is enough water to cover the potatoes by a few inches. Add 1 tbsp salt and bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are cooked through. (You can test if they’re ready by spearing one with a fork, it should be easy to spear)

While potatoes are working, heat 3 tbsp oil in pan and toast mustard seeds over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you hear the first one pop. Remove from heat and transfer oil/mustard mix to a bowl to wait.

Add 2 tbsp oil and leeks to the pan. Add salt and cook over medium heat until just softened, about 10 minutes.

When potatoes are ready, drain them and let them cool off a bit. Then using a sharp knife, cut them into pieces about 3/4″ in size.

To assemble salad:

Add remaining oil plus the vinegar, Dijon mustard, and 1 tbsp water to the mustard seed mixture and wisk to combine. Toss potatoes and olives in the dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Sometimes I feel like my body is literally craving cabs, and specifically potatoes. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d addicted to cabs so I’m betting lots of you can relate to that feeling! When I came home last night and looked in my approaching-empty fridge and cabinets, I discovered that I didn’t have much to work with . . . except some potatoes and onions. Luckily that’s exactly what I felt like eating!

A quick search through my spice drawer reminded me that I still had some wonderful smoked spanish paprika in there and the result is what you see above. It was filling and delicious with its mix of sweet and spicy, with a bright tang from a bit of lime . . . I hope you’ll enjoy my Smoked Paprika Potato Hash, recipe below the jump!

When you start cooking the onions before everything else, you end up with a mildly sweet caramelized onion flavor in the final dish. Sometimes I don’t have the patience to let the onions get to that stage but when I do I’m always reminded of how worth it the wait is! Take my advice and wait it out, you’ll be glad you did.

If your onions still look like this:

It’s not ready yet.

But if they look like this:

Well, dig in!

Smoked Paprika Potato Hash
Serves two as a side dish

• 1 medium onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick along the grain
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Yukon gold potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 tbsp Smoked Spanish Paprika
• Pinch of dried chipotle pepper (optional)
• Juice of 1 lime

Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a skilled over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic. Stirring often, let the onions and garlic sweat for about 5 minutes until fragrant.

Add the potatoes and spices. Raise heat to medium-high and cover pan. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to redistribute potatoes so that they crisp up all-around. Add lime juice and then salt and pepper to taste. Cover again and continue cooking on medium-high heat until potatoes are done to your liking.

Proper meal idea: Serve with a poached egg on top for breakfast or as breakfast-for-dinner!

This was one of the side dishes we had last night at the seder I went to at my friends house: roasted baby asparagus with shaved parmesan! So good, so simple, so satisfying. Asparagus is coming back in season now so I’m looking forward to eating it as much as possible over the next few months . . . and I’ve already started collecting new recipes to try! If things go according to plan, this blog will be chock full of asparagus this spring. Hope you like it as much as I do. ;o)

Not related at all: I’ve been doing a bit of cleanup around here so you may notice things moving around over the next few days. I just added the ability to search the site to the sidebar so feel free to take advantage!

Also new: you can now subscribe to the blog via email instead of using an RSS reader. If you’re interested in that option, here’s a quick singup form you can use to subscribe:

And last but certainly not least: I’ve made a Facebook Page for A Chef’s Daughter and I’d love it if you’d “like” it! If you’re interested you can click on the like box in the sidebar, or go straight to A Chef’s Daughter on Facebook. Thanks in advance!

Anyone who knows me knows my passion for potatoes. If you know me a bit better you also know that roasting is my absolute favorite way to handle pretty much any ingredient. And that mushrooms are another of my favorite things to eat. So it should come as no surprise that I was inspired by the Roasted Potatoes and Lemon with Dill recipe in the current issue of Real Simple magazine . . . inspired to make it the second I saw it, but to add mushrooms into the mix to make a truly delicious and hearty side dish that takes practically no effort at all to complete.

The original recipe called for using new potatoes sliced in half, but all I had on hand were regular red-skinned potatoes, so I used those and just cut them up a bit more. Anytime I roast potatoes I like to have lots of potato surface area so that it has a chance to get that golden caramelized finish . . . the best thing about roasted potatoes is the contrast between the rich, chewy outside and the soft inside!

Slicing the lemon this way is the hardest thing about the recipe. If I hadn’t been making it with the idea of photographing it, I would have made my life easier by slicing off a chunk of one side to give me a flat surface on which to slice the lemon. But the gorgeous perfect circles won out over convenience so I sliced it the fancy way. See what I do for the blog? =)

When you have all the ingredients sliced up, you toss them with salt, pepper, and oil and spread them out nicely on a cookie sheet, then pop it in the oven.

It all comes out golden delicious:

And lining the tray with aluminum foil means the cleanup is minimal, too! Score!

Roasted Potatoes and Mushrooms with Lemon
Serves 2

• 2 red potatoes, washed and sliced into 1/2″ slices
• 1 pound baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 lemon, sliced into thin slices
• Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss all ingredients together in a bowl with some salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Spread on cookie sheet in single layer. Bake for 25 minutes, stirring once to cook evenly. Serve immediately.

Tip: If covering your cookie sheet with foil to speed up your cleaning, spread some olive oil on the aluminum before putting the food on it. That will ensure the potatoes/mushrooms don’t stick to the foil!

With Thanksgiving only a week away, I’ve been going through some tried-and-true side dishes to figure out what I’m bringing with me this year. In previous years I’ve stuck to roasted brussels sprouts (because I’m on a mission to convince as many people as possible that brussels sprouts are delicious) and homemade bread, but I wanted to make something new this year. In reviewing recent favorites I found that I’d forgotten to post this spinach side dish that I made way back in September! This Spinach and Mushrooms recipe came from Bon Appetit magazine and it was a hit at the dinner party I took it to. And it was super easy to make, too! It’s the perfect Thanksgiving side dish. Just be careful with the amount of red pepper flakes you add in the end!

I was really pleased to see that this recipe called for blanching the spinach first before mixing it with the other ingredients: doing so makes the dish way less watery than it would have been otherwise. It’s such an easy first step and it makes such a big difference! I am never skipping this step ever again when cooking greens of any type.

Spinach with Shitake Mushrooms and Shallots
Modified from Bon Appetit

• 3 pounds spinach leaves
• 1 cup chopped shallots
• 8 ounces sliced shiitake mushrooms
• Olive oil
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tsp red pepper flakes

In large pot of boiling water, blanch spinach for one minute. Drain and squeeze dry to remove water.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Saute shallots and mushrooms until tender but don’t overcook to the point that they lose all texture. Add spinach, heavy cream, and pepper flakes. Simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken cream. Serve immediately.

I used to think that I disliked coleslaw that had a lot of mayo in it but then I accidentally put too much in a batch and found that I didn’t mind at all! I already knew that the slaws I like are the tangy or vinegary kind, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was that I didn’t like in the “bad” ones. I recently figured it out: sugar! Most coleslaw has some sugar in it but some recipes overdo the sugar and then it’s all I can taste when I take a bite. Given this newfound revelation I set out to make a batch that had no added sugar at all and was bright, summery, and a bit spicy. I present you with my (mildly) Spicy Chipotle Coleslaw! Enjoy!

In this recipe there is no added sugar at all but the addition of raw fresh corn gives a bit of sweetness (and extra crunch!) to the overall slaw. If you want to make it spicier I suggest adding other spicy elements instead of upping the chipotle powder, as any more than what I’ve included in this recipe will just give you heat without added flavor. Instead, try adding one finely chopped serrano pepper (seeds removed) or a splash of the liquid from pickled jalapenos if you have that on hand.

Slaws like these keep in the fridge for ages, but the fresh corn in this one means it has a slightly shorter shelf life. So maybe only a week or two instead of “ages” . . .

Spicy Chipotle Coleslaw
Makes enough to bring to a potluck or picnic!

• 1 head green cabbage (approx 2 pounds)
• 1.5 cups light mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup deli mustard
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• 1 tbsp dried cilantro or mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
• corn kernels from 3 ears of fresh corn

Cut the cabbage in half and remove the cores. Slice cabbage the long way into about 1/4″ thick slices. Put the chopped cabbage in a large bowl.

In another bowl, mix together all the remaining ingredients except for the corn. Toss the cabbage with the dressing until it’s well coated. I find that it’s easiest to mix with your hands! Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Top with corn and mix the corn in as you eat the slaw.

Tip: Don’t dump all the dressing onto the cabbage at once as you may not need it all. Instead, work about half the dressing in first and then taste, and keep adding more dressing until you’re happy with the mix.

The current issue of Bon Appetit didn’t speak to me as much as most issues do, but the few recipes I immediately jumped on turned out to be some of the best I’ve tried recently. This Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad was simple to make and yielded a side dish with a real wow factor. Elevating a simple roasted potato to this level is amazing, but doing it with such an easy recipe is even better! My parents loved this potato dish and I’m sure you will too.

Part of what makes this dish visually appealing is slicing the potatoes down the middle the long way. Fingerling potatoes have such a nice shape to them and this type of cut showcases that really well. It’s also a bit unusual so it adds a bit of a wow factor with no effort at all. I also love that cutting them this way gives much more surface area to get a crispy golden roasted edge onto — that’s my favorite part of a roasted potato for sure!

Be sure to coat the cookie sheet with a decent amount of oil to prevent the potatoes from sticking to it. If you’re into a quick clean up (and I’ve never met anyone who isn’t), you can definitely line the cookie sheet with aluminum foil first and coat the foil with oil instead. Just don’t be stingy with the oil if you go that route, because having to peel aluminum foil that got stuck to your potatoes will definitely ruin your enjoyment of this dish.

Oh and the original recipe calls for adding crumbled hard-boiled eggs on top of the potatoes, which I chose to skip simply because I was out of eggs (I have no idea how that even happened). I think they sound like a lovely addition to this dish and will definitely include them the next time I make it. Which, given how much of this I ate last weekend, will probably be very, very soon!

Roasted Fingerling Potato Salad
Adapted from Bon Appetit June 2010

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 lbs fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp mustard (with or without grains, your preference)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat cookie sheet (or foil if using it) with oil.

Toss potatoes with 2 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper. Lay potatoes out on cookie sheet cut side down in a single layer and roast for about 25 minutes, until cut side is nicely browned. Turn potatoes over and roast until tender, about 10 minutes longer. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

For dressing: Whisk remaining ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold dressing over hot potatoes if eating immediately, or serve dressing on the side and let guests top potatoes themselves.

The asparagus this year is so gorgeous it practically breaks my heart. When I tell you I’ve been eating asparagus several times a week for the last few weeks I’m not exaggerating! My favorite way to eat it is simply roasted with some olive oil and pepper . . . but I recently came across the idea of shaving it into thin strips and tossing it for a bright salad and I knew I had to give it a try. This refreshing, spring-like salad would be a perfect side to go along with a strong protein like duck or lamb, but it would also go well served next to a pile of simply-garnished pasta. Me? I made a pile big enough to serve as my whole dinner and drank a beer “on the side.” Works for me.

I found that the easiest way to shave the asparagus was to lay each stalk flat on a chopping board and then run the veggie peeler across the stalk. To avoid injury, use your other hand to hold the end of the stalk that’s closer to you and run the peeler away from you. Use your imagination to figure out how I figured that one out . . .

Raw Asparagus Salad with Peccorino and Pine Nuts
This recipe is for a side salad portion for one

• 4 oz asparagus, shaved into thin slices
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• handful of pine nuts
• shaved Peccorino
• Juice from half a lemon

Toss all the ingredients except the lemon juice together. Squeeze lemon juice over the top just before eating.

This time of year one of the most exciting seasonal items is the teeny tiny potatoes that start popping up in all the markets. The baby potatoes are so sweet and tasty that they don’t even need butter or anything to make them delicious . . . but of course some shallots, garlic, and lemon never hurt anything did they?! These potatoes are easy to make and they’re a great side dish for just about any protein.

This side dish could easily be made with onions (red onions would be really good) but I just love shallots so I chose to go with them. Tip for onions and shallots: To keep them from disintegrating during cooking, slice them lengthwise through the ends!

Baby Potatoes with Shallots and Lemon
Serves 2-4

• 1 pound baby potatoes (about 1-1.5″ in diameter)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large shallots, sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• Juice from half a lemon

Set pot of heavily salted water to boil (water should taste like seawater), then add potatoes and boil until tender, approximately 10-15 minutes. Drain potatoes. In heavy skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook until shallots are golden yellow. Then add the potatoes to skillet and saute potatoes for a few minutes. Turn heat to low and cover pan, letting potatoes brown for a few minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, squeeze half a lemon over the potatoes to finish.

Looking for something a bit more impressive to bring with you to Thanksgiving this year? This onion tarte tatin may just fit the bill! It’s not only delicious, the presentation is absolutely beautiful and is bound to elicit at least a few “did you MAKE that!?!?” comments from your relatives . . .

Cipollini mushrooms are adorably appealing and have always called my name in the market. This past weekend when I headed down to the Union Square Greenmarket to meet up with Elissa, I found a stall selling them for only $2.00 a pound and just knew I had to make something featuring them. Enter this recipe from Martha that I’ve had bookmarked for forever, and you end up with this onion tart. Martha calls for vidalia onions in her recipe but this tasted delicious with cipollini’s, too. Really, any sweet onion would do . . . and I think shallots might be a nice twist worth trying in the future!

What makes a “tarte tatin” is that the filling is cooked before the tart is baked. Usually a “tarte tatin” denotes apple, but after making this I’m already planning to try the same technique with other savory ingredients! The onions and leeks are cooked in a pan with chicken stock until the liquid reduces and the onions caramelize, giving a wonderfully deep and complex flavor to the dish. Few flavors are better than caramelized onions in my opinion!

Look at the color that develops as it caramelizes! Once everything is reduced down (this picture was taken about half-way through), you cover the filling with the dough:

And pop the whole pan in the oven. Then you wait and wait while the delicious flavor fills your home . . .

I served this with a light salad of arugula, clementines, and Parmesan cheese with just oil and vinegar (I’ll be featuring that salad here later, it was that good!). For being just salad and a tart, it was an incredibly satisfying meal. This tart would also be great as a side dish to something acidic or spicy. Just don’t pair it with something else sweet or you’ll be totally overwhelmed!

Cipollini Onion Tarte Tatin

For Crust:

• 1.25 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 3 tbsp ice water

For Filling:

• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 lbs Cipollini onions, peeled. Half sliced length-wise to reveal the rings, the other half sliced 1/4″ thick
• 1 medium leek, white part only, well washed and sliced 1/2″ thick
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried), plus more for garnish
• 1.5 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar

Prepare crust:

Combine flour and salt in the food processor. Add butter and process for about 10 seconds, or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add thyme and shallots and process a few seconds more. With the machine running, add water little by little, until dough just holds together. Form dough into a flat disk, and wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Prepare filling:

In a 10-inch skillet with a metal handle (size matters here!), melt butter. Sprinkle in sugar and remove from heat.

Arrange onion halves and leeks in the pan so that the leeks fill in the spaces between the onions. Sprinkle with half the thyme leaves. Add salt and pepper to taste. Lay onion slices on top. Sprinkle with remaining thyme and season with salt and pepper again.

Cook over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, or until onions are a deep golden brown on the cut side. Turn on oven to preheat to 375 at this point.

Pour stock and vinegar over onions and bring to a simmer. Then cover and cook over low heat for 25 minutes or until onions are very tender. Remove lid, raise heat, and cook until liquid is syrupy and almost completely reduced. Remove from heat and let cool about 5 minutes.

Assemble:

Remove dough from fridge and roll out to about 12″ in diameter. Dough should be about 3/8″ thick. Wrap dough around rolling pin and use pin to transfer to pan. Cover onions with dough and tuck in extra dough around sides.

Place pan in oven and bake until pastry is golden brown and juices are bubbling, about 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate. Serve warm, garnished with fresh thyme.