Potato Salad

Great with: Grilled rib-eye steak.

If you're making your vinaigrette with white-wine vinegar, use 1/2 teaspoon sugar (instead of 1/4 teaspoon) to balance the higher acidity.

Editor's note: This recipe is from Brini Maxwell's Guide to Gracious Living. For Maxwell's tips on throwing a summer pool party, click here. What family reunion would be complete without potato salad? This is my mother's recipe. It's delicious — tasty and tangy, just as potato salad should be.

Potato salad with a southwestern kick‑the perfect partner for grilled flank steak, chicken or red snapper seasoned with cumin.

A dish from the Pays de Caux region in northern France, where it is called salade Cauchoise. The salad is traditionally bound with crème fraîche, but it is delicious made with mayonnaise, too. Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

A tangy, refreshing take on summer's classic back-yard side dish.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

Try adding a pound of crabmeat to this salad to turn it into an elegant main course.

Farmers' markets offer the widest selection of fresh baby potatoes, but if you can't find golf-ball-size versions of any of the varieties in this recipe, simply purchase large potatoes and cut them into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 25 min

Based on a recipe passed down from Anna Pump's Danish grandmother, this European-style potato salad is dressed with a mustardy vinaigrette along with capers, chives, and fresh parsley.

We liked fleur de sel or Malden flaked sea salt best in this recipe, though other types work fine. If using coarse sea salt instead of flaked or fine, crush it lightly.

The success of this dish depends entirely on the quality of your ingredients. Now's the time to use your best olive oil, freshly ground pepper, and a generous amount of a flavorful sea salt.