Don’t you just hate it when you bring something new and have to take home 90 percent of it?

 

Once I made a nice (I thought so) creamed clam and herring dip. I’m still hearing about that disaster. The dogs wouldn’t eat it.

 

So we have a year to recover our reputations. Be careful. Two strikes and you’re out, permanently labeled a cook to shun forever.

 

I’m about to present you with a valuable gift.

 

This is not the best potato salad in town, in the country or in the world.

 

It’s just the best you ever ate.

 

This one is from Pam McGowen. She’s so well-known for this, she takes it to Thanksgiving. Everywhere she goes, “Hey, there goes Pam McGowen. Where’s her potato salad?”

 

Potato salad has been around for a long time. Some claim it goes back to the 17th century. The Anglos mixed cooked spuds with vinegar. Soon, the Germans came up with their own version, bacon and vinegar salad served hot. That one survives.

 

The Italians combined their two favorite things, olive oil and herbs, in a marinated potato salad.

 

Pam’s winner draws from a lot of that. She marinates her potatoes in Italian salad dressing. The main dressing is smashed yolks, mustard and mayonnaise awakened with sour cream.

 

You can add any or all of the fresh veggies you wish. I like diced red and green peppers for color, chopped carrot for contrast and extra onion and chopped pepperoni if I¹m playing dangerous.

 

Be sure to beautify it with sweet paprika. And don’t just serve it in globs on a cardboard plate next to a burger. Make a nice green bed of lettuce to show off your salad on separate plates.

 

Remember: It could be the best thing on earth, but nobody will eat it if it doesn’t look great, too. Perhaps a sprig of parsley on each serving will help.

 

We must thank Pam for sharing this. I had to beg it from her after hearing the raves for months.

 

 

 

The marinade:

 

Use a quarter cup of clear, Italian salad dressing such as Wishbone, or make your own with 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1/8 cup white wine vinegar and a dash each of salt, freshly ground black pepper and oregano. Shake to emulsify in a cruet.

 

The salad:

 

7 medium red potatoes (Pontiacs), boiled in the jackets

3/4 cup sliced celery

1/3 cup sliced green onions, including tops

4 hard-boiled eggs

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

11/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish mustard (or mix 1/2 teaspoon horseradish with 1 teaspoon yellow mustard)

 

Boil the potatoes in their skins; peel and cube to make six cups. Pour the dressing over the warm potatoes and gently stir. Chill covered, at least two hours. Add celery and onions. Chop and add the diced egg whites. Mash the yolks and mix with the mayonnaise, sour cream and horseradish mustard. Fold into potatoes with a spatula. Add salt and whole celery seed to taste. Add 1/3 cup diced cucumber, peeled and seeded, as an option. Chopped red pepper would be good, too. Allow the flavors to meld at least two hours in the fridge before serving. Pack in ice in a cooler if taking to a picnic. Garnish with paprika and fresh parsley. Makes 8 servings.

 

Double or triple for big picnics. Pam warns you’ll never have enough.