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Written by: Shannon Oelrich

Summer is bounded by those quintessential barbecue holidays, Memorial Day and Labor Day, but there are also plenty of opportunities in between for gathering and sharing food. July Fourth has passed, but I find myself staring two potlucks and two family birthday gatherings in the face before the close of the social season. What to bring?

After some hits and misses this summer, I’ve stumbled upon a mixture that I like quite a lot. It’s traditional enough to please those who want a “normal” potato salad, but interesting enough to please the more adventurous palates in the group. Also, you get some veggies in it, and green beans are at their seasonal peak right now.

What do you enjoy taking to potlucks and other gatherings?

Green Bean-Potato Salad

2 pounds small red potatoes

1/2 pound green beans, ends snapped

1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1 heaping tablespoon capers

1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill

1/3 cup plain yogurt

1/3 cup mayonnaise

Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add whole potatoes and boil for about 15 minutes, checking with fork to be sure when they’re done (fork will pierce skin and slide to middle easily). Drain potatoes and plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking. You can use the same pot to blanche the green beans in (cook in boiling, salted water for about 3-5 minutes), then also plunge them into ice water.

Dry off potatoes and green beans, then slice potatoes in half and cut green beans into 1 1/2-inch pieces. Combine them in a large bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well and chill.

Posted by livemom on Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 1:30 pm | 3 Comments » You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.