Red, White & Blue...Potato Salad

So, it's the 4th of July and Red, White & Blue rules. The Independence Day parade is a big deal in the hood…complete with decorated bikes, a brass band, fire engine rides and a fire safety demonstration. Very exciting.

Swarthmore is a quaint little town. Very few white picket fences, but what we lack in curb-appeal symbolism, we make up for in charm, diversity and personality. Everyone is polite, we have a Co-Op that sells locally grown, homemade, and organic foods, and during the school year, the college students add a spirit the locals miss when they head back to their abodes.

Someone did steal a garden gnome once…the abduction made The Swarthmorean, our local paper.

I think I saw that gnome on TV.

A little while ago, I saw a recipe on food.com for Bacon Blue Cheese Potato Salad that I have now renamed Red, White & Blue Potato Salad....what a patriotic side dish to serve on the 4th of July!

RW&B Potato Salad

Ingredients
2 1/2 lbs red potatoes, cut into eighths (The Red)
5 slices bacon
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream (The White)
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 green onions, chopped
3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled ( about 3/4 cup) (The Blue)

Directions


Boil potatoes until tender. Cook bacon until crisp, and crumble into pieces. In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, salt and pepper. Fold in green onions, cheese, potatoes and bacon.

Can be served immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve. I served the potato salad in this fun bowl I got from Pier 1. Love the red & white tablecloth pattern...and the ants!

Interesting post about the 4th of July on the National Constitution Center blog.
Read it here

BTW…Trish H., who is a new follower of KOPO on Twitter, won the Cocktail Shaker!

Baked Beans

My Aunt Becky made the best baked beans. To the best of our knowledge, the recipe was not memorialized anywhere but through the years we tinkered and tried to recreate her culinary legacy now affectionately known as Becky Beans.

Architect's son graduated with youngest daughter and for his graduation party, Architect planned a "hot dog bar." What a great idea and totally manageable when cooking for a large group of people, especially hungry teenagers. I gave her some topping suggestions, like onions sautéed with ketchup…a delicacy available at any decent hot dog cart in Center City Philadelphia. I also offered to make Becky Beans. Becky Beans are merely doctored up canned baked beans that are absolutely delicious and are a great compliment to anything grilled…like hot dogs!

Becky Beans


Two cans of Baked Beans (I like Bush's)
One large or two small Vidalia onions sliced and caramelized.
½ cup of ketchup
½ cup maple syrup
½ cup brown sugar
1 lb. of bacon

Coat a pan with some olive oil and butter. When extremely hot, add the sliced onions and sauté until they are brown and caramelized. Resist the urge to stir too often as this will interrupt the caramelizing process. Set aside.

Cook the bacon until crispy and set aside (I was pressed for time, so I used the microwavable bacon). Put the beans in a pot and add the ketchup, maple syrup brown sugar, caramelized onions and crumbled bacon. Cook until the flavors are well incorporated, about 30 minutes.