One recipe for two kinds of mayonnaise-based salads
I’m probably not doing my metrics any favors with these headers, or with the images that accompany them. A pessimist would tell you that it’s all because I want the reader to get the real experience of what cooking at home usually is for me, which is not particularly pretty but tastes good. An optimist would say that it’s because I have so much to do that it’s not worth the precious moments life gives us to worry too much about framing and composition, particularly when so much of my professional life is devoted to those issues. A realist—which I am, regardless of whatever the latest fad personality test says—would say it’s a combination of the two, which is how you end up with an image of a “potato salad (with eggs)” (never particularly appealing to photograph) and a header that includes the word mayonnaise (which a lot of people hate).
Sunday was, as many of you know, Easter, a holiday much loved around these parts—see previous installments on the topic here and here—and as such I figured I’d be left with at least a few hard boiled eggs. To the book I went, knowing that like any good descendant of Germans, my father certainly appreciated a hard boiled egg and there would be recipes including them.
First, the eggs. There is simply too much content online devoted to the “~perfect~” hard boiled egg, so I’ll say here that I’ve tried them all and few stick past what is roughly outlined here, which is the recipe my sister used to make our Easter eggs:
I might shave a few minutes off so as to avoid grey rings or if I want a softer boil, but this is typically what I do. In recent years I’ve found shelling in water helps a bit but it’s overall an unpleasant process no matter how you shell it (sorry, sorry) and as much as humans work to cut down on those moments, life finds a way.1
Next, the salad. I can’t actually say I’ve ever had both potato and egg salad in one? I feel like on most deli menus they are separate and distinct items. According to AllRecipes.com, the two together is an “old fashioned” pairing, which, without meaning to sound as if I am insulting my father, sounds right. But besides adding the eggs, this recipe does not stray from what most mayo-based potato salads have in them.
First I set about halving the recipe, because three people were going to eat it and as much as I like leftovers and potatoes we don’t need three-plus pounds of potato salad. We also still do not have celery seed because no one has gotten it on the store, much to my chagrin, and our local farm stand does not carry niche spices. Other things I didn’t add because I don’t like them ever or for this occasion: peppers and peas.
Otherwise, you’ve made potato salad, you know how this goes. I made sure to not overcook the potatoes, because if you move too far past firm you start to get mashed potato territory, which is delicious, but kind of a different thing. I did not, however, let them cool much—I think the warmth of the potato allows the mayo and mustard and whatever else you put in there really absorb into the potato, as one of if not my favorite recent potato salad recipe advises. I also like to cut the potatoes up to help with this process (I had small to medium sized reds, which worked best for this technique).
Some other additions: Burlap & Barrel’s garlic powder—which rocks—shallots as suggested (yellow onion? what?! red would have been the only other decent alternative), grainy Dijon, fresh dill to compensate for the lack of celery seed, and a dash of white wine vinegar. We served it with some brats and kale and let the combined taste remind us that summer is indeed fast approaching, mayo-based “salads” and all.
Donations Time
Last month, $145 went to Food Connects. This month, donations will go to the Kauai Food Bank, which “solicits and distributes nearly 200,000 pounds of food annually to feed over 435,000 meals to needy persons.” You can switch your subscription to increase the amount we donate each month for $5 a month or $30 a year right here. And a preview: the next paid edition will have a very special guest editor, so get in now!
I am aware this is not the intended use of this phrase, however, a recent episode of Top Chef was Jurassic World themed so I am blaming that.