Momma's Potato Salad - Step by Step for the Future Generations

My mother's potato salad. It is legendary. I kid you not. Her recipe is well known in our church and there are people that still request I make it.  It is not a complicated one. No fancy ingredients or special equipment. I feel the need to record it, however, because no one else makes it anymore. I am sure one day, one of my kids will be sitting around saying, "You remember when mom used to make that potato salad?" So what is going to follow is a very basic, step by step direction.  There are not a lot of measurements as this is a taste as you go sort of deal. You just have to know what it tastes like to get it right.  Let's begin with the potato:

I use your basic Russet potato.  They work the best for this type of potato salad. It is what my mom used and it is what I use.  Peel them with a good potato peeler and not a knife so that you minimize potato waste.  Get them on your cutting board and cut into chunks like so:

I believe (and you can call me crazy....because I am) that the chunk of the potato is important. You don't want to big or too small.  They need to pretty uniform so they cook at the same rate. You don't want some of them getting done before the others or you will end up with half mashed potato salad! Not cool.

Rinse your potatoes in COLD water, drain, then fill your pot with COLD water and set to boil on the stove. Yes I am emphasizing the COLD part. Sometimes people think they can speed this process up by using hot water but that is wrong. It messes things up. I am not sure why, I am not a professional chef so I don't know all the reasons....I just know that you must, must, must start with cold water.

While the potatoes are boiling, chop one medium size yellow onion and set aside in a bowl until later.

My onion chopper broke so I had to chop this beauty by hand. I was really starting to cry from the onion when I discovered something interesting! I let the cold water run in the sink (conservationists, look away) while I finished chopping the onion and I stopped crying. Running the water seemed to help dispel the "onion effect"

Next, while the potatoes are boiling, put on 8 eggs to boil.  

Now, here is where controversy sets in. You can hard boil your eggs anyway you please. I am going to tell you how I hard boil mine.  I bring the water to a full boil.  No lid.  I set the timer for 12 minutes and let them boil and a full boil for 12 minutes. OH, and YES, I start out with COLD water.  After 12 minutes I turn the stove off and immediately poured out the hot water and then ran cold water over the eggs until they cooled down.

By now, my potatoes were done. Drain the potatoes in a colander in the sink. Put the chopped onions in the bottom of the large bowl the potato salad is being made in first. I like to start with my onions on the bottom first.

Next, add the steaming hot potatoes.

Now, this is where everything gets a little tricky.  There are no exact measurements. It's time to travel back. Remember the days of sitting around the table at Thanksgiving or Easter or even Christmas when Mom made this and remember what it tasted like.  That will guide you through these next steps.  Open the refrigerator and take out the following:

Yes, it has to be Duke's mayo.  Nothing else will do.  Do not even consider anything else.

Yes, it has to be Sauer's Mustard. Nothing else will do. It is wonderful. No, neither Duke's or Sauer's paid to put this here. They don't even know about it.

Now, for the sweet relish....I am not picky about.  Generic brand, or whatever, it makes no never mind. Shocking, huh?

Add a couple of heavy spoonfuls of mayo to the potatoes.

Next add a couple of heavy spoonfuls of mustard to the potatoes.

Next add a spoonful of the sweet pickle relish.

Start stirring the potato, mayo, mustard, relish and onion together.  Don't forget to stir up from the bottom to pull the onion up.  Don't mash. You don't wan't mashed potato salad. STIR gently but firmly.

If it looks like this, it is telling you it needs more mayo or mustard or relish. So give it some more.

Start with a little mayo and then TASTE it.

Mine needed a little more mustard....but something was still missing....

It needed more punch from relish so I added more. Be careful adding relish as it has a lot of liquid. And now that I have it right, it was time to peel the eggs and add them in!

No fancy chopping method here either. I chopped them right over the bowl and let them fall on top.

Stir them gently in and you are done. Most people refrigerate before eating. I like it warm and cold!

Ta-da! The finished salad.  You know it is right when you close your eyes and see Momma's smile when you taste it. I know I can. I hope at least one of my daughter's learns how to make this. Or maybe Nick will surprise me and he will. I miss you Momma. I love you. 

Long potatoes, cheddar and ham

I had a lot of potatoes to use up from Thanksgiving. I think I kept forgetting how many I had and kept buying them. With how chilly it is outside plus needing to use leftover ham, it seemed like a good night to make a nice potato dish.

I peeled approximately three pounds of russet potatoes and cut them long-ways.  They were placed in a 9" x 13" dish, dotted with chunks of smoked ham and hunks of extra sharp cheddar cheese.  I combined one large can of cream of mushroom soup with almost 2 cans of  evaporated milk and poured over the top. Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for one hour.  That's it!  It is super easy!

It was a big hit with the family tonight! A very good belly warmer!

Fresh Cranberry Sauce

I have never been a fan of the cranberry sauce that comes in a can.  This Thanksgiving I decided to make my own. Here is my quick and easy recipe for a delicious cranberry compote that requires almost no maintenance at all!

(1) 12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed well
(1) half cup of water
(1) cup of sugar
The zest of one orange and the juice (at least 3 tablespoons)
Dash of nutmeg

Bring all the above to a boil over medium high heat in a saucepan on the stove and then lower heat to a simmer until cranberries pop and soften, about 15 to 20 minutes.  Taste for sweetness. Depending on cranberries will depend on if you need to add sugar. It's up to you! Sometimes I add more sugar if they are too tart, sometimes they are just right! Yesterday I ended up adding 1/2 cup more sugar as they were extra tart.  As the sauce cools, it will thicken and "jell" up all by itself.  It makes a wonderful addition to any dinner, Thanksgiving or not!

Deviled Eggs

Time to devil some eggs! The only mayo I will use is Duke's.  That is a no-compromise situation for me.  I also love Sauer's mustard.  It tastes yummy.

This is the way my momma always made them.  No measuring, just taste and instinct.  After boiling the eggs and slicing them lengthwise to make little egg bowls, put the yolk in a bowl.  First one scoop of mayo, one of mustard then a healthy one of sweet pickle relish.  Stir. Taste.  If it what you like, stuff the cups and try not to eat them all while you are doing it.

Some people sprinkle paprika on top.  I don't. My mom didn't so I don't either. 

I hope all your thanksgiving endeavors are going well.  There is much to be thankful for.

The Thanksgiving Marathon begins

I was out shopping at Food Lion tonight.  YES....I am one of those people who wait until the last minute! Fortunately my son, Nick came with me.  We had a budget of $140 dollars to get various items we needed.

For the two sweet girls we ran into in the stuffing/baking aisle that were disappointed to discover that there were only two little bags of stuffing mix left. I asked them if they wanted the recipe for my momma's stuffing and they said yes.  They were so pretty and sweet!  I will write down the recipe again in case they come to look.  I am hoping they give it a try. My momma's stuffing is as follows:

5 - 6 loaves of cheap white bread
2 - 3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped (or 2 medium) (I prefer using just your regular yellow onion, not the sweet or white variety)
butter (I prefer real butter but my momma always used margarine) melted
Ground Sage

Tear the bread up into pieces in a large bowl.  Add your chopped celery and onion and give it a quick stir.  Sprinkle in a large quantity of of sage.  Pour on your first stick of melted butter and stir.  Lean down and take a deep breath.  If you do not get a good fragrance of the sage, ADD MORE.  Don't be afraid! As you add more melted butter, the sage will spread throughout.  The amount of butter you add is dependent on how you like your stuffing.  I like to add extra butter (no surprise there, huh?) so it is good and wet when I stuff it in the bird and put the rest in a dish to bake.  It does not take long to bake, depends on the size of the dish you stick it in.

I hope they get to try it!!  They were awesome.

I will be taking lots of pictures and posting as I go along!  Happy Thanksgiving!!

Desperation Dinner

Last night I was in desperate straights.  I have been working so hard and been so busy I have not had time to shop for groceries!  As I looked at my almost bare cupboards, I knew that I could not ask the natives to eat another sandwich but I was just too tired to go to the store. 

I spied a can of peach pie filling I had picked up on a whim one day then forgot about it.  Inspiration hit! I would make Stuffed French toast.  Thank you God so much that I had enough bread to do it.  I just was not so sure about the stuffed part as I do not have a sandwich grill press thingy! (I know, so technical).

I made four pieces at a time and layered the peach pie filling (that I had heated in the microwave so it would be good and warm) between each piece of bread.  I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top and served it with some Cinnamon Vanilla syrup.  Nick and Paulina loved it and I was happy that they had a hot meal for dinner. 

Knowing Billieanne does not like peaches, I altered the recipe for her.  Instead of peach french toast, I made a brand new egg batter with Eggnog and dipped her bread in that. I also topped hers with some powdered sugar and served with the same syrup.  She loved it! That girl loves anything eggnog!!

I was not able to shop today either.  I ended up working 11 hours.  God bless my husband.  He took them to their favorite spot, Taco Bell.  He is a good man.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!