11-27-2015 ~This is pretty much the potato salad I grew up with – and for me, that’s a GOOD thing. Familiar and delicious, I can still remember watching my mother prepare it and saying to her, “Put more pickles in Mom” (which I did, cuz I knew it was what I had to do). She didn’t use a recipe, nor does this one require you follow it precisely either. I’m sure the submitter wouldn’t mind if maybe you used all ingredients in amounts to suit your taste buds, like the mayonnaise or mustard for instance. Or more celery if you like a little more crunch. (I’ll bet she doesn’t measure precisely, but was forced to specify measurements for purposes of following recipe submission guidelines. I’ll bet, for instance, that she just uses a good plop or two of mayonnaise and maybe a squirt or two of mustard) In my case, tinkering with this a bit meant adding a little sour cream to mellow out the mayonnaise and substituting dill pickle juice for the vinegar, tho’ there’s not a darn thing wrong with the vinegar. I added very thinly sliced radishes and chopped cucumber, because Mom did. Some chopped green onion gave this just the flecks of color it needed. Most important, just as Mom did, I tasted it about five or six times (clean spoon every time!) to make sure it was just right. I’d call this recipe “Old Reliable.”
11-27-2015 ~This is pretty much the potato salad I grew up with – and for me, that’s a GOOD thing. Familiar and delicious, I can still remember watching my mother prepare it and saying to her, “Put more pickles in Mom” (which I did, cuz I knew it was what I had to do). She didn’t use a recipe, nor does this one require you follow it precisely either. I’m sure the submitter wouldn’t mind if maybe you used all ingredients in amounts to suit your taste buds, like the mayonnaise or mustard for instance. Or more celery if you like a little more crunch. (I’ll bet she doesn’t measure precisely, but was forced to specify measurements for purposes of following recipe submission guidelines. I’ll bet, for instance, that she just uses a good plop or two of mayonnaise and maybe a squirt or two of mustard) In my case, tinkering with this a bit meant adding a little sour cream to mellow out the mayonnaise and substituting dill pickle juice for the vinegar, tho’ there’s not a darn thing wrong with the vinegar. I added very thinly sliced radishes and chopped cucumber, because Mom did. Some chopped green onion gave this just the flecks of color it needed. Most important, just as Mom did, I tasted it about five or six times (clean spoon every time!) to make sure it was just right. I’d call this recipe “Old Reliable.”
This is what I'm talking about! There are lots of "alternative" potato salads out there, but if you want one like Mom or Grandma used to make, this is it. I cut the recipe in half and ended up using less mayo anyway (1 cup). I added cheese because my mom always did! I also used 3-4 tsp of sweet pickle juice in addition to the vinegar. Used more pepper, threw a little celery salt in there, and topped it with paprika. Honestly, everyone else is right - eyeball it, taste it - you'll be fine!
This is the potato salad I grew up with! It's simple, not fancy at all, and just plain good! I love this recipe! One thing that I love about this recipe is the ability to eyeball everything. Add more of this, less of that.... it's all good! Takes me back to my childhood...
I made a few modifications and it was PERFECT! Used celery seed and freeze dried red onions as I prefer both over chunks of the alternative; used a few dashes of ground mustard instead of the prepared kind; added a few pinches of white sugar and threw in some scallions----and I'll need to double the recipe from now on as it was gone almost immediately. Thanks for the perfect foundational recipe!
I don't chop potatoes before I boil them for potato salad. I always boil them in their jackets. I chop and partially dress the potatoes while they are warm. Part of the mayonnaise and the vinegar go right on. That way the potatoes absorb the dressing best. I also added green salad olives but the rest of the ingredients and the proportions were great.
Absolutely delicious! I sprinkled a little paprika on the top before serving!
I'm ashamed to say I could never make good potato salad! That is, until I tried this recipe! It was delicious and I was so proud. None of it went to waste either. My son is begging me to make it again. Thank you for this recipe!
I'm still looking for the "perfect" potato salad and this just isn't it! It wasn't bad, but something was missing for me. Also, you have to boil the potatoes a lot longer than 10 minutes. They were too hard (maybe it's because I used red potatoes).
