roseanne cash’s potato salad
Is there anything bursting with more flag-draped-weathered-barn American nostalgia than potato salad? How about a recipe from Rosanne Cash, daughter of the late Johnny Cash? It really adds to the experience if you sing “Walk the Line” off-key in the kitchen while your husband grimaces in the next room as your chop your eggs and pickles. And it doesn’t get any better than bringing it in a big old bucket to a 4th of July barbeque.
I know I told you just two weeks ago what our favorite potato salad was but as it turns out, I’ve got room in my allegiances for another. Though this may be the classic potato salad most people grew up with, I had never tried it before yesterday, driven away by the mysterious glop of it all. But if you make it yourself, there’s no smoke-and-mirrors to it, just everything but the kitchen sink: big chunks of red skinned potatoes, cubes of hardboiled eggs, slivered celery, diced onion, a few pinches of free dill and the dreamy dressing trifecta, vinegar, mayo and mustard.
I mean, big rooftop barbeques, exploding skies and loud, loud music are just not times for culinary restraint. It would have been, however, a good time for some self-discipline with that magnum bottle of wine we brought (klassy!), but alas, today has been about water, aspirin and long-suffering glances at my disheveled appearance in the mirror. Ah, well. These, too, are some fine American traditions.
“You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” — Erma Bombeck (thanks Matt!)
Roseanne Cash’s Potato Salad
Adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2004
Makes 8 servings.
3 pounds medium red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, scrubbed
8 dill pickle spears or a handful of cornichon, coarsely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 celery stalks, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 small red onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, chopped
2/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain; cool. Cut potatoes into 1-inch pieces and transfer to large bowl. Stir in pickles, celery, onion, eggs, mayonnaise, mustard vinegar and dill. Season potato salad to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.)
This is exactly how my mother made potato salad. She would put it in a glass dish and slather on a layer of mayonnaise, then she would use vegetables to make a picture - tomato tulips with basil stalks and leaves, radish and carrot roses with scallion stems and a carpet of tarragon grass. Such fun. I’ll repeat my suggestion to put some sour cream in the mix - I like it so much better that way. Sorry you were under the weather the next day, you need the 1-2 rule: for every glass of alcoholic beverage you ingest, drink 2 glasses of water, sure you’ll be running to the powder room all evening, but you’ll never get a hangover. If only I could follow my own advice.
Lovely, classic potato salad, almost exactly the way I make it (I can’t eat raw ontion, so I always cook the onions with the potatoes to take some of the edge off). The cider vinegar is a must.
If red wine kills your head as it does mine, try an USDA certified organic red. If it’s certified by the USDA then it means that not only are the grapes organically grown, but none of those nasty sulfites are added. This makes for just the dried-out feeling the next morning minus the head pain. A little better anyway. Cheers!
hmmmph, and i thought i was doing something special! I just made the same recipe for potato salad last weekend, just added a little celery salt to the dressing and some yellow pepper for a little more crunch. but it still was DELICIOUS! and everybody loved it… i hate gloppy potato salad, i need some crunch! so much for the eureka/original moment, but good to know that i am not too far off you! Your food always looks so YUMMY!
I like this recipe which is pretty close to the one you’ve listed - http://urltea.com/x5b
The olives and capers are really nice in the salad.
Thanks for all your yummy treats for the 4th of July! I was totally stressed about the rain, but it turned out allright in the end!
ciao,
Joce
Ahhhh Potato Salad. I believe that dish is completely responsible for 10 pounds on my left thigh. One thing I won’t forget, going to the family reunion and finding five different types. Of course, I tried them all.
I just had some potato salad over the 4th similar to this from my grandma. She’s ruined me for life though… no potato salad is good enough next to hers. But that doesn’t keep me from trying new recipes. BTW, where’s the first picture from? I really love the composition, and it looks like a place I’d like to camp out for awhile, next to a woodstove brewing hot chocolate in the winter (not NOW, of course!).
That’s my mom’s potato salad too. Especially the eggs. I am not a huge potato salad fan, but this one I could eat, if only a small amount to be patriotic and kind.
I don’t think she swiped Roseanne’s recipe though, as I think she was making it long before Roseanne was a gleam in Johnny and June’s eyes.
Me? I prefer “Ring of Fire” for my off key Johnny Cash warbling, especially while dancing on tiptoe around the kitchen island. My 13-yr old grimaces in horror; thankfully I am cloistered away in my kitchen so as not to be seen as a total dork mom. Hhhmmph. Like I care.
Mary — I love the idea of carrots and radishes in there! Your mom was tres fancy. One-two rule, you don’t say… But then what would I feel bad about?
Lydia — Agreed, re: cider vinegar. In fact, it wasn’t in the original, but so many other recipes have it I knew it would be the je-ne-sais-quoi. Plus, the Russians have taught me the value of vinegar in all sorts of dishes you wouldn’t have guessed. Even Ina Garten finishes her lentil soup (or was it stew?) with two tablespoons of red wine vinegar. It always works.
jessie — You know, that’s a good point. We occasionally pick up organic wines from this one shop that has the best selection in our neighborhood, but I never specifically seek them out. I will have to do a comparison. Obviously, a task that will be unpleasant in every way. ;)
michelle — You did do something special! I love the idea of celery salt or seed; it totally makes the cole slaw sing every time.
JennBec — It’s from Maine last August. I think we took a bike ride around Kennebunkport. Actually, the whole set is one of my favorites.
Kate — Yes, that should have been a caveat. The Roseanne Cash recipe is exactly like everyone elses. In fact, I changed the proportion of almost every ingredient and added a couple extras, so I barely followed it. But I ate it with vigor. (And only mild guilt due to 20-calorie mayo and other frightening new-age finds.)
O.k…
I like 4th of July..I liked Walk the Line..I love potato salad..
this works for me! LOL!
Deb! I need to make a (galley) kitchen confessional. It’s Tina’s birthday so last night I made a chocolate cake from scratch off of Epicurious (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/101275) actually, I made two, one guinea pig I brought to work and one for today.Of course I modified the heck out of it and shaved off a bunch of sodium and fat, but this cake was rich enough to take it. I used a simple glaze and fresh sliced strawberries instead of all that ganache, as well.
Then today I made (am in the process of completing) your pearled barley and roast veggie salad, my lentils with carrot, leek, and spinach, which I will top with a crunchy crumbled mixture of red lentil, quinoa, and buckwheat (with ghee and tahini for flavor) that I usually use to make grain burgers, and on top of THAT will go your spiced cumin yogurt. Whew.
Props to you for being a muse, I learned about Epicurious from you, and was inspired to create this menu after seeing you indian trio last week. Unfortch for me she doesn’t care for curry, but the inspiration was still there.
3 years? and counting, you are still the best and most reliable place I know to go ;) I recommend you to EVERYONE I know who cooks. Totally strangers in the grocery store have gotten your blog address from me lady. Rachel Ray can eat my hat.
the glop factor totally turns me off to most potato salad, too. i’ve only really been exposed to the supermarket deli version. that has never in any way tempted me, but this is interesting…
Deb, you MUST go see Ratatouille. I know it’s a kids movie and all, but it’s about cooking and Paris and it’s wonderful.
It’s funny–I adore potato salad, especially with vinegar and oil, but don’t think I have ever made it. What am I waiting for?
Yo, I say no carrots, no radishes, no yellow peppers. Do what you want to your other potato salad recipes, but don’t f*ck with this potato salad. It is pure South in Your Mouth. I loved it so much at the Fourth of July. Thanks for bringing it to the party Debbie!!! It made your slightly homesick southern friend happy…