TATOR' SALAD

Hey ya'll let's make some tater salad. Well I'm no Paula Deen, heck I don't even look like her and I'm not nearly as young and pretty, but I do love to cook and I remember standing in a chair, peeling cooked potatoes when I was about 7 years old, for my mom to make Sunday dinner. This was done about once a month on Saturday night so Sunday afternoons would be free to visit family members or go window shopping after church. The object was that if dinner was ready after church then the rest of the day was free. Well I would peel those potatoes and the boiled eggs and mom would mix up the rest of the ingredients. This was a fun time for me because I had mom all to myself. But back to the salad, mom had particular things that she wanted in her salad and one thing was dill pickles. No sweet pickles for her because the mayonnaise made it sweet. Sometimes she made homemade dill pickles from cucumbers gathered from the garden at my grandma's house. Now they were so dill that your mouth would just about turn wrong-side out. I loved them just out of a churn before Grandma put them in a jar. But when they would set in the jars for about 2 weeks, they were delicious. I cant find these pickles any more so I have to settle for store-bought. No particular brand, just dill pickles. Now my mom would boil her potatoes and eggs together to save time and this probably saved energy in the 40's. I didn't learn that lesson until later in life from my mother-in-law. This is just one of the short cuts that my mom used. After the potatoes were done, she would pour on cold water to cool for about 30 minutes. They would set until just cool enough for me to handle. The peelings would come off very easy  when cooked this way. I didn't even have to use a knife. After this process, mom would mix everything together and refrigerate overnight. This marinated all the flavors together and it tasted great with crackers. Usually served with ham, baked beans, and slaw it was a taste to die for. I think Paula Deen would look cross-eyed.


4 or 5 lbs of potatoes cooked, peeled, and chopped*
6 large hard-cooked eggs chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2 large dill pickles chopped*
3 tbsp mustard
2 tsp celery seed or celery salt or stalks of celery (chopped)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika

Mix potatoes, eggs, onion, and mayonnaise. I use a food processor to chop the celery and pickles.
Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Refrigerate about 2 hours or overnight.

*I like Yukon Gold potatoes but my husband likes Red Skin.
*I use a dill relish sometimes instead of dill pickles. Use whatever is on hand.