I'm in a German Community and absolutely love this. Just had it two nights ago.

German Potato Salad
4 potatoes
4 slices bacon
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1.Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.
2.Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.
3.Add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until dressing is thick.
4.Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

I don't care for the bland potato salads and I use a recipe I developed from remembering my mother's potato salad. Lots of chopped hard boiled eggs, sliced celery and diced red potatoes that were boiled in their skins and peeled carefully while still hot. Dressing is made from mayonaise, Del Monte (and only Del Monte) Sweet Pickle Relish, a dab of prepared mustard, and lots of paprika.

4 large potaotes
1 large vidalia onion (finely chopped or sliced) be sure to use a sweet onion
1 cup mayo
1/4 - 1/3 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Dash of vinegar
pepper (to taste)
dill weed (to taste.

Cook potatoes until tender. Drain & cut into thin slices not chunks. Mix remaining ingredients together and put on potatoes. Mix well.

Linda

Linda's sounds just right!!

I'm not one for measurements. I cook by sight and smell. But the ingredients I use are:
Potatoes (cooked in skin, cut into chunks)
Red onion, finely chopped
Celery, finely chopped
Sweet pickles, finely chopped
Hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
Green pepper, finely chopped
Season with ground mustard, vinegar, pickle juice, sugar, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, celery seed, paprika (sprinkle on top when finished).

Mix mayo and mustard; stir into other ingredients. Chill and serve on a platter, on a bed of lettuce. (I also put sliced hard-boiled eggs on top for appearance.)

Yum!

Another question (I should have posted with my original question).

Those who use mayo, do you make your own?

If not, what do you use? If you do, how do you make it?

I use Hellman's / Best Foods. I've been experimenting making my own, but they aren't quite cutting the mustard, so to speak. So, I will probably stick with Hellman's, unless there is something better out there.

Thank-q!

BJ

If you agreed to enter the contest, why not make the recipe that everyone loves? You are comfortable with it; no need to fuss with extra ingredients. Put forth the one that earned the praise!

Good Luck!
Dee

I use real best foods mayo. NOT low cal or low fat...:0)

Potato Salad

5 lbs washed, diced cooked idaho potatos, skin on
3 big dill pickles, diced
1 c red onion, diced
1 c celery diced
1 TBL seasoning salt
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 c red bell pepper diced small or pimento
1 c real mayo, best foods

Mix and chill before serving. Garnish with olives,hard boiled eggs,parsley and paprika....to make it look pretty.

The usual potatoes, boiled eggs, celery, onion, lots of cut up sweet pickles. For dressing, Miracle whip, mixed w/ some mustard, pickle juice, little garlic salt, and a big dash of CURRY POWDER, for that little kick.

I really like dill pickles, eggs, celery, and mustard in mine. I also like chopped black olives but most people don't make it that way.

Dee, lol, funny you should say that, as that is what my DH is constantly saying.

I just think it's a little bland. Or maybe I am just tired of it.

Anyway, this is my recipe:
Like Wanda, I don't measure anything.

Baby Red potatoes, washed with the ugly parts dug out.
Cut potatoes into small chunks.
Rinse really well.
Place in pot with really cold water and let sit for a bit. (I think this livens up the potatoes, making them crisp)
In the meantime,
Cut up purple onion (I think I might try the Vidalia, or Shallots) or scallions. Place in ziplock and refrigerate.
Wash and cut celery stocks, rinse in cold water and place in a small tupper wear container and refrigerate.
Salt the water the potatoes have been sitting in.
Bring them to a boil for 5 minutes, (they cook faster when they are in small chunks) then shut off the element for 5 minutes.
Pour into collander and let the potatoes cool completely
Refrigerate for no more than 24 hours (8 hours is good) in a large Tupperware container
After the refrigeration period, sprinkle onion salt over cooled potatoes, add celery + onion,
Add fresh ground white pepper
I also use a roast chicken spice over the potatoes
Then add Hellan's and mix really well and refrigerate

Sometimes I add minced egg (it has to be minced!)
or Sliced eggs on top with more of the roast chicken spice
or thinly sliced devilled eggs on top

Oh and all the containers have to be "Tupperwear" nothing else.

I serve it in a glass bowl.

I guess my recipe is more about my anal process than the actual ingredients.

I just thought if the judges knew I used Hellmans and all the others used homemade then I would loose some points.

Anyway it's not about winning (ya right, lol) It's all about the experience.

Just collecting "tips" to maybe try out before I make the real thing on Friday.

BJ

So far mashed potato salad hasn't been mentioned and that's my favorite kind.

I use cold, leftover mashed potatoes

Diced onion to taste

1/2 diced cucumber

3 boiled eggs, chopped

Chopped celery, if I have any

Salt and pepper to taste

Parsley

Mayo, mustard, and dill pickle relish to taste

Mix it up and don't spare the Mayo. I like my potate salad creamy.

Sometimes it's impossible, but I try making it a day ahead cause it's always better the 2nd day.

I like potato egg salad. Just boil and cut up 4 large potatoes, hard boil and chop 2 to 4 eggs and add some chopped onion. Dressing is half mayo or MW, half sour cream, a little vinegar, any chopped herbs you like, salt and pepper.

Mine is a little different, I guess.

boiled potatoes
boiled eggs
celery
onion

slightly cooked frozen peas (just till slightly soft)
Mayo with S,P, celery seed mixed in. Then in the mayo mixture stir in abt 1/4 C crumbled bleu cheese.

stir in dressing mixture into eggs & Potatoes along with bacos ( real, not fake) or crumbled cooked bacon. This is best made the day before you want to serve it.

Ditto dee. If everyone asks for your recipe than why not stick with it. I use red skin potatoes cooked with skin. Peel, chunk and while still hot, I add good Seasons Italian dressing, prepared according to directions. then I add chopped celery and onions. When cool, I add chopped hard cooked eggs and mayo (Hellman's), salt and pepper to taste I think the Italian dressing gives it a little extra zip. Do not like sweet pickle relish, occasionally add sliced black olives.

Make the potato salad you are use to making and know is good then add some chopped, crispy fried bacon. Bacon makes everything better.

Yayyyy Dotmom! You remembered the "secret" ingredient LOL! We always added the frozen peas... frozen..as they chilled down the warm eggs and potatoes in our potato salad. (Don't forget the green onions, celery minced, dash of mustard, paprika, salt and pepper!!)

As children we invariably forgot to tell Mom we were picnic'ing, camping or just neeeeeeeeded potatoe salad for some such event. Growing up on a farm, the ingredients were always close to hand, except Mom used Miracle Whip instead of Mayo. LOVE the frozen peas in my own potato salad to this day.. hubby indulges my neeeeeed LOL.. but doesn't actually grasp the need for eggs AND potatoes in potato salad!

I haven't read the replies yet but here's my two cents.

I'm a very picky eater so that means my food has to be perfect. lol.

I love potato salad. GOOD potato salad. Nothing fancy in it, just the basic potato salad.

Years ago I bought the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook. In it is their "Creamy Potato Salad."

It's pretty standard, here's the ingredients, to give you an idea.

Potatoes, (it doesn't say what kind)
sliced celery
chopped onion
pickle relish
Mayo or miracle whip
sugar
celery seed (THIS makes it a lot better)
vinegar
mustard
salt

Let me tell you, because it's so simple and basic, it taste a lot better than something "fancy."

The Celery Seed is what makes it though.

small red potatoes, boiled (not peeled- cut in halves or quarters, depending on size)
green onion- small slices
celery-chopped fine
parsley-leaves, no stems, finely chopped

dressing is olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, dry mustard and paprika...whisk together, taste for seasoning, tweak it however you like, and pour over potato mixture. Stir well and chill it 'til ready to serve.

I do agree that if you have a recipe/system you like, go with that. Try different recipes as a test and if you like things better tweak as you go and enter it in the next contest. I think you should enter your favorite, it might be the judges' favorite too.

I've hit on a recipe I like. Not so much a recipe but more a guideline and some procedures. There's a lot of ingredients I like to include, not all have to go in, it all depends on what I have. Pretty much decided on it by taking a number of recipes and going with things I like. Then I saw Emeril's Favorite Potato Salad and used that as a base, revised and tweaked until I found a system I like. Here's essentially what I do:
I use white russet potatoes. Reds are too often undercooked. I like white russets. Cook the potatoes whole, then peel and give it a splash of vinegar or lemon juice while the taters are hot or at least warm. Much easier to peel cooked potatoes
I like a lot of egg. and I like the potatoes and egg to be larger pieces, slices or chunks - doesn't really matter.
Quite a bit of onion. I've substituted onion soup mix on occasion
Celery
Radishes
Bacon (and pour a little bacon grease on the potatoes with a splash of vinegar)
For the dressing I use a mixture of sour cream, Salad dressing (Miracle Whip or generic) and Ranch Dressing. I have used a ranch dip or an onion dip as a substitute too. Hellman's is too bland, as are most every mayo and I want some taste in my potato salad
Seasonings include:
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Lemon pepper
a touch of cayenne, chili powder or some Louisiana Hot sauce
Celery Salt
Garlic Salt or Garlic powder
Smoked Paprika
Italian Seasoning
Dill weed
Parsley
I might put in some cajun seasoning or poultry seasoning if I don't have much of the other seasonings.
A little bit of dry mustard powder
I might add some shredded cheese but usually it's not necessary. Occasionally some BBQ sauce (just a dash). Not out of the question to even put in a can of corn, Veg-All or something too. These aren't hard and fast rules, you can vary it according to what you have and what you like. Feel free to be creative.

I do not like a lot of mustard and pickles in my potato salad. I prefer a touch of mustard powder and some dill weed. If the sauce is yellow it's got too much mustard.

It needs to sit a while to blend flavors and I like to start the potatoes in cold water, then bring it up to heat. It does seem to make a difference. I don't drown it in dressing. Have it moist but be able to identify the ingredients. The dressing should flavor it not be a soup base.

Oakley, you are right. Celery seed makes a huge difference. I forgot that in my recipe.

I now make a heart healthy potato salad - no mayo/miracle whip and no salt. Sounds pretty awful, huh. It's really quite good - red potatoes with skins, egg whites, a lot of dill, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, green onions, celery. It's very light and fresh and at least some of my health conscious friends like it. I've described it to some people who pretty much thought - why bother - that's not potato salad.

Classic New England Potato Salad

- Boil potatos with skins on until just tender. Cool overnight in fridge (or start early in the day).
- remove skins with a paring knife (they scrape off). Cut into pieces that are a little over 1".
- Mix with Cains mayo (must be Cains). Use a little more mayor than you think you need, the potato takes it in the longer it sits.
- Small dice celery and onion (green olives ok also, but that is getting fancy), mix into potato mixture
- Layer potatos, sliced hardboiled eggs, potatos, eggs, etc, topping with eggs
- You can sprinkle green olives or scallion on the top

For a 5 pound bag of potato I probably use 6-8 eggs (I'll cook and 8 but maybe not use all, depending). This is the recipe my father always made and I follow it pretty closely. People always ask us to bring it.

A couple of things I do differently from the rest. I dice the potatoes while still warm and sprinkle them with a couple table spoons of Italian dressing. I don't add the mayo until the last minute and have the potatoes at room temperature when I do. Also use half sour cream and half mayo but no mustard.

Thank you all so much for your tips and recipes!

I am making some "trial runs" today and tomorrow and so DH is my guinea pig. Poor guy is already terrifed of saying the wrong thing. lol

The competition is on Saturday.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Merci!

BJ

GayleMarie, I was going to make your potato salad for dinner but I don't have green onions. It's on the list for next week for sure. Harry will be SO happy!

Isn't it strange how so many of us basically use the same ingredients, but I bet no two of them would taste alike.

I hope you win !! I don't think I ever make tater salad the same way twice. It just depends on what is on hand and the mood I am in.

I love tater salad, and jus love what is there that makes it's way to my plate... lol

Good luck girl.. win tha first prize..

Kitt

Every one of these sounds good. As someone else stated, I agree that Best Foods/Hellman's is the best. I got a jar of the "low fat" Best Foods--don't do it. It's really awful and doesn't come close to being ok.

Just make sure you have some "crunch" in there--bacon, celery or whatever you decide. Keep track of what you do so you can duplicate the recipe. Good luck to you!

Boiled potatoes cut small
Hard boiled eggs finely chopped
Celery finely chopped
Green pepper finely chopped (optional)
Dill pickles finely chopped
Sour cream over the potatoes while hot
Just enough mayo to moisten after it cools down
LOTS of paprika on top

I don't measure anything except when I bake so that's the best I can do.

Let us know how you make it and good luck!

My family loves mine..lemon red potato with scallions. I don't like mayonnaise or Miracle whip..This has olive oil with the lemon juice and grated peel.

WOW! So many great ideas! I had no idea there was so many potato salad variations.

Since my DD loves potatoes (practically the only veggie that she will eat) many of these sound good for a side dish. I like the low fat, no mayo, recipes too. Can't wait to try.

GIBBY: Do you cook the egg whites in your salad? Or froth them up and mix with the other ingredients? I think this sounds very good - low cholesterol and yummy!

DH is being a pain in the youknowwhat, since I make potato salad the way his dear ol' Mom made it. So he is sticking to his guns on what he likes. Stubborn, yes?

However, on yesterday's salad I omitted my usual poultry seasoning and instead I added dill, celery seed, minced garlic, fresh parsley + basil (right from my mini herb garden) diced vadilia onion, chives, and some purple onion for a little colour.

Oh! And I baked the potatoes on the bbq, since I was going to cook dinner on it anyway.

I just put some EVOL on the mini potatoes (whole) and sprinkled them with onion salt and put them in a foil pie plate. (This is how we like our baked potatoes). I let them cool then cut them up removing any peel that was falling off, otherwise I just left the peel on.

I couldn't tell much difference (dh didn't even notice) between the baked potatoes and the boiled pots, but the texture of the baked potatoes were a little different, slightly denser, and it did add a nice flavour. However, I think I'll stick to boiling the potatoes, personally I like the texture of boiled potatoes better.

Overall, it was wonderful. DH liked it okay, but it wasn't like my other salad (ie., his Moms). Geesh. His Mom never added roast chicken seasoning, that was my addition, I've tweaked it over the years and he never noticed. I think this version tasted fresher, imo.

Today we try some sour cream, and a few other other combinations. Maybe dill pickle.

DD has been away all week and will be home today, so she'll be my lab rat! :-)

Have a great day all!

BJ

I love potato salad and these recipes are devine. I'm going to copy and save. Yum!

This is the first I've read this thread.
sshhhh (I've never made potato salad). I just find it so much work, and makes so much for just the 2 of us.

However, these recipes all sound awesome! I'm going to have to try making it!

BJ, let us know how you did! Congratulations for entering the contest.

No two people make potato salad alike. I know that no matter what happens, my husband will never leave me, because he loves my potato salad so much.

It is kind of basic...chopped boiled eggs, green or purple onions, celery, bell pepper...sometimes I leave it out if I don't have it, sliced stuffed green olives, Claussen dills...no other brand ever will do, and bacon.

I dress it with mayo with enough mustard stirred in to make it the color of the boiled egg yolks. Then I thin it with some of the pickle juice. Toss it well and then stir in the bacon and a good sprinkle of Tony Chachere's seasoning to taste.