Saturday, May 03, 2008

My Own Two Feet

So, this post has nothing to do with my feet and everything to do with potato salad. Noni's potato salad to be exact.

See, it's the start of the summer party season and we're kicking it off with the girl's dedication tomorrow. The whole family is coming, plus some, to the tune of 25-30 people. Every summer party has a bowl of Noni's potato salad. Made by Noni. It's tradition. Every party, even if she's not hosting. You call her and say, "Please oh please!" and she brings it.

Except not this party. Noni's feeling a little overwhelmed of late and said NO!! Can you believe it?? But, she gave me the recipe. Sort of.

Please understand that Noni's strong point is not recipes. She's an amazing cook and I love her to death, but she's not so much with the recipes. She wings it. Recipes from her are little more than a list of ingredients and suggestions. I am a recipe girl. I need amounts, exact times, and details! So, here I am with her "recipe".

"A dozen hard-boiled eggs, or more. Whatever you want. Plus some for garnish." I used 16. Here are my little egg peelers. I tell ya, Jade is GOOD at this! And Kordell did pretty well too.

Next on the list, potatoes. "Not sure how many. A pot-full. Well, not to the top, but close. Pretty full. 5 qt pot. I think." So, this is my interpretation. I had a sinking feeling about this...
Sure enough, it boiled over. I had to quickly pour it into the 7 qt. pot. No pictures, as it was done in sort of a frantic rush. Once that was back on track, I made the cooked dressing (which has actual measurements!!) Then I was called away by a small person in the bathroom. The potatoes got overcooked, a little.

I let everything cool and started mixing with what I could. Cut up eggs, a little onion ("chives are better, but a regular onion will do, just not too much."), spices ("dill mix, if you want, maybe a pinch of dry mustard, but you don't have to." Oy.) So far so good. "Mayo, about equal to the dressing." I measured. Turned out to be a cup. Added the potatoes, mixed it up and it looked like this:


Man, that's a lot of potato salad. Notice the phone? I think I called her to clarify things about 3 times. It helped... a little.

Into the serving bowl with a little garnish. Look at that potato-salad-y goodness! I don't have any paprika to sprinkle on top. Everyone will just have to live without.


And now the final test is the guests. If they approve, I can officially stand on my own two feet. In the potato salad category anyway.

2 comments:

Partyhouse 4 God said...

Did you buy those eggs or get them from your bro in law!!! Fresh is BEST!!!!

Sharmista said...

WIC = free eggs from the store. The fresh ones get all bought up by their loyal customers and there's none left for family!!