Potato Salad

Long before I did this blog, I started collecting recipes that I liked in a three ring binder. The binders have since grown to one general one, desserts and breakfast. The largest is 5" wide and I called it Linda's Recipe Collection, thus the name of this blog. The recipes that I've made and did not like are in a land fill somewhere. Friends are getting together tonight and I was asked to bring potato salad. In the back of my mind I knew there was a really good one I made while on the farm and found it in my binder marked EXCELLANT. I have no idea where I really got it, but I think I cut it out on Bon Appetite. I rarely cut up my magazines, but during this time I got a new computer and it would not transfer a program that I had used from the beginning of computing to track recipes in magazines that I had made and liked. I lost reference to thousands of recipes.
This recipe is called State Fair Potato Salad. It is as close to the one I remember my mother making. It serves 6-8. I have doubled it for our get together tonight.
Ingredients:
3 ½# red-skinned potatoes, peeled, cut into ¾” pieces. (I did not peel the potatoes as I think it gives the salad more color)
¼ cup juices from jar of sweet pickles (Drizzling sweet pickle juice over the warm potatoes is the secret to this salad)
¾ C mayonnaise
1/3C buttermilk
4 t Dijon mustard
1t sugar
½ t ground black pepper
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, chopped (I save one to decorate the top)
½ C chopped red onion
½ C celery chopped
½ C chopped sweet pickles

1. Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Drizzle pickle juices over potatoes and toss gently, cool to room temperature.
2. Whish mayonnaise, buttermilk, mustard, sugar, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend. Pour the mixture over the potatoes while still warm but not hot. Give this mixture about an hour to cool on the counter before adding the eggs, onion, celery and pickles. Toss gently to blend and salt to taste.
3. I use an egg slicer and just slice the eggs leaving them in larger pieces. Like I said, I save one to decorate the top and sprinkle with paprika. The paprika comes from my upbringing not the recipe.

Here is a toast to friends being able to enjoy each other’s company over good food and good wine.