Serves 6 to 8

A traditional potato salad is as much a part of the American table as fried chicken and apple pie.  What summer cook out doesn’t have its potato salad?  What would the church social, union picnic or family gathering be without the requisite bowl of potato salad?  And like most American dishes, there are as many recipes as there are cooks who make it.  This is a basic and rather traditional potato salad that my mother made whenever she was feeding a gang.  You may of course use any mayonnaise you like but she always used her own home made which was kept in the refrigerator in a small blue salt glazed ceramic crock.

6 to 8 potatoes

1 cup cider vinegar

1 sweet purple onion, diced

2 to 3 green onions, chopped small, including the greens

2 stalks of celery, chopped small

1 medium size bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 roasted sweet red pepper,diced, or equivalent in canned pimentos,

¼ to ½ cup sweet pickle relish, (or to taste)

1 or 2 dill pickles, diced small

1 tablespoon of capers, well rinsed

1, 2 ¼-oz can of sliced black olives

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon celery seed

6 hard boiled eggs

Mayonnaise,  or favorite commercial brand

Worcestershire sauce

Fresh coarse cracked black pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes whole and with their skins on. Drain and put in cold water until cool enough to handle.  Peel and cut into bite size chunks.  Put into a large bowl.  Pour the cider vinegar over them, toss gently and leave sit while you prepare the remaining ingredients.  When ready to assemble, drain any excess vinegar off the potatoes and add all the other ingredients up to and including the boiled eggs.  Toss gently.  Peel and coarsly chop 4 of the eggs. Mix Worcestershire sauce to taste with enough mayonnaise to adequately moisten and coat the salad.  This is very personal.  Some people like lots of mayonnaise and others not so much.  Add the mayonaise mixture and the chopped eggs and toss gently.  Slice the remaning eggs and use, along with sprigs of fresh parsley, as a garnish. Sprinkle with a bit of paprika.  Serve chilled.