Thursdays Are For Cooking!

And this week’s attempt at a free-for-all in food is that summer specialty, potato salad.

Now, since this is really one of those side dishes you throw together, sometimes out of leftovers and end-of-the-stalk stuff, the ingredients are wide open.  My personal favorite is plain old American-style potato salad, with no special “things” in it, and I will proceed.

Potatoes: I use red potatoes, peel them and wash them, and (since it’s me and not the whole neighborhood) about six medium sized reds

Boil them to a stage that they are cooked, but not mashable, then drain them and rinse them with cold water.

Add the following ingredients, measurements are entirely up to you:

Chopped celery, leaves and all, at least three stalks, including the center stalks if it’s the last part of the celery and you just want to get rid of it

Chopped onion, about half a whole onion and I like the red Bermudas for their flavor.  I’m also kind of partial to green onions, partly for their flavor and partly for the color they add to the bowl.

Chopped zucchini, if you can get the smaller sized, otherwise, take a more mature zuke about 8 inches long, nick off both ends, cut into quarters and chop into slices from there.

Bell peppers, if you have the colored (mature) peppers, because they add great flavor and color to the salad. Reds and oranges do well in this. Cut them into quarters, then chop into small (one inch) chunks. Just make sure you get all the seeds off the pepper’s interior before you toss the chunks into the bowl.

Red radishes: about half of a one-pound bag with the radishes cleaned up and trimmed and quartered, should do it.

Mayonnaise: real mayonnaise, not salad dressing, is the key to a good bowl of potato salad. That globby stuff politely referred to as “salad dressing” is just not the real thing, in my view.  Mayonnaise works best, especially when you add it to this mix of veggies. And mustard? Well, I’ve found a Dijon mustard mixed with chopped dill which works quite nicely, and Dijon mustard by itself is tangy enough to make your mouth happy, but some people just prefer the bright yellow vinegar scent of “salad” mustard from French’s.  Whatever you choose, don’t be shy about the quantity. It peps up the flavor considerably without being overpowering. You can also throw in salt, pepper, celery salt, celery or mustard seeds, maybe some dried parsley – in short, whatever makes it even better than that plain stuff in the cooler at the grocery store. Fresh is always best!

That’s it. Give it a good stir, cover it for a few hours of settling during a brief respite while you prepare the table and the other things (like cold sliced ham) you were planning to present.

Category: Cooking, Economy