This was exactly what I was going for: a simple, delicious red potato dish to accompany our Saint Patrick’s Day corned beef and cabbage dinner. Easy, right? I’ve done it before many times – blind folded and with one arm tied behind my back. I mean, I’m part Irish, for shamrock’s sake! Who can screw this dish up?

Me.

How you ask? Well, in defense of myself, here are my reasons:

1. The searing pain in my sinuses woke me at 2:30 am  – darn cold.
2. While waiting for the drugs to kick in I laid awake thinking of all the things I needed to do at work. Which kept me up until 7 am.
3. Due to lack of sleep (I’m an 8-9 hour a night girl) and stress, my sinus headache turned migraine.
4. My migraine medicine makes me a bit loopy

So, when my friend brought over his new girlfriend I set the potatoes in the steamer, placed them in the pot with a bit of water, and turned the stove on.

And forgot to set a timer.

We cracked open the fabulous bottle of Ridge, filled our glasses (much needed after the day I’d had!) and got to know one another. Around 30 minutes later – far too long for a pot to go on medium-high with an inch of water in it – I smelled smoked.

Craaaaaaaaaaap!!!

I ran to the kitchen, opened the lid and my hair flew back from the blast of smoke that burst forth. “My Le Creuset!” I cried. My friend opened the windows, my cat scurried to smoke-free safety upstairs, and Allison (the new girlfriend) grinned.

“You’re going to do an exposé on the Foodista writer, aren’t you?” I whimpered, tail between my legs.

So I’m outing myself. I’m not perfect. Now you know.

At least the corned beef was good.

Note: That was total fiction. Well, at least the part about Allison grinning at me. She was, in fact, completely sympathetic and the perfect guest. All the rest, unfortunately, remains shamefully true.

Marybeth shows us how it’s done here:

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I have a bit of Irish running through my blood so genetically I love potatoes. Baked, gratin, mashed, fried, hash browned, and I will even admit it, Tater Tots.

Tonight we’re barbecuing with our friends and nothing goes better with ribs than a good potato salad (and corn bread and coleslaw, but Irish girl here is on potato duty.) My favorite is a non-mayonnaise-based recipe. Fortunately, it’s also the easiest and quickest since I dilly-dallied at Home Depot this afternoon and lost track of time. But hey, we have a new home and that big orange store sucks me in every weekend, what can I say?

Back to the salad. It contains vinegar, but I would not consider this a German potato salad because its ingredients are much simpler. Here’s all you need:

Red potatoes
Onions (white, yellow, red or scallions all work beautifully)
Parsley (or you could also use cilantro)
Olive oil
Vinegar (preferable cider or distilled white)
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes whole in unsalted water until soft. Drain and chill under cool running water or allow to cool naturally. Give the potatoes a good rough chop. I usually cut them in half, then cut them again into about thirds, depending on their size. Add the chopped onion and parsley – quantity of each is entirely up to you. Give a soft stir, then drizzle in some olive oil to coat. Add the vinegar and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir softly to blend the vinegar and seasonings, and keep tasting until you have achieved the desired taste.

Now wasn’t that easy!

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