Losing a Companion

I got the sad, sad news last night that my FAVORITE magazine, Mary Engelbreit's "Home Companion", has 1 more issue before getting discontinued. My mom read it in the newspaper & passed along the information (along with her condolences). I didn't believe her, so I went online & scoured the St.Louis paper until I found it. Here is the link to read it for yourself... [almost all the way to the end, titled "Bye Bye Mary".]

I have subscribed to the magazine for several years. It was a staple on my Christmas list every single year for probably the past 8 years or so. I absolutely love everything about the magazine & it was sort of a lofty dream of mine to be featured one day as an artist in her magazine.

I loved the section on featured artists, I loved reading their interviews & getting a peek into their studios & homes. I loved the section on flea markets & antiquing. The covers were always inviting. I loved their recipes (one of my very favorite potato salad recipes came from there). I have hundreds of things I've either dog-eared or ripped out. I loved their paper dolls. I had kept the paper dolls that came with each magazine & saved them in a file folder for "when & if" I ever had a girl. This winter I framed 2 with some outfits to put in Libby's room.


This magazine really was dear to me. :( If you think I'm being a wee bit dramatic over a magazine, you don't know how much I adored it. I loved it from cover to cover. And I think these days it's hard to find a magazine in print that you love that much. So many are full of advertisements & not enough content. I will have to find a new favorite... I am open to suggestions, but I am warning you these will be big shoes to fill! :)

Here is my favorite potato salad recipe I've been making for about 6 years. I believe it came out of a magazine summer of 2000. (I think I can remember reading this recipe on the couch of our apartment when we were 1st married.) I have altered it a bit to make it easier to prepare, via the steamer. It's very unique - not your typical picnic potato salad. This goes great as a side dish to anything (chicken, etc.) - so don't just wait for a picnic:

Red Potato Salad

2 lbs. med. size new (red) potatoes

1/4 c. both virgin olive oil & canola oil, combined

4 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 t. salt

pepper

1/2 c. or more snow peas

1/4 c. chives cut in 1 in. pieces

1 small handful shaved parmesan (*I mainly use grated, since I always have it)

1) Wash potatoes, then halve or quarter them depending on their size. Cook for 2 hours using a preheated 350 degree oven -OR the way I do it- throw in the steamer & cook 'til soft (35 minutes???).

2) While still hot, toss with oils, garlic, salt & pepper to taste. Cool.

3) Blanche the snow peas -OR the way I do it- throw in the steamer just for a few minutes after the potatoes; just 'til they "puff up", then take them out & they'll return to normal size.

4) Combine snow peas, chives & parmesan with the potatoes. Serve at room temperature.