April, You Filthy Animal

I have been a little behind posting. I apologize... I've been having way too much fun.

Let me just give you a brief overview of what has been going on:
1) Spring skiing
2) My birthday
3) Easter - I never knew this could be such a fantastic holiday.

This season has been absolutely fantastic. I don't think I could have spent the winter with better people, snow, adventure, and cheese fries. Lots and lots of cheese fries. I can't believe it took until the last day of the season at Discovery to finally ski with my lovely friend Allison. Bikini clad and buzzed we rang in the season.

Next came Montana Snowbowl's closing weekend. I have to admit, we didn't actually ski. Myself and a few friends are pretty much in love with costumes, ski hills, and bloody mary's. Snowbowl's bloody mary's have won the 'Best of Missoula' for countless years and I had a local contender to compare it against. Both are delicious, I may just have to give it another shot before I make a decision. I mention my love for cheese fries fairly often, but I'll admit that Snowbowl has the best mountain food ever...and cheese fries aren't ever an option. I highly recommend any pizza and the strawberry/brie platter. With our fellow skiers and porch loungers in costume, it made for a fantastic day of people watching and festivities.Lindsey has acquired potentially the best beer carrier of all time, I introduce to you "the snackpack".

To the best birthday I have even had: 24, you were a good one. Such a bum age, can't quite rent a car yet but hey, we can still have fun. My parents had flowers delivered to my office which were fabulous, the birthday cake bouquet!

Finally, we come to Easter. I'm glad that people in their mid-twenties can still make an Easter brunch, paint eggs (and beer cans), and enjoy the holiday overall. My friend and I decided to barbecue which only means one thing: Heather and I are going to make entirely too much food for the two of us. At least it's delicious and at least you all are getting a recipe out of it. My favorite and probably only potato salad I will ever make in the future.

Sriracha and Banana Pepper Potato Salad from The Food In My Beard 

This salad is full of flavor and brings a spicy twist on the traditional dish with the cooling flavors of cucumber and mint.

Ingredients:
5 lbs of potatoes, mostly peeled
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch mint
1 bunch scallions
1 cucumber, diced
juice of 1 lime
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 12 oz jar of banana peppers, chopped, save the juice in the jar
1.5 c mayonaise
1.5 c sour cream (I used non-dairy)
1/4-1/2 c Sriracha (I would start with 1/4 c and add from there)

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the potatoes by dicing into 2 inch chunks. Toss in olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast on a baking sheet for about an hour or until fork tender. Meanwhile, chop cilantro, scallions, mint, and cucumber. Add to a bowl and toss with the juice of one lime and some salt. Set aside in the refrigerator. In a very large bowl, mix the red onion, garlic, and chopped banana peppers. Add about half the liquid from the jar. Next add the mayo, sour cream, and Sriracha. Mix well.

When the potatoes are ready, chop and mash them up a little bit while they are still hot and add them to the bowl. Mix everything together and continue to chop and mash the potatoes until the consistency is about half mashed with a few chunks.

If the mixture is too dry, add either more mayo, sour cream, or sriracha to taste. Allow this mixture to cool for about an hour before adding the herb and cucumber mixture. Serve! The salad will keep for about 5 days and only gets better in time. Enjoy!

April has been a fabulous month. I can't wait to see what else spring has to offer. xo