As you know I wanted to make a delicious potato salad - not just a regular old 'uh huh, it's good' potato salad, but a 'yum, this is really good' potato salad. I've just never really given it thought over the past 20 years that I've been cooking. I just make it like my Mom or my Grandmother and throw things together, or make it from the back of the Hellman's Mayonnaise jar and call it 'good enough'. Yesterday I took the two contender recipes I posted here, printed off another that a reader sent me by email and studied them. I decided to blend them together and see what I got.
In the end, I got one I liked! Incredibly smooth and creamy the dressing was delicious. I only used 5 medium sized potatoes and 1 smaller, and in the end I should have used all 6 of the larger but I needed to save the potatoes I had for another meal without another trip to the store so my potato salad had a bit too much dressing in it but if you use all 6 good sized potatoes it will be perfect. If you like pickles or pickle relish - add some. But I didn't because in the end, I wanted a pure, traditional potato salad with a creamy smooth taste and texture.
Here is what I ended up doing;
Potato Salad
6 medium potatoes
1/4 of a large, sweet onion, finely chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1-2 teaspoon salt (start with 1 teaspoon and after it's done, taste and add more if you need to)
6 hard-cooked eggs, diced
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt to taste
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 c milk
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
Place the potatoes into a large pot, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Drain. Cool, peel and dice. Transfer to a large bowl, and toss with the onion, celery, 1 teaspoon of salt, and hard-cooked eggs.
Whisk together 2 eggs, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a saucepan. Stir in the vinegar, milk, and mustard. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature and then add mayonnaise. Stir the dressing into the bowl of potato salad gently until evenly coated. Chill several hours or overnight before serving for best flavor.
