Wednesday, July 17, 2013

No, it's MY broccoli salad





As mentioned in the previous post, I’ve been in Massachusetts at the beach house of my in laws along with dozens and sometimes scores of relatives and friends. There was an extended family potluck the other night to which I contributed a corn salad and a batch of s’mores bars.

The corn salad came from Ms. T at Food52 and I’d never made it before, but after glancing through the plethora of corn salad recipes viewable within 3 minutes on an iPhone while standing in a parking lot, Isabel chose this one. She is unerring in her snap judgments. This is a tomato-less salad that involves blanching the corn, scraping it from the cobs, and tossing with pancetta, cilantro, vinaigrette, and caramelized onions. The Shaw's in Wareham, Mass., didn’t carry pancetta so I used thick-cut bacon and added fresh mozzarella for heft and seasoned the salad very, very vigorously. It was delicious. Do the bacon and mozzarella make this my corn salad? Or is it still Ms. T’s?

Per Isabel’s request, I also made Anne Thornton's killer s’mores bars which I’ve made many times in summers past, always omitting the chipotle pepper.  Does the omission make them my s’mores bars? Or are they still Anne Thornton's?

While I was waiting for the corn to cook, my mother-in-law, worrying that there might not be enough food at the potluck, said, “I think I’ll make my broccoli salad.” 

Because she first tasted the Smitten Kitchen broccoli slaw at my house, I said, “Wait! That’s my broccoli salad!” 

She said, “I’ve made it more times than you have.” 

I started counting in my head the number of times I’ve made the salad but realized I was acting like an 8-year-old and ceded her the broccoli salad because: mother-in-law. 

And because: who cares. These are all three fantastic recipes and you should make them.


11 comments:

  1. My sister just emailed that s'mores bar recipe maybe a week ago. Now I have no idea who to credit when I make it. For the record, I think she put the chipotle in but said you couldn't really taste it.

    I have a Shaw's bag I take to the store with me to prove how worldly I am in my grocery shopping. I have largely been dissatisfied with the grocery store experience in New England. Shaw's is probably the best, at least in my in-laws' neck of the woods. But I feel like something is always missing.

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  2. I highly recommend this Mexican Corn Salad (aka Esquites):http://www.thekitchn.com/potluck-recipe-esquites-mexican-street-corn-salad-recipes-from-the-kitchn-191567

    I don't use the cotija anymore, but I don't think that makes it my esquites....

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  3. Sorry I missed your corn salad in Marion and that stove just looks hot sitting there!
    Here's my corn salad - this version without beans and more of a bruschetta with corn dish.
    http://gogingham.com/2012/08/corn-salad-with-balsamic-dressing/
    Hope the weather is lovely!! It was so nice meeting you in person. :)

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  4. I was about to comment that I don't have any dishes that are mine, but then I remembered, d'oh!, that, daringly, I just entered a pie-baking contest and when a friend said, "What pie will you bake?" I answered, "My apple pie." A simple pie, a pie made by countless other people I'm sure, but I've never tasted one just like it made by someone other than myself --or, until 20 years ago, my grandmother, who showed me the basics of how to make it. I still wish I had her nimble wrists. And her rolling pin cover! What happened to that thing? I'm sure it was responsible for a good 50% of the flavor of the pie dough.

    When I make the corn salad, though, I will say it's yours. Even if I don't put in the cheese.

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  5. Shaw's in Wareham! Marion! When I told our boys that you had been here, they said, "She's famous in this house."' And you are: We make your pancakes, your hamburgers (Isabelle's?), your hummus,--so many recipes--all the time. While we do not yet have goats, I am making some progress there.

    For pancetta, perhaps Sid Wainer's in New Bedford? If you have not been, it might be a fun trip when you are back here.

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  6. outstanding! i always look to see if paula has a recipe before trying another ...thanks paula. To get more info just check out plagiarism detect.

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