I’m a stickler for traditions. If we don’t eat the white lasagna on Christmas Eve or jump in the lake after our morning walks in Vermont, things just don’t feel right. You could accuse me of not liking change (and you’d be right), but I like to think of it as keeping things classic. And just because I like to keep things classic, doesn’t mean that I don’t like to try new things, too.

I wouldn’t say I have any grand traditions for the Fourth of July. For the past few years I’ve spent the fourth at the beach because, as I may have mentioned before, I’m such a beach kid. Besides going to the beach and watching my friend Friendly Greg dj, for the last three years we’ve always cooked out. We stick to the classics: burgers, hot dogs, and of course, some great all-American sides. This year, it was potato salad.

Unroasted.

Roasted ‘n’ crispy.

This particular recipe is based on one that I’ve made a few times: Ina’s Potato Salad. To prove my willingness, nay eagerness, to try new things, I turned this one on its head a bit. Instead of just boiling the potatoes, I roasted them! I’ve been wanting to try a roasted potato salad for a while now so instead of finding a specific roasted potato salad, I just used a dressing recipe I knew I liked. Revolutionary, huh? I also added some hardboiled eggs in there because I’ve become a bit obsessed lately.

My friend Emily is celebrating America in her own special way. With rosé. ((whispering angel))

Friendly Greg and EVS have an affinity for bucket hats. They’re pretty cool.

This is a concoction my friend Shannon made me. It was delicious and totally improvised. A+ on the garnishes, Shannon.

Richard and Rafe don’t actually know how to play cornhole.

^ Just another idiot. #buttpic

Our little backyard shindig was great. We had what we call a “hat party.” What you do is you find a hat. You wear the hat. You have a good time, which we definitely did, and you call it a party. The food was tasty, the games were fun, and the friends were weird and wonderful as always. This evolving Fourth of July tradition keeps getting better each year, no matter how it changes. Now, isn’t that a nice little life lesson I snuck in there for ya?

Make a bowl of roasted potato salad for your next cook out! Try something new, I promise it’ll do you good.

Roasted Potato Salad

Serve: 6-8 people

Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients:

3 lbs new potatoes (any sort of small, thin-skinned potato will work)

3-4 hardboiled eggs

1 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

3 cup chopped parsley

2-3 stalks chopped celery

½ red onion, chopped

Olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Quarter the potatoes (or chop into bite sized pieces), place in a large pot of water with a tablespoon or two of salt, and bring to a boil. Keep an eye on them and test the after they’ve been in the pot for 10-15 minutes. You just want them to be fork tender, meaning a piece of potato is easily pierced by a fork or knife.
3. Once the potatoes are finished, drain them in a colander and return to the pot. Drizzle with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to combine evenly. On two oven trays, divide the potatoes evenly, and pop in the oven. You may need to switch the trays (one from the bottom to the top and vice versa) midway through. Roast to your desired crispness. Mine probably took about half an hour.
4. Meanwhile, add the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon and whole-grain mustards, parsley, celery, and onion in a mixing bowl. Stir until evenly mixed and set aside.
5. Once the potatoes are finished roasting, let them cool a bit before placing in a large bowl. They shouldn’t be cold, but they should be easy to handle by hand.
6. Add however many eggs you’d like, quartered. I used three.
7. Pour some dressing into the bowl, tossing as you add it, until it’s dressed to your satisfaction.
8. Serve with some good ole fashioned American cuisine, maybe on let’s say, a red gingham tablecloth, and dig in! This dish can be served warm, room temperature, or even cold.

Note: If you have any leftover dressing, this is absolutely delightful over salmon. Top notch. Also, the original recipe calls for dill, which I could not find anywhere. If you have some, definitely use it.