As soon as Grandma asked me to make potato salad for the branding I knew who had helped her make the list. My SIL Bobbie-jo has always raved over my potato salad and I was more than happy to make it. I know she occasionally reads my blog so I will post it here for her. With summer just around the corner this salad is great served with sliced ham or any dinner for that matter.
Sorry but no measurements for this recipe. I often just chop, toss, mash, boil & peel, and throw everything in.
I use russet potatoes and if I'm on the ball I'll cook them, skin on, and then let them cool. After peeling, I mash them with a potato masher and you're good to go. But most times I'm not quite "on the ball" so you will often find me cooking them already peeled, mashing them up hot, and cooling the pot in a sink full of cold water, while everyone is waiting for supper. I actually prefer them this way because I'm not one to eat cold chunks of potato and mashing them hot makes them a bit less chunky. If I'm even more in a hurry I will leave the skins on and just mash them right in!
I also boil up a fair number of eggs. Do you know that farm fresh eggs are a bugger to peel? The older the egg the easier it is to peel so when they are only a day or two old you curse a lot.
You really want the freshest veggies you can find, it's the crispness of the veggies that makes this salad taste great. I use radish, celery, carrots and green onions.
Cut your celery small, and everything else can be a bit chunky.
If you don't have green onions, regular ones will do.
I like to see each piece of radish with colour so I slice them like this:
Mix veggies together.
The best egg masher I've found is a pastry blender, the kind with the sharp blades.
Add the potatoes and eggs to the veggies. (I haven't yet added the eggs in the picture).
Because I have some people who like mayo, and some who like miracle whip, I add both. Add enough to make the whole thing creamy, depending on how you like it. I used up both jars that I had in the fridge, hence the empty jars, but you probably won't add much more than a cup or so of each. I also add regular mustard, it not only gives it flavour but yellows it as well, it also tones down the
tang of the dressings. You don't need to add much, not near as much as the mayo and miracle whip, but enough for flavour, adjust for your taste.
I also add a handful or two of frozen peas. I'm not even a pea fan but I do like peas in potato salad. Don't cook them, just toss them in frozen.
After mixing everything together you can add seasonings. I add a bit of salt and some Accent, and once in awhile I'll add a touch of garlic but this is up to you. It doesn't look pretty but it sure tastes great!
For something really different this year, I added a few teaspoons of curry, my Aunty Bonnie had suggested it. I liked it, along with a number of others, but the ones who didn't like it
really didn't like it. Next year I think I'll split the amount and make one with curry and one without. In the past I've also added cooked, cooled, and crumbled bacon, but I think this salad is already high enough in fat so I stopped doing that. You can pretty well wing it and add whatever you like; red and/or green peppers would be nice... try it.
