California Style Potato Salad

Mom's California Style Potato Salad

Growing up in southern California, my parents threw countless pool parties, and I doubt there was one without mother's potato salad.  Until I got older I never knew there was any other kind.  Now that I know better I love French potato salad with green beans and love a warm German potato salad.  But when I make it,  I always go back to what I ate back on Haskell Ave. and it's still the best.  Fresh dill is the key here.

Lunch, California style.

3 or 4 lbs white rose potatoes

5 ribs celery, chopped

1/2 cup green olives stuffed with pimiento, chopped

1 bunch green onions, sliced fine

4 eggs, chopped

4 dill pickle spears, chopped

2 or more tablespoons fresh dill

2 tablespoons olive or pickle juice

1 tablespoon Dijon style mustard

1 scant cup prepared mayonnaise 

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Simmer potatoes in just boiling water until fork tender.  Cool, then slip off skins and remove any eyes.  Cut into large chunks.  This amount of potato salad needs about a cup of sauce.  To a measuring cup, add olive and/or pickle juice, mustard and salt and pepper.  Add mayonnaise to make one cup sauce.  Whisk together and add to potatoes, along with the chopped ingredients.  Mix well adding more salt and pepper to taste if needed.  Refrigerate and serve cold.  Makes 2 quarts.

The gadget above is called the Vidalia Chop Wizard and I love it.

I imagine I use it almost every day now.

 We like the veggies cut fine, and the potatoes in rather large chunks.

Knitionary

Skinny Twice Baked Potatoes

I skinnied the stuffed baked potato years ago.  I make them all the time and thought it was time to share my very low fat and healthier stuffed potatoes (except the ones above have some leftover sausage, oops).  For years I made these as I would imagine the Pioneer Woman makes them still, with cups of cheese and cream, but I have turned up my nose to that old-fashioned and fattening way and get my flavor instead from vegetables. Now you can eat stuffed baked potatoes guilt free!

Scrub and bake 4 large baking potatoes until done.  Cool slightly, cut in half and scoop out pulp.  You can mash the pulp, but I prefer riced potatoes and have a nifty ricer that I use for that.  In the meantime, in the food processor grate veggies of your choice.  Today I used 1 small onion, 4 ribs celery, 3 carrots and 1/2 sweet potato.  In a very large pan with 2 T butter and 2T olive oil, saute grated vegetables until soft, about 10 minutes.  Add cooked veggies to riced potato pulp and mix together, add non fat milk to thin a bit, and add about 2 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper.  Pile back into the reserved potato skins and top each with 1 T grated cheese if desired.  Heat in microwave until heated through.  Makes 8 servings.

This is a 16" saute pan, it takes over two of the burners.

I had 4 oz. of breakfast sausage leftover from the kid's visit so browned that up and topped it with that too.  Sometimes I will add thinly sliced leftover chicken or even a poached egg.  Add a salad and we call that dinner.  These look orange tonight, but they look green if I use broccoli or spinach, funny!

Knitionary