My theory about Potato Salad: Nobody likes potato salad. The standard fare deli salads, unless you are lucky, are disgusting to say the least. I was an adult before I had potato salad that tickled my fancy. And now I’m fairly obsessed with it, and usually to my disappointment I’ll try it wherever I go.
This love/hate relationship forced me to try my hand at it myself. There are a few certainties with my potato salad: no sweet things, and no eggs. I’ve had plenty of potato salads with eggs that I liked, but it is always my least favorite part, and in bad potato salads it is down right scary. And I’m just generally morally opposed of mixing sweet and savory on principal. There are always exceptions, but usually only with thai food, or quails stuffed with sausage and figs. So no sweet pickles PLEASE.

My basic recipe is to boil a buncha potatoes and then add whatever is in the crisper along with mayo, mustard, vinegar and a load of spices. But after being asked repeatedly for “my recipe” I finally broke it down. Mr. Meathead kindly took dictation as I hollered out quantities, all hail.
“I swear this is the only potato salad I’ve ever liked” Potato Salad Recipe

8 Medium Sized Potatoes (the regular kind)
1/2 cup Cider Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 cup Mayonaise
1 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/8 teaspoon Celery Seed
1/8 teaspoon Curry Powder
1/8 teaspoon Paprika
a whole lotta Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons Dill Pickle Relish (or chop yer own damn pickle)
2 tablespoons finely chopped Onion
2 finely chopped Scallions
2 tablespoons fine chopped Italian Parsley
2 stalks chopped Celery
1/2 medium to large grated Carrot
1 chopped Red Bell Pepper

Wash and boil your potatoes. Do not peel. Boil 20-25 minutes until done, do not over cook so skin is peeling. Drain and let cool until you can handle them with out burning yourself, then chop into 1″ or 1/2″ chunks (I don’t peel my potatoes, I like the skins). Mix sea salt with cider vinegar and dribble over potatoes stirring gently until coated. Let cool in fridge for an hour or overnight.
Whisk olive oil and lemon juice into mayonaise. A nice way to fake homemade, yo. Add all spices and chopped veggies and stir. Let stand in fridge for an hour or two or more to let flavors blend.
Turn dressing/veggie mixture into chilled potatoes. I like to whip them up a little bit to get some potato creaminess action going, but that is up to you. Put into attractive and kitchy salad bowl and sprinkle top with a little bit of paprika. Serve chilled.
Variations: As stated, this salad is usually made on the fly. The most frequent and exciting variations are:

Chopped Salad Olives
Garlic, Rosemary, random Fresh Herbs sauteed in Olive Oil
Using Brown Arty Mustards instead of Yellow
Tabasco!
Creole Seasonings or Cayenne Pepper (I like hot things, woo)

I’m eating it right now. It is really good.