Potato Salad And A Pink Princess Picnic

How do you celebrate the end of Camp Bubbe and usher in the new school year?

With a pink princess picnic, of course!

Around here tiaras and the color pink are priorities. Remy likes to wear her tiara, while Rory prefers to place hers on the heads of her favorite toys.

Either way, both girls love to be pretend princesses. And with Uncles Max and Sam, as well as Bubbe doting on them, their royal status is secure.

We started preparing for today’s picnic yesterday. By adding a little pink paste food coloring to my French bread sourdough recipe (See my post, If You Give A Girl A Starter for the recipe.) during the kneading stage, we were able to produce a lovely millenial pink roll.

Remy asked if she could plate their lunches. Of course, I said yes. She chose pink Goldfish as their sidedish.

Next, we added a pink tint to Sister Pie’s Rose Pistachio Shortbread recipe. Friends, I am so excited to tell you that I have been given permission to share that recipe with you. Much more on Sister Pie, shortbread and roses in my next post.

I was hoping to have had it done by now, but a certain princess (Rory) swiped the cookies that were put aside for the photos.

Raspberry pink lemonade with maraschino cherries was our picnic beverage of choice, Rory remarking that the cherries at the bottom of the glass were, “Magic.”

And while I’ve never seen a maraschino cherry turn a frog into a prince, I will admit that their sticky sweet presence never fails to make me smile. That’s pretty magical if you ask me.

Lastly, I assisted Chef Remy in preparing my grandma’s potato salad.

This potato salad was a staple in my childhood, served every Easter along with the ham. It also garnered a blue ribbon when I made it in an elementary school 4-H cooking competition. It was the first successful dish I ever served to someone outside of my family. Grandma was thrilled, as was I.

Though Remy and Rory have no interest in potato salad, I hope you all will enjoy it. It’s a fairly standard version of Southern potato salad, incorporating hard boiled eggs.

The olives with pimento give it a nice punch, and the mayo we always used was Blueplate.

For years, I hated making potato salad or deviled eggs because I could never get the eggs boiled just right.

A few years ago, my niece, Sommer, shared her method with me. I tried it once and it has never failed me. I lower the eggs into the boiling water carefully with a slotted spoon, and set a timer.

The eggs are always cooked beautifully and peel with ease.

Sommer’s No-fail Hard Boiled Eggs

Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Lower eggs gently into the water with a slotted spoon.

Set a timer for 12 minutes.

After 12 minutes drain the eggs into a colander and immerse them in ice-water, or simply set aside until they are cool enough to peel.

Watch Chef Remy make the potato salad here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7zKB8z0Lw0&t=51s

Grandma's Blue Ribbon Potato Salad

4 medium potatoes

4 hard boiled eggs

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1/4 cup diced olives with pimentos

5 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Quarter potatoes. Place in a small pot and cover with water. Boil until potatoes are tender. Drain and set aside to cool.

Peel then chop hardboiled eggs into small pieces.

Peel the potatoes and chop into small pieces.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with a sprinkle of paprika and sliced olives, if desired.

Serves 6

* Lemon juice or white vinegar may be substituted for the apple cider vinegar.

* If you are a fan of jarred giardiniera, you can substitute it for the olives. The giardiniera pickling juice can also replace the vinegar. Be careful, though. While I love the salad this way, my family found it way too briny.