Apple, Bacon, and Fennel Potato Salad

This is not a healthy salad, but it is a delicious combination of flavours. I made this last Sunday for guests and they raved about it, but of course I only tasted the problems. Well I've fixed the problems and decided to pass my recipe on to you as well as my menu for tomorrow's decadent Sunday brunch to hopefully be devoured on the terrace if the weather cooperates.

Update:
I've just finished the potato salad and put it into the fridge and the problems I had with it last week are gone. It's perfect, so for a tasty result, follow the recipe as closely as possible.

Tomorrow's Brunch Menu

Buttermilk biscuits served with Sage Butter

Spicy Southern-style Whole Wheat Fried Chicken

Apple, Bacon, and Fennel Potato Salad

Sweet Balsamic Corn Salad

Strawberry Shortcake with Whipped Sour Cream

I'll cover how to make homemade buttermilk biscuits in a later post because at the moment I am improvising with a glass to cut my biscuits and it's rather ghetto but in my defence I haven't been able to find a decent biscuit cutter after 6 years of living in France and I keep forgetting to buy one when I'm in the US. I've asked a friend to pick me up one when they go over for the summer, so I should have it in a few weeks or so.

However making sage butter is quite easy. I make mine with fresh sage, but dried sage also works. It needs to be made beforehand, allowed to sit in the fridge uncovered overnight, and then be re-whipped in the morning to achieve the right consistency.

Adjust the quantity of the butter depending on how many servings you need. I usually calculate about 3 tablespoons of the finished sage butter for each person (enough for 2 biscuits), but if you have butter or biscuit lovers present I would make more as it can go quickly.

Sage Butter

For 2 persons:

1 cup of butter, preferably demi-sel (salted)

4 leaves of fresh sage finely chopped or 1 tablespoon of dried sage

1 tablespoon of finely minced shallots

2 cloves of garlic finely minced

1 tablespoon dry white wine

In a small sauce pan add 1 tablespoon of butter and allow to melt on medium heat. Once the butter has melted add the sage, shallots, and garlic. Saute for one minute until the shallots are soft but not brown. Add the remaining butter and white wine, allow the entire mixture to melt on low heat and remove immediately when all the butter had melted. Stir and pour into a small bowl. The bowl needs to be big enough so that in the morning when the butter has re-solidified you can whip it with a fork. Make sure you whip the butter in quick clockwise motions. This step must be done the following morning because if you mix the butter when it's still melted you will get very green butter from the sage.

Apple, Bacon, and Fennel Potato Salad

For 4 persons:

8 medium sized potatoes peeled and chopped into slightly larger than bite size pieces

1/2 of a medium sized onion finely chopped (not minced)

1 apple (preferably sweet but with a firm texture like a Gala apple) chopped to the same size of the onions

1 generous handful of chopped (slightly smaller than the onions) fresh fennel (the bulb, save the leafy bits for garnish)

4 hard boiled eggs chopped

1 1/2 cups of bacon chopped (or you can use lardons allumettes if you live in France)

1 1/2 cups of freshly made mayonaise (see recipe below that must be made the day before)

2 tablespoons of Hungarian paprika

1 pinch of fresh saffron

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley

1/4 cup freshly chopped leaves from the fennel

Salt & Freshly ground black pepper

Boil the potatoes until they are tender in the center, but not so that they fall apart completely.

Boil eggs for 10-12 minutes so that the yolks are firm and not at all runny.

While you boil your potatoes and eggs fry the bacon until slightly burnt, chop, and set aside chopped bacon and the remaining grease from frying.

Chop the vegetables and add to a large mixing bowl that can accomodate all the ingredients. Add the mayonaise, spices (except paprika), mustard, bacon, and apple cider vinegar. Taste and salt the dressing until it's moderately too salty. This is important because the less you need to remix the salad once the potatoes have been added the better.

When eggs are finished immediately immerse in cold water. This will keep the yolks from turning grey. I usually keep the eggs submerged in cold water and place the whole thing in the freezer while I finish the rest of the salad.

When the potatoes are finished, immediately rinse with cold water under the tap in a strainer. Do not rinse too much because it will cause the potatoes to fall apart. Set the strainer aside to let the excess water drain out.

Add the boiled potatoes to the dressing and mix well, making sure to coat all of the potatoes. Once you've coated the potatoes, cover the bowl, and set it in the fridge.

Peel and chop hard boiled eggs and when finished add the eggs, parsley, fennel leaves, and freshly ground black pepper. You should also use this last mixing of the salad to add more salt if you wish. Once the salad is finished, garnish with paprika, cover, and let sit in fridge.

This can be served as soon as it's cold enough to your liking, but I always try to make any potato salad the day before because like pasta sauce, it tastes better the second day. If your mixing bowl isn't something you want to set on the table, transfer it gently to a serving dish before garnishing the salad with the paprika.

Sweet Balsamic Corn Salad

For 4 persons:

3 ears of sweet corn cooked (or 4 cups of canned sweet corn)

1/3 cup chopped red onion

1/4 chopped freshly parsley

1 clove of garlic finely minced with the inside bit removed

3 tablespoons of finely minced basil

1 pinch of oregano

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt & Freshly ground pepper

Sweet Balsamic Dressing:

1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar (do not use an aged balsamic as it will already be slightly like a syrup)

Pour balsamic vinegar into a saucepan and allow to the vinegar to boil down until it is thick enough to coat the back of wooden spoon on medium-low heat (should take about 15-20 minutes). This is also how you make a balsamic reduction sauce, and is a great way to use cheaper balsamic vinegars you're more likely to find in grocery stores. Set aside.

Combine all the salad ingredients except the salt and pepper. Once the balsamic is cool enough that you can taste it with the tip of your finger, add it to the salad ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.

This can be made the night before, but I actually think it's better to make it a few hours before serving to control the taste. Just make certain it's cold when you serve.

For dessert you can serve strawberry shortcake or even just a selection of in season fruits like watermelon or cantaloupe, but make sure you have plenty of either dry white wine on hand for yourself (or your guests) or a nice rosé like a Cote de Provence.

I won't include my recipe for strawberry shortcake or for the fried chicken because they're not yet absolutely perfect, so tomorrow I'll be practicing since they'll be no guests. I'll be using whole wheat flour for my fried chicken for the first time, so hopefully that won't be a disaster. As for the strawberry shortcake, I'm simply waiting to see how the whipped sour cream with amaretto comes out. So be sure to check back and if you do try my recipe for Apple, Bacon, and Fennel Potato Salad please let me know what you think, did differently, or how difficult you found the recipe to be. I'm currently working on a cookbook, so feedback is really appreciated.

Oh, and bon appetit!