Haute Potatoes (Herbed Potato Salad)

One of my favorite parts of summer is the cookouts and barbecues, but options to do so in Harvard Square are more limited. I can still enjoy some of my favorite cookout foods, though, like potato salad. Rather than watch that mayonnaise sit all day in the hot sun, I favor less creamy versions, made with extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and lots of green herbs. A pared-down variation of my grandmother's recipe, still featuring a hot shower in oil and vinegar, this offers something fresh and bright to cut through rich foods and is light and cool for hot summer days.

Fresh & Bright

Cool As (Blueberry Tzatziki Salad)

The season dovetails nicely in that the finest of summer's greens, cucumbers, berries, and peaches become fresh and locally available just in time for the last few barbecues before labor day. Steaks and ribs tend to take center stage at such gatherings, but a clever assembly of bountiful produce can still manage to be a showstopper. The heirloom cucumber on our backyard deck has coiled forth in riotous abundance, overshadowing the meek carrots and beets I tried to nestle below, and I've over a dozen cucumbers to contend with. In order to thin the herd, I decided to make a rendition of tzatziki, spiked with darkly sweet blueberries and served as salad.

Also thicker and chunkier than most tzatziki, but I like it that way

Something Borrowed (Ginger Peach Peppermint Juleps)

This post is also available as an article in the 5/30/2012 Williamsport Sun Gazette.

Last year, during our annual 4th of July barbecue with friends Laura and Geoff, I played bartender for our taste test of potential signature cocktails for their wedding. I believe I insisted on mojitos as a contender, which everyone liked, but just didn't fit. There was also the Vodka Lola, a fruity little number spiked with elderflower liqueur. Tasty, but we agreed it was potentially offensive to the masculine dignity of some guests. After several misfires and false starts, magic happened: the ginger peach peppermint julep.

Can you see the appeal?