Homemade Potato Salad

When I was a child, my step mom made the best potato salad I had ever tasted.  For years, I pined over that recipe, wishing I could taste it again. One day, I decide to make my own, going from memory how she prepared hers (minus the pressure cooker).  Lo and behold, it tasted just like it.  I should tell you...I do not like a potato salad with relish, pickles, red peppers, a lot of mustard or (any) celery seed in it.  If you're looking for something like that, you've come to the wrong place.  If you're looking for a hearty, creamy, eggy potato salad, please read on... Here's what you'll need:

 Ingredients:
10 medium potatoes (I used potatoes that were 3 to a pound)
6 Hard Boiled Eggs (see recipe for perfect hard boiled eggs HERE)
1 Small Vidalia Onion
1+ Ribs of Celery
2C+ REAL Mayonnaise
2t Mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by adding salt to a pot of water.  

Add potatoes and put on to boil.

Put your eggs on to boil at the same time, but watch them carefully!

See recipe HERE as to how to make hard boiled eggs.

While eggs and potatoes are boiling, cut your onion and celery.

Do a small dice on the onion.  I think it's nice to have small pieces

so you don't bite into a big chunk o' onion.  Blech.

For the celery, I like to cut mine down the center like this first.

This makes for easier chopping.  I don't care for really big

pieces of celery in my potato salad anyway.  Sure am picky, aren't I?

Place your celery and onions in small bowls and set aside until needed.
Please don't throw away the onion and celery ends.  Make good
use of them HERE.

When potatoes are fork-tender (about 20 minutes later), remove 

from heat.  Note:  Fork tender means just that.  Use a fork to pierce

them.  It should slide in and out easily.  Don't use a knife.  A knife

can slide in and out of most things easily and will not give you

an accurate depiction of a potato that is done in the center.

Run your potatoes under cold water to cool them.

When cool enough to handle, take one potato at a time and 

score a line all the way around the center with a knife.

Using a towel (or paper towel as I did because I didn't want to 

have to wash a starchy kitchen towel), gently push the skin

to the side and it will slide off.  Little tip I learned from my friend

Mary.  Please visit her site at "I can't believe I made that".

Chop potatoes in half the long way, then cut into 1/2-3/4" chunks

the short way.  I like to make them a little bigger because once

you start adding things in and stirring a lot, it tends to break down.

Put your potatoes in a large bowl and add 1 1/2C REAL mayo to start.

I ended up with 2C mayo at the end, but depending on the size of your

potatoes, you may need more or less.

Using an egg slicer, cut your peeled eggs the long way.

Turn a 1/4 turn and slice again the short way.

Aren't those purdy eggs?  No green yolk, not over-dry.

See my no fail recipe HERE.

Mix those in well, trying to get the yolks creamed in with the mayo.

Next, add in your celery and onion.  I ended up with about 1/2C

of celery and used it all.  I started with 1/2C onions, but decided it needed

more.  I ended up using about 3/4C of the onion and saved the rest.

You can also add your mustard now.  What you see is about 1t.

I added probably one more teaspoon more after tasting.

Next, add salt and pepper to taste.  You will also add more mayo

at this point if it's too dry.

Mix together well and put in a nicer serving dish.  

Add some paprika to the top to make it purdy.

If desired, you could save a couple of egg slices and 

put them on top for garnish.  I didn't worry about that.

This is best when refrigerated for at least 24 hours.  This time,

we just ate it right away.  It was still good.  After serving, cover

your potato salad with plastic wrap, being sure to press it down

over the top.  This helps to not have a bunch of moisture build

up on the top of it, making it runny and gross.  Put the lid on 

and keep refrigerated up to a few days at the most.

Notes:

I LOVE this salad.  I always say that I like to have a few potatoes in my 'egg' salad!   It's so creamy, eggy and delicious.  Just the way I remember Leslie making hers.

This whole salad, about 4 pounds worth, came to $2.86 with all products purchased at Aldi's.  That's about half the price of (inferior) prepared potato salad would cost you.

Because we like a really eggy potato salad, here's my general rule.  No matter how many potatoes I have, I use one egg per every two potatoes, but then add one extra at the end.  So, in this recipe, I had 10 potatoes.  That means 5 eggs, but I add one more in for good measure.

I've never really measured anything before today.  I've just gone on taste.  I'm hoping my recipe will be accurate enough for you to duplicate.

My family really enjoyed this and I hope you do, too.  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

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