Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Garlic Potato Salad and Book News


Good Morning! (Or good afternoon, evening... whenever you're reading this.)

Today is a very exciting day for me ... and I hope I can make it an exciting one for you, too!

Two things - I'm sharing a recipe for Garlic Potato Salad that I absolutely love and I'm celebrating the release of Grace Under Pressure! Now, what would you like first? The potato salad or the book news?

I'll start with the recipe, how's that?

A few years ago, my husband and I went out to dinner with one of my high school BFFs and her husband. They suggested a tapas restaurant we'd never been to, nor heard of, but it was spectacular! By the way, can you tell how much I enjoy eating out? I think that's my official hobby...

Anyway, the best part of the meal, IMHO, was the garlic potato salad. It was utterly fabulous and the garlicky-est thing I'd ever eaten. I knew I had to make it at home. That put me on a quest to find the perfect garlic potato salad recipe. I thought I'd have a difficult time locating one, but it turned out there were hundreds to choose from. I experimented with several and finally decided which basic recipe I liked best. I've since adjusted it to our family's tastes and I love serving this in the summer with other cookout favorites. Have you noticed how much we've all been talking about cookouts lately? It's been a long, cold winter and I think we're all just itching to get outside and grill!


Garlic Potato Salad

5 lbs red potatoes
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (+/- as you prefer. I usually add more)
1 entire head garlic, cloves minced
1 bunch fresh parsley, very finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
optional: finely chopped celery, finely chopped green pepper

Boil potatoes (skins on) until fork tender, but not soft. Drain them and let them cool before peeling. Cut them into bite-size pieces... roughly square shaped. Mix mayo with garlic and parsley (you can use the entire bunch, or less if you prefer) with any optional items you've chosen to add. Once it's all well mixed, stir in the cooled potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.



I like to let this sit in the fridge for at least a couple of hours before serving. That way it gets nice and cold and the garlic flavor permeates everything.


We serve this as often with burgers as we do with steaks. It's a nice summery alternative to hot potatoes and my family gobbles this stuff up within a day of my making it. Just a little warning... with all the garlic, you may need an antacid after eating this!


Now... BOOK NEWS!!

Grace Under Pressure is released today!

Here's the cover I posted ages ago, and it's the jpg I have on my hard drive. As it turns out the "subtitle" of the series has changed. Yep, and I just found out last Friday. That's okay though, it's a wonderful subtitle and I'm looking forward to sharing the news everywhere.

Take a look at the cover below. See where it says "A Manor of Murder Mystery"? Well, if you take a look at the cover of the actual finished book ... which I got my first look at on Friday ... you'll see that it says "A Manor House Mystery." Not vastly different, but a change nonetheless.


I have another change to report as well... a contest update: For those of you who entered the pre-order contest, it will be just a little bit longer before I announce the winner. I found out, after I started this contest, that readers trying to pre-order digital copies were stymied. Digital versions aren't set up for pre-order. So... in the interest of fairness... I've extended the contest entry date (for all versions, paperback and digital) through June 5th with the announcement coming here on June 8th - a week from today. But... to make up for this last minute change, I'm going to award two (2) $25 gift certificates. Hope that's okay with everybody!


Thanks so much to everyone who picked up a copy of Grace Under Pressure. I'm just so thrilled by all the lovely emails I've received letting me know it's out there. Readers have been spotting it here and there, and I'm always excited to find a new place and to hear where it's displayed. Thank you, all!

Meet Grace. Visit Marshfield Manor.
Come for the tour,
Stay for the murder!

Hugs to all!
Julie

www.juliehyzy.com

15 comments:

  1. 32 minutes from now, my finger will be on that buy button, Julie! Love the recipe too, there is no such thing as too much garlic! I even put it in my homemade ranch dressing, which is probably what I'd use instead of mayo to dress that yummy sounding potato salad! See you Sunday!

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  2. So exciting to have a book come out...

    Finished my copy this weekend. Loved it! Congrats

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  3. Honestly? I think I'm making this for my lunch. I'm a HUGE potato salad fan, huge garlic fan. No one will be around...I can eat as much garlic as I like!!

    SOOOO excited about your new release, Julie! Congratulations!

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  4. Congratulations, Julie! Since today is release date, I posted my review this morning. It's on my blog, www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com. I liked Grace and her roommates as much as I like Ollie.

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  5. I'm a huge lover of the spud. I love garlic mashed potatoes and potato salad, but I never thought of putting the two together - DOH! Brilliant idea and great recipe. You are so right about cookouts, too. For so many of us (yes, moi included :), a getaway vacation just isn't possible this year, but a nice back yard barbecue is just the ticket for enjoying the season. And...

    Three cheers for Grace Wheaton's debut today!!! Thrilled to see you launching what's sure to be another stellar series. Congrats! :)

    ~ Cleo
    Coffeehouse Mystery.com
    Cleo Coyle on Twitter

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  6. Hey Shel! Ack!! It isn't showing a Kindle button yet. I'm hoping the dust-up between Amazon and Penguin doesn't hold that up too much longer. I'd heard they'd settled things, but I guess it will be a while before all books are back and Kindle-able. But you're on a different platform, aren't you?
    Thanks so much! PS - your homemade ranch dressing sounds wonderful. We *love* ranch dressing here. Love garlic too. Care to share?

    Dave - you're so great! Thank you so much. I'm absolutely tickled to know you enjoyed it! *big smile* Thanks so much for your wonderful blog post too. I just loved that.

    E - this is so good, I know I have to make it late in the day if I plan to serve it for dinner. Otherwise there wouldn't be any left LOL

    Lesa - your review made my day! It's always so nerve wracking (yet exciting) when a book debuts and I always worry "Will anyone like it?" Kinda like sending your baby to pre-school.... Thank you so much for that wonderful review! I read it this morning, first thing!

    Cleo - thanks so much! I'm terribly excited! And antsy. I know I won't get anything done. Release days are always like this. One problem with the potato salad... remember your post on Terry Odell's blog about snacking all day. This one is real trouble for me! LOL

    Thanks, everybody!
    Julie (very happy today after reading these comments)

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  7. Congratulations on the book release. Wishing you much success. I'm sure Grace will be as lovable as Ollie.
    BTW, like the recipe too. :)

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  8. Oh, I love tater salad. Can't wait to try this
    version -- garlic -- who'd have thunk?

    I'm planning to hit my B&N today and pick up Grace! Can't wait!!! COngrats, Julie!

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  9. Thank you so much, Mason! That's so sweet of you to say! Hope you have fun meeting Grace!

    Jenn- I know... I'm craving it myself. The batch I made for the photo is long gone. But I'm out of potatoes. Thanks for the congrats and for picking up Grace!

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  10. Julie, picked up Grace yesterday at Books a Million, I know a day early, but am loving it!!!! Wish I was a faster reader. Great pace.
    Side note: I love potato salad.
    ~Avery

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  11. Julie - got it from Sony, even though I don't have a Sony Reader, I can still use their ebookstore software, and that's in the format I prefer (epub). Ranch dressing recipe on the way :)

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  12. Thank you, Avery! I'm so glad you're liking it. Can't wait to read yours. Seriously, every time i see cheese these days, I think of you, and I'm getting impatient waiting for your book!

    Shel - got it! Oh thank you so much! I'm looking forward to trying it. And so happy you've downloaded Grace! I'm glad Sony's on the ball!

    Julie

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  13. Congrats on the book release. Yummy recipe which I can't wait to try.

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  14. Congratulations, Julie. Hope you had a wildly successful launch day!

    I'm amazed by all that raw garlic -- and I love garlic. I guess it's offset by five pounds of potatoes. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe. And, btw, now you have to share Shel's ranch dressing recipe with us!

    ~ Krista

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  15. Thanks, Dru!

    Very true, Krista. I'll try Shel's recipe soon (sounds fabulous)!

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