mama's potato salad

ok. i know. by tomorrow, what i meant was THURSDAY. and i know. there's no picture. this is because i can't remember shit anymore. but anyway--here's the cookbook entry all the same, and i promise it's tasty and pretty even though you can't see a picture of it! :)


my mama is famous for this potato salad. i can't tell you how many times i have eaten it at barbeques, cook-outs, pot-luck lunches, picnics, and holidays, and i still love it every time. of all us kids, my brother doug is really the only one who can make it like mama. i still try, and other people always seem to like it, but to me, it is just never quite the same. maybe it's because there are no measurements to speak of in mama's kitchen...the measurements are usually things like "some" and "a little."

• potatoes (idaho, peeled, or red skinned, not peeled)
• eggs
• sweet pickle relish or salad cubes
• onion
• mayonnaise, or Miracle whip, if you want to be authentic
• mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

so this is a dynamic sort of recipe based on how big your bowl is and how many people you are going to feed. let's assume a pretty big bowl, and that this is a side for a cook-out with like 10 people. i would start with one medium potato per person plus a couple of extras, so let's say 10-12 med. potatoes. peel and cube these, and then boil them until soft, about 20 minutes. drain well when done. at the same time, put 8-ish eggs in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. boil 10 minutes. cool and peel the eggs, then chop and add to the drained potatoes.

ok--this next part is where you get to use your zen. for this amount of potatoes and eggs, i would start with a big heaping tablespoon of relish, and about 1 and a half medium yellow onions, chopped. add these to the potatoes. next, add about a teaspoon of mustard, and about 2 heaping tablespoons of mayo. stir it up, and add mayo a little at a time until you get the right texture. taste often, and do not hesitate to add a little mustard or relish if you think it needs it. salt and pepper to taste--it takes more salt than you think it will, and don't be shy with that pepper!

this is a GREAT recipe to make a day ahead, as the onion flavor sort of makes it, and that takes at least a few hours to steep through the whole salad.