Frosty, Like a California Morning

To many a historian California is the New World.  It's the last frontier, the end of the continent.  But to foodies there is so much to discover.  It's the birthplace of many foods that people all over the world enjoy, such as the Cobb salad, Monte Cristo sandwich, and the California roll, of course.  With influences from Mission cooking to New California Cuisine there is definitely a lot to discover.  Clementine Paddleford did a wonderful job of uncovering California recipes that could have easily gone unnoticed.  One of those was this Frosty Green Potato Salad (pg 772). 

The recipe calls for you to make your own French dressing, which is very easy to make, but I just used bottled.  This salad is a great alternative to the mayonnaise laden potato salad we are used to eating.  While it's not quite summer across America, this is a refreshing summer BBQ side dish.  Or even better, a California beach picnic. 

The Ingredients:

4 lbs potatoes

1/2 c. chopped parsley

1/4 c. chopped green bell pepper

1/4 c. chopped celery tops

1/4 c. chopped green onion

1/4 c. chopped dill pickle

1 c. mayonnaise

1/4 c. French dressing

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Sprigs of watercress or celery tops for garnish

I also used store bought dill pickles, which are just fine, but I can only imagine how much more flavorful and crunchy homemade pickles would have been.

Because I didn't have a large enough stockpot at the time, (I do now!), I had to use two pots to boil my potatoes: 

After they were boiled, cooled, peeled, and cut into cubes, I put them into a large bowl.  In a smaller bowl I then combined the 1/4 cup of the parsley, the green pepper, celery tops, green onion, and pickle: 

I then took 1/2 cup of this mixture and added 1/4 cup of the remaining parsley to it in a bowl.  This was going to be sprinkled on top.  So to the potatoes I added the remaining vegetable mixture:

In another small bowl I added the French dressing, salt, mustard, and black pepper.  I then mixed this with the potato mixture:

I then packed this into a 2 qt baking dish and sprinkled the top with the reserve salad mixture.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours:

This was a great dish that was enjoyed by people who don't care for potato salad.  So to me, that is success!

Enjoy!

Rachael

Welcome to My Kitchen

In the past year my life has drastically changed.  I got pregnant, moved from Michigan to Arizona, and in October 2011 I had my daughter Kate.  Before we moved to Phoenix I worked at a little place called The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.  It was a job like no other.  It is a living history museum where we would demonstrate historic foodways and lifestyles.  Before I began working there I had never once made a pie crust.  I had never cooked on an open flame with the exception of roasting a marshmallow.  It had never crossed my mind to can or pickle anything and yet here, at the museum, it was a staple at every meal.



My Old Workspace


I loved everything about this job, from the period clothing we wore, to the meals we created from scratch, and even the cold December nights when we celebrated Christmas past.  Although I have a History degree I had never actually practiced historical living.  Now that I had it was thrilling to me how easy things can be in the kitchen (and elsewhere) and we modern people have forgotten.  I took what I learned from my museum job and applied it in my home.  I canned peaches with my grandparents.  I made my own cleaning supplies.  I use cloth diapers on my baby.  The house we lived in in Michigan was built in 1919 commissioned by Henry Ford himself.  In the summer I could open the old original windows and let the breeze blow through the kitchen.  In the winter they would fog up as I baked and old Christmas tunes played on the radio.  Now I live in Phoenix in a home that was built in the 1990s.  I look out my window and see a brick wall and a noisy street is right behind us.  It was a tough adjustment trying to make a distinct home in a cookie cutter neighborhood.  Soon enough though I trained my brain to understand that it's what's inside that counts.  I could still practice my homemaking skills no matter what year my home was built.

My New Workspace

Because of my training at The Henry Ford I had a new love for old recipes.  When we were still living in the Detroit area I had picked up a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook at the amazing John K King bookstore.  I then found another from the 1930s at an antique store in Northville.  Then another from the 1940s at a garage sale in Dearborn.  And since I have been living here in Phoenix I found yet another from the 1950s.  My collection of old recipes was growing and I loved learning the foodways of America's past.

My Peaches!

Then in an after Christmas sale I found The Great American Cookbook.  While it was a much different concept, it was similar to one of my old favorites, The Buckeye Cookery, in that it had historic recipes from all across America.  I brought the book home and read through all the stories and recipes that went along with them.  I loved the history and the recipes looked good.  I then put the book on my shelf next to all my other dusty cookbooks.  It probably wouldn't be touched for some time, and I knew it.  Deep down I did not want that to happen.  So here we are.

I hope to keep my promise and give you another wonderful recipe each week.  I must disclose that I am NOT a cook.  All I am giving you is what I am learning as I go along.  I am also NOT a photographer.  You will see images snapped from my cell phone and doctored with Instagram.  I am learning how to create an awesome blog so it may change a bit now and then, bear with me!  I am also not affiliated with the authors, publisher, or bookseller.  I don't even know if what I am doing is legal, really.  But hey, I'm sure we will know if it's not soon enough!  I do know I can give you the list of ingredients but cannot tell you exactly how to assemble them.  I really encourage you to get the book if you are interested in following along, but here's a hint: check out this title on Google Books.  Feel free to contact me with questions and I will do my best to help.  Enjoy!