Southern Potato Salad

I just had a family BBQ.  My two brothers, two sisters, all the kids and my parents came over to my house.  I can't remember the last time we were all together.  It was a lot of people and a lot of fun!  In addition to the grilled meats, I wanted to make a side dish that's not only delicious, but easy to make in a large quantity.  I had a lot of mouths to feed!  Good old fashioned Southern Potato Salad was the perfect choice.  What goes better with hot barbecue than cold potato salad?  Here's the recipe:

*Note:  I doubled this recipe and it made a ton!  We fed almost 30 people and had leftovers.

SOUTHERN POTATO SALAD

5 lbs Idaho potatoes (these have the right starch content)
5 eggs, hard boiled*
1/4 of a large onion, grated
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 TBS yellow mustard
3 TBS sweet pickle relish
2 TBS dill pickle juice
Tony Chacherre's creole seasoning
salt, pepper

Peel potatoes.  (Tip:  Have a big bowl of water ready.  After you peel each potato, put it in the bowl of water.  This will keep them from turning brown).  Cut into cubes, try to make them all relatively the same size (so they'll cook evenly).  Place potatoes in a large pot.  Cover with cold water (just enough water to cover the potatoes).  Bring to a boil, then salt the water generously.  This is where the potatoes get seasoned so be sure to add enough salt.  Boil, stirring occasionally, until a fork slides easily into the potatoes.  (I can't tell you exactly how long to boil them because it depends on how big you cut your potatoes).  Just keep checking them until they are fork tender.

When done, drain the potatoes.  I like to mix this in my stand mixer.  It makes it easier, but you can do it by hand in a big bowl.

Put the potatoes in a big bowl, then add the grated onion, mayo, mustard, sweet relish, pickle juice and mix everything together.

Season to taste with Tony's creole seasoning, salt and pepper.  Lastly, stir in chopped boiled eggs.

*How to hard boil eggs:  In case you don't know how to hard boil eggs, here's an easy way to do it.

Place eggs in a pot.  Cover with COLD water (just enough to cover the eggs).

Bring to a boil.  Then, put the lid on the pot, remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, fill a big bowl with ice and water.  When the 15 minutes is up, immediately transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice water.

This stops the cooking process and makes the eggs easier to peel.  Another tip:  Older eggs are easier to peel.  Buy your eggs about a week before you boil them and they'll peel a lot easier.  See how the shell just slides off.

So, there's the recipe for a delicious, old fashioned potato salad.  I hope you get to make it for a family BBQ like I did.  It was so nice to have everyone together again (even my semi-annoying brothers who live to aggravate me).  Enjoy your summer and enjoy your family!