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Potato Salad

There was a wonderful little hole-in-the-wall Bar B Q place… I hesitate to call it a restaurant because it was more like a take out…but there were two tables with chairs ….which most people used as a place to sit and wait for their to go dinners.  

There was a wonderful African American couple who ran the place and they must have been in their 60’s or 70’s …and their Bar B Q could be smelled all day long from their ever smoking outdoor smoker. Every one loved their Bar B Q Ribs and sides. 

On one of my late evening visits to the little place….it was unusually quiet, and I was the only one  waiting on food to be packaged for take out.  The older lady (wife) came and sat with me…. her rotund stature was covered with a blue flowered dress and white apron… which showed glimpses of a few of the stains from her day of cooking.

I started with small talk but then I found the courage to ask her for recipes and she gave me several. I was surprised that she so readily gave them to me, …perhaps she was so tired that she didn’t care to play games of secret recipes.

Nothing was written down and I was young enough to be able to remember each and every ingredient as she rattled the ingredients from her own memory. And I have been making those recipes for the last 40 some years.

One of my favorite recipes is Potato Salad and that is the recipe I am going to share with you now. I have garnished it with smoked paprika and chopped green scallions!  The printable recipe is below. 

Potato Salad

Potato Salad
A potato salad using shredded potatoes which allows for a better coating for the cooked potatoes. This recipe was given to me by a wonderful African American lady at our local Bar B Q Place.
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Ingredients
  1. 5-6 Idaho Potatoes
  2. 4 hard boiled eggs
  3. 3/4 cup of chopped onion
  4. 1/2 cup of sweet pickle relish
  5. 1 cup of miracle whip salad dressing
  6. 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard
  7. 1 tablespoon of sugar
  8. 2 tablespoons vinegar
  9. Smoked or regular paprika for garnish
Instructions
  1. Boil the potatoes in salted water or cook in microwave until tender.
  2. Peel the potatoes (skin comes off very easily while potatoes are still warm)
  3. Using a hand grater, shred the cooled potatoes and put in a large bowl
  4. Shred the hard cooked eggs leaving one for garnish if desired and add to the bowl of potatoes
  5. Salt and pepper to taste. I like lots of black pepper. Set aside
  6. Make the dressing by adding the chopped onion, sweet pickle relish, miracle whip salad dressing and mustard to a small bowl and mix well.
  7. Add the sugar and the vinegar, mixing well.
  8. Add the dressing to the potatoes and eggs and carefully fold in, using a fork. If the potatoes are too warm...you will be making mashed potato salad and that is not the texture we are looking for.
  9. Place potato salad in the fridge and chill for at least two hours.
Notes
  1. I love the tangy taste of the sweet and savory resulting from the sugar and the vinegar. When I was given this recipe, I had to ask twice if vinegar and sugar were ingredients....now, I wouldn't think of making potato salad without those two ingredients. I have experimented with chopped celery and dill pickle relish and that is good, but I prefer the simplicity of the above original ingredients. I keep tasting as I mix...to make sure of the right combination....ok, I taste because I love this recipe! 🙂 I wish that wonderful African American lady was alive today so I could properly thank her for the satisfaction this recipe has given me over the years....lots of compliments too!
Me and My Captain https://meandmycaptain.com/

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