Blue Cheese and Red Potato Tart

I made a blue cheese and red potato tart.

It was super perdy.

And so delicious.

We're going to be a eating a lot of potatoes in Ecuador and Peru, but probably not prepared like this!
After I had already mixed the ingredients for the crust, I realized my rolling pin was packed away in our storage unit 50 miles away, and I couldn't find another one in the house. Not wanting to give up on my tart, I rolled out the already impossible crust with a wine bottle.
For reals. That actually happened.
(and just for the record, I don't recommend it).

Prosciutto Wrapped Salmon with Rosemary Butter

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Grandma's Potato Salad

I love hearing stories from dad and mom about what their parents would cook and what they would eat as families. From these stories, I can picture in my head the vast array of produce dad has told me his family used to grow, and I can imagine him sitting at the dinner table demolishing a half dozen or so ears of corn, like he sometimes likes to talk about. I can picture mom at the dinner table eating bizarre things like frog legs, and squirrel and other unconventional game. Yuuuuum, she says, as I would cringe with uncertainty.
I relish the idea of passing down a family recipe through generations; an uncustomary heirloom. I think because I never had the opportunity of knowing any of my grandparents, taking a recipe and creating a dish I know they used to prepare in their own kitchens and eat at their tables, makes me feel connected to them. How special that food is able to create a bond between two people who have never even met.
Growing up, grandma McCoy's potato salad was either the first or one of the first potato salads I had ever tasted. All my life, when mom would make her own potato salad, she would make grandma's. I remember always liking it, but sometimes I would have a problem with the onions in it. Even though mom always chopped them up nice and fine, for awhile there, I would ask her to make a small batch without onions. Now that I'm older and have a more refined palate, I understand what the onion brings to the salad, and never again will they be omitted.
Grandma's potato salad is simple and addicting. Besides the "secret" ingredient, the binding is mostly Miracle Whip. I've come to realize that people either love the stuff, or absolutely detest it. I grew up on Miracle Whip, as I'm sure mom did, since that's what grandma used. I remember eating (and loving) bologna and Miracle Whip sandwiches. (What was wrong with me?!) Even if someone is one of those MW haters, I don't think they'd be able to deny grannie's salad.

Grandma's Potato Salad:
(measurements are approximate - this is for a smaller batch)

6 medium russet potatoes
5 large eggs
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion
Approx. 1 cup Miracle Whip
Approx. 1/3 cup sour cream
Salt to taste
Top with Paprika

Start by peeling potatoes and boiling until soft and hard boiling the eggs. Let potatoes and eggs cool, then chop and put into medium mixing bowl. Add onion, mayonaise, sour cream, and salt and mix until combined. Sprinkle with paprika.

Eat by the heaping spoonful, and enjoy every last morsel of it.

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU, GRANDMA! (I know you're watching me somewhere, and smiling)