Feast: Warm Potato Salad w/ Chives, Shallots, Tarragon + Fried Okra + Spoon Bread + Swiss Chard

I had a few friends over last weekend and for some reason I felt like making a big old feast.

Potato Salad:
Cut potatoes into equal bite sized pieces and bring to a boil in salted water. Cook until tender. Make the dressing in the meantime - first, sautée a shallot in some olive oil for about 4 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a handful of chopped chives and tarragon, any vinegar really besides maybe balsamic which might dominate the other flavors too much, olive oil, the shallots and of course salt and pepper. When the potatoes are ready, combine everything together! This can be served warm or at room temperature.

Swiss Chard:
Sautée a little garlic in some olive oil, add in the lightly torn up chard (the stems get tender so you don't have to get rid of those as you would with kale). This cooks down to almost nothing, so be sure to buy a lot more chard than you think you'll need! Cook until the bitterness of the greens is mild and finish with some lemon juice.

Spoon Bread:
This is an old family recipe that my great-grandmother serves with her AMAZING crab cakes. I've chosen not to publish the recipe on here, but if you really want to know how to make it just ask! It's incredibly simple to prepare and tastes like a corn custard or savory pudding.

Okra:
I made fried okra again - I could really eat it every day. Here's the recipe from an earlier post.

Fried Okra

I just got back from my Contemporary Food Controversies class and I made the best snack ever! What is better than cornmeal crusted okra?! (This would obviously also work as a side dish to any meal). First, wash the okra, snip off the top end, then whisk up an egg with a bit of water in one bowl, and in another bowl mix together cornmeal, salt, pepper, and a touch of cayenne pepper. Heat up some oil in a pan and begin to dredge the okra first in the egg mixture, and then let it drip off a bit before tossing it in the cornmeal mixture. Once the oil is hot enough, cook the okra on all sides until golden brown! If the okra is big like mine was, it's worth popping it in a 350 degree oven for another 3-5 minutes just to make sure it cooks through. Finally, sprinkle on some salt and eaaaat it all up!