Today was our annual school picnic.
It's a potluck-type lunch with lots of salads, sweet tea, and strawberry desserts. :)
In my opinion, no picnic is complete without potato salad.
And if you're like me, not just any potato salad will work.
I'm pretty picky about my potato salad.
I like my potatoes grated, not diced.
I like a sweeter (but not TOO sweet) dressing with just a bit of zing.
My grandma USED to have the best recipe.
That is, until I discovered "Cretora's Potato Salad".
Cretora is a relative of my husband and makes the. best. potato salad ever.
Period.
Since discovering her recipe (and it's original with her!),
I haven't even wanted to make any other potato salad.
It's that good.
Try it for YOUR Memorial Day picnic or next potluck dinner.
You will make new friends.
You will take home an empty dish.
And you will never make any other potato salad.
Ok, so maybe you're not like me, but I'll share the recipe in case
you want to make new friends. ;)
CRETORA'S POTATO SALAD
serves 25
5 lbs potatoes (cooked, peeled, and grated)
6 hard boiled eggs (peeled and diced)
3/4 - 1 cup sweet onion (minced)
1 cup celery (diced)
dressing:
2 cups heavy (whipping) cream (this is the secret ingredient!)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 T salt
2 cups Miracle Whip (I use mayonnaise; use whichever your prefer)
3 T vinegar
3 T lemon juice
3 T mustard
1 tsp celery seed
Mix potatoes, eggs, onions, and celery in a large bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together all dressing ingredients. Add to potato mixture. Refrigerate overnight for flavors to meld. Garnish with additional hard boiled egg slices and parsley if desired.
Linking to:
From the Farmhouse
My mom was known for her delicious potato salad. Almost any time we went to a picnic/cookout, family reunion, etc, she would be TOLD to bring potato salad. I've watched her make it many times and I asked her for advice when trying to re-create it. No matter what, mine never tastes quite the same as hers. Unfortunately, she didn't have a recipe.
ReplyDeleteI said all that to say that I am looking for an amazing potato salad recipe since I can't make it like mom did.
I am going to give this one a try and am glad you shared this recipe.
I've looked at it in the cookbook a few times, but wondered if it was REALLY good or not. :)
I hope you aren't disappointed. :) I REALLY like this recipe and I have never heard of anyone that doesn't like it but potato salad is something that each person has their idea of what it should taste like. That's too bad your mom didn't have a recipe. If it was that good (to be TOLD to bring it), it should have been preserved. Maybe you will find something close.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to trying this recipe. When we get together, there is one lady that is TOLD to bring her salad, but this one may make me the recipient of the order instead... who knows, different tastes?
ReplyDeleteI'm trying this today! I always thought my aunt had the best potato salad. I've heard of Cretora's recipes and I'm sure this is a good one.
ReplyDeleteGina
Interesting - the cream intrigues me. I am very loyal to the potato salad I got from my best friend's aunt. It's not grated and it's made in the French style. here's the link, if you want to take a look:
ReplyDeletehttp://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2010/03/dark-days-week-15-sausage-potato-salad.html
My grandmother always used evaporated milk rather than heavy cream, but otherwise pretty much the same recipe. Her potato salad was legendary. I stopped using it trying to be "more healthy," and it's never been quite the same. Normally I believe in all things in moderation, but I have zero control when it comes to potato salad so I'm still going to try to cut back on the fat. I'm thinking of trying buttermilk next batch; has anyone ever tried that?
ReplyDeleteCretora's Potato Salad IS fantastic and I'm doubly biased because she is my mother. What makes it even better than heavy whipping cream is raw Jersey cream from the gentle brown-eyed cow in our barnyard. Raw cream contains important fat and enzymes needed for health. I learned how to preserve raw cream by canning it as detailed in the Healthy Choices Cookbook. It is no longer raw at that point, but a heap better than purchased evaporated milk.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I sure enjoy your blog. I'd love to have you give me pointers on several areas in our house. If you ever get to Macon, Mississippi, be sure to let me know and I'll show you some problem areas that I'm lacking inspiration on. Until you get here, do you have any ideas on what can be done with an open concrete patio, no roof, stark gray concrete. Not only does the area get baked in the sun, it also gets drenched with the numerous southern winter rains, it's not cozy, has no curb appeal whatsoever. Currently I have one lone wood rocking chair, painted white, and a ten-gallon milk can which lacks the entire bottom of the can (painted red) sitting on the right side of the patio doors. To the left is a wood barrel with petunias and other flowering annuals. Otherwise the large patio is bare. I need help!
Thank you, Lois Ann! I will be sure to remember to look you up if we ever get in the area. :)
DeleteRegarding your patio, I don't have any ideas without seeing it. Does your husband have building skills? We built a pergola and it's amazing how much it adds to the patio. I have hyacinth bean vines growing up the one side. They didn't do well this year but I'm going to try again next year and do some things different. My mom grows them and they're very hardy and provide beautiful shade. I don't know if they'd grow in MS or not but you could probably look it up online. They're an annual and grow from seed. If you think it will work for you, I would be glad to send you some seeds. Check out my recent post that shows our patio as it looks now. Maybe you will get some ideas. :) (Susan is the one who gave me the washtubs!) :)
Was craving this recipe and realized that I never commented on it. :) I wanted to tell you that I'm not a big fan of potato salad but this stuff...oh my. It is so good...I have a hard time stopping! I'm not a fan of crunchy stuff in my potato, macaroni, whatever salad (I know, I'm weird), so I just blended the onions and celery with some of the dressing and it worked perfectly!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!