Act 1: Potato Salad

A little while ago I decided that I wanted to make a feast. It was a lovely Sunday afternoon in the beginning of a New York City summer. Feeling eager to revel in the beautiful day, I decided that it needed to be matched with an accompanying delicious meal. One component of said meal was determined to be potato salad. I associate the starchy goodness with blue skies, a gentle breeze, the sound of kids playing in the streets, and running through the lawn sprinkler to cool off on a warm sunny day. What better way to commemorate the dawn of summer?

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of russian fingerling potatoes (but any potato on hand will do)
• ~2-3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
• a few swirls around the bowl of yellow mustard
• 2 heaping spoonfuls of mayonnaise
• ~2 tbsp of sweet relish
• ~1 tsp of celery seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

Dice the potatoes so they are all about the same size. (You may also want to peel the skin depending on what variety you use, but I left it on with the fingerling potatoes.) Place the diced potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring the pot to a boil and cook until they are fork tender (i.e. you can easily pierce the potato flesh with a fork). [Note: Add potatoes to pot and then bring to a boil as opposed to boiling the water first and then adding the potatoes. I learned somewhere that it allows the potatoes to cook more evenly.] Once the potatoes are done, drain the water and immediately (or at least very shortly thereafter) pour the vinegar over the potatoes. Doing so while they are still hot lets them absorb the vinegar better. Then in a large bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients together and you’re done!

I prefer to make potato salad before the meal so that it can chill in the refrigerator. No one wants warm potato salad, do they?