Valerie's Potato Salad

Carrie Capon and Liz circa 1984

I lived in Mastic Beach & Shirley, NY for 17 years. While there, my daughter, Liz, met a girl named Carrie Capon. Her parents and Jorge and I became fast friends. Jorge and Bob shared the love of computers. While Valerie and I shared the loved of cooking and sharing time with our daughters. We were even Girl Scout leaders for our daughters' troop! While Bob and I shared the love of Star Trek. So much so that I went with he and his brothers and family friends to the Noon showing of each consequent Star Trek Movie that premiered. It was so great to share the love of that show with others. It was one of the contributing facts that attracted me to Dave Cates. He loved Star Trek too! While in the Air Force and living in Germany, he met his first wife Kim. It was also during the time that Star Trek: Next Generation aired, only once a week. He was such a fanatic, that he asked that his wedding to his first wife, Kim, be postponed a couple of hours in order to see an episode! No DVR back then!!!! So it was definitely love between he and I!!

The final frontier...these are the voyages of my life. My life-time mission: to explore wonderful new adventures, to seek out new people and ideas, to boldly go where no woman has gone before.

Anyway....you know when you meet someone and they make the BEST something EVER! So why would you EVER want anyone else to make that same thing because it will NEVER measure you! Well, Valerie made the BEST potato salad I have EVER tasted. So she was always designated potato salad maker for any outing, BBQ, picnic or dinner. She shared her recipe and I make it EXACTLY the way she does and NOW I am the person that is requested to bring my potato salad - thanks Valerie for the 17 years of friendship and wonderful potato salad recipe!

Clockwise from Liz: Jorge, some mom, Valerie and Stephanie
Girl Scout Troop event circa 1984

Valerie's Potato Salad:

5lb bag of medium to small red potatoes

Salt

4 cups Hellman's Mayonnaise or Best Mayonnaise (same company)

1lg finely diced onion

6 stalks finely diced celery

12 eggs boiled - dice 4 and slice two for garnish

2 tbsp dill weed

1 tbsp pepper 

Salt to taste

Paprika to sprinkle over top

This recipe is NOT about the ingredients but the preparation. Follow this recipe and you will see the difference. Place the bag of red potatoes into a large stock or soup pot cover the potatoes completely by at least one inch. TIP: make sure that the potatoes are about the same size. Cut one in half if much larger than the others. Bring potatoes to a boil, cook for 20 minutes and turn off and let sit until the water is cold. I usually do at night turn off and then make the next morning. Once cold, dice the potatoes into 1 inch cubes into a bowl and set aside. They do break slightly when mixing and serving so starting out with a bigger cube is preferable.

Boil at least 12 eggs in water. Again cover by at least an inch. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes and then turn off and let sit until water is cool. Peel and dice at least 8. Slice 4 for the garnish on top. Set these aside.

In a large mixing put the diced onion, celery, mayonnaise, dill weed, salt and pepper mix thoroughly. Then add the diced eggs and fold into the creamy mixture. Now gently add the potatoes into the creamy mixture. Folding with a large mixing spatula. Once completely mixed. Cover with plastic and place into the refrigerator for at least 6 hours. Remove and gently fold again - add more mayonnaise with dill weed, salt and pepper if necessary. Be careful NOT to over salt! Place is a serving bowl at this point. Strategically place the sliced eggs on top of the salad and sprinkle with paprika to garnish. Cover and sit in refrigerator for at least another 2 hours.

I promise you will get MANY compliments about your terrific potato salad. But diverting from this recipe in any way, may make if different and not as good. Enjoy!