MOM'S POTATO SALAD #recipe @vmburns #Thanksgiving

 VMBURNS: My mom was a good cook, but she wasn't a good teacher. She never taught me to cook. She didn't measure anything. A typical conversation about cooking went something like this:

ME: "How much do I need?"

MOM: "Depends on how much you want to make?"

Me: "How long do I cook this?"

MOM: "Until it's done." 

ME: "How do I know when it's done?" 

Mom: "Taste it."

SIGH! I was content to show up for meals with my Tupperware containers for years (okay decades, but don't judge). My sister was more highly motivated than me. Big insider secret (she didn't like her mother in law's dressing). So, after she married, she started hosting their Thanksgiving. Which meant, my sister had to learn how to cook everything including dressing, for Thanksgiving dinner from my mom. I don't know how the early days went, but she and my mom got into a tradition where my sister would call my mom and they would cook together (virtually). My sister learned to master all of my mom's best meals. One of those was my mom's potato salad.

Potato salad is something that can be unique and varied. Just swing by your local deli. You will find German potato salad, Amish potato salad, etc. My mom's potato salad is more like Amish potato salad (minus the yellow color from mustard). It is creamy and somewhat sweet. In the pictures, you will notice that my portions don't match the ingredient list. I'm single, so I tried to reduce it. I still made too much. 

MY MOM'S POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS

• 4 Russet Potatoes
• 4 Eggs, boiled
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 Cup Sweet Gherkins (chopped) or sweet relish
• 1/4 Cup Mayo (I use Dukes)
• 1/2 Tablespoon Salt (I use Lawry's)
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 
  

• 
  
• INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fill a pot with water and place potatoes and eggs in the pot. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are fork tender.
2. Remove pot and drain. Replace with cold water and sit until potatoes and eggs are cool to touch.
3. Finely chop onions and pickles and set aside.
4. Remove potato skin (it should peel off easily), and cut potatoes into bite-sized cubes.
5. Peel eggs and cut into cubes.
6. Gently combine potatoes, eggs, onions, pickles, and mayo.

   
7. Add salt and pepper. My mom always poured a bit of the juice from the pickle jar into the potato salad. It made the mixture creamy, but not soupy.
8. Add one table spoon of sugar. Mix and taste. Is it too sweet? Not sweet enough? I need 2 tablespoons, but if you don't like sweet, then you can skip this step.
9. Sprinkle paprika over the top and refrigerate.

   

   
   
   
   
   
• READERS: Do you like potato salad? If so, what do you like in yours? Mustard? Olives?  Let me know in the comments below. 













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