By Kelly Bogard

How many of you like potato salad? Well, at Texas Table Top, we love potato salad, but we can’t decide which one is best. With Labor Day weekend approaching, I asked several coworkers at Texas Farm Bureau to bring their favorite potato salad recipe. The response was great! Every person brought a completely different recipe. There was no way we could pick just one winner, so we decided to share them all.  So for this week’s recipe, we’re having a Potato Salad Potluck.

Cindy Wennin, Penny Cox, Amanda Hill and Curt Lancaster all brought their favorite potato salad recipes for us to enjoy.  The ladies made theirs, while Curt enlisted the help of his lovely wife, Bonnie.  Each salad is distinctively different.  Cindy’s put a tangy twist on a classic with ranch dressing and jalapenos.  Penny proved bacon makes everything better with a recipe she found online.  Amanda used fresh herbs to take her personal recipe to the next level, and Curt (aka Bonnie) added sweet peppers for a major crunch, with the help of Granny.
potato salad makers

 

A special thank you to all of those who participated by either cooking or tasting. We all had a great time. As we head into the Labor Day weekend and the unofficial end of summer, try some of these recipes with your family and friends, and let us know what you think. Or, send me your potato salad recipe. 

Be safe, have fun and from all of us at Texas Table Top, enjoy!

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Recipe: Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

SummaryA spicy addition to a summer favorite

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 7 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-3/4 inch cubes
  • 1 (20 oz.) package hickory smoked bacon, chopped
  • 1 bunch green onions
  • 1 roasted jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (optional)
  • 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
  • Large bowl of ice water
  • 1 package ranch salad dressing mix
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 cup milk

   

Instructions

  • Prepare ranch dressing package according to the directions and refrigerate.
  • Boil the potatoes in slightly salted water until just tender.
  • Remove from heat and drain.
  • Shock the potatoes in ice water to stop them from overcooking.
  • Roast jalapeno under the broiler until the skin is black. You also can roast the pepper over a gas flame or on an electric stove.
  • Once cooked, place the pepper in a bowl. Cover the bowl to loosen the skin.
  • Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Cook chopped bacon in the heated skillet until crispy.
  • While the bacon is cooking, chop the tops of the green onions; shred the cheese; and skin, seed and finely chop the jalapeno.
  • Drain ice water from the potatoes.
  • Combine ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Refrigerate.

  

Prep time (duration): 45 minutes

Number of servings (yield): 6-8

Recipe courtesy of Cindy Wennin, adapted from a recipe by Damaris Neelley

Note: The size of the jalapeno depends completely on your heat tolerance. You can leave it out completely, if you’d like.

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Recipe: Best Ever Potato Salad

Summary: Bacon makes everything better, even potato salad

Best Ever Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 4 cups cubed red potatoes
  • 10 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • ½ medium green pepper, chopped

   

Instructions

  • Boil potatoes until fork tender.
  • Drain potatoes and set aside.
  • While the potatoes boil, cook bacon until crisp in skillet over low-medium heat.
  • Remove bacon with slotted spoon, and place on paper towel-lined plate to drain.
  • Reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings.
  • Add mayonnaise, mustard, sugar and salt to the reserved bacon drippings, and whisk to combine.
  • In a large bowl, mix potatoes, eggs, celery, onion and green pepper.
  • Pour dressing over the potato mixture and gently stir to evenly coat.
  • Stir in the bacon.
  • Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

  

Prep time (duration): 45 minutes

Number of servings (yield): 8-10

Recipe courtesy of Penny Cox, as seen on www.browneyedbaker.com

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Recipe: Picnic Potato Salad

Summary: Fresh herbs liven up a picnic favorite

Picnic Potato Salad

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds baking potatoes
  • 1 cup light mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
  • 1 ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped

  

Instructions

  • Fill large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat.
  • While the water is heating, wash, peel and cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
  • Boil potatoes in a large pot with 1 tsp. salt until potatoes are fork tender.
  • While potatoes are cooking, whisk together mayonnaise and yellow mustard.
  • Add in chopped fresh dill, rosemary and ½ tsp. salt to dressing mixture.
  • When potatoes are soft, drain water and place potatoes in refrigerator to cool.
  • When potatoes have cooled, fold in dressing and chopped egg.
  • Refrigerate until ready to serve.

  

Prep time (duration): 45 minutes

Number of servings (yield): 6-8

Recipe courtesy of Amanda Hill

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Recipe: Granny’s Chunky Red Tater Salad

SummaryA family recipe for potato perfection

Granny’s Chunky Red Tater Salad

Ingredients

  • 5 large red potatoes, dark spots or areas removed
  • 3 stalks celery, de-threaded
  • 4 green onions
  • ¼ green pepper
  • 3 slices peppered bacon, fully cooked to a crisp
  • 1 red sweet mini-pepper
  • 1 yellow sweet mini-pepper
  • 1 orange sweet mini-pepper
  • 3 heaping tablespoons dill pickle relish
  • 3 heaping tablespoons sweet pickle relish
  • 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
  • Dill seasoning to taste

  

Instructions

  • Place whole potatoes into large sauce pan or dutch oven with water to cover the potatoes. Cook on medium-high heat until potatoes are fork tender.
  • Once done, remove from heat, and allow potatoes to cool completely.
  • Chop all vegetables into small pieces; mix in a separate bowl.
  • Add dill and sweet relish to the vegetables; mix well.
  • Chop peppered bacon into small pieces and then stir into vegetable/relish mix.
  • Chop cooled potatoes, with skins on, into bite-sized chunks.
  • Using a larger bowl, mix vegetable/relish with chopped potatoes, add mayonnaise and mix well.
  • Add dill seasoning to suit your taste.
  • Add salt and/or black pepper to taste.
  • Refrigerate overnight or at least eight hours.

  

Prep time (duration): 45 minutes

Number of servings (yield): 4

Recipe courtesy of Bonnie Lancaster

A hint from Granny: Start with all chilled vegetables, relishes and mayonnaise. If you plan on serving your potato salad a few days after you’ve purchased your ingredients, be sure to refrigerate the vegetables, relishes and a new jar of mayonnaise until you are ready to start preparing the potato salad.

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