Monthly Archives: August 2010

08.24.10
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Mom’s German Potato Salad

…and a visit to German Village

gps_potato_platter_det

Dad–
I raved so much about Gary’s rendition of the German Potato Salad to Alison that now she wants us to make it with our latest crop of potatoes. Therefore you *HAVE* to do an EatsForOne feature on the recipe, especially if you can track down Martha’s version (Gary might be able to help you there, a good excuse to give them a call).
–ER

And so the quest began. I called Amy and Gary.

When Amy answered, I said, “Eric’s on me to write something about “Mom’s” German Potato Salad you guy’s brought to the Pigroast. Can you give me the recipe?”

Amy said, “Gary made it, I just helped and coached.”
“Is Gary there?” I said.

“He’s outside, under his truck,” said Amy. “I’ll call him.”

Gary said, “Gosh, I just started cooking… Amy peeled the potatoes and I sliced them… we were just cooking together…

“I don’t remember the proportions… I know we started with a lot of bacon… 1 1/2 pounds, and a lot of onions… saute the onions until they’re good and caramelized… deglaze the pan with a bit of water, then start adding vinegar and sugar until it tastes like the German Potato Salad in German Village. I’ve never seen the recipe written down. Maybe next time, I can make some notes.”
gv_Schmidt_lunch

After thinking about it, I fired off an email with a couple more questions, to which Gary quickly replied:

Mustard? No mustard, but that could be a worthy secret ingredient.
What kind of potatoes? The potato was a russet  brown skin and Amy states that we once used some red skin potatoes. Peeled, sliced on a mandolin. and parboiled.

I tried to conjure up what I remember about Mom’s German Potato Salad — I’m sure my recollections were heavily influenced by what I had just eaten at the Pigroast.

Potatoes were sliced, not cubed
Potatoes were firm, not mushy
No other vegetables or eggs.
Sweet and sour taste.

I looked for German Potato Salad recipes on the internet. Surprisingly, none were very close to the picture in my mind. One, from House & Garden, February 1957, on Epicurious, by Eloise Davison was just potatoes, bacon and sauce, but she used cubed potatoes, and only four teaspoons chopped onion, coupled with flour to make a roux with the bacon fat.

The best clues came from Recipes from a German Grandma

What makes a good German Potato Salad?
The Potato
Any potato works well but it is good to understand the qualities of each potato to their advantage in your salad. ?Many Germans like the firm red skin potato but the russet works well as also.
The Dressing
The typical dressing is a very simple vinaigrette that is equal parts water, vinegar and sugar.
Trouble is, the pictures showed a mooshy mass of potatoes, so I didn’t read that recipe carefully before I started writing my own and cooking. (Looking back, its pretty close to what I did.) Continue reading →

08.20.10
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Jannie’s Keystone Pasta

Jackson, Ohio to San Francisco

Sent from my iPad
hello Marc. My typing skills are not very good.  I have room for Lots of improvement.  What are you having for supper.  We are having Keystone Pasta.  You put lots of basil in the bottom of a 9×13 pan.  Peal about 8 large tomatoes. Sprinkle o.o. Over salt, pepper bit of sugar.  Bake 350for@30minutes and serve Over pasta.  This is a Hale original.  I make this when I have lots of basil.  Just wanted to
Let you know we are enjoying the iPad.  I think it was a good choice.  Say hi to Carol.
Jan

Jackson, OH

On our way to the Hale Hollow Pigroast, we stopped for an overnight at Carol’s brother Mark’s farm in Jackson, Ohio. Jackson is about as far southeast as Ohio goes — you want to get away? — this is away.

Keystone tomatoes

Keystone tomatoes

When we walked into the house, I remarked on a gorgeous plate of sliced Keystone tomatoes we would be having for dinner. Mark and Jannie are proud of their tomatoes and this is peak season, so tomatoes are a big part of mealtime. I don’t remember ever having Keystones, but Mark pointed out they’re a close cousin to brandywine tomatoes.

Mark took me on a ride around his place on his Mule, a four wheel get-around-easy-to-keep-up-the-place toy. Fun.

t_mule

t_ripping_thru_woodsWe went rippin’ through the woods and crusin’ th’ dale.

t_cruisin_th_dale

Passing the garden he showed me the Keystone tomato plants, standing taller than me. Continue reading →

08.03.10
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Spring Cassoulet

… peach and tomato salad
Gone again… back again

the farm lane

the farm lane

This time we were off to Ohio, a land of heat and humidity, but one of family celebrations, as well. This one was Carol’s brother Alan’s annual pig roast on his farm just south of Lancaster – where Carol grew up – which is just north of Logan – my birthplace – and about 30 miles southeast of Columbus – where I grew up. Having lived in San Francisco for nearly 20 years, a trip “back east” is July is like a hot, wet slap in the face, and Carol tends to obsess over the heat. To my way of thinking, it’s good to go someplace really hot from time to time – not too often. I don the Ohio July uniform of a loose tee shirt, shorts and sandals and live with it. It’s the clammy, usually way too cold air conditioning that gets to me.

dude... check out these Ohio tomatoes!

dude... check out these Ohio tomatoes!

All of that, to say that I haven’t contributed to eats for a while.

sc_beans_sausages

I found this recipe for Spring Cassoulet in the CUESA newsletter and though it’s a bit past spring, I had all the ingredients and SF is cool enough just now to enjoy a bean dish.

So, you make a pot of beans and throw some sausages and pancetta on top, and sprinkle that with baby lettuces and edible flowers. How easy and yummy is that? Quite.

But Dominique Crenn of Luce at the InterContinental hotel showed me a few tricks to make this simple thing sophisticated and sublime.

For the beans, she cooked bacon, shallot, garlic, celery and carrot in a generous amount of olive oil and deglazed the pan (I used my bean pot) with white wine. OK so far… that’s the way I start beans. For the twist, she tied up that vegetable bacon mixture in cheesecloth and put it back in the pot for the beans. Viola… no pesky vegetable and bacon pieces in the beans, just their flavor. She used Rancho Gordo White Runner Beans, I used Golden Eye.

Chunks of lamb sausage, pork sausage and chopped pancetta, sautéed with onion and garlic, then cooked with red wine and chicken stock, made it a cassoulet. I used Fatted Calf Merguez and Mild Italian sausages. Continue reading →