Simple Red Potato Salad

Recipe

Ingredients:

New red potatoes
Eggs
Dill Pickles (plus a little of the juice)
Mayonnaise (Please use the good stuff, not the cheap, other stuff)
Dijon Mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

Hostess Tip:  I always calculate how much red potato salad to prepare by making 1 (average sized) red potato per person.  Then I  use the same number of eggs as potatoes.  If I’m using 4 potatoes and 4 eggs, I’ll use 1 – 1 1/2 whole pickle, 1 teaspoon mustard and about 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise.

• Scrub the potatoes, but do not peel.  Place in a pan and cover completely with cold water, add salt, (about 2 teaspoons per quart of water) and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and gently boil for 10 – 15 minutes or until slightly tender when pierced with a knife.  Drain and then cover and allow to sit until cool enough to handle.  Dice, peel and all, into quarter inch (or “bite size”) pieces and place in a mixing bowl.  Sprinkle with a little of the juice from the pickle jar and with the salt and pepper.
• To boil the eggs, place the eggs in a saucepan and add enough cold water to cover the eggs by about 1/2″.  Place the pan over high heat.  When the water comes to a boil, remove from the heat and cover for 10 minutes.  Dump the hot water and replace with cold water and ice cubes (“ice bath”) for several minutes.  This will stop the cooking and make them cool enough to handle before peeling.  Coarsely chop and add to the eggs.
• Dice the pickle into chunks and add to the potatoes and eggs.  Don’t go too small on the pickles.  You don’t want them to disappear in the salad.  They provide the crunch.
• Add the mayonnaise and mustard and gently mix until well combined.  Do a taste test at this point to make sure the salt and pepper are right and, if not, add a little at a time to suit your taste.
• Transfer red potato salad to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.