I’ve been making potato salad recipes for years and years now. All along, I’ve really just been using the same recipe. I have these standard Hellmann’s potato salad recipe that you used to find on the back of the jar that I’ve been using all this time and it is always worked well. This last time, when I decided to make some potato salad as a side dish for dinner, I wanted to try something a little bit different. I went searching for recipes and came across this one from Alton Brown on the Food Network’s website. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a recipe of his that I haven’t liked, so I thought I would give it a try.

Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad

2 1/2 pounds red potatoes, large diced
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tablespoon very thinly sliced garlic
3 tablespoons finely chopped cornichons
1/2 cup small dice red onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the potatoes into a large heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Cover the potatoes with cold water and place the pot over medium heat. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and remove the lid. Gently simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the potatoes and place them in an ice bath to cool. Remove the skins from the potatoes. Slice the potatoes into rounds and place them into a zip top bag. Add the vinegar and toss to coat all of the potatoes. Place the bag into the refrigerator overnight.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, parsley, tarragon, garlic, cornichons, onions, and celery. Once everything is evenly combined, add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Allow the salad to chill in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving.

If you have never used cornichons before, they are those little tiny pickles that you can find in many of your local supermarkets. I did not have any red potatoes on hand, so I did use some russet potatoes instead and I think everything turned out just fine. Adding the vinegar ahead of time and allowing the potatoes to marinate overnight does seem to make a good difference in the taste. There were also a few things in this salad that I never added before, including the cornichons, garlic and mustard powder. You can really taste the mustard powder and it does come through quite nicely. I would certainly recommend this recipe and I’ll be using it again. The salad tasted even better the next day once it had time to sit and the flavors were allowed to meld.

That’s all I have for today. Check back again next time to see some of the recipes that I’ve tried out this week, including a pork chop with cherries, a crispy high roasted chicken and potatoes recipe and some others that I have been working on. Until next time, enjoy the rest of your day, and enjoy your meal!