March Madness Becomes April Foolishness

So folks, March is over and I failed miserably to keep up with my March madness pledge of eating and photographing a different dinner every night. I apologize but the madness has not left my soul.

Today I am announcing the first ever April Foolishness held here at WhiteTrash BBQ. The rules are pretty simple. I challenge myself to eat a different dinner each night for the entire month of April. I will photograph it whenever it seems interesting enough to document.

Here's the run down so far...

• April 1 - Grilled beef spiedinis with rice pilaf and sugar snap peas. Hey, I lit a fire!
• April 2 - Potato gnocchi with basil pesto sauce and grilled Cajun shrimp. Lenten Friday.
  
• April 3 - Perdue Fun Shape Chicken Nuggets, Tater Tots and corn. Not exactly the plan for dinner as I lit a fire that morning. I barbecued a beef brisket, more on that later.
  
• April 4 - Easter dinner! Oven roasted leg of lamb with garlic and rosemary, mashed potatoes, string beans, corn and a new dish for my vegetarian son; barley-spiked winter vegetable casserole from the cookbook The Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson.

I was glad to get the opportunity to review the Vegetarian Slow Cooker for a couple of reasons. We've had a crock pot for years and it has sat unused in the cellar until this book arrived. The pot was one of those things that survives every attempt at clearing out the cellar with the comment, "Oh, we'll use it someday." Finally "someday" arrived. The other reason to be honest was that I've been having a difficult time coming up with new, exciting and interesting meals for my son. Vegetables have always played second fiddle on my table.

The Vegetarian Slow Cooker has really expanded my horizons. I highly recommend it. We, my son and I, have made a few recipes from this book and so far, they've all been winners.

BBQ Recipes: Jalapeno Potato Salad

My buddy Chris over at Inane Thoughts and Insane Ramblings (thanks for the photo!) is looking for a potato salad recipe for a surprise bbq party he's cooking and I thought I'd help him out. I hope he sees this in time.

This comes to us from one of my favorite books on barbecue, Legends of Texas Barbecue by Robb Walsh. Jalapeño potato salad is one of those no-mayo recipes that get better then longer it sits. With the additions of jalapeños, olive and feta cheese it stands out on the buffet table. It's easily my favorite variation on the traditional potato salad.

Jalapeño Potato Salad

Beverly Bundy is the food editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Here's her recipe for a spicy West Texas potato salad.

• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch cubes (I use un-peeled new red potatoes.)
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar (I've used plain white, red wine, fig etc)
  
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (I use Kosher)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• One 3 1/2 ounce can of pitted black olives, drained
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 6 ounces feta cheese crumbled
• 4 jalapeños, seeded and chopped

Place the potatoes in a 3 quart sauce pan or Dutch oven and pour in cold water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, drain.

Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine the mustard, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the oil. Add the potatoes, while they're still warm, olives, scallions, feta cheese, and jalapeños. Toss to mix well.

Serve chilled or at room temperature. Serves 6.

My thoughts on this as I've been making it for a couple of years now...

I prefer the salad at room temperature or still a little warm. Being cold dulls the flavors a bit. This is best made at least a day before serving. It doubles or triples easily. I've played with different vinegars and like the subtle changes each brings to the party. I usually go with 1/2 red wine and 1/2 plain white vinegar. Go easy on the salt as the feta brings a lot of salt to the party. Other peppers can be used besides jalapeños. It all depends on how spicy you want it. Don't skimp on the quality of the feta. It makes a huge difference. Enjoy.

Potatoes In Space......

While, you'd probably expect a story about pigs in space on a barbeque blog, here's an interesting story, courtesy of the AP, about how the Chinese are eating and enjoying mutated space potatoes in the trendiest restaurants of Shanghai.

SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- Having boldly gone where no spud has before, Chinese space potatoes are now the latest culinary fad to hit the country's ultra-trendy commercial hub of Shanghai.

Slightly sweet and purple in color, the potatoes, named Purple Orchid Three, are bred from seeds that mutated while being carried aboard a Chinese spacecraft, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported Monday.

Grower Haikou Purple Orchid Co. Ltd. is promoting them as a unique food option, and restaurants in the city are offering them for Valentine's Day dinners, served crispy fried, or in salads, desserts and even iced drinks, the newspaper said.

China's space program claims to have produced numerous mutated fruits and vegetables by exposing seeds to space radiation, capsule pressure and weightlessness.

Chinese agricultural experts say plants grown from such seeds can be hardier, more nutritious and produce higher yields, although many scientists say similar effects could be achieved in ordinary laboratories.

The space program, which has successfully completed two manned missions, is a source of massive national pride for China, and companies marketing everything from milk to magazines have bought the rights to be endorsed by it.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.