Potato salad is an expected staple as a side dish at a BBQ in our house.  I like to keep it simple.  I like using Yukon Gold potatoes as they have a nice meaty, buttery flavor. I peel, boil, and cool them down while I’m prepping the other ingredients.  And of course, we need hard-boiled eggs as well.  Fresh green onion is our preference to add in, but if you don’t have that on hand, a little bit of finely diced white onion works too.  Celery is added for crunch.  If we don’t have that, then we grate up a couple of carrots.  We like to use mayonnaise in a potato salad, but a plain yogurt also works.  Any type of mustard is fine, but Dijon adds a little kick.  Have some salt and pepper for seasoning.

The other side dish is deviled eggs – one of my favorites any time of the year.  I use Dijon, white vinegar and Worcestershire sauce to mix in and have smoked paprika to top them off.

These are great dishes to both serve at home and to take over to friends (when we are able to do so).  They can be made a day in advance for convenience.

For the hard-boiled eggs, I boil them for about 12 minutes, rinse out the hot water with cold water for a couple of minutes, and then add in a ton of ice to cool them down quickly.  This makes peeling the shells so easy.

Potato Salad

Yukon Gold Potatoes – 2+ pounds

Hard-boiled Eggs – 4

Mayonnaise (or Yogurt) – 2 tbsp

Dijon Mustard – 1 heaping tsp

Salt- dash

Pepper – dash

Diced Celery – 2-3 stalks

Diced Green Onions – ½ cup

I boil the potatoes, put them in a strainer or colander and chill them down in a cooler so they dry off.  Instead of cutting them, I prefer to crumble them by hand.  Then I add 4 eggs which I cut up quite fine.  A couple of stalks of celery, finely diced, ½ cup of finely cut up green onions, a couple of tablespoons of mayonnaise (but this is a personal preference – some like less, some like more depending on whether you like a drier or creamier potato salad), and a heaping teaspoon of mustard, –  note – I put the mustard on top of the mayo and mix the two together before I blend all of the ingredients together, and a pinch of pepper and salt. Then I take a spoon, (time to mix the mayo and mustard now) and fold all the ingredients together.  Be careful not to overmix.  Taste for quality control using a clean spoon for only that purpose.  You can decide if something more needs to be added.  This lasts in the fridge for a couple of days, well-covered.

Deviled Eggs

Hard-boiled Eggs – 8

Mayonnaise – 1-2 tbsp

Worcestershire Sauce – 1 tsp

Salt- small pinch

Pepper- couple of pinches

Dijon Mustard – 1 tsp

White Vinegar – 1 tsp

Smoked Paprika – for sprinkling

For the deviled eggs, a lot of the same ingredients are used.  Once the hard-boiled eggs have cooled, slice them in half lengthwise, and using a teaspoon, remove the yolks into a medium-sized bowl.  Add one or two tablespoons of mayonnaise.  You can always start with one tablespoon and add more later.  Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard.  You can use regular mustard as well, but Dijon adds a little more kick.  Add in a couple of pinches pepper, a teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce, a teaspoon of either white or apple cider vinegar, and a small pinch of salt.  Take a fork to mash everything together.  If it doesn’t seem creamy enough, you can add a bit more mayonnaise.  I haven’t ever used yogurt myself, but you could, knowing that it would give a different flavor and consistency.  If you have a piping tube, you can use that to fill the eggs or use a couple of spoons to shape and place the yolk filling on the egg white shell.  I’m a little conservative the amount of filling I use to start with to make sure that I have enough for all of them.  Once all of them are filled I like to add a little smoked paprika on top.  It gives a little more flavor and adds a visual appeal.

Hope you enjoy these side dishes and here’s to looking forward to sharing them with friends and family as soon as we are able!

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