declare independence from boring potato salads this July 4th!

Brewhouse Potato Salad with Bacon

Only the first day of July and already I'm bored with the usual cook-out side dishes... until now. I wanted to create a really good potato salad with a tasty beer-based dressing and so I did a bit of research. After some tweaking I came up with my very own Brewhouse Potato Salad: slightly sweet with a touch of bacon-y goodness; the perfect accompaniment to sausages and grilled pork or chicken... and a cold one, of course!

To begin, scrub 2 pounds of red-skinned new potatoes and cut into quarters. Cook in boiling water until just tender, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on the size of the potato pieces.

While potatoes are cooking, cook 6 slices of bacon in a skillet until done. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Set aside the bacon on paper towels to drain. When cool, crumble the bacon into bits.

In the 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon fat, saute 1 medium onion, minced

then add:

1 cup beer

3 tablespoons malt vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

Boil mixture for 5 minutes until slightly reduced, then remove from heat and whisk in:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

(honey mustard also works well; I used Sierra Nevada's Spicy Brown Porter Mustard)

4 tablespoons mild olive oil

When potatoes are cooked and drained, add:

1/4 cup minced parsley

2 green onions, white parts and part of light green, sliced thinly

Toss potato mixture with the dressing, 1/2 to 3/4 more teaspoons sugar (to taste), salt and black pepper to taste, and the crumbled cooked bacon.

Let salad sit for a while for the flavors to blend; Brewhouse Potato Salad with Bacon is best served lightly chilled or at room temperature.

Love bacon? Now you can even wear it!

one potato, two potato - new potato!

A simple and delicious salad...

what better way to enjoy spring's special produce?

The gorgeous little potatoes and fresh onions above were later transformed into one of the best potato salads I have ever tasted, Garlicky Potato Salad.

This vinaigrette-style potato salad is the perfect accompaniment to grilled foods and keeps well for picnics and other outdoor events.

Using 1-1/2 pounds of potatoes, I started out by cutting the small potatoes in half (in quarters in some cases) and cooked them for about 10 minutes. And yes, the blue potatoes retain their unusual color! The vinaigrette is easy to whip up while the potatoes are cooking, then drain and toss the warm potatoes with the dressing so they can soak up all that luscious garlicky flavor.

For the vinaigrette, combine:

• 1 to 3 small cloves of garlic, minced (I used 1 small clove, but use more if you adore garlic!)
• 3 large green onions, white part and a bit of green, minced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I used a white balsamic vinegar so the colors of the potatoes would remain true)
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried), minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

That's it - it's that simple! Chill the salad for a bit, and allow to warm up to room temperature slightly before serving. This serves approximately 6.