Daily News from the Kitchen

Potato Salad is personal again. If you love potato salad you know how much you miss that in the picnics which seem no fun without that. If you always carve for new potato salad recipes this is the right place for you. Salad-recipes.net provides you with a wide variety of fresh salads recipes which are as good when homemade. The salad recipes are simple yet mouthwatering with all the essential nutrients if you are calorie conscious.

Lets start with a few interesting Potato salad recipes.
German-Style Potato Salad
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds red-skin potatoes, cooked, peeled & diced large
2 ribs sliced celery
1 large red onion, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
3 slices bacon
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp mayonnaise
salt
pepper
Directions:
Boil the potatoes until tender yet firm. Keep them warm after they have been cooked.
In a skillet or frying pan, fry the bacon. Crumble the bacon and set it aside.
Use the rendered bacon-fat to cook the garlic and onion in a deep skillet.
When they are soft, remove them to a large bowl and add the sugar, apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.
Toss in the potatoes and celery. Stir well.
Garnish the salad with the crumbled bacon.

Indian Potato Salad
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound red or new potatoes, scrubbed & cut into 1/2″ dice
1/2 tsp toasted cumin seeds
1 tbsp garam masala ( see following recipe* )
2/3 cup nonfat yogurt
3 to 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tomato, seeded & cut into 1/2″ dice
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint ( optional )
Directions:
Place the potatoes in a large sauce pan and cover them with cold water.
Bring the potatoes to a boil, then reduce the heat and let them simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until they are tender yet firm.
Drain the potatoes in a colander then place them in a large bowl.
Lightly toast the cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.
Stir the garam masala, lemon juice, yogurt and potatoes together. Let the mixture cool completely.
Shortly before serving mix in the tomato, onion, salt, pepper and half the cilantro.
If you are using the mint, add that now as well.
Season to taste with the lemon juice, masala, and salt.
Place the salad on its platter or serving bowl. Spoon the yogurt into the center.
Sprinkle it with the remaining cilantro and cumin seeds and serve.
*Quick Garam Masla
Ingredients:
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cardamom pod
Directions:
Roast the ingredients in a dry skillet for about two minutes or until lightly browned and very fragrant.
Grind the mixture in a spice-mill or coffee grinder or pulverize it with a mortar and pestle.
This recipe should yield about one tablespoon.
With this potato salad recipe you would enjoy every moment of your next picnic or weekend party.

Sometimes being a vegetarian seems no fun at all, especially on the weekend barbeque where everyone else is enjoying grilled sticks and many other grilled delicacies. But no more, before this weekend get yourself a new vegetarian cook book full of vegetarian recipes and enjoy as others are doing. Vegetarian cook books are a great way to enjoy vegetarian dishes which you never know existed.

Vegetarian cook books are in general helpful for beginners who want to experiment with the vegetarian culinary but never know how to start with that. Now get mouth watering vegetarian dishes right out of your kitchen and set the mood of parties and weekends.

Before starting to purchase a vegetarian cook book understand what suits your taste buds as there are lot many vegetarian recipes which you could ever imagine. If beginner it is always better to start with the simple recipes than experimenting much with the culinary. The best way out is to understand your taste first and shortlist a few recipe cook books. It helps a lot to read the reviews and excerpts of such recipe cook books to make a choice.

To start with your vegetarian cook book recipe experience we will share on recipe with the courtesy of cookbookclub.net.
 
Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe
Lasagna Noodles
10 ounce Pk frozen chopped Broccoli
14 1/2 ounce Can Tomatoes
15 ounce Can Tomato Sauce
1 cup Chopped Celery
1 cup Chopped Onion
1 cup Chopped Grn/Sweet Red Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon Dried Basil crushed *
Bay leaves
Clove garlic minnced
Beaten Egg
2 cup Lo-fat Ricotta or Cottage Ch
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

* or substitute 1/2 t dried Oregano for 1/2 t of the dried Basil Cook noodles and broccoli separately according to their package directions; drain well. Set aside.

For sauce, cut up canned tomatoes. In a large saucepan stir together undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, celery, green or sweet red pepper, basil, bay leaves, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncover, 20-25 minutes or till sauce is thick, stirring occasionally.
Remove bay leaves.
Meanwhile, in a bowl stir together egg, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and 1/4 t pepper. Stir in broccoli. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce in a 13×9x2″ baking dish. Top with half the noodles, half of the broccoli mixture, and half of the remaining sauce.
Repeat layers, ending with the sauce.
Bake, uncovered, in a 350 deg F oven for 25 minutes; sprinkle with Mozzarella.
Bake 5 minutes more or till heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Most people thing of BBQ’ing as little more than throwing a few chicken breasts and the occasional rack of ribs on a grill and flipping them every so often. For the backyard pool-party that may pass muster, but a real BBQ fanatic knows how complicated and varied the process really is. There are several ways to BBQ and several styles to choose from. American BBQ aficionados generally prefer a slow and indirect method of BBQ’ing, normally smoke is used and the process sometimes takes up to 12 hours for a brisket of beef. With this method the food is cooked in a covered chamber. The heat is kept at a low to moderate level and the whole process takes a minimum of 1 to 1.5 hours. Keeping the meat well basted with good marinade helps to retain flavor and juiciness. An even slower version of BBQ’ing uses only the heated smoke to cook the meat. The flavored wood, chips or herb branches placed in the tray over the heat ads flavor to the smoke that is channeled into the separate cooking area by way of a smoke pipe. Of course there’s always the backyard grill. Though purists may complain, the fact it there’s something to be said for quick and relatively labor-free cooking over an open flame. Different styles of BBQ emerged in the US according the country’s various regions. In the southwest beef BBQ is the most common, usually mixed with a bit of a Mexican spice, and rubs are also more common in Southwest BBQ. Eastern BBQ is all about the pork, which is usually sliced or chopped up and topped with a sauce that is relatively thin, vinegary and peppery. In the southeastern region, the pork is served the same way, but with a thicker mustard sauce. The Appalachian Region also uses pork with a sauce that is generally sweeter, and is made with molasses, tomatoes, and peppers; pork ribs are also a staple in Appalachia, and cornbread and/or coleslaw are served with this type of BBQ. The Midwest BBQ’s are like the Appalachian styles, but perhaps even sweeter and more tomato-based.