Southern Style Potato Salad

2 1/2 lb. potatoes
1/4 c. celery
1/4 c. onions
1/4 c. green peppers
1/4 c. sweet relish
1 tsp. celery seed
1/4 c. yellow mustard
4 tbsp. sugar
1 c. mayonnaise
Salt to taste

Chop up all ingredients finely. Boil potatoes with skin on until tender. Cover with cold water and cool. Peel potatoes, dice into medium size cubes.

Add all other ingredients and mix. Place in serving dish and sprinkle with paprika and chill before serving.

Grilled Peach-and-Mozzarella Salad

A cumin-lime vinaigrette spiked with a tiny amount of tequila adds a little something extra to this gorgeous grilled salad of peaches and fresh mozzarella cheese. As the seasons change, consider substituting heirloom tomatoes, plums, and other soft fruits for the peaches. We found traditional peaches work better in this dish than white peaches, which have more sugar and water and don't hold up as well on the grill.



Yield: Makes 4 servings
Prep time:25 Minutes
Grill:10 Minutes
Ingredients
5 peaches (not white)
3 green onions, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lime zest
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 tablespoons tequila (optional)
1/3 cup olive oil
Vegetable cooking spray
1 (6-oz.) package watercress or baby arugula, thoroughly washed
3/4 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 16 (1/4-inch) slices
Garnish: fresh cilantro sprigs
Preparation
1. Peel and chop 1 peach. Cut remaining 4 peaches into 28 (1/4-inch-thick) rounds, cutting through stem and bottom ends. (Cut peaches inward from sides, cutting each side just until you reach the pit. Discard pits.)

2. Process chopped peach, green onions, next 7 ingredients, and, if desired, tequila in a food processor 10 to 15 seconds or until smooth. Add oil, and pulse 3 to 4 times or until thoroughly combined.

3. Coat cold cooking grate of grill with cooking spray, and place on grill. Preheat grill to 350° to 400° (medium-high). Brush both sides of peach rounds with 1/3 cup peach dressing.

4. Grill peach rounds, covered with grill lid, over 350° to 400° (medium-high) heat 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear.

5. Arrange watercress evenly on 4 plates. Alternately layer 4 grilled peach rounds and 4 cheese slices over watercress on each plate. Top each with 3 more peach rounds. Drizzle with remaining peach dressing. Garnish, if desired.

Grilled Peach-and-Feta Salad: Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange 1/4 cup pecans, chopped, in a single layer in a shallow pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted and fragrant, stirring after 5 minutes. Reduce peaches from 5 to 4, and reduce salt to 1/2 tsp. Substitute 8 cups loosely packed Bibb lettuce leaves (about 6 oz.; 1 to 2 heads of lettuce) for watercress and 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese for mozzarella cheese. Peel and chop 1 peach. Cut each of remaining 3 peaches into 8 wedges. Proceed with recipe as directed in Steps 2 through 4, decreasing grilling time for peach wedges to 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear. Divide Bibb lettuce and 4 cooked bacon slices, halved crosswise, among 4 plates or shallow bowls. Top with grilled peach wedges. Sprinkle with feta cheese and pecans. Serve with dressing. Makes 4 servings; Prep: 25 min., Bake: 10 min., Grill: 6 min.

Note: You can also use a grill pan to get those beautiful grill marks on the peaches.

Avocado Fruit Salad
You can prepare this salad a day ahead, but don't cut up the avocado or add garnishes until just before you serve it.



Yield: Makes 6 cups (serving size: 1 cup)
Prep time:15 Minutes
Chill:1 Hour
Ingredients
1 (24-oz.) jar refrigerated orange and grapefruit sections, rinsed, drained, and patted dry
1 (24-oz.) jar refrigerated tropical mixed fruit in light syrup, rinsed, drained, and patted dry
2 cups cubed fresh cantaloupe
1 medium-size ripe avocado, halved and cut into chunks
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons lime juice
Garnishes: light sour cream, crushed pistachios
Preparation
1. Toss together first 6 ingredients. Cover and chill 1 hour. Garnish, if desired.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Del Monte SunFresh Citrus Salad and Del Monte SunFresh Tropical Mixed Fruit in Light Syrup With Passion Fruit Juice.

Note: Nutritional analysis does not include garnish.

Ginger-and-Lemon Fruit Salad
If you can't find ripe mangoes, use refrigerated mango slices found in the produce section of your supermarket.



Yield: Makes 16 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Prep time:20 Minutes
Ingredients
2 large Gala or Fuji apples
2 large mangoes, peeled
2 large red Bartlett pears
2 large navel oranges, peeled
1 fresh pineapple, peeled and cored
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger
Preparation
Cut first 5 ingredients into bite-size pieces; place in a large bowl. Whisk together lemon juice, honey, and ginger. Drizzle over fruit mixture, tossing to coat. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Watermelon, Mâche, and Pecan Salad
Mâche, a tender heirloom variety of lamb's lettuce, has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor, but the salad is equally good prepared with baby lettuces.



Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Prep time:20 Minutes
Bake:7 Minutes
Cool:15 Minutes
Ingredients
3/4 cup chopped pecans
5 cups seeded and cubed watermelon
1 (6-oz.) package mâche, thoroughly washed
Pepper Jelly Vinaigrette
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Arrange pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake at 350° for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant. Cool on a wire rack 15 minutes or until completely cool.

2. Combine watermelon and mâche in a large bowl; add vinaigrette, tossing gently to coat. Transfer watermelon mixture to a serving platter, and sprinkle evenly with pecans and cheese.

Picnic Salad
Ingredients
6 ears fresh corn or 3 cups frozen corn
3 cucumbers chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 red onion chopped

Dressing
1-1/2 cups Italian dressing
2 Tbl vinegar
2 Tbl lemon juice
2 tsp sugar or sweetener
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Dressing
1-1/2 cups Italian dressing
2 Tbl vinegar
2 Tbl lemon juice
2 tsp sugar or sweetener
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Preparation
Cook corn until tender. Rinse under cold running water or put in an ice bath; drain well.
Chop cucucumber, red and green peppers, and onion. Add to corn in large bowl.
In a small bowl mix salad dressing with the remaining ingredients.
Pour over corn mixture and toss well.
Chill 2 hours before serving.

— with Tammy Keinath.