And my Mammaw always made it for the family. As I grew up, I learned the art myself. Funny part? I can't stand potato salad! Oh yeah! You read that right! I won't touch the stuff! Because my Mammaw loved me, she'd always take a few of the warm potatoes out of the pan and coat them with butter...just for me. And then she'd make the potato salad for everyone else.
So I couldn't think of anything better for our little picnic tomorrow than potato salad. And it's really so simple to make. The hardest part for me was actually measuring each of the ingredients, so that I could share them with you. I normally make this one by sight. Then I take a little taste to my mother, and she lets me know if I need to add anything else. 99% of the time...I don't have to add a thing. I also had to make a much smaller recipe than normal. I'm not used to making anything less than five or ten pounds of potato salad at a time.
For this batch...my ingredients are approximately 3 pounds of potatoes, 1 boiled egg, 1 cup of chopped onion, 1 cup of chopped pickles, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper, 1 tablespoon of mustard, and 1 cup of mayonnaise.
Go ahead and start the egg to boil. You want it to be fully cooked. No runny yolks! Then peel and chop the potatoes. I use russet potatoes normally, but you can mix it up a bit if you want. Chop them about 1/2 to 3/4 inches in size. Not too small. Put them in the pot, cover them with water, add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and start them boiling.
You'll want the potatoes to be fork tender. As soon as they're done, drain the water and set them aside.
While they're boiling, you can chop the onions and pickles. Don't chop them too finely you want nice chunks.
Put the cooked potatoes, the chopped onions and pickles, and the mayo and mustard in a bowl and mix. Add about 1/8 teaspoon, or less, of salt, and 1 teaspoon of lemon pepper. Peel and chop the boiled egg and then we're going to add Mammaw's secret ingredient...1 tablespoon of pickle juice!
Now stir it all together. It's ok if the potatoes are still hot when you start this. And they'll mash a little as you stir. It's ok! That's the best way.
Because we're taking this to a picnic, I'm just going to leave it in a transportable bowl and refrigerate it overnight. But my Mammaw would put it in a pretty boat bowl and sprinkle it with a bit of paprika.
You can serve it warm, or cold. Either way...I promise it'll be a big hit!
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