I am showing you this picture because my dishwasher has died. Again. In memorium.
But that’s not what I want to talk about.
I have always hated to make potato salad. I don’t like to peel raw potatoes, and don’t tell me to just cook my potatoes whole and the skin will slip right off afterward, because I don’t like to handle hot potatoes either. I just hate to make potato salad.
However, I make potato salad pretty often, because my mom calls me up and says, “Do you guys want to come over for Memorial Day/July 4th/Labor Day/Just Because and have a cookout and will you bring that good potato salad?” And because I love her and I know there is a chance she’ll make homemade ice cream and because we don’t own an ice cream maker and I love homemade ice cream and most of all because I possess the world’s easiest and yet very yummy potato salad recipe, I always say, “Yes, ma’am.”
Here it is. Truly, I don’t mind making this potato salad because I am required neither to peel potatoes nor handle hot ones. I never really measure either. For the alliums (onion family ingredients), adjust amounts and substitute at will. Make the dressing ahead of time, if you please.
Warm Mustard Potato Salad
~adapted from the grand prize winning recipe submitted for the June/July, 1999 issue of Taste of Home magazine by an undoubtedly nice woman like me named Tiffany Mitchell in Susanville, CA
serves 8-10
1 c. mayonnaise (light is fine), or mix in some sour cream to make 1 c. total
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. chopped onion (red, sweet, white, yeller — you pick)
2 scallions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T. chopped dill
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
squirt of lemon juice
2 lbs. red potatoes
1. Mix the dressing, which is made of all the ingredients except the potatoes. This can be made a day or two ahead, if desired, in order to make your harried life even easier. Cover and chill.
2. Scrub the potatoes and cut them into bite-size chunks. Put them into a large saucepan and just cover with cold water. Add 1 T. salt. Bring to a boil; lower heat to boil gently for about 15 minutes, or until tender when a sharp knife is slipped into one of the largest pieces.
3. Drain the potatoes thoroughly; turn into a large bowl. Fold in the dressing. Serve warm. Leftovers are fine served cold.
Now get up and go cook something good. And don’t forget to wash the dishes. By hand. Because appliance manufacturers have apparently forgotten that appliances are classified as “durable goods” in this country. Not that I’m bitter or anything.
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