Category: Salads

Chunky Potato Salad

aunt euly's potato salad

Today I’m sharing a classic picnic salad recipe…Aunt Euly’s Chunky Potato Salad, just in time for the Fourth of July.  This potato salad recipe is my favorite!  I’ve mentioned in the past just how often my family had gatherings when I was growing up.  Food was always at the center of these gatherings and Aunt Euly was the potato salad queen!  Of course, like many recipes handed down from our ancestors, this potato salad came with no measurements.  So with help from my cousin, Nancy, we came up with this recipe.

The potatoes are crucial, after all this is POTATO salad.  I should have cooked the potatoes just a few minutes longer.  The potatoes should be tender all the way through but still hold their shape.  After researching the internet, I found a few guidelines.

Start your potatoes in cold water.

Season the water with a little salt, vinegar and sugar, (about 1 tbsp. of each per quart).  I’m not sure that Aunt Euly did this, but I like this suggestion.

Dice potatoes to a uniform size, I tried to stay at 1/2-inch.

The next time I make Aunt Euly’s Chunky Potato Salad I will not only pierce the potatoes with a fork to check them, I will also taste to make sure they are cooked perfectly.

 

Chunky Potato Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • 3 lb. potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 c. mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp. yellow mustard
  • ½ c. chopped onion
  • 6 sweet Gerkins, chopped
  • 4 eggs, boiled (you will use the yolks only)
  • ¼ tsp. Season All
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • pinch salt
Instructions
  1. Place peeled and cubed potatoes in cold water, seasoned with 1 tbsp. salt, vinegar, and sugar per quart. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, but not falling apart. Drain and run cold water over potatoes. Drain well, set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine the mayonnaise, mustard, onion, chopped pickles, chopped egg yolks, Season All, pepper and salt. Add potatoes and toss well to coat. Refrigerate.

Perfect Chicken Salad

Great Chicken Salad

All Southerners should have a good chicken salad in their recipe box. After all, would any of us be married or have babies without it? It has always been a staple among my family and friends at any wedding or baby shower.

I have been making this chicken salad recipe for as long as I can remember. Occasionally, I will try something different, but this is always my favorite and the one I always return to.

I like to keep my chicken salad simple, and this is perfect, with only six ingredients. I don’t care for relish, onions, pecans, or grapes like so many chicken salads have.

My favorite way to cook tender chicken for chicken salad is in my crockpot. I cook my chicken in the crockpot at night while sleeping. Then, in the morning, I remove it to a plate to cool slightly before chopping or shredding.

This is a good base recipe, but if you like the extra fancy stuff, add your Ranch dressing mix, bacon, shredded cheese, grapes, crushed pineapple, apples, or nuts to make this suit your taste.

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Perfect Chicken Salad

Course Salad
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts cooked and chopped or shredded
  • 1 to 2 cups mayonnaise to taste
  • 1/2 to 3/4 cup chopped celery
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon poppy seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  • In a large bowl mix the chopped chicken, mayonnaise, celery, mustard, poppy seeds and salt.
  • Serve right away or refrigerate.

 

 

Died and Gone to Pimento Cheese Heaven

Died-and-gone-to-pimento-cheese-heaven

 

This delicious pimento cheese is in honor of The Masters Tournament!  The Masters is held the first full week of April at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.  Greg and I were both born and raised in the Atlanta area.  We moved away from family, friends, and everything we had ever known when Wes was 5 and Savannah was 2 years old to Augusta.  We lived there for 6 years and made many wonderful memories.  We still keep in touch with great friends there.  While living in Augusta we had the opportunity to attend the Masters almost every year, and have been able to go back a few times since leaving Augusta, including the Par 3 this week.

The Augusta National is a sight to behold.  My dad was a huge golf fan and I can’t help but think of him when I’m out there.  I know it’s a place he would have loved going.  Here are just a few of the photos that we were able to take on Wednesday.  You can tell that we are Bubba fans by looking at these pictures.  We lived in the same area of Florida that Bubba was from.  In fact, Wes went to high school where Bubba did and Savannah attended the elementary school that he went to.

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This is the second pimento cheese recipe that I have on  NJSD.  The first recipe was among the first recipes I ever posted.  Still a delicious pimento cheese, and probably more like the Augusta National pimento cheese, (if you make it with cheddar), than this recipe.  However, when stumbled across this recipe on food.com and saw the ingredient list I tried it right away.  The main reason was 1/2 cup mayonnaise.  I really don’t care for a strong mayonnaise taste.  After I made it the first time I knew that I had found my Masters week recipe.  The Augusta National is famous for their egg salad sandwiches and pimento cheese sandwiches, which you can get for $1.50 each.  I really think this pimento cheese is better than my old pimento cheese recipe and even the Augusta National recipe!  I love the addition of garlic powder and onion powder and the four cheeses are a great combination.  The cream cheese and the Monterey Jack cheese give this salad it’s creaminess.   The Cheddar adds that great sharp flavor and then you get that extra little oomph with the extra sharp Cheddar.

So even if I’m at home Sunday, watching the finish on the television instead of the golf course.  I’ll be enjoying my afternoon, watching to see who wins the green jacket, and snacking on this delicious pimento cheese!

 

Died and Gone to Pimento Cheese Heaven
 
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Ingredients
  • 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • ½ c. Vermont extra-sharp White Cheddar cheese, grated
  • ¾ c. sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
  • 1 c. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
  • ½ c. mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp. red wine vinegar
  • 4 oz. diced pimientos, drained
  • ½ tsp. onion powder
  • ½ tsp. garlic powder
  • ½ tsp. paprika
  • pinch of cayenne pepper or dash of hot sauce
  • fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. With an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese.
  2. Add the other cheeses, mayonnaise, vinegar, pimientos, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, and black pepper and beat until creamy and combined.
  3. Cover and refrigerate for about a hour before serving.
Notes
Great on sandwiches, with corn chips, crackers or celery and carrots.

 

Small Tomato (Cherry, Grape, etc.) Caprese Salad

Small Tomato Caprese Salad

 

One of my favorite things about summer is the fresh vegetables!  Especially homegrown tomatoes!   I picked up these delicious tomatoes recently at the store.  Of course, homegrown is always better but these were great in this caprese salad.  Caprese salads are simple to make but full of wonderful flavor.  This salad is best served right away.  I try to prepare only the amount that I think we will eat at one meal.

Small Tomato (Grape, Cherry, etc.) Caprese Salad
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 lb. (4 to 5 cups) small tomatoes (cherry, grape, or slightly larger)
  • 8-oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into ½-inch cubes
  • ¼ c. extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • fresh basil leaves, to taste (about 15 to 20, depending on size)
  • Sea salt or kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
  1. Slice all of the tomatoes in half and place in a large bowl. Add cubed mozzarella, olive oil, and vinegar. Add basil, tearing larger leaves if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss.
  2. Serve immediately.