Cookbook Challenge Declares Its Independence (Fourth of July Part 1)

What a novel idea....as part of this year's celebration of July 4th, I shall stop prattling on about everyone else's food and....wait for it....actually COOK. That was the point of this infernal blog, was it not? We made and prepared two items to take to an impromptu Independence Day party that actually occurred on the 3rd. More; much more on this most interesting party on the next post...

For the actual Cookbook Challenge (#64), we consulted Alice Water's cookbook Chez Panisse Fruit. Keith inspired the choice of homemade raspberry ice cream as some of his fondest childhood memories involved the sound of said dessert being made while his grandmother cooked dinner such as fried chicken. The Posse was alerted; an electric ice cream maker was found and we made up the ingredients beforehand; utilizing, among other items, kirshwasser liqueur and fresh raspberries.

We also made a recipe our friend Betty gave us for her well-regarded potato salad. Using potatoes that get peeled AFTER cooking, grated hard-boiled eggs and hot and spicy mustard, its a spud-happy delight....and I don't typically like eggs in potato salad.

With dishes and drinks packed, we made our way to meet the Posse at Jim and Carolyn's for the Fourth party. Seemed odd to be heading to a party there since Jim and Carolyn themselves were not there, but hey....this wild pack of friends have been together for much longer than we've known them so when in Rome...

Details of the party and the outcome of our ice cream will come in the next post. The recipe for the potato salad follows:

Picnic Potato Salad
4 lb. Yukon gold potatoes
3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and grated
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
1 tbsp. spicy brown mustard
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water to cover 40 minutes or until tender; drain and cool 15 minutes. Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes.
2. Combine potatoes and eggs.
3. Stir together mayo and next 7 ingredients; gently stir into potato mixture. Serve immediately, or cover and chill 12 hours.