All great cooks that I know don't use a recipe to make most meals in their kitchen. Of course, if one is baking that can be a different story. Exact measurements are important there. My Nanny and my Grandmother made homemade everything. I never saw them use a recipe. Even when making bread it was by feel. My Mama would make the most wonderful meals and I never remember her using a recipe, except when baking cakes. My son and daughter are the same. Grayden's Mother was a wonderful baker. She made the best pies I've ever eaten. I think she had a sweet tooth as I never had a meal at her table without dessert.
 |
| Grayden's Mother that I called Grandma as our children did! |
I had a bag of potatoes that needed to be eaten and I immediately thought of her Potato Salad. I haven't made this for years. There is no recipe or proportions for her potato salad, but when I make it I am sitting at her table again.
It's a very simple potato salad. It consists of very few items.
Cooked Diced Potatoes
Hard Boiled Eggs Diced
Sweet Pickle Relish---she always used her homemade sweet pickles
Duke's Mayonnaise *
Salt and pepper
That's all it is and it's delicious. I remember her having a big bowl of this salad with ham or fried chicken and her homegrown tomatoes. Today we had it with pork chops that Grayden had grilled. I know there are many different ways to make potato salad with a lot of different additions, but this is so good nothing else is needed.
*Duke's Mayonnaise is a must for this recipe, in my opinion. Of course you can make it with your favorite mayonnaise. I know it's not available all over the country. I need to ship some to my daughter in New England as it's not available there.
Duke's is all about family, from its origins in Eugenia Duke's Greenville, South Carolina kitchen, to Richmond, Virginia's C.F. Sauer family in 1929. Duke's has been uniting families through the meals it enhances for nearly a century. Throughout the years, our recipe has remained the same, providing fans with the same outstanding quality and superior flavor that they expect in every jar.
CF Sauer Source
*Duke's Mayonnaise is a must for this recipe, in my opinion. Of course you can make it with your favorite mayonnaise. I know it's not available all over the country. I need to ship some to my daughter in New England as it's not available there.
Duke's is all about family, from its origins in Eugenia Duke's Greenville, South Carolina kitchen, to Richmond, Virginia's C.F. Sauer family in 1929. Duke's has been uniting families through the meals it enhances for nearly a century. Throughout the years, our recipe has remained the same, providing fans with the same outstanding quality and superior flavor that they expect in every jar.
CF Sauer Source
What a lovely lady, your grandmother was...
ReplyDeleteAnd I heartily endorse her no-recipe recipe.
But, isn't that the way, everyone makes Potato Salad????
It isn't???
:-)
Tessa
(Who is off with the faeries....)
Tessa, this is Grayden's mother's potato salad non recipe. I know a lot of folks add celery and raw onions to theirs. I just really like it plain and simple like she made it. It sounds like you make it the same. Have a great afternoon. ♥
DeleteYour grandma's potato salad looks delicious, Martha Ellen. I smiled when I read your post and the fact that she used very few ingredients because my mother-in-law used to make the best potato salad and just added a few things also. I think it's best that way. Such a sweet picture of your grandma. It's funny the things we remember, isn't it? When you saw how many potatoes you had, right away you thought of your grandma's potato salad. :) A special story and recipe, Martha Ellen.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed weekend.
~Sheri
Sheri, I try very hard not to throw any food away. That's my husband's mother that made the great potato salad. I must clarify that on my post. I always called her Grandma because my children did. ♥
DeleteMmmmmmmm! Martha you are making me salivate!! These are the wholesome and good things of life :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful week end! XX OO
Lot's of love and many blessings, Linnie :-)
Linnie, you are so right. Happy memories are so nice to recall. Enjoy a wonderful weekend, dear one! xoxo ♥
DeleteI've never heard of Duke's Mayonnaise. How is it different from other kinds? I've always used Better Homes & Garden's recipe--the book I brought with me when I got married.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up in Richmond, Cathy, Duke's mayonnaise was the only one to use. It has a quite a following that is the secret ingredient to many great sandwiches. It's unique flavor is quite distinctive. Many southerners believe it's the only real mayonnaise. ♥
DeleteA delicious looking bowl of potato salad indeed. Very similar to my recipe which also has a small, very finely chopped onion and some celery seed. I love potato salad but have not made any for so long now I cannot believe it. Of course, I have to use whatever mayonnaise is available. I remember one mayo having a completely different branding on the West coast to the East coast too! Same mayo, different names.
ReplyDelete~~~ Deb xo
Deb, It's been ages since I've made potato salad as well. Being summer and that bag of potatoes staring at me, it seemed like the right time to make Grandma's potato salad. Branding of items here in the US can be quite confusing. Some store brands are the same as branded items. Even made by them. ♥
DeleteMayos like Hellman's use sugar. Duke's doesn't. That's a big part of the difference. It's a lot more like home-made mayo.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Noel. Duke's is in the mail! ♥
DeleteMy niece made a lovely potato salad this week...not one thing like this one, but I like them all. Can't go wrong with a delicious potato salad and I do like the hard boiled eggs addition...and perhaps a bit of sour cream to lighten it. What is it about our mothers' or grandmothers' cooking that makes the world seem better and brighter? Mine doesn't quite live up to theirs.
ReplyDeleteVee, I'm sure your niece's potato salad was delicious. Recipes of loved ones always bring sweet memories. Of course, their's always taste better.
DeleteThinking of you, dear Vee, and praying for God's love to embrace you and your family. ♥
No onions in this potato salad? My husband would love it! That is his biggest complaint about most potato salads---too many onions.
ReplyDeleteI love any kind of potato salad, with onion or without. Never tried it with sweet pickle relish, though. I must remedy that.
Blessings,
Patti @ Embracing Home
Patti, I'm with your husband. I don't care for raw onions either. That's one of the things I like about Grandma's potato salad. The sweet pickle relish is yummy in this recipe. I hope you are have a nice weekend. Thank you for stopping by. ♥
DeleteI love potato salad!! My mother followed recipes word for word. She had taken home ec in high school, and all the techniques she had been taught stayed with her. My paternal grandmother expected family/friends at her house on any occasion, and the table was always full with what she had cooked. I was never there for the food prep, but I'd say there were few recipes to be found. xo Nellie
ReplyDeleteNellie, it's interesting how each of us cooks. I do follow a lot of recipes, unlike my Mama. Of course, as long as I've been homemaking some dishes are easy to change here and there. It's fun to try something new to try to keep it different for my family. xo ♥
DeleteSo interesting to read about Duke Mayo. That's what I've used the thirty years since we moved here, but I don't remember it being up north. The potato salad looks perfect to me. I do have a recipe that is quite different and I seem to use it in the summer--roasted red potatoes chopped up with mayo and bacon and red onions. I like your new header!
ReplyDeleteDotsie, I figured you might be one of those Duke's gals. Your potato salad sounds so good with bacon. I think anything with bacon in it is great. Enjoy your weekend. ♥
DeleteBoth my dear mum and my Gran were wonderful cooks and hardly ever weighed any ingredients - they just knew what would work - and it did!
ReplyDeletePotato salad, tomato salad, waldorf salad plus many more are just perfect for summer days!
I do like the photograph you've shared, thank you
All the best Jan
Sounds like the women in your family were like mine, Jan. I hope your weekend is full of joy! ♥
DeleteOh my goodness. That looks so good!! (I think that 3/4 of my children would love this with the addition of pickle relish. They are pickle fanatics!)
ReplyDeleteMy mom will be bringing potato salad to our Father's Day gathering tomorrow. Hers, too, is made without a recipe and it is delicious. She always insists that we must be tired of it, but no one is!!
Cheryl, I think we all never tire of old favorites from our family members. Have a wonderful Father's Day gathering. You have the best family times! ♥
DeleteBoth my grandmothers were the same, wonderful cooks and not a recipe in sight. Your potato salad looks wonderful, I like dishes with a bit of history.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
Family recipes along with the good times around the table make for memorable times! ♥
DeleteI'm not one for following recipes either. Just throw it all in! Don't really care much for cooking but I'll stack my potato salad up against anyones! Your gramma's sounds tasty.....but where is the mustard?!!! Just need a dab.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like a very good cook, Jeri. This recipe has no mustard and really doesn't need any. ♥
DeleteI had never heard of Duke's until moving to NC, however, I am a potato salad junkie and this recipe is going to be tried for sure. Happy Summer, dear friend, XOXO
ReplyDeleteSusan, I don't think you'll be disappointed! Be sure to use Duke's. xoxo ♥
DeleteThis looks perfect for summer, Martha! I think the hard boiled eggs adds good flavor. I never heard of Dukes Mayo, so I'll use my usual Hellmans brand.
ReplyDeleteYou know I haven't made potato salad in a very long time.....usually make mac salad and have my firstmother-in-law's way of doing it, which she learned from HER mother-in-law!
ReplyDeleteNow my daughter Katie makes it too - and is actually bringing it to our family bbq tomorrow.
Love that picture you shared.
Hugs!