Potato-Egg Salad

This combo potato/egg salad I made over the weekend

is one of the best things I've ever come up with.

It's thanks mostly to the incredibly easy mayo recipe 

I found on the website Downshiftology.

Lisa teaches how to cook simple, healthy food,

containing clean ingredients and no gluten.

Right up my alley.

In less than a minute, you'll have a jar of mayo

ready to add to all sorts of things, even if it's just sandwich bread.

The mayo recipe can be found here.

I've made mayo from scratch in the past,

but it always tasted a bit off.

The secret, as I learned in Lisa's video,

is that Extra Virgin Olive oil is not the preferred choice.

Using avocado or light olive oil does the trick

and creates a thick, luscious condiment that will keep for a week in the fridge.

 I doubt the egg salad will last that long,

but I already have plans to use the rest of the jar

on several other mayo-based recipes.

Potato Egg Salad

4-6 small red potatoes

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
salt and herbs to taste

After boiling the potatoes for 10-12 minutes,

drain them and replace them in the pot for a few minutes to dry out. 

Place in fridge to cool for at least 20 minutes.

To assemble the salad, peel potatoes and chop into bite-sized pieces,

then add to a bowl with chopped veg and eggs.

Add a good dollop of homemade mayo,

a pinch of salt and any fresh herbs you desire.

Mix together well and refrigerate for a few hours.

Enjoy!

American Potato Salad

Because I've had to force myself to rest more often,
I've been spending time watching PBS.
One habit I've gotten into is watching the cooking shows on weekends.
I'm not one much for tv, but PBS always seems to have something good on.
One of the shows I enjoy is "America's Test Kitchen".
This program gives home cooks step-by-step instructions
on making everything from soup to dessert.
Most of the recipes are straight-forward and simple,
and the staff has tweaked them so that they always turn out great.

Our local library had the new companion cookbook,
so I ordered it and have been perusing it for the last week or so.
In almost 800 pages, this tome is chocked full of easy-to-follow recipes.
There is also a section where products are rated and a taste test chapter,
where staff members have recommended the best ingredients for your masterpieces.

We made potato salad this past week and it was excellent.
We didn't have some of the needed ingredients and so we did a few substitutions.
We used pickled okra instead of pickles, apple cider vinegar for the red wine vinegar 
and omitted the celery completely.
The most interesting part was the technique of putting the vinegar solution 
on the potatoes and then refrigerating them.
This really seemed to make a taste difference compared to other potato salads I've made.  
Great trick!
The salad was delicious and we'll be adding the recipe to our family recipe notebook.
If you've got some potatoes to dig up from your garden,
give this recipe a try.
We can't wait to test some of the other ideas in this cookbook.

American Potato Salad
(America's Test Kitchen)
2 lbs. red potatoes (about 6 medium), scrubbed
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1/2 C mayo
1/4 C sweet pickles, chopped fine
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped fine
2 T red onion, minced
2 T parsley, minced
2 t Dijon mustard

Place potatoes in large saucepan, cover with 1 inch of water and bring to a boil
over medium-high heat.  Reduce to medium and simmer,
stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 25-30 minutes.
Drain potatoes and cool slightly; peel if desired.
Cut potatoes into 3/4 inch pieces while still warm.
Combine potatoes, vinegar, 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper in large bowl
and toss.  Cover and refrigerate until cool, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.
Add potatoes, stir gently to combine and serve.
Serves 4-6.
Enjoy!