How this salad got left out of the Family Cookbook, I will never know.
Yes, my family published our own cookbook. I have a plan to post many of the recipes from the Grennan Family Cookbook titled “Around the Table” here on my blog in the near future. If that doesn’t keep you coming back, I don’t know what will!
More on the cookbook later. I was talking about potato salad…
I don’t really like complicated cooking. I like well balanced dishes with texture and flavor. I do not often make salads or casseroles with heavy sauces or hot spices. That may be why I love Japanese food so much. Distinct flavors that never overpower the main ingredient.
Most of my cooking leans toward the simple. Fresh ingredients with a few seasonings and straightforward preparation. This recipe is no different although I cannot claim the fame for this salad as it is one of my mom’s and I’m pretty sure everyone in her family makes a similar version. It is so good I try to avoid deli store salads. They always disappoint.
The best thing about making your own potato salad is that you have total control over the amount of mayo!
I am definitely not a lover of mayonnaise. Usually those store bought salads are made by mayo lovers and we have more mayo tolerators than lovers in our house. That is absolutely why I make my own cole slaw too!
I have made this salad with many different types potatoes. I almost said every variety of potato available, but then checked the internet and discovered there are hundreds of varieties. I
have used white all-purpose potatoes, russet baking potatoes and red skinned potatoes as well as the Yukon Gold variety but never sweet potatoes. Yukon Gold is probably the most common variety used in potato salad. You can make the salad with any of the others I mentioned and dozens more for sure just be prepared for the outcome.
My preference is to use the Yukon Gold because the pieces will stay firm after boiling, They do not get mealy and soft and the skin is smooth and easy to chew if you decide to leave it on for the salad.
Whether or not to remove the skin depends on the type of potato you choose and your preference. If you do not enjoy eating the skin, then remove them. My preference is to remove most of the skin. Sometimes the potatoes are small and difficult to skin so I just remove what I can. The salad looks a little more interesting with some skin left on the pieces of potato in my opinion. And the fiber in the skin is healthy for you!
My family really enjoys this salad with hard boiled eggs but this is a step you can simply leave out if you don’t feel you have time or do not like hard boiled eggs. I also love the crunchiness of the chopped celery in potato salad. Probably because I grew up with it that way. I happen to really like celery and have a bunch in my fridge at all times. I use it a lot! But I bet most people don’t buy celery these days. Celery is also great for your digestive health and the rest of your body!
Try our traditional family potato salad and leave me a comment and let me know whether you keep celery in your fridge or not.
Potato Salad
- August 9, 2019
- 8-10
- 40 min
- Print this
Ingredients
- 1 1/5 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
- 3/4 C mayonnaise (Hellman's)
- 2 T Frenchs yellow mustard
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 1/2 small white onion, chopped
- 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- salt & pepper
Directions
- Step 1
- Fill large pot with 4 quarts water
- Step 2
- Peel potatoes and cut into equal size pieces about 1″ square. Put potatoes into water and set water to boil. Boil potatoes until fork tender about 15 minutes.
- Step 3
- While potatoes are cooking, combine mayonnaise and mustard to make salad dressing and salt and pepper to taste. Add celery and onion and combine.
- Step 4
- Drain potatoes and allow them to cool for about 20 minutes cut the potatoes smaller if desired then add the mayonnaise mixture and gently combine to cover evenly. Serve right away or allow the salad to cool another 15-30 minutes before storing in the refrigerator.
