I've got particular tastes. I wouldn't call myself "picky" because that's clearly what I was when a small fry but I will say that I'm particular. Take potato salad, for instance. Not too long ago, I posted my angst over a particular restaurant's desire to repulse my stomach while clogging my arteries with their gloppy mayonnaise version of this summer potluck favorite. I prefer the tang of vinegar to the smudge of mayonnaise. I prefer the crispness of roasted potatoes to the mushiness of boiled. When it all comes down to it, I prefer my potato salad to anyone else's. I suppose it's only fair to let people in on a secret that isn't even mine. Point of fact, it's a recipe passed down to me from my mother-in-law who actually gleaned it from the Entertaining section of The New York Times in 1989.
I bring this potato salad to picnics and parties where people never believe that I'm actually giving them all the ingredients when they ask. I say, "It's just a mustard-based vinaigrette with rosemary, garlic, and chives." "No," they say, "There's something else in there. You put something else in there to make it really good -- there's a taste...something." "That's the rosemary," I insist, "Or the chives. Or the fact that the potatoes are tossed with the dressing while they are still warm." "No," they state, "It's something else." Well, people, I don't know what it is, but I'm giving you the recipe just so you can get the same reaction at your summer potlucks, picnics, and parties.
Roasted Potato Salad
From The New York Times, May 21, 1989, Entertaining Section, via my mother-in-law
Servings: 6
Approximate preparation time: 45 minutes