Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Potato salad

So, I have always loved potato salad but never really figured out how to make a good one, so I texted my sister.  She had no clue, but googled along with me and we found some great ideas, and this is what I came up with.
You will need:
3 to 4 lbs of russet potatoes, washed and peeled.
Large stock pot of water with 2 Tbs white vinegar and 2Tbs Sugar and 2 tsp salt added to it.
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Seasoned Salt
Pepper
Relish (I use dill, you could go sweet though)
Finely chopped red onion (or whatever color you have on hand - red just has a zippy taste!)

Okay, so bring your pot of water to a boil.  While that is getting started chunk your potatoes up into bite sized pieces.  I found that unless your potatoes are all the same size, you should NOT boil them whole because some will be done before others.  Chop your potatoes into chunks that are all relatively the same size.  When the water is ready and at a HARD boil, add your potatoes.  Boil for about 10 minutes but not long enough to get them soft. You want them to slightly give when you fork them. I like to take one out and eat it to see how hard it is.  When the potatoes are done, drain them and set aside to let them cool.

In a small bowl combine 1-1/2 cups of mayo with 2 Tbsp mustard.  I probably don't need to tell you that you may feel free to use whatever kind of mayo and mustard you like, whether "Vegenaise" or Miracle Whip or spicy mustard or Dijon. To the mayo/mustard mix add about 2 tsp up to 2 Tbsp of season salt, depending on your taste.  I probably used about 2 tablespoons just because it salts the potatoes too. Add about 1tsp (or more - again your preference) and combine. Add 1/4 cup relish to mix and blend. I drain my relish in a sieve to get any excessive juice from it.  I find that if you add the spices to the mayo it distributes it evenly in your salad and you don't have giant bites of spice! EEW! Add mayo mix to potatoes and gently fold in with onions.  I like using a whole onion because I like onion, but you could go less as well. The onion ended up being about a cup after chopping.  Combine and cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.  This melds all the flavors and lets the salt sink in and mellow.  It also cools the potatoes as well.

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