Grilled Fingerling Potato Salad With Chipotle Bacon Vinaigrette Food

GRILLED FINGERLING-POTATO SALAD WITH CHIPOTLE BACON VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water and a tablespoon of salt, then set over high heat until it comes to a boil. Cook about 5 to 7 minutes. Drain potatoes, place on a baking sheet and allow to cool slightly, then halve the potatoes lengthwise. (You can do this the day before.)
• Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a sauté pan until crisp. Reserve bacon and, in a small bowl, 1 tablespoon of the rendered fat.
• Light a fire in a fire pit with a grill, or in a charcoal grill, or set a gas grill to high. If you have a strong vent in your kitchen, you may use your stove with a burner set to high. Place a large cast-iron grill pan over the heat and allow it to get hot. You can let the fire die slightly. If using a gas grill or stove, turn heat to medium.
• Put the potatoes and the sliced onions in a large bowl and toss gently with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Working in batches, grill the potatoes cut-side down on the grill until they have developed a light char, approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Grill the onions until they are charred, approximately 4 to 6 minutes a side. Return potatoes and onions to bowl.
• For the dressing, combine the remaining olive oil, bacon fat, red-wine vinegar and chipotle in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the dressing to the potato-and-onion mixture and toss gently to combine. Let sit for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to penetrate the potatoes. Crumble bacon over the top.

GRILLED POTATO SALAD WITH BACON-SCALLION VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Preheat a grill to medium. Put the red potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once the water begins to boil, after about 10 minutes, add the sweet potatoes. Return to a boil and cook 10 more minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, and salt and black pepper to taste. When the potatoes are cool to the touch, gently toss them in the mayonnaise mixture to coat.
• Make the vinaigrette: Cook the bacon in a small skillet over medium heat until crisp, then set aside to cool in the skillet. Once cool, pour the bacon and drippings into a small bowl along with the olive oil. In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar and mustard. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil-bacon mixture, whisking to emulsify. Add the scallions, parsley, and salt and black pepper to taste and whisk to blend.
• Using tongs, place the potato pieces on the hot grill and cook on all sides long enough to cook through and make grill marks, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Handle the potatoes gently so they don't fall apart. Remove the potatoes from the grill and place in the bowl with the vinaigrette. Gently toss to coat completely and serve warm or cold.

GRILLED POTATO SALAD WITH BACON VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• For the dressing: Put the bacon into a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and line a plate with paper towels. Cook the bacon, turning occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the bacon to the lined plate and transfer the bacon fat to a small mixing bowl. Add the mustard, sugar and vinegar to the warm fat and squeeze in the juice from the lemon half. Whisk to combine and season with black pepper. Set aside in a warm place.
• For the potatoes: Preheat the grill over medium heat.
• Place the potatoes in an even layer in a microwave-safe baking dish. Pour in 1/4 cup water and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Steam the potatoes in the microwave on high power until just slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Remove the potatoes and discard any water that remains.
• Place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl with the whole scallions. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables to evenly coat in the oil.
• Place the potatoes on the grill, cut-side down. Grill the potatoes until tender and caramelized, 7 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, place the scallions on the coolest area of the grill and cook, watching them closely to prevent charring, 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Remove the scallions from the grill and set aside. Remove the potatoes from the grill and place in a large mixing bowl.
• Cut the grilled scallions into 1-inch pieces and place in the bowl with the potatoes. Crumble the cooked bacon into the bowl. Add the parsley and some sea salt and drizzle generously with the warm bacon dressing, then toss to coat.

FINGERLING POTATO SALAD WITH BACON AND GORGONZOLA

Steps:

• In large pot of boiling salted water, cook potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain potatoes; cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels; crumble.
• In large bowl, add potatoes, bacon, gorgonzola, shallots, and mayonnaise. Gently fold potato mixture to combine all ingredients.
• Season with salt and cayenne to taste-a little of both goes a long way.
• Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately or within two hours.

FINGERLING POTATO SALAD WITH HONEY-THYME VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Scrub the potatoes and cook in boiling water with the 1 tsp salt until just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain well and spread on a cookie sheet to cool. Halve lengthwise when cool enough to handle.
• Trim and halve haricots verts or green beans. Drop into 3 cups boiling water, return to boil, reduce heat and cook 1 to 2 minutes, until crisp-tender. Drain and drop into a bowl of ice water. Let stand 5 minutes, then drain well.
• For vinaigrette, mix vinegar, shallot, honey, thyme, mustard, salt and pepper in food processor or blender and process until smooth. With processor or blender running, slowly pour in the oil in a steady stream, until the mixture is thickened.
• In a large salad bowl, combine the potatoes, beans and red onion. Drizzle over enough dressing to coat everything thoroughly. Cover and chill from 2 to 24 hours.Serve.
• Just before serving, toss salad with bacon and top with feta. Serve additional vinaigrette on the side, or reserve for another use.
• Note1: Fingerling potatoes are not around just now, so I used red potatoes that I peeled and cut into quarters or eights, which worked very nicely. I have also added some sweet potatoes to the other potatoes, and that was good, too.
• Note2: I mixed the vinaigrette in a 2 cup measuring cup with my stick blender, which worked perfectly.
• Note3: Extra dressing keeps for several weeks, according to chef, but I used it up faster than that.
• Note4: This makes a whole lot more salad than I can use. I just cook up two or three potatoes, a good handful of the beans and drizzle a bit of the dressing on it. Once you make the dressing, this is a snap.
• Note5: I use just a slice or two of bacon per serving, and often don't use it at all. I think chunks of good ham or turkey would be really nice in this, too.

GRILLED FINGERLING POTATOES

Steps:

• Build a multilevel fire in your grill, leaving one-quarter of the bottom free of coals and banking the coals in the remaining three-quarters of the grill so that they are three times as high on side as on the other. When the coals are down to medium heat (you can hold your hand about 5 inches above the grill grid for 4 to 5 seconds), you are ready to cook.
• While the fire is heating, blanch the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender (you should be able to stick a toothpick into them but still feel some resistance), about 5 to 8 minutes.
• Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, rub them lightly all over with oil and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper. Arrange them, cut side down, over the hottest coals and cook until the potatoes are crusty and brown, about 4 minutes per side.
• Meanwhile, place a sturdy foil pan large enough to hold all of the potatoes in a single layer on the cooler side of the grill, away from the fire.
• Transfer the grilled potatoes to the pan, placing them cut side up, and scatter the blue cheese over them.
• Allow the cheese to melt slightly, then serve hot.