Potato Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette p. 189, with Mustard Vinaigrette p. 200 and Hard Boiled Eggs, p. 791

This is a doozy of a post, so brace yourselves. For the holiday weekend I planned for two big meals. I let Bryan choose what accompanied each meat based on what I’d already chosen. To go with the Grilled Boneless Chicken Bryan chose the potato salad. Potato Salad is a staple for any holiday gathering, in my opinion, yet I had never made it before.

First, peal or wash your potatoes, cut into small bites and cook til tender, but still a little bit firm. You don’t want mashed potatoes. Unless you do, but that’s not potato salad in my opinion.

While the potatoes were cooking I made the vinaigrette. Simply mix olive oil, white wine vinegar and a good mustard. One of the major benefits of How to Cook Everything is the detail that Mark Bittman goes into explaining the mechanics and deviations of vinaigrettes. Please read pages 198-202 if you have any questions, fears, or need new ideas regarding vinaigrettes. I highly recommend it. For the mustard vinaigrette, he suggests adding honey if you want, I happened to have a mustard with honey already in it, so I used that.

Also while the potatoes are cooking, I boiled my eggs. Potato salad is not potato salad without hard boiled eggs in my opinion. Refer to page 791 for your hard boiling needs. Its pretty easy. Add eggs and water to pot, boil. Turn off when it reaches a boil and cover. After about 9-10 minutes drain and run under cold water. Peel and chop.

The basic recipe for the Potato salad calls for your potatoes, vinaigrette, parsley, scallions, and salt and pepper. I skipped the scallions. Page 190 offers a list of some additions to add to your potato salad. I opted for the hard boiled eggs and come chopped sweet pickle (also known as relish). Mix it all up in a big bowl, and cool until ready to serve.



This is a very different type of potato salad than I’m used to and after a couple of bites I was complaining that it just wasn’t like my grandmother’s potato salad. But somehow, before I even realized it, it grew on me and then I had 3 servings. No, its not my grandmother’s, but it has its own charm and is delicious. I plan on making a BLT for lunch and it will be the perfect accompaniment.