Potato salad with Stilton and bacon for a Labor Day Cookout and #SundaySupper

Labor Day weekend. The last big hurrah of summer. Parties, trips to the beach, barbecues, a whole host of last-minute summer fun jam-packed into a few short days before school starts and work settles in for the long haul of fall.

For me this year, it's a final wild sprint at the end of a somewhat exhausting summer. This is the first time I've been home with my son all day since he was a newborn, while at the same time maintaining a pretty full schedule as a freelance editor and writer on weekends and evenings. I am a little worn out.

If I think about it, the end of summer is always a little tough for me. I key in to the waning of the light, my energy drags, my tolerance for the heat reaches its end, and the fun parts of summer just don't seem that fun anymore.

But in a few weeks, I will start to perk up again. The temperature will slowly come down. The angle and quality of the light will change, mellowing, growing richer, gilding nature while the leaves turn color. And I will crank up the tunes while I fly down highways, exulting in the light and adventure that fall always seems to promise. And there will be fall food: rich stews, apples, hot cider, warm soup, pumpkin caramels, cookies.

For now, though, there's Labor Day, and it is still hot here in Northern Virginia and is likely to be for several more weeks. Which is why a nice cool potato salad seems a great choice to bring to a cookout, like the one that #SundaySupper is having this week. This potato salad is salty with crunchy bacon and smooth Stilton (by far my favorite blue cheese), acidic with the tang of apple cider vinegar, and mellow with the earthiness of potatoes. I like to use a mix of small potatoes, blues, reds, yellows, but you can use any type you've got. Just make sure to cut up the potatoes into nice bite size pieces. This recipe was inspired by a recipe I read in Bon Appetit magazine about 12 years ago, which I have simplified a little. Both versions taste fantastic and really turn a simple potato salad into something special.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs of potatoes (mixed colors if possible), cut into bite-size pieces
• 6 Tbsps olive oil
• 4 Tbsps apple cider vinegar
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp grainy Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 small bunch of chives, chopped finely
• 1 cup Stilton, crumbled (you can use another blue cheese if you prefer, but make sure it's a very good quality cheese)
• 6 slices bacon, cooked until crispy, crumbled

Directions

1. Whisk olive oil, apple cider vinegar, minced shallots, mustard, salt, white pepper, and chives in a large bowl. 
2. Cook bacon until it's crispy, drain it on paper towels, and crumble it. 
3. Boil potatoes for 10-15 minutes until they are tender when you poke them with a fork, but still hold their shape.
4. Drain the potatoes. While they are still hot, add them to the vinaigrette and combine thoroughly. Allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature. 
5. Just before serving the potato salad, add the bacon and the Stilton to the potatoes and combine thoroughly.

To find out what the rest of the #SundaySupper group is bringing to the Labor Day Cookout, check out all these great recipes, which we will be sharing all day long on Twitter. Also, don't forget to join the #SundaySupper live chat at7 pm ET and tweet your own cookout recipes.

Starters and Snacks

• Lobster Salad with Avocado, Corn, and Tomatoes by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Grilled Vegetable Spread by Magnolia Days
• Toast Topper #8: Tomato Confit for #SundaySupper by Yummy Smells
• Honey BBQ Wings and Cool Ranch by Big Bears Wife
• Finger Lickin’ Chicken Drumettes by Noshing with the Nolands 

Main Dishes

• Baked Shrimp and Pasta Caprese by Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Korean chili by Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
• Newfangled Cowtown White Chicken Chili by Shockingly Delicious
• Strawberry BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches by The Weekend Gourmet
• Spicy Seoulful Pulled Pork Sandwiches by Kimchi Mom
• Soy Glazed Chicken Thighs by The Messy Baker Blog
• Stuffed Green Chili con Queso Cheeseburger Sliders by Damn Delicious
• Adana kebab by Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Portabello Paninis by The Hand That Rocks the Ladle
• Bloody Mary Skirt Steak by From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• Tuna and Roasted Pepper Packets by Cindy’s Recipes & Writings
• Mint Marinated Beef Kabobs with Garlic Sauce by Sustainable Dad
• Creamy Latin Style Pasta by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Spicy Portuguese Style Sliders by Daily Dish Recipes
• Aromatic Glazed Salmon by Happy Baking Days
• Pork sliders by Basic ‘N Delicious
• Foil Packet Chicken by In the Kitchen with Audrey

Salads and Sides

• Mom’s Savory Pork’n’Beans by Webicurean
• Ranch Potato Salad by My Catholic Kitchen
• Gluten Free Penne hot salad with basil, asparagus, cherry tomatoes fresh mozzarella and chicken with a mustard vineagarete for #SundaySupper by Cooking Underwriter
• Southern Surprise Potato Salad by Granny’s Down Home Southern Cooking
• #SundaySupper Marinated Ginger Chicken & Spinach Salad by Kwistin’s Favorites
• Roasted Potato & Corn Salad w/ Bacon by GirliChef
• Vegan Caprese Salad by Galactosemia in PDX
• Picnic Friendly Grilled Vegetable Salad by Mama Mommy Mom
• Smokin Hot Caribbean Spiced Corn-On-The-Cob by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Tomato Feta Orzo Salad by Family Foodie 

Drinks

• Frozen Sangria by Supper For a Steal
• Persian mint & cucumber cooler (sekanjabeen) by Family Spice

Desserts

• Lightened lemon pound cake by The Meltaways
• Root Beer Float Cupcakes by Chocolate Moosey
• Strawberry Cream Squares by Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
• Fresh Mango Pie by La Cocina De Leslie
• Brown Butter M&M Cookies by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Gluten Free Lemon Blondies by No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
• Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake by Baker Street
• Strawberry Pie + White Sangria by Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Grilled Banana Splits by Diabetic Foodie
• Easy Desserts: Frozen Chocolate Bananas by Home Cooking Memories 
• Ice Cream Sandwich Cake by Comfy Cuisine
• Blueberry Lemon Whoopie Pies for a Holiday Cookout #SundaySupper by In the Kitchen with KP

Wine Pairings

• Labor Day Cookout Food And Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ

Creamed corn: An easy, delicious side dish

I'm really not trying to post every day, but I made some creamed corn for dinner that was so delicious, I just have to share how incredibly easy it is to make from scratch. You should do it. Why get the stuff in a can when you can make your own with fresh corn from the farmer's market? So grab a few ears and try this. You won't regret it. (Sorry there's no pic of the dish itself, but it just disappeared too fast.)

And if you happen to have a roast chicken with some pan drippings, you know, just around, in your kitchen, drizzle some of the drippings on the creamed corn. You will swoon with happiness. And you'll ask whomever else is at the kitchen table with you if he or she is going to finish that, and you are going to swipe the rest of the corn. I just know it. DO IT! It's going to be great. 

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsps butter
• 1 large shallot, minced
• corn kernels from four ears of corn
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (or half and half, if that's what you've got)
• salt and pepper
• a pinch of nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions

1. Melt the butter in a pot over medium heat. 
2. Add the shallots to the butter. Cook them until they are soft and slightly browned. 
3. Add the corn kernels to the shallots and the butter. Stir and add the water and the sugar to the corn. Let it cook for about 7-10 minutes. (The corn should be cooked, but it's nice if it still has a little crunch.)
4. Add the cream and let it cook with the corn for 3-5 minutes, enough to thicken the cream. 
5. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and smoked paprika. Enjoy!    

Spring pasta with salmon and sugar snap peas--and a look back on an independent year

A year ago last week was my last day as a wage slave. My plan had been to go out on my own and start a food blog and share my passion for seasonal and local food; the future was grand, rosy, exciting. After years of feeling stuck in jobs that didn't seem to appreciate all that I had to offer and were leaving all my brilliance and skills on the table, I was going to get out on my own and put all that smart and talented out there. (And I was going to get my house in order, get in shape, and about a dozen other things.)  

Well, I started a freelance career as an editor, proofreader, and writer, and I started a food blog. I quit some bad habits. I ran a lot. Some portions of my house got clean--for a while. But only now do I begin to understand how differently I need to think about my work, to plan my life, to organize my time. Only now do I realize several hundred thousand food bloggers are out there, sharing their passion, and doing it with way prettier pictures and often with far more graceful prose. Only now do I realize that, yeah, I am smart and talented, but a lot of people are smart and talented, and many are way more trained and knowledgeable than I am. Ouch.

So those were some lessons: I wasn't nearly as good and smart as I thought. I wasn't nearly as passionate about food as I thought. Finding clients wasn't so easy, especially after the funding for my first big one dried up. There are always going to be people who are more talented, more committed, less diffused over multiple priorities. Less confused really. A heck of a lot more focused and driven.  

As you can imagine, that hurt. Especially the part about not being as good and smart as I thought I was. Yeah, that stung.

But it was an honest lesson, a real lesson. I wouldn't say I am humbler now, but I am gaining some clarity and perspective. I am clearing away some imposed rules, some imposed ways of thinking, some imposed parameters for beauty. And that's good, because I get to try and start fresh, to see with new eyes, to start to remember the first look and feel and smell of creativity, what that was like, so many years ago when the block of clay first hit the table.

And all I really meant to do tonight was share a recipe for pasta with sugar snap peas and salmon, and here I am, off on this tangent. Oh well. Here's how to make the pasta. It's really good: light, fresh, pretty in green and pink, with a nice crisp crunch from the peas--everything you'd ever want in a spring pasta. So get thee to the farmer's market and find some sweet crunchy sugar snaps!  

Pasta with salmon and sugar snap peas

• 12 oz. salmon fillets (whatever's in season, or wildcaught frozen and defrosted)
• 1 lb pasta (I used rombi in this recipe)
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped shallots
• 3 spring onions, green tops removed, sliced thinly
• 2 cups sugar snap peas, ends and strings removed
• juice from a half lemon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• salt, pepper, dried thyme

1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. (Start boiling the pasta about the same time you start the fish so they finish at the same time.)
2. Rinse the salmon fillets in cold water, dry them with paper towels, and salt and pepper them. Prepare your produce (shallots, spring onions, and sugar snap peas).
3. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large deep pan.
4. When the butter bubbles and browns slightly, place the salmon fillets in the pan. Sprinkle the lemon juice all over the fillets. Let them cook for 1-2 minutes, and turn them over to cook for another minute on the other side. Take them out of the pan, put them on a plate tented with foil (keeps them warm). 
5. Add the shallots and the spring onions to the pan, cook until they soften (about 2 minutes). 
6. Add the sugar snap peas to the pan, let them cook for 2 minutes. 
7. Add the heavy cream and the Dijon mustard to the pan. Let the sauce cook until it thickens (about 2 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, and thyme to taste. 
8. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce in the pan and mix it all together. Turn off the heat. 
9. Removing the skin, break the salmon into flaky pieces and mix them into the pasta.
10. Eat! Enjoy! Even my five-year old liked this: