My Grandmother was a bit on the cranky side. I loved her very much but she was bossy. She lived with my mom for 11 years, and she liked to tell everyone what to do and how to do it. She and I went round and round so many times. She liked to tell me how to cook, and I don't like being told how to cook. She also liked to tell me my ideas for recipes were terrible. I often made things she thought were bad ideas. And even if she liked them after I had made it, she would never say she was wrong. She would just ask me to make it again. That was when I knew she liked it.
My grandmother was a good cook, and I think she liked cooking. I never heard her say one way or another. But I saw her spend a lot of time in the kitchen. At Christmas time, she spent lots of time baking all kinds of desserts. She would bake enough to cover her dining room table with desserts. I can recall having to move desserts off the table so us kids could play games. We would sit and eat dessert and play. She would bake pies, candies, cakes, and cookies. I am not sure why she thought it necessary to make all those desserts, but it just wasn't Christmas to her without them. Even after moving to Idaho, she would make or have my mom make desserts at Christmas, and she would be upset if there weren't enough desserts. There were never enough people to eat all those desserts.
Unlike most kids, my favorite thing my grandma made wasn't any of those desserts. After moving away for college, any time I came home for a visit I would ask my grandma to make potato salad. She made the best potato salad. When I asked her how she made it she would begin by telling me she used red potatoes. I would get upset right away and miss everything else she said. Being a good Idahoan, you just don't use red potatoes in potato salad. We grow russets here and russets are what go in potato salads! Although, I still would ask her to make me potato salad.
As the years wore on and she became older, she began losing her sight. One day, I finally gave in and asked her to show me how to make her potato salad even with those darn red potatoes. To this day, I'm not sure if the red potatoes make a difference or not, but to honor my grandma I use red potatoes. As she showed me how to make the salad, I realized this recipe was like many of mine - no measurements. So as I give you the recipe I will do my best at giving measurements.
Grandma's Potato Salad
7 medium red potatoes
10 eggs
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
1/2 cup coarsely chopped sweet pickles
3 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup sweet pickle juice
Boil potatoes skin on until done but not too soft. Boil eggs until hard boiled. While potatoes and eggs are boiling, chop onion and pickles. After potatoes are done, peel and cut up while still hot. Pieces of potato should be on the larger size. Mix potatoes, onions, and pickles in a large mixing bowl and put in refrigerator to chill. Peel and chop 8 of the 10 eggs, place in a separate bowl and chill. Peel the 2 extra eggs and set aside for use later. After all ingredients are chilled, mix mayo and pickle juice with a wire whisk. Mix eggs, and mayo mixture in with the potato mixture in the large mixing bowl. It should seem like there is too much mayo mixture. If there is just enough or not enough, mix more mayo mixture and mix in. The potatoes will absorb some of the dressing. Pour the potato salad into a serving bowl. Quarter the 2 remaining eggs and use to garnish. This salad is best made at least the day before serving.
Spending time at Grandma's gave me opportunities to experience new things. We went to Marine World. I visited the ocean for the first time with Grandma. I got my introduction to computers while I was there. Of course, it was a Commodore 64, but it was a computer none the less. My grandma was great at introducing me to new things. She on the other hand didn't really care for new things. She liked things the way they were. She liked the food she liked and didn't need to try anything new. Me on the other hand likes to try new things. I like finding new recipes to test out. When I would find a good one, I wanted to share it with my grandma. She liked to tell me that they were bad ideas. One of those recipes was my Chicken & Fruit Salad. She said it sounded awful. But she ate it and loved it.
