Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

Old Fashioned Potato Salad

I get this sort of arrogance when it comes to cooking.  I use recipes as references only and feel like I can do it better than the recipe writer.  That, somehow, I can improve upon the original intention of the dish.  With a dish like simple old-fashioned potato salad, it seems a shame to not add bacon or pesto or sprinkle the top with paprika.  Liven it up somehow.  But this recipe doesn’t call for any of that.

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My arrogance extends to my cooking methods.

I spent a lot of time with my grandparents last summer.  At the beginning of summer they announced they were moving into an assisted living facility about 5 hours away from me.  Their decision to move so far away broke me a bit.  I had spent years developing a close relationship with them. I spent as much of the summer with them as I possibly could to try to help them get things squared away and just to spend some time with them before it became more difficult for me to do so.

When I was up there once, my mom, grandma and I were all in the kitchen together cooking dinner.  I cut some potatoes and got them into a pan to boil them for potato salad or something.  Grandma scolded me as I added water to the pot.  Apparently, I spent the last 30 years adding too much water to the potato pot.  “There is no need to waste so much water, just put a little water in the pan and let those potatoes steam.”  My mom stated that she always used a lot of water, but then used the potato water for other things like soups or breads.

That was the same summer I was informed that I was middle-aged and reminded that I don’t know everything even if I walk around like a know-it-all.  I think about that every time I boil potatoes now. I never put too much water in unless I have plans for the extra water.dscn2390.jpg

 

When I was prepping this recipe, I realized that the can of evaporated milk I had was actually sweetened condensed milk.  This is where smart phones are handy.  I learned there are at least 2 different ways to make evaporated milk.  You can reduce about 2 ¼ cups of milk on the stove top until it’s 1 cup or, even quicker, make double strength milk from milk powder.  I tried the first, but realized that it was going to take much longer than I felt like I had.  I pulled the milk and will use it to make cocoa for the kids later.

DSCN2407Most delis have at least three varieties of potato salad on hand at all times because potato salad can be so many things.  In the book Consuming Passions by Michael Lee West, she dedicates an entire chapter to potato salad.  Her mother has very definite ideas as to what potato salad should be and what it should not be.  My opinions on it are not nearly as strong as hers.  However, I do like my potato salad to have enough variety in ingredients and texture so every bite is a bit different.  And this is that sort of potato salad.  It’s a classic.  The eggs provide a nice texture.  It’s the perfect kind of mushy without being sludge.  It’s sweet and would be great with fried chicken or BBQ meats.  It tastes like summer.

The Recipe:
Old Fashioned Potato Salad
If you like this recipe try Cabbage Salad, French Potato Salad, or Skillet Au Gratin Potatoes.  
An old fashioned potato salad recipe.

Cabbage Salad

Cabbage Salad

Cole slaw is something we all grow up with.  It’s usually mayo based, or vinegar based and not that interesting.  Occasionally you get cole slaw that is amazing for some reason, like at Bismarck’s Bar and Grill where they add bacon.  But normally, it’s something we eat as a side dish because of tradition more than anything else.  Cabbage is cheap. It is mostly used the cut the richness of fatty foods.  (See what I did there?  Cheap Cabbage/Rich food? I’m hilarious.)  I’m not sure I’ve ever heard someone exclaim “Cole Slaw!  That’s my favorite!”

dscn2408.jpgThis isn’t cole slaw.  It is a cabbage salad. It was John’s favorite part of the meal.  He said it was the only part of the meal he didn’t think he’d get sick of eating as leftovers.  I thought that perhaps the onion rings were a little much.  I am not sure if I would’ve preferred them to be thinner slices or chopped more, but they were too much.

But it’s not memorable.  I wrote up the first part of this when we first had the salad.  A few days and a few recipes later, I can’t even remember what the salad tasted like.  It was good, it was fine, it wasn’t worth having it the second day if there were other options.  And it kind of sucks for the salad.DSCN2377

Actually, thinking back, this would probably be a great accompaniment to grilled food. There are hot days where a nice cold cabbage salad is the perfect thing to go with a nice pork shoulder, rubbed with onion and herb paste and slow roasted on the grill all day long.  Or BBQ chicken.  Nice and moist and falling off the bone.  That tang of the barbecue sauce.  But this salad is never going to be the star of the show.  It’s always going to be a member of the chorus.  It might get a line or two in a major production, but it’s ultimately going to back to its waitressing gig to wait for the big break that will never come.  I mean, come on.  It’s still just cabbage salad.Cabbage Salad