Tangy Potato Salad with Scallions

Look at these gorgeous cucumbers!

Happy 4th of July! We have been enjoying a wonderful and relaxing day, topped off by a great meal and hopefully some fireworks this evening! Its a wonderful day to remember all of the great things our country has to offer and how lucky we are to enjoy all the freedoms we have.

I wanted a low key meal for our cookout today. We had cowboy burgers purchased at one of our favorite local grocers. The ground beef is mixed with roasted jalapenos and cheddar cheese. Pretty simple to recreate at home. For sides we had fresh sliced cucumbers from my in-law's garden. They were not only the prettiest little cucumbers but tasted so good. I also made this quick potato salad recipe from the July 2008 issue of Everyday Food. Like all the recipes from that magazine, this one is like the perfect little black dress. Its simple, tastes great and goes with most anything. This recipe requires only a few ingredients, takes less than 30 minutes to make and is perfect for outdoor events since it has no mayonnaise. For dessert we had Tollhouse Cookies with homemade Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream from Dave Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop. This was possibly the best ice cream I've made, or ever had! I'll post pictures and the recipe sometime this weekend.

Tangy Potato Salad with Scallions
Source: Everyday Food July 2008

Serves 8

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 4 pounds Yukon gold or other waxy potatoes, scrubbed, halved, and sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 1/2 cup white-wine vinegar (I used champagne vinegar)
  
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup olive oil

1. Set a steamer basket in a large pot. Fill with enough salted water to come just below basket. Bring to a boil; place potatoes in basket, and reduce heat to medium. Cover, and steam, gently tossing occasionally, until crisp-tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine vinegar and scallions in a large bowl; season with salt and pepper. When potatoes are cooked, transfer to bowl with vinegar mixture. Toss to combine; let cool, tossing occasionally.
3. When potato mixture is cool, mix in oil; season potato salad with salt and pepper. (To store, refrigerate, up to 1 day.)