This crowd-size recipe comes courtesy of Williamsburg, Va., resident Janice Canaday, who is a historical interpreter, caterer and avid home cook. She was selected as a tradition bearer of Virginia foodways for the 2007 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington.
Make Ahead: The potato salad needs to be refrigerated for a few hours, and up to 1 day, in advance.
Servings: 10 - 14 When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.
When you scale a recipe, keep in mind that cooking times and temperatures, pan sizes and seasonings may be affected, so adjust accordingly. Also, amounts listed in the directions will not reflect the changes made to ingredient amounts.
Tested size: 10-14 servings; makes 11 cups
Ingredients
- 3 pounds yellow or white potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more as needed
- 2 cups Hellmann's mayonnaise
- 1 cup Mt. Olive No Sugar Added Sweet Relish
- 4 ribs celery, cut into small dice (about 2 cups)
- 4 large hard-cooked eggs, cut into small dice (or crumbled; see NOTE)
- 1 large sweet onion, cut into small dice (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
- 1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut into small dice (about 1 cup)
- 3 to 5 small mixed sweet peppers (yellow, orange and red), stemmed, seeded and cut into small dice (1/2 cup total)
- 2 tablespoons French's yellow mustard
- 1 1/2 teaspoons celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
Directions
Place the potatoes in a large pot of water, add a generous pinch of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, gently stirring once or twice, just until the potatoes can be pierced with a fork, about 8 minutes. Drain thoroughly and let cool.
In a large bowl, stir stir together the mayonnaise, relish, celery, eggs, onion, green bell pepper, mixed-color sweet peppers, mustard, salt, celery seed, dill and mayonnaise. Add the potatoes and toss to coat evenly. Taste, and season with more salt, if desired.
Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.
NOTE: To hard-cook eggs, fill a bowl with ice cubes and water. Fill a medium saucepan with a few inches of water; bring to just under a boil over medium heat. Place a steamer basket with the eggs in it on top and cover; let steam for 12 minutes, then remove from the heat. Transfer the eggs to the ice-water bath; let them sit for 5 minutes, or until cooled, before peeling.
Recipe Source
Adapted from Janice Canaday of Williamsburg, Va., by food historian Michael Twitty.
Tested by Bonnie S. Benwick.
Email questions to the Food Section at food@washpost.com.
