Anyhow, I returned home to find that said bottle of wine had already been polished off by someone who undoubtedly had the same brilliant wine/lunch thought as I. Fortunately, there was a lone can of fancy beer in its place. Onward!
This long introduction serves to preface an impromptu version one of my most favorite foods in the whole world. I just really love potato salad. And I am not even terribly picky about its form (unlike, say, sweets). Bring on the mayonnaise, the vinegar and oil, the eggs, pickles, caraway seeds...whatever floats your boat, I'm down. And I'll probably have seconds.
However, I must say that today's potato salad, put together as I enjoyed my fancy beer on this cool-ish July day, is pretty great. It consisted of these ingredients: five little red new potatoes, a couple tablespoons of mayonnaise, a little dollop of crème fraîche, a few slices of leek, four cornichons, a spoonful of bread and butter pickles, fresh dill + basil, and a handful of spinach leaves.
As for the execution bit, nothing too complicated: quarter and boil the potatoes, and give the leeks a quick saute. Roughly chop the cornichons, pickles, and herbs and then mix them, along with the sauteed leek, in with the mayonnaise and crème fraîche. When the potatoes are tender, rinse with cold water and let cool a bit. Gently fold the dressing in with the potatoes. Top with chiffonaded (hmm...) spinach. Eat.
