Potato salad is also very good with ham. I don't usually serve it with ham because I like scalloped potatoes with ham. However, since it does go well with ham, and you may want to fix 2 types of potatoes if you're cooking for a larger group, I'll give you my potato salad recipe also. 

I can remember my mother making this potato salad since I was a child. I've never served it or taken it anywhere that I wasn't asked for the recipe. I've never tasted a potato salad in a restaurant or deli that didn't taste flat after eating this one so I won't even order it anymore. It's very easy and I think it will become a favorite once you've served it.

For this Potato Salad you'll need:

• about 5 lbs of small red potatoes (new potatoes are best)

• 1 medium sized sweet onion (I like vidalia onions)

• 6 hard-boiled eggs

• 1 cup sweet pickle relish

• 2 cups Hellmann's mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup prepared mustard

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup cider vinegar

• salt and fresh-cracked pepper to taste

Let's talk about the potatoes a bit. ALWAYS use red potatoes. The flavor and texture of red potatoes is perfect for potato salad. I like to use the little new red potatoes if I can get them but you can use larger ones if that's all you can get. You'll just have to cook them longer to get them tender and they will tend to break up a bit when you stir the potato salad. It is important to make sure all the potatoes are about the same size so they'll all get done at about the same time so the smaller ones don't over-cook before the larger ones get done. 

I always cook them with the skins on. I use a Pressure cooker - the best way I've found. I like using the pressure cooker because it cooks with steam so they don't soak up the water and the flavor and texture are so much better. And of course, there's the added benefit of taking so much less time. In the pressure cooker little new red potatoes will get tender in about 10-15 minutes. Larger red potatoes take up to 30 minutes to get tender all the way through.  If you don't have a pressure cooker you can cover them with water in a big pan and boil them until they are fork tender. 

However, if you don't have a pressure cooker I would highly recommend investing in one. Once you get used to using a pressure cooker you'll never be without one again. They're great for tenderizing meat, especially if you cook wild game. They're great for soups too. A soup meat that will take 3 hours to get tender boiling will get tender in about 45 minutes in a pressure cooker. 

I've never understood the crockpot craze. I'm always looking for quicker ways to prepare good food instead of slower. I can't understand the idea of taking all day to cook something you could cook in under and hour. There's also the issue with bacteria and safety with a crockpot. If you like crockpots and use them be sure you follow safety guidelines closely, especially when preparing dishes with meat.

I've had a lot of people tell me they are afraid of pressure cookers because they remember their grandma's old pressure canner with the gauge. Those things had to be watched closely and were like a bomb if you forgot about them. However, the new pressure cookers have an automatic valve the releases the excess pressure once it gets to the specified pressure and are perfectly safe and easy to use.

There are a couple of things to remember with using a pressure cooker. 

• One is not to over-fill it because the safety valve can get stopped up with food.

• The other thing to remember is to be sure to take the pressure down before trying to remove the lid. With most pressure cookers you can use the pressure regulator to release the pressure and some of the newer pressure cookers even have a safety lid that locks until the pressure is down and it's safe to remove the lid. 

However, the safest, easiest and quickest way to take the pressure down is to put the pressure cooker in the sink with the lid still on and run cold water over it. That will condense the steam inside the pressure cooker and take the pressure down very quickly. 

When the pressure goes down you will usually hear a hiss from the pressure cooker but you can always tilt the pressure regulator to one side to make sure the pressure is gone before removing the lid. 

It's very important not to over-cook the potatoes so if you're using a pressure cooker take the pressure down and check them after about 15 minutes for small potatoes and 20 for larger ones. If they're not quite tender all the way through bring the pressure back up and cook 5 more minutes. 

Take the pressure down and check the potatoes about every 5 minutes to avoid over-cooking them. If you over-cook the potatoes you'll end up with mashed potato salad and, although I've tasted pretty good mashed potato salads, that's not what we want for this recipe.

Once the potatoes are fork tender remove them from the pressure cooker or from the boiling water and put them in a pan to cool. I usually use a cookie sheet or large baking pan so I can lay them out in a single layer. They will get more air and cool more quickly. 

When they are cool enough to handle peel and cut them into about a 1/2" dice. After I dice the potatoes I salt them well and toss them. I let them sit with just the salt while I prepare the other ingredients and make the dressing. It's difficult to keep potato salad from being flat because the potatoes soak up so much of the flavor from the dressing. Letting them marinate with the salt this way gives the potatoes more flavor.

Peel the hard-boiled eggs and course chop them over the potatoes.  Peel and chop the onion and add it to the potatoes.

Now let's make the dressing. Use a bowl large enough for your whisk (or you can use your food processor or blender if you have one). 

Add the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar, vinegar and pickle relish. Whisk until smooth and taste. I like the sugar and vinegar about half and half but you may like it a bit more sour or sweet and it's very easy to adjust by adding a little more sugar or vinegar. I always put the pickle relish in the dressing instead of in the bowl with the other ingredients because the sweetness of it will affect the sweet-sour balance of the dressing. Add salt and fresh-cracked pepper to taste. 

Pour enough dressing over the potatoes just to coat the ingredients and toss lightly to coat. You don't want soupy potato salad so use just as much dressing as you need to coat the ingredients. Try to avoid over-stirring as that can beak up the potatoes. That's why it's a good idea to mix the dressing in a separate bowl first so it requires less stirring. Reserve any leftover dressing for freshening the potato salad just before serving or when serving leftover potato salad later.

As I explained before, the potatoes do tend to drink up the flavors from the dressing so just before I serve it I always taste it. If it seems a bit flat I add a little more sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and stir. You can bring leftover potato salad back to that fresh-made flavor before serving it by doing the same thing. I usually make a little more dressing than I think I will actually need so I can have some left to add to it before serving the leftover potato salad.

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