Potato salad is an essential side dish of summertime meals. I am unsure whether it was her special homemade pickles or her special knack, but my mother-in-law’s potato salad was my favorite.
Among other ingredients, Minnie Ellen Maples’ potato salad featured homemade sweet pickles. She made these pickles every summer from small cucumbers grown on Courtney Farms in the Rocky Creek Community. The process from start to finish took a couple of months, and my children and I were right in the middle of that memorable summer task. She made a plethora of pickles storing them in 3-gallon ceramic crocks and sharing them with us and my brother-in-law’s family. Even when she was alive and sharing pickles with me, I never mastered her potato salad. Now that she is gone from this Earth, so are her pickles. (I never mastered making those either.) While I have enjoyed very good potato salad, I have not been able to find her version’s equal in any restaurant or on any kitchen table.
Years ago, I declared my defeat in trying to recreate her revered dish. I continued to make potato salad every now and then, but began doing a few things differently from Mrs. Maples’ recipe. For example, she boiled red Irish potatoes whole and then slipped off or cut away their jackets before dicing them into bite-sized pieces for the salad’s main ingredient. I failed multiple times boiling them before cubing them ending up with mushy, mashed potato salad. So, I dice mine prior to boiling. Another difference is I add a little chicken broth to the water. I also use spicy mustard instead of yellow mustard, and, unfortunately, use store-bought sweet pickles.
Every cook has a few recipes that are their specialties; if we all made great potato salad, who would make the other dishes? Speaking of good cooks, there is no dispute the late Julia Child owned the reputation of excellent cook. Child, too, had a potato salad recipe, which I stumbled upon recently.
In honor of summer season and summertime side dishes, below are potato salad recipes from the kitchens of Minnie Ellen Maples and Julia Child. Enjoy!
Minnie Ellen’s Potato Salad
Ingredients:
8 medium red Irish potatoes
4 hard-boiled eggs, shredded with grater
1 (4 oz) jar chopped pimento
½ – 1 c. chopped sweet pickles
2 tsp. onion shredded with grater or as much minced fresh onion as desired
2 tsp. mustard
¾ c. mayonnaise
½ – 1 c. celery, minced
Paprika, as desired
Directions:
Boil potatoes in jackets; peel; let cool; dice; and add celery, pickles, pimento, onion and eggs. Mix well. Add mustard to mayonnaise and toss. Season with salt or salt blend of your choice. Sprinkle top with paprika. Served chilled.
Julia Child’s Potato Salad
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½-inch thick rounds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 T. champagne, white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1/3 c. potato-cooking water
2/3 c. finely chopped onion (2 large)
1/2 c. finely diced celery (2 to 3 ribs)
3 or 4 slices crisply cooked bacon, chopped or crumbled
3 Tbs. finely chopped pickle, sweet or dill
¼ c. chopped fresh chives
¼ c. chopped fresh dill, plus extra for serving
2/3 to 1 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. sour cream
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and diced
Directions:
Place potatoes in a large saucepan with water to cover them by two inches. Add two tablespoons of salt. Set it over high heat to bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes until tender when pierced with a fork.
Set aside 1/3 c. of the cooking liquid. Drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Combine the potato water with the champagne or vinegar. Drizzle the potatoes with this liquid. Let stand for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally. The starches in the water help create a velvety, creamy sauce.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the celery, onion, pickles, bacon, eggs, chives, and dill. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Add three-quarters of the vegetable and herb mixture to the potatoes, reserving the rest to add right before serving.
Stir in the dressing. Cover and refrigerate at least two hours to allow flavors to meld. When ready to serve, add the reserved vegetable mixture and the eggs to the salad and sprinkle with extra dill, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir gently to combine.
