Mom's Perfect Potato Salad

Wash 4 lbs. of medium red potatoes.

Cut away any bad spots.

Put the potatoes in a Dutch oven and cover them with cool water. Add 1 T or so of kosher salt. Bring to a rapid boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Use a fork to test for doneness. You should feel a little resistance, but it should be easy to push the tines of the fork into the potato.

Drain the potatoes, then cover them in cool water. Remove their jackets.

Cut the cooled potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes.

Put room-temperature eggs into cool water. Bring to a boil.

Turn off the heat and put a lid on the pan. Let the eggs sit for 16 to 18 minutes, depending on how you like them done. (We give Mom a hard time about the sad state of her copper pans, but she says she'd rather cook with them than polish them.)

This is how our eggs looked after 18 minutes. Perfect!

Coarsely chop the eggs.

Dice 3 or 4 stalks of celery.

Chop 5 or 6 medium dill pickles.

Cut some good cheddar into small cubes. (This is Mom's perfect potato salad recipe, so I'm including the cheese because she does. I don't use it myself.)

Chop a handful of parsley. Mom prefers flat Italian parsley.

Combine about 1 c each of sour cream and mayonnaise. The amounts depend on how many potatoes you cooked and how you like your potato salad, but this is what Mom used for the 4 lbs. of potatoes we cooked today. Add 1 t of salt and 1/2 t of pepper.

Stir in 2 T of pickle vinegar.

Combine the potatoes, celery, pickles, cheese, and parsley. Pour the sour cream/mayonnaise over top and stir lightly.

Call Dad in to taste test. Adjust seasonings as he suggests. This is a critical step if you want truly perfect potato salad!

Mom always sets aside a small container full at this stage. No one wants to be around my nephew if he eats eggs.

Now we're ready to add the eggs and mix lightly. Don't stir too much or you'll end up with potato mush instead of salad.

I like to make potato salad several hours ahead and serve it chilled. Mom prefers to make hers just before the meal and serve it at room temperature. Try both ways and see what you like best. Just be sure you don't let mayonnaise-based foods sit at room temperature more than half an hour without refrigeration.