Holly's Potato Salad

Summer is nearly done as I write this and it may actually be fall by the time I publish it. Potato salad is a quintessential summer food, present at barbecues, picnics, and tailgating parties throughout the hot summer months. Speaking of tailgating, this is a great recipe for all you football fans out there. I am not a football fan (is there such thing as an anti-fan?) but I'm more than happy to provide you with recipes.

As some of you may know, I don’t have specific recipes for any of my potato or pasta salads, so this is how I’d talk you through it if I was in the kitchen with you. I think it's a better way to learn how to cook because then you have to rely on your instincts which makes you a better cook in the long run. But that's a completely different post.

Ingredients:

8 or 10 small red or yellow potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled, cut into uniform chunks (depends on how many people you’ll be feeding)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Five or six slices of good bacon, sliced into uniform pieces
about 1/2 cup Best Foods mayo (my preferred brand of mayo)
about 1/2 cup sour cream (I like "Daisy" brand because it's just cream.  No weird additives.)
about 1 teaspoon spicy brown or Dijon mustard (if you want a little more "tang")
about 1/4 cup white vinegar
about 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill (or chives)

Boil the potatoes in a large stockpot and make sure you heavily salt the water so the potatoes absorb it (I personally don’t add extra salt to the salad later on but always taste and adjust the seasonings to your personal preference). The potatoes are done when you can easily pierce one with a paring knife. Drain the potatoes but DO NOT rinse them. Pour the white vinegar over the potatoes, transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet, and let them cool for 20 minutes or so in the fridge. While they cool, fry up the bacon pieces til they’re nice and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to scoop them out and drain on some paper towels. When you’re ready to finish assembling the salad, transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and add most of the bacon and dill (or chives), reserving some of each to garnish the top. Add the mustard and equal amounts of the mayo and sour cream; I use a silicone spatula and just kinda gob it in the bowl. Mix everything together gently but thoroughly, sprinkle the reserved bacon bits and dill (or chives) over the top and refrigerate for a couple hours or until ready to eat.

Cook’s notes:

1.  The vinegar adds a nice base flavor to the potatoes which, let’s face, can be really bland even with various dressings.

2.  I like to use equal parts sour cream and mayo (and there’s is only one kind of mayo, people!) as the sour cream adds a tangy flavor whereas just mayo can be too rich. Use the best bacon you can afford; I like to buy it from the butcher block at Albertson’s when it’s on sale and freeze it.

3.  As for the dill or chives, I am fortunate enough to grow both in my little herb garden so I can walk right out and snip some. If you don’t have that option, you can find fresh herbs in little plastic containers in the produce section. You’re unlikely to use all the herbs in the containers before they wilt or rot, so my side note to you is to use the dill on salmon or chicken and if you buy chives, try them in a green salad or mixed into a simple biscuit recipe (heck, use Bisquick!).

4.  Reading through the “recipe”, I noticed that I specified “uniform” pieces twice. The first reason is so that the food cooks uniformly (ha!); but seriously, you want all your potatoes to be the same consistency and not have some mushy, some perfect and some “bony”. The second reason is aesthetics; it’s all about the presentation.

5.  One other thing; if you don’t have a Dijon mustard, use what you have. If you really like Miracle Whip, well, you have issues, but by all means, use that instead. Love onions?  Finely dice a slice or two and toss them in. Garnish your salad with sliced hard-boiled eggs. Add black or green olives. Potatoes are versatile and can take just about anything you throw at them.

I made a batch of this potato salad for the cast and crew of a web series last time I catered their shoot and the director told me how much they loved it. I'm always a little amazed that such a simple recipe can elicit such praise, and on the other hand, that's exactly what I strive to do: use a handful of great ingredients to make delicious food.