How lovely are composed salads?!

One of the goals I had when I signed up for my CSA share and started this blog was to broaden my repertoire in the kitchen--to try new recipes and to be more successful with my improvisations. I can't say I've been doing a stellar job, but when I thought about making potato salad yesterday, I started to feel like a bit of a failure for repeating a dish. But I made it anyway because there were just too many potatoes! ...And guess what?

...I think it might be the best potato salad I've ever eaten. (Humility was never a goal of this blogging CSA endeavor.)

I consulted the Barefoot Contessa (I'd made her French potato salad before.), Bittman, Jacques Pépin, and Alice Waters. I really tried to seek inspiration from some new (and respectable sources) but Pépin and Waters had nothing to offer in this particular department. Here's my variation on Bittman's Double Mustard Potato Salad. I used a combination of Dijon and brown stone-ground mustards and a bit of port and apple cider vinegars. A big difference in the technique department between Bittman and BC was cutting the potatoes before boiling them (Bittman's), which I have to say worked out much better for me.
Maybe I was feeling inspired by the beautiful plating Mr. Bacon does (see below) when I decided to incorporate the salad into a Provençal-esque salad with green beans, grape tomatoes, tuna and a delicious hard-boiled egg. (P.S. this is one of the best hard-boiled eggs I've ever eaten). I think composed salads are so gorgeous. I should do this more often.
Speaking of gorgeous...my friend Mr. Bacon put my watermelon to good use in this jicama-watermelon salad. Oooo! Ahhhhh! It tasted good too.