Savory Potato Salad, with a Kick

This week I have 2 different social days where I need to bring something delicious to eat. I stroller with another mom friend of mine on a weekly basis and she usually feeds me. This week I would like to contribute to lunch! I also have an all beach day with another mom friend the following day. We are planning on a picnic. Solution? Make one giant, delicious batch of savory potato salad, with a kick! 

I am not what I would consider a picky eater, but there are a few things in the food world that I prefer either savory or sweet. One of those things is potato salad. I am not real keen on potato salad made with sweet relish. I love it on burgers, not with potatoes. There are also just a few things in life that I feel confident in bragging about. Along with roasting chickens, chocolate chip cookies, and beef tacos is potato salad. This recipe is an hybrid of my own, originating from my mom and grandma's recipes.

As with most on my non-baking recipes, the ingredient measurements are a guesstimation and can be adjusted to suit your own taste.

I always use red potatoes for potato salad. They stay firm, and I love their smooth texture. I cooked about 12 medium red potatoes in for a big batch. Plop them in whole in boiling water with a healthy shot of Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. It gives a light hidden heat to the salad that takes it to the next level. If that thought doesn't thrill you, just add some salt.

SRIRACHA HOT CHILI SAUCE. Best of all? Made in the USA!

 

I peel half of the potatoes. I like the skins, but feel like it's overwhelming if you leave it on all the potatoes.

 I am so blessed to have a mom that has her own chickens, ergo, fresh eggs! I added 8 of them to boiling water for 10 minutes. I then immediately dumped the hot water and ran cold water over them for a minute or so to stop the cooking. I left them in chilled water till they are cool enough to peel. Cut them up and add to the warm potatoes.

 I love celery in potato salad. In my opinion, it NEEDS celery. If you are out of celery you can just use celery seed, although I do both. I finely cut about half a full sized celery stalk. I also added about 2/3 of a sweet onion.

 At this point I was running out of room in my biggest bowl, so back into the potato pot it all went. Into that went mayonnaise (Best Foods is my fave), plain ol' yellow mustard, a healthy dose of celery seed, a whole small jar of dill relish (I used Heinz this time) and a teaspoon of vinegar. Of course, if you're bent on using sweet relish you can substitute it for the dill.

Notice the red ring from cooking the potatoes in hot chili sauce?

 I spooned all the potato salad into several tupperwares to chill overnight. I like mine really cold, although I have some family members who like it while it's still warm. My own new addition to this recipe is the discovery of Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. My cousin brought it from a visit to New Orleans.

 If you want a lot of KICK to your salad be generous with it! I added just a little since the hubby doesn't like things too spicy and just add more to my own portions.

Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. Yummo!

ENJOY!!!