Just in Time for Your Next Cookout
Spending my birthday in Paris with my daughter was a dream come true. We rented an apartment in the 10th Arrondissement (a neighborhood that, it turns out, is a great food adventure), walked a lot, spent time at the Louvre, strolled in the Tuileries, took buses to find out where we were, became Metro mavens, and met wonderfully French people who, we hope, will email or friend us on Facebook. We petted their dogs and practiced our French. And, for the third time for myself and the first for Darcy, we're here to tell you that there is nothing arrogant or cold about the French themselves. They are warm and funny and incredibly nice. And I can't wait to go back.
Until we return and dine at many more Parisian restaurants suggested by Old Saybrook's Linda Frankel and Chester's Priscilla Martel, I'll be cooking in my own kitchen and on my own charcoal- and propane-fired grills with the local vegetables, herbs, fruit, and seafood that make summer on the Connecticut shoreline our own kind of Paris. Here are some recipes to accompany those great local foods at your next cookout.
Lee White of Old Lyme has been a food editor and restaurant reviewer for more than 25 years. You can email her at leeawhite@aol.com.
Lee's Favorite Potato Salad
Serves 6 to 8
5 pounds of potatoes (russets or Yukon Gold, peeled
and cubed into bite-sized pieces, or unpeeled red
bliss cubed)
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
Small bottle Wish-Bone Italian salad dressing
(low-fat is fine)
Salt and pepper to taste
Hellmann's mayonnaise (low-fat is fine, too)
In a large pot of water, bring potatoes to a boil and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.
Drain water and, in the same pot, toss potatoes with onions, celery, enough Italian dressing to give the potatoes flavor (about half a small bottle or a little more, to taste), a little salt, and some freshly ground pepper. Allow to cool on the counter at room temperature for at least 1 hour, preferably 2.
When cool, gently fold in just enough mayonnaise to make the potatoes somewhat creamy. Spoon mixture into a nice serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Wish-Bone Chicken
This is one of those recipes that's so easy my credibility is at risk. I'm not sure when I first made this, but it was at least before PFM (Present and Forever Marriage) and maybe even during FM (Former Marriage). I know it wasn't before that, because I couldn't cook anything. Somehow I learned that you could use bottled salad dressing to make this chicken dish. I also figured out to make barbecued ribs using Catalina dressing (don't ask). Here's the chicken recipe.
Serves 4 (with leftovers)
4 chicken legs
4 chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small bottle of Wish-Bone Italian salad dressing
(low-fat is fine)
Wash and dry your hands. Wash and dry chicken pieces and place in a Pyrex pan large enough to hold all the chicken pieces skin-side up. Top with salt and pepper to taste. Shake bottle of Wish-Bone, open, and pour dressing over chicken. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour or longer.
About 1 hour before you're ready to serve, set oven to 350 degrees. Place pan of chicken, uncovered, in oven for 45 minutes. In the meantime, make a fire in your charcoal grill or turn on the gas grill to medium-high (if using a charcoal grill, bank the charcoal so there is a high point and a lower high point). Take chicken from the pan and place pieces on the grill. Grill for around 10 to 15 minutes. Serve immediately.