Potato salad, in the pressure cooker. I'm about to revolutionize the way you make the classic summer gathering food. NOW you can make it for a gang of 50 or as a simple side for one. It's not banished to party land any more.

I am about to revolutionize the way you make potato salad.  

I love potato salad and only ever eat it when there's going to be a happening of substantial size at my house.  I make to take to parties, in enormous bowls, garnished with herbs and cherry tomatoes (if I'm feeling radical).  

I make a pretty classic, simple, straight forward potato salad.  Some things shouldn't be shushed up or tarted out of what made them classics to begin with.  

This isn't a recipe to change what you put in your salad but rather, how you make it.  Grab a glass of wine, let's begin: 

TRACY'S PRESSURE COOKER POTATO SALAD, For ONE OR For 50

Ingredients:

potatoes, waxy white or red ones, as many as you need
1 russet potato, just a small one, trust me
eggs, as many as you want in your salad
the dressing you prefer
OR make your own with
mayonnaise
mustard
aioli if you have any
celery, green onions, regular onions (diced small and rinsed in ice water),
vinegar, apple cider is my preferred choice
water
sugar
salt, pepper, herbs that you love

LONG winded directions, with pictures

IN your pressure cooker, put some water, about 2 cups and a steamer rack.  I use one of those flower types.  

CUT your potatoes into potato salad sized chunks.  Skin on or off, your choice.  You MUST use waxy potatoes, russets will fall apart.  THAT being said, one russet in the mix makes the dressing creamier and thicker so if you want a softer mouth feel, add one, also cut small.  Nestle your eggs into the potatoes at the top.  I have 4 lbs of potatoes so I am using 3.  When I do this for just me, I use one.

LOCK AND LOAD, 4 minutes, oh look at the before and after shot.  I open when the timer goes off, quick release this stuff.  See how different HAHAH  Remove the eggs to a towel on the side and
  
While your spuds are doing their spud thing, make your dressing in the biggest bowl you have.  Make your own or futz a recipe, depending on how much you need.  Make it thin thin thin!  The consistency of pouring cream.  Trust me, the hot potatoes suck this stuff up.  They absorb the flavor so incredibly. 

Today, mine was about a cup of mayonnaise, a tablespoon of dijon, zest and juice of half a lemon, salt, pepper, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar,  thyme, white sugar, water till it was the right consistency.  I also had a little leftover aioli which I added.  The trick is to taste, taste, taste.
 
Drain the potatoes when the timer goes off and dump them into a collander, see the steamer insert I use?  Dump the potatoes, screaming hot, into the dressing and fold fold fold, carefully but not too fanatically.
   
They SOAK up the dressing, it's amazing.  Add whatever chopped veggies you want, I just wanted celery today.  Break the ends of the eggs and drop them into cold water, peel them.
  
Transfer the salad to a prettier bowl when it's all mixed in.  I put the whole eggs on top and cover the whole thing and put it in the fridge. When it's cold, I will chop the eggs, fold it all together one last time, put some sliced green onions on top and serve it up.

This recipe works for a small amount or a giant amount, 4 minutes, high pressure, on a steamer and you have a delicious, fabulous, quick, tasty, happiness inducing potato salad.

It's not just for OTHER people anymore!

Make it, enjoy it!

/tracy

Linen things I make and sell that are totally food related.

I try really hard not to steer you wrong.  I love sharing my ideas and recipes and just general stuff here.

I like to have some of the toys that go along with the cooking that I do. I'm not a fan of single use or specific use items, I think we all need to be using our money on things that have many uses.

I sell on Etsy and my store is:
Tracy Makes Stuff

I sell through my Facebook store page:
Tracy Makes Stuff in Austin

That being said, I have a few items that I use in my house that I make to sell and I think they are appropriate items to list here.

A head's up, the linen bread bags are going to be included in a Californian magazine in their December issue, I'll post the link here closer to the time.  I'm so excited :D

Anyway, these are the foodie items I'm selling in the store.  I wanted you to have 'dibs' on them because Christmas is coming and I am planning of starting to make a lot more of these items.

1.  Linen baking cloth, also known as a clouche.  

Bakers Linen Cloth Baking Clouche 100 Linen by TracyMakesStuff

I use these to cover my island when I make bread  It reduces the amount of flour I need.  I can use it to flip soft dough (like my ciabatta) around and over and I can cover loaves while they rise.  It absorbs some liquid and there is a solid difference in the dough that I shape and let rise on the floured counter and the dough that I shape and let rise on the cloth 

2.  Linen bread bags and Linen potato bags

Linen Bread Bag by TracyCooksinAustin Listing by TracyMakesStuff

I use these to store my fresh bread.  There's no mold on the bread and it is better than plastic.  I don't think bread should be stored any longer than a day or two.  In my house, after a day or so, it becomes bread crumbs or croutons that I store in the freezer.

I also have these bags with the word POTATO across the front, yeah, I store my potatoes in them, they stop any mold or yukkiness from the plastic bag, and they're kept in the dark so they don't sprout so quickly.  Brilliant I know, my mother's idea.  OH and she has a pocked on her potato bag that says 'garlic'.  Yeah, high, dry, dark and it all lasts so much longer.

3.  Linen napkins

Linen Napkins Raw Edge Ruffle Edge Rustic by TracyMakesStuff

AND for the Whovians of us...
https://www.etsy.com/listing/164515906/dr-who-tardis-moustache-linen-napkins?

I'm OVER handing people a piece of paper towel when we eat. I don't like cotton napkins, they don't feel right and I'm all about linen.  I, however, do NOT make the linen napkins from 100% linen, because you'd have to iron then and there's no one with enough time or energy to iron napkins for every day.

I use a 80-20 linen cotton blend. No ironing and it behaves exactly like 100% linen.  The feel is the same, the look and the use.  Perfect. 

These are the perfect addition to the house.  They wash up a dream and I have a pile of them that are in perpetual rotation.  I have both the black and the natural, depending on my mood.  Initially, I thought black was weird as a napkin but it's GREAT! 

Let me know what you think of the items, I'm interested.  I don't know what the rates are to ship outside the USA but I'm looking into it. 

Have a great rest of your day, I'm making bread and pressure cooker jambalaya (which I'll post in a day or so) in preparation for my mom coming to stay for a bit.  I love playing in the kitchen with her, I'll post what we make. 

enjoy

Tracy

Potato Appetizer Snack Side Deliciousness

Sunday has turned into football watching day.  I don't think it's because anyone particularly likes football but rather the call of "the games on!" has become synonymous with "it's justification for laying around in jammies and not actually doing to help put the house back together even though the walls are all cracking and there is paper hanging from cracks in all the corners and the child's bedroom window is falling out day".

Since I was sick the day before, there's not a snack in the house.  It's amazing how little gets done when I spend a day laying on my bed feeling well and truly sorry for myself.  I mean the dishwasher backup continued, am I the only one who knows how to empty it.  I'm sure I am not, perhaps it's just that I'm the only one who would think about it?  Am I doomed to be the dishwasher backup emptier and reloader supervisor for the rest of my life?  I mean it's sort of like the toilet paper.  I actually walked in the bathroom the other day and there was a new roll of toilet paper balanced precariously on the empty roll of it's predecessor.  Who thinks of that?  I am sure it took more thought, work and mental process to decide to and then execute the opening and balancing of the new roll than simply changing it out.

I'm sorry, I digress.  We are here to talk about little fried rounds of delightful happiness making and I'm ranting about broken houses, dishwashers and toilet paper. We are here, really, to talk about food.

I think snacks are important on football day.  I like to nibble when I'm staring at the big tv cheering on millionaires who play with little balls for a living.  Ok, I'm being facetious but really, grown men?  In any event, this is the best, easiest, yummiest appetizer snack side dish you'll ever make.

The only make ahead is the fact you have to have cooked mini potatoes in your fridge.  So long as that is done, you're laughing. These, by the way, are also fantastic with eggs in the morning, noon, or night.  It's a breakfast dish, it's an anything dish.

Here we go:

Get some cooked mini potatoes
Get a frying pan
Get some sort of hot fat
Sea salt and any herb you love.

Place the potaotes on your counter, squash them with the heel of your hand.  Not to thin that they fall apart but far enough to crack the skin open and expose the potatoey goodness inside that we are about to crisp!

Squash the little darlings and heat up your favorite fat in a large skillet.  I use a non stick for this.  My husband was recently on a business trip to the UK and I had him bring me back a couple of jars of goose fat specifically for frying potatoes.  IF you don't have a business trip husband, feel free to use bacon fat, or lard or olive oil, whatever floats your boat works here.  It's more the method.
 

Get the fat really hot and lay the little squashers in, carefully.  They have to be in a single layer and as much as you want to futz with them, do not futz with them. You can give them a little shake to feel involved but really, just leave them.  You need them more than they need you at this moment in time. You will smell they're frying and you will see a little darkening around the edges, that's when you flip.  Carefully, we really want these to stay in tact.
  

Flip them twice, lay them on a board and sprinkle them with sea salt.  Serve them with your favorite dipping sauce. My son likes to use ranch dressing, I like garlic aoili.  Feel free to cheat here and thin a little mayonnaise with milk and grate some garlic into it, add salt and pepper. 

Sprinkle them with whatever fresh herbs you have.  They make a really cool appetizer and unusual finger food for a cocktail party or just for hanging around.