Memorial Day Thunder and Potato Salad

Daddy and I are having a BBQ for two on this fine memorial day despite the pouring rain and thunder. Did I mention that Attie is beyond scared of thunder? She keeps running about the living room and kitchen barking and hiding under anything she can manage to fit below. Beyond that distraction, I desperately wanted some decent potato salad so I spent a good part of the morning tastespotting some recipes. (God I love that site!) The one i found and used is listed below. I knew it was a good one because of this episode of Good Eats I once saw on potatoes. Alton gets trapped in some crazed fan's house for the night and her boyfriend has a real thing for potatoes, so she has him make one potato recipe after another, and one being potato salad. I recall the secret being adding vinegar to potatoes while they are hot, which the recipe below does. Its currently chilling in the fridge right now, but so far, it seems like a winner!

Classic Potato Salad

(adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

Ingredients

2 lbs yukon gold potatoes

2 hard boiled eggs

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

.5 cup of minced celery

2 tablespoons minced onion

4 tablespoons relish

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup powdered mustard

2 tablespoons dried parsley

pepper to taste

a sprinkling of paprika on top

(and if you're as good as grandma, a nice tomato rose in the center)

Method

1. Place potatoes in large saucepan and add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil over medium-high heat; add 1 tablespoon salt, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring once or twice, until potatoes are tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes and transfer to large bowl. Add vinegar and, using rubber spatula, toss gently to combine. Let stand until potatoes are just warm, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in small bowl, stir together celery, onion, pickle relish, mayonnaise, mustard powder, celery seed, parsley, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Using rubber spatula, gently fold dressing and eggs, if using, into potatoes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours; serve.