I live in Cleveland and we have just experienced temperatures above sixty-five degrees. This, basically, means everyone is wearing flip-flops and shorts, grilling out, and/or heading to the parks. We are no different. The first signs of temperatures south of 65 degrees and it’s ‘Suns out, Guns out’ here in Cleveland.
With the onset of what seems to be spring we dare to transition, as the threat of snow slowly fades, into a lifestyle of cook-outs, baseball, and driveway basketball. This change in weather comes with changes in the menu. I have retired the soup recipes for another year and traded them for picnic style fare my family loves.
Like many of the recipes I come up with there are usually two major drivers at play: Necessity and history. I like the idea of taking what graced my grandma’s table and making it mine. Something familiar with a new twist.
The inspiration for the dishes usually come from what I have to work with in my fridge and pantry at the time so i can keep it budget-friendly (much as my grandma’s had to do as well).
Sometimes it’s a miss and that dish is never revisited again. But sometimes its a hit, like this potato salad, and is asked for, specifically, by it’s secret ingredient.
This potato salad has a few things going for it:
- It isn’t fancy.
- It contains ingredients you probably already have in your house.
- Its a, time-tested, crowd pleaser.
- Very easy to double or triple as needed for the amount of people you are feeding.
- You can make this on a budget and impress your friends and family.
Simple Ingredients:
- 5 Yukon Gold Potatoes (medium size – cubed).
- 1/4 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1/4 Cup Low-fat Greek Yogurt
- 1 Hard-boiled Egg (Chopped)
- 2 Green Onions (Chopped whites & greens)
- 1 Stalk of Celery (Chopped)
- 2 Tbs. Dill Pickles (Chopped) – We are kind of dill pickle snobs in our house. We only buy the deli-style refrigerated ones, but any dill pickle will do.
- 1 1/2 tsp. Horseradish
- 1 1/2 tsp. Yellow Mustard (We aren’t getting fancy here)
- 1-2 Tbs. Dill Pickle Juice (Right out of the jar)
- Smoked Paprika
Simple Directions:
- I like to peel a couple potatoes and leave the skins on a few to give the potato salad some texture, but not have it be overwhelming.
- Cut your potatoes into cubes of uniform size so they cook evenly.
- Put them in a pot, add cold water to cover the potatoes by about an inch.
- Bring the pot to a boil on high heat. Once it has reached a full boil turn the heat down to simmer for 9 minutes. This cold water/timing combo works like a charm every tie for me, but not all stoves/pots or potatoes are created equal so make sure you test your potatoes for doneness after the 9 minutes. Don’t let them go too long or they will get mushy. Think ‘al dente’ because they will continue to cook a it as they cool.
Photo taken with Focos
- While the potatoes are cooking ready the other ingredients: In a large bowl combine the celery, pickles, green onion, and hard-boiled egg.
- In a small bowl combine the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, pickle juice, yellow mustard, and horseradish and whisk until the sauce becomes smooth and thinner. I usually add one tablespoon of pickle juice at a time until the taste/texture are what I’m looking for. For this recipe (using 5 potatoes) I used 1 1/2 Tablespoons.
- Add the slightly cooled potatoes to the big bowl and mix together without the dressing.
- Add the dressing last and fold everything together until all the ingredients are coated.
- Sprinkle with the smoked paprika. This Stuff is the best. It’s like the cilantro of spices to me…I try to use it in everything I can.
- Enjoy the potato salad on any dinner, picnic, or potluck table! People will ask you for the recipe!!!
Make this for your next cook-out and you will be bringing potato salad from now on!!! Don’t worry, its super easy & can be made ahead of time.
Happy Picnics & Potlucks,
Stacey
Kids, Cooks n' Books 