Country Potato Salad and My First Cookbook

My husband and I were married in 1997. The following year we moved to England. My husband was in the Navy and that was to be our new duty station. I was only 22 years old at the time and I was ecstatic about living in another country but I was also a little scared about moving so far away from all of our friends and family. We were to be there for 3 years and that meant I was also going to have to find a job there and learn to drive on the wrong side left side of the road.

Betty Crocker and I are old friends.

We found a little bungalow in the London suburbs in a town called Northwood.  It had a very tiny kitchen but it had enough room for a small table. I really wanted to be able to make some good meals in this new home of ours. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to make a whole lot. I made a pretty good lasagna and that was about it. We didn't have a home computer then so there wasn't a website or blog I could go to for help. Instead, I had my Mom. Well, as close to my Mom as I could get. 

She sent me my first cookbook that first year we were there.

Moms always know just the right thing to get you, don't they?

This cookbook really saved me. I got so many great recipes from it and I still go to it first when I am looking for something to make.

Before I got this book, I had taken the most horrible fruit salad (which looked more like fruit soup) to a potluck that my husband's boss was having at his house.  What a first impression that was. I was so embarrassed!

 I was determined to redeem myself the next time around.

This is a well-loved book!

And that's just what I did. I had this book for about 2 weeks before another potluck rolled around. And this time, Chief Wilson, the hubby's boss, offered to give me his cheesecake recipe if I would give him this potato salad recipe. No problem! And to this day, I still make his cheesecake and this potato salad.  They are classics to me now.

I've only slightly modified this recipe over the years.

   Ingredients:

2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 medium)

1 ½ cups of mayonnaise (no Miracle Whip please)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon yellow mustard

3-4 tablespoons of chicken stock or broth

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about ½ cup)

4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

Directions:

Peel and dice potatoes into cubes. Place potatoes into a large pot of water. Boil for about 20 minutes (or until fork tender). 
Take care not to overcook your potatoes – you don’t want them overly mushy.

Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, chicken stock and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add potatoes, celery, onion and stir gently.
 Stir in eggs.

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to blend flavors and chill. 

Cook’s Note: Potatoes love to soak up all the mayonnaise, so if you noticed your salad is just a little dry when you are ready to serve, add a little more mayonnaise and chicken stock and it will restore the creaminess of your potato salad.

How do you make the perfect hard boiled egg?  Put eggs in a medium pot. Cover with cool water. Place on burner over high heat. Bring to a boil then take pot off of heat and cover with lid. Set timer for 15 minutes. Dump water out of pot and rinse with cool water.  You will have perfectly hard boiled eggs and no green rings!

Try serving this with some Grilled Chicken Skewers, Virginia Baked Beans, The Inside Out Burger and some Southern Sweet Tea.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe Here

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Recipe slightly modified from: Betty Crocker New Cook Book, 8^th Edition