We had a big birthday party (a big birthday, as well as a big party) for Arlene last weekend. Her sister and brother-in-law came up from New Jersey (with their daughter and a full complement of grandkids), her brother came from NJ also, and her aunt Lee flew in from Buffalo. I baked a double batch of brownies from a mix, a batch of rye bread (swedish limpe), and a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Lee made a big batch of potato salad.
Lee said she could write a whole essay about potato salad. She learned how to make it when her parents owned a delicatessen (I don’t think people called ’em ‘deli’ in those days) in Newark in the ’30s. She started with five pounds of potatos (Yukon Gold this time), boiled them in the skins, peeled them after cooking, sliced them (into slices, not chunks), and added about half a bunch of celery (chopped), two small grated onions, mayonnaise (maybe half a cup?), a couple of tablespoons of white vinegar, salt (which she normally avoids because of high blood pressure, but potato salad is one thing that you HAVE to add salt to, she says), and pepper. It was good honest potato salad. I’m hoping to see her essay someday soon and add it as a comment to this, or as a whole guest post.