I hate to admit it but my mother couldn't cook. She was a great mom, but her cooking in the 1970s included Pizza from a box, vegetables cooked within an inch of recognition, and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. A party meal consisted of all-beef hot dogs, slit length wise and "stuffed" with Velveta cheese (when my grandma received President Reagan's free cheese, we partied twice a week). She would wrap the dogs with bacon and bake them in the oven. One of my great aunts died the day after this meal. Probably no connection but I haven't tried these death tubes since.
There were two marvelous exceptions to this culinary retardation. The first was her risotto alla milanese, and the other, the best potato salad I have ever eaten. Here it is for you to try.
Cold water
10 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes
1 large sweet onion, such as Maui, Vidalia or Walla Walla
1 large carrot, washed but not peeled
1 large celery stalk
2 garlic cloves
8oz of Best Foods or Hellman's real mayonaise
One bunch of fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, leaves only
5 large leaves of sweet basil
2 tbls fresh rosemary leaves
1 tsp fresh thyme
red wine vinegar
5 hard boiled eggs
kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil
Place washed halved potatoes in a large pot with cold water and a tsp of kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Cooking time will be a matter of potato size and heat of your stove. Cook until just tender. You want them to be edible, but not to break apart when you mix them with the other ingredients. Also they will continue to cook a bit when you take them off the stove. After taking them off the stove, drain them and let them sit until they cool down (about 15 minutes). If you inadvertently cooked them too long, stop the cooking process by running them under cold water.
Separately, chop onions, celery and carrots finely. Chop very fine, the garlic cloves, the parsley leaves, the rosemary, the thyme and the basil. Mix vegetables together and add half the mayonaise. Add 1 tbls high-quality mustard old-style mustard and 2 tbls good red wine vinegar (not balsamic)
Coarsley chop up 2 of the eggs and mix into the vegetable mixture. If dry, begin to add the rest of the mayonaise until you get the consistency of a thick salad dressing, but do not add more than 8oz total.
Next slice the room-temp potatoes (leave the skin on) into half disc shapes, like a "D". The slices should be about 1/4 inch thick. In a large bowl mix the potatoes with vegetable mixture. Grind several turns of the black pepper and add kosher salt to taste (mix thoroughly after adding salt before adding more).
Now check texture and consistency. Add high-quality extra virgin olive oil, a little at a time until you get the texture you prefer, but in no case should you add less than 2 tbls of oil.
Place in a non-reactive bowl overnight in the refrigerator to bring out the flavors. The next day, taste the mixture. You can adjust salt, pepper and wine vinegar (if you want more tartness) at this point. You can also add a little more oil if the salad has tightened up too much.
Slice the remaining eggs into thin spheres and place on top of the salad in an attractive pattern sprinkle on some remaining chopped parsley for visual appeal.
Serve with the rest of your picnic foods.
