285095 Tue May 09 15:38:38 -0700 2006 23 31 Home Cooking 0 1525893 WE are having a block party May 21 and I have been assigned "salads." I have a good cole slaw recipe but would also like to bring some potato salad. The last few times I made potato salad I was not happy with the results. Please give me your recipes and tips to make potato salad that is not mushy. THanks! Tue May 09 15:38:38 -0700 2006 0 emilief 1 1525900 Are you looking for a mayonnaise based "dressing" or does olive oil and herbs work for you? Tue May 09 15:51:55 -0700 2006 1525893 0 Aaron 2 1525905 either is fine, thanks, I used to make one with olive oil that was terrific and I cannot find it. I like both.!!! Tue May 09 16:10:05 -0700 2006 1525900 0 emilief 1 1525901 The recipe that I have used for years calls for russets which you boil whole and unpeeled until fork tender. When they are done peel while they are hot and break up and douse liberally immediately while still hot with cider vinegar and salt an pepper. If you use a waxy potato it cannot absorb the vinegar well and won't have the depth of flavor. While the potatoes are then cooling I hard cook eggs, 1 for every potato used and add to the potatoes chopped, celery, green pepper, dill pickles, olives-green and black, the chopped hard cooked eggs and real mayo to bind. About a week ago I was making a little potato salad and instead of the olives added Boscoli Family Olive Salad which is usually used of Mufulettas and that added a nice tang. Tue May 09 15:52:17 -0700 2006 1525893 0 Candy 2 1525938 My technique is pretty similar, but without the pickles and I add some dijon mustard and some chopped Italian parsley at the end. Tue May 09 17:35:54 -0700 2006 1525901 0 Christine 2 1525972 My Mom's recipe is similar to yours, Candy, and is my all-time favorite. She was always asked to make her potato salad for church picnics, family reunions, etc. She started by boiling unpeeled Russets and checked them often so that they were fork-tender but had not turned to *mush.* Once cooled, she would peel and dice the potatoes, to which she added chopped hard-boiled eggs, sweet pickle relish, finely diced Bermuda (white) onion and chopped celery. In a two-cup measuring cup, she would mix about a cup of mayonnaise with a splash of yellow prepared mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, white pepper and a tablespoon or two of Watkins potato salad seasoning. That was always her *secret* ingredient and it really adds to the flavor of the finished product. She would whisk the dressing thoroughly and then carefully incorporate it into the salad. My Dad would never eat lunch (just a late breakfast and an early dinner), so Mom would serve him a small dish so that he could *test* the final product, all the while just trying to put something into his tummy. Wow, now I'm in the mood. Guess I'll have to add this to my weekend cooking schedule!! Tue May 09 19:57:58 -0700 2006 1525901 0 pilotgirl210 3 1526065 Where do you get Watkins potato salad seasoning? Wed May 10 15:05:11 -0700 2006 1525972 0 Neta 4 1526093 Watkins is a company like Shaklee and Amway, in that sellers of their products are independent contractors. They sell household cleaning products, brushes and other items for the home. And Watkins has some great items for the kitchen. I love their potato salad seasoning, their double-strength vanilla and their clear vanilla for use in light cakes, frostings and pastries, etc. Look for a dealer in the white pages of your telephone directory under *Watkins Quality Products.* Bet you could order from them online, too. It's worth the effort to find a dealer. Good luck! Wed May 10 18:39:06 -0700 2006 1526065 0 pilotgirl210 5 1526094 Just found it: www.watkinsonline.com The potato salad seasoning is $4.19 a jar.....and a jar lasts me a lonnnnnng time. Like years. I know you're supposed to replace spices much more frequently, and I do for those I use often. But I keep a jar of the potato salad seasoning in my home kitchen and one in my fifth-wheel kitchen and couldn't make potato salad without it! Wed May 10 18:45:44 -0700 2006 1526093 0 pilotgirl210 6 1526113 Thanks, I ordered some and now will have to make the potato salad asap. Sounds very good. Wed May 10 21:30:49 -0700 2006 1526094 0 Neta 6 1526131 Can you tell us what is in the potato salad seasoning? Probably stuff we already have in our kitchen. Or maybe its like my beloved Girard's champagne dressing. The secret ingredients are tamarind and MSG! Thu May 11 00:25:42 -0700 2006 1526094 0 Marie 1 1525907 Russet potatoes are great for warm, oil/vinegar types of potato salads because they absorb well, BUT they also lose their shape readily in colder, mayo-based potato salads, for which you should use waxier potatoes (think red potatoes). Adding vinegar to the boiling water helps potatoes hold their shape better. And never overcook: the potatoes should just be tender. Tue May 09 16:17:52 -0700 2006 1525893 0 Karl S 1 1525943 The new Goumet magazine had a potato salad I tried last weekend on visitors when I fixed baby backs. It has a dressing, and I know this sounds a bit strange, made with mayo, beef consumme and white vinegar. The salad has potatoes, hard boiled eggs and spinach. It was really good, served it a room temp and had the leftovers Sunday night chilled, worked both ways. Tue May 09 17:48:21 -0700 2006 1525893 0 Monty 1 1525958 I like the sweet taste and firm, smooth texture of boiled red potatoes in potato salad. Boil red potatoes until just tender. Drain and cool slightly. Peel off the skins while warm with your fingernails or thin knife. You can hold the potato in a dish towel if its still hot. Don't worry if all the skin does not come off. Pick out any unattractive eyes with the end of a potato peeler. Slice or cube the potatoes. Mix in dressing of: good quality mayonaise plenty of green olive brine (supplies salt) small amount of vinegar, any kind sliced green olives with pimento fresh ground black pepper minced scallions or onion dry mustard paprika garnish with radish flowers and extra paprika Tue May 09 18:45:53 -0700 2006 1525893 0 Marie 1 1525963 As usual, not really a recipe, more like a launchpad: I like it with waxy potatoes, unpeeled and broken into chunks. You need some kind of crunchy vegetable - celery or, if you're feeling adventurous, jicama. I also like to add red bell pepper for colour. We usually make the dressing with Greek yogurt - so creamy! - and lots of scallions/chives. For a nice touch, add toasted chopped walnuts. Tue May 09 19:20:05 -0700 2006 1525893 0 piccola 2 1526001 Radishes make a great addition. Wed May 10 05:01:35 -0700 2006 1525963 0 coll 1 1525970 Below is the URL of my staple recipe for potato salad that everyone I make it for adores. It was in Gourmet magazine back in the late 1990s. Link: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/14176 Tue May 09 19:48:00 -0700 2006 1525893 0 mels 1 1525974 My mom's potato salad is hard to beat. She always quartered medium size russets the long way, simmered them till tender, cooled then peeled. She cubed them into no more than 1/2' dice. She'd hard-cook eggs in number to match the potatoes, and add 2 more. She peeled the eggs, mashed them with a pastry blender; added mayo and a bit of french's mustard; GRATED, not diced yellow onion (a real good trick--it melts the onion flavor and keeps it from being harsh), two peperoncini minced; and about 1 1/2 T of their liquid, and S&P to taste. Best thing is to make it ahead and let it sit once the egg mixture is gently folded into the potatoes. Overnight is best! Nice light yellow color and the peperoncini gives it a real zip. Tue May 09 20:13:31 -0700 2006 1525893 0 toodie jane 2 1526027 Yes--I love an eggy, mustardy (yellow) potato salad. In lieu of the peperoncini, my dad added finely chopped celery (and PLENTY of salt and fresh ground pepper). He would decorate the top with sliced hard boiled eggs. Still the best I have had. Wed May 10 11:13:10 -0700 2006 1525974 0 Funwithfood 1 1525979 Well, I just had to reply. My father used to purchase wonderful, very plain mayonnaise-based potato salad from the Pantry Shelf in Berkeley, then peel, score, and chop a cucumber and add it in, along with a couple of chopped hard-cooked eggs. I start from scratch, using brown skin potatoes that I cut in half, steam until just tender, peel, and dice 1/2 inch. Then I sprinkle them with cider vinegar while I shell and chop some hard-cooked eggs and prepare the cucumber. Then I put everything together and bind it with Best Foods Real Mayonnaise, sometimes adding some mustard if it tastes too bland. The cucumber has an unexpectedly crunchy effect, with an almost sweet taste that is a nice counterpoint to the tangy vinegar and mayonnaise flavors. Tue May 09 20:59:32 -0700 2006 1525893 0 Marsha 2 1526056 That's my plan for this Mother's Day. It's Robert's semi-home made potatoe salad (I know I hate her show too). Then add more (red) potatoes, eggs, red bell pepper, celery and sweet onions (grated). The extra potatoes add tooth. I let it sit over night, in the fridge, to meld the flavors. -Robert Wed May 10 13:45:41 -0700 2006 1525979 0 Robert 1 1525997 I like to douse the warm, cut-up potatoes with a hearty Italian dressing, let them sit overnight so the flavors absorb. Next day mix mayo with some Dijon mustard, finely chopped scallions, carrots and celery, and salt and pepper. Toss the potatoes lightly into the dressing so as not to break them up too much. My supermarket deli sells a very good version made with red potatoes that has some sour cream in the dressing--another interesting way to go. Wed May 10 00:19:15 -0700 2006 1525893 0 MommaJ 2 1526032 Thank you to everyone for the great suggestions. I think I will have to make more than one kind!!! Wed May 10 11:31:23 -0700 2006 1525997 0 emilief 1 1526067 I have two really easy recipes and they are inexpensive to make as well. 6 Russet potatoes cooked until tender then peeled and cubed while still warm one medium onion diced and soaked in dill pickle juice for one hour bottle of your favorite italian salad dressing or your own homemade oil and vinegar dressing good quality mayonnaise After you peel and cube the warm potatoes, pour enough salad dressing over the potatoes to cover well. Put them aside to cool for about one hour. When ready to assemble, pour the pickle juice off of the onions and back into the pickle jar. Add the onions to the potatoes and add enough mayo to cover the potatoes and keep them moist. Serve 2nd recipe; 6 medium to large red bliss potatoes one bunch green onions sliced, white part and part of the green one package ranch dressing with bacon prepared according to package directions (if you can't find the dressing with the bacon, add some bacon bits to the regular ranch dressing, the kind made with mayo and buttermilk) Cook potatoes until fork tender. Dice them while warm and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well. Serve Wed May 10 15:15:09 -0700 2006 1525893 0 Neta