Thursday, October 1, 2009

Warm potato salad with lemon-lime vinaigrette

Making the root beer cake launched a lot of conversations in our house about sodas. The husband and I discussed the ones we like (root beer and ginger ale) and those we don't (most others), how the husband's teeth hurt when he thinks about drinking a Coke, and soda brands from our childhoods.

I grew up in California in a household that did not drink a lot of sodas. Yes, there was root beer at A&W, and I remember drinking some orange Fantas over the years. But my strongest memory of soft drinks was when we'd go on camping trips with family friends, who'd always bring a cooler full of Cragmont sodas. I was always thrilled to see that cooler, which I knew to be neatly stocked with shiny cans. Of all the flavors, which included bright pink strawberry and the exotic cream soda, I often chose lemon lime.

The husband didn't have Cragmont in Kentucky, but he did have Chek, which I had never heard of. A quick search on Wikipedia informed me that this too was a cheap brand like Cragmont and boasted the same classic flavors, as well as some suspicious-sounding ones, like Red Alert, Dr. Chek, and my personal favorite, diet Freshy, a Fresca rip-off.

Anyway, after I had a good laugh about Chek, I found myself thinking about lemon lime. Lemon lime is a weird flavor for a kid to pick out, but as I'm sure is evident by now, I was a weird kid. As an adult, I still like lemons and limes together, although I prefer them in their natural forms.

So last night, as I was roasting up a pork loin, I decided to make a potato salad. These two things don't really go together; one is more fall/winter and one is more spring/summer. Pork roasts make me think of root vegetables and bitter autumn greens, while potato salad is warm-weather picnic food. But we had a lot of little Yukon Gold potatoes that needed attention, as well as a bag of limes.  I decided to make a tangy vinaigrette using the zest and juice of one lemon and two limes, along with some coarse mustard and olive oil. I poured it over warm potatoes and cold celery, with lots of fresh chives. The result was a light but strongly-flavored potato salad straddling two seasons, a perfect accompaniment to the pork loin rubbed in rosemary.

I'm glad I was reminded about lemons and limes, even if it was through a lengthy analysis of cheap 1970's sodas. It's still a great combination that can lift a ho-hum dish into something both crisp and sunny.


10 comments:

  1. Those potatoes look terrific! The lemon/lime flavor would perk the potatoes up big time.
    I was thinking about soda. Never liked coke either. But I did like an orange soda. Odd when I think about it. Makes me cringe now.

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  2. Hehe great minds! I used to love (and still do) lemon and lime flavour as a child and I suppose I was a fairly unusual child too! :)

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  3. My kids love sour flavours too, often picking out lemon tart instead of brownies (wierd!:))

    The tangy dressing sounds lovely with those potatoes. I think I've been served roasted potatoes with a lemony dressing and you're right, it really lifts it into a different territory.

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  4. The potatoes sound awesome. I didn't drink a lot of soda when I was a kid, mostly just when we would go on trips. Then we would drink whatever generic was available. Heh.

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  5. Wow! What a GREAT idea to jazz up the tired potato salad...You're never short of awesome imaginations!

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  6. An A&W root beer float -- now that was THE way to enjoy soda. ;)

    I wonder if kids like lemon-lime soda so much for the same reason they love Sour Patch Kids? Maybe there's a craving for tart amid all that sugar?

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  7. We mostly only drank sodas at the beach, when my parents would buy a case of NeHi grape and a case of NeHi orange. I used to mix them together to get a nasty-colored concoction I called "SUPERDUPER" soda. Ew.

    Oddly enough, I've been thinking about potato salad lately too. Not a mayo laden one, but a tangy vinaigrette one. This looks like just the thing. Thanks for posting it!

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  8. I find everything is better with a bit of citrus. I love potato salad with a vinaigrette dressing rather than a heavy mayo one. Your version looks wonderful!

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  9. Thanks, everyone! I'm tickled that my post got people thinking about the sodas they had as kids. Kate: I remember some similar concoctions as a kid--mixing up sodas, ice creams, etc--to make totally revolting combinations which I would then happily consume. Ah, to be a kid again...

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  10. what an interesting idea! zested potato salad is something i've never experienced, but i'm quite certain it'd be refreshing and tasty. and for the record, fresca rocks my world. :)

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