Bryan's Bangin' Po-tat Salad

Already with a delicious pasta salad under his belt, Bryan decided to try and conquer a potato salad. He took his pasta salad inspiration and actually created a masterpiece. With some key additions such as bacon and eggs, this has become a hit in our household and at parties.

A Bryan Arkins Original

Ingredients
3 baking potatoes
4 eggs
4 bacon strips
2 celery stalks
8 baby carrots (or 1 regular carrot)
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno
1 T cilantro
2 garlic cloves (mashed)
1/2 cup (light) mayo
1 T dijon mustard
1 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 T pepper
1/2 t cayenne
1 t paprika
1 t sugar

Directions
1. Bring water to a boil in a large pot with some salt. Add quartered potatoes and cook for 12 – 15 minutes or until firm. Cut into sized chunks, make sure they are FULLY cooked!

2. While potatoes are boiling, put the eggs into a saucepan and cover with chilled water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and cover for 12-15 minutes. Peel / scoop out eggs and dice.

3. Cook the bacon strips in the microwave for roughly 3 minutes. Don’t overcook. Dice when finished.

4. Dice the rest of the ingredients and combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and stir gently. Add additional season to taste.

Spicy Poblano Corn Salad

This is a super tasty side dish that went perfectly with grilled steak. I enjoyed all the fresh ingredients the recipe included. Bryan LOVED the flavor and we look forward to serving this to guests.

Adapted from Joelen’s Culinary Adventures

Ingredients
5 ears of corn
1/2 medium Vidalia onion, thickly sliced crosswise
1 poblano pepper
1 jalapeno pepper
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp (fat free) sour cream Greek yogurt
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt
pepper
sugar

Directions
1. Preheat grill. Brush the corn, onion slices and 2 peppers with olive oil. Grill over moderately high heat until charred in spots, about 7-10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then cut the kernels from the cobs and coarsely chop the onion. Peel skin from the peppers, remove seeds and chop.

2. In a medium bowl, mix the sour cream with the lime juice and fresh cilantro. Stir in the charred corn, onions and peppers. Season the corn salad with salt and pepper to taste. Add sugar to tone down heat and serve immediately.

Basic Baked Potato

Adapted from Alton Brown

Ingredients
One Large Russet Potato
Canola Oil
Kosher Salt

Directions
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Wash and scrub potato. Pat dry.

2. Poke potato 8-10 times with a fork then coat withe oil.

3. Sprinkle with kosher salt and place in middle rack of oven.

4. Bake for one hour or until skin is crisp.

5. Serve with desired toppings. My favorites are butter, sour cream and shredded cheese!