Authentic German Potato Salad

There are a few recipes that I have learned here in Austria that have completely replaced foods that I have grown up with, and this is one of them. While potato salads in the United States are usually creamy and smothered in mayonnaise, the potato salad here is vinegar based and a bit lighter. I have come to really love the flavor and simplicity and will forever make my potato salads this way.

Serves 8

6 cups diced peeled potatoes
2 small onions, diced
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Boil potatoes until soft (about 10 minutes) and then drain water and set aside to cool. Once cool peel off skins with a butter knife. Some prefer to peel the potatoes before they are boiled and that is ok too. Then slice them into bite sized chunks.

In a large pan big enough to hold everything, saute onions in olive oil until soft. Add vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper to the pan. Once this mixture is boiling, add the potatoes and heat everything through. Serve warm or cool.

You could also add crumbled bacon for a little extra flavor. Guten Appetit!

Ben's Favorite Salad

We've been trying to eat better these days, so we've been trying loads of different salad recipes - the more good ones in the arsenal the better! Anyway, this was a great salad with great flavors. It's filling and easy, one that will easily make it into our weekly rotation.

1 head romaine lettuce
1 can tuna (get quality tuna!)
2 tart apples, cut into cubes
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup swiss cheese, shredded
lemon juice
olive oil
salt

Rinse and chop lettuce, let dry. Place all ingredients into a bowl, and toss with dressing.

Baked Brie

At Thanksgiving I wanted to experiment a little bit with cheese. 

I love cheese, but Ben is only a half hearted convert (thanks to the smelly Tirolean Bergkäse) so I rarely do much with it because I am the only one who will eat it. And that is not great for my girlish figure. So I must wait until I have guests to spread the load a bit.

This recipe I was anxious to try because I love turkey/brie/cranberry sandwiches and this was a bit of a riff on those same flavors. Plus brie is a very tame cheese, so it's a good place to start.

Serves 8-10
1 large sheet of puff pastry dough
1 round or wedge of Brie cheese
1 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup almond slivers

apples or crackers for dipping

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees (176 C). If you choose to, start with cold brie and carefully cut off the top rind. You can leave it if you want, as it is edible, but some prefer to eat as little of it as possible. On a cookie sheet, lay out the puff pastry and put the brie on top. Spread jam on the brie, sprinkle the almonds on top of the jam, fold dough over, seal, and cut off excess.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Let cool for ten minutes before serving. Serve with apples or crackers.

Broccoli Bacon Salad

Ok, with the new baby I haven't been cooking much. I've tried to keep everything I make both very healthy and very easy so as to keep life simple. During Christmas I tried out this salad and it was delicious. Tons of flavor and totally easy to make. You could experiment a little bit by adding tomatoes and cheese but it's great as is.

1 head broccoli

6-8 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup almonds, toasted

Dressing:

1 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup white sugar

2 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Place bacon in a skillet and cook over medium high heat. Once browned, drain grease on a paper towel and crumble. Rinse the broccoli and cut it into small, bite sized florets. Toast almonds in olive oil in a pan on the stove and sprinkle with salt until golden. Toss bacon, broccoli, raisins, almonds and onion together in a large bowl.

Whisk dressing in a bowl until smooth. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.