The first thing I do to make potato salad is to boil the peeled and diced potatoes like everyone else does. The next step is dicing onions into the empty bowl. Then, I take the hot, drained potatoes and put them onto the onions. I think this sort of soften the onions and diffuses the taste into the potatoes. Then, the rest of the ingredients are put onto the top of the potatoes and mixed.
The potatoes on the onions and about 1/3 of the Miracle Whip I usually use is where I stopped. I added celery seeds and then offered some of the half-made potato salad to Tommy. The potatoes were hot and there were no eggs, so he was amenable to tasting. He said it was not bad and asked for more. I was shocked. When he even asked for more, I was now twice shocked. Now, I know how to get him to eat "potato salad."
He does not have to eat potato salad for any other reason than that I am not up to cooking separate dishes for him or for me! This is something I eat every three months, maybe more in the summer and less in the winter. I love it cold AND with chopped boiled eggs.
Do you cook something that you have to change in order for someone to eat it?
My husband can't eat onions. For 50+ years before I met him, meal prep ALWAYS started with onions and garlic. We've been married 6+ years and I used to cook separate food. Now I just put onions in the things he wouldn't eat to begin with (he's one of those picky eaters, claims the only thing green he likes is money) and do without the rest of the time.
ReplyDeleteJan,
DeleteOnions would be hard to omit in cooked food. My neighbor told me she was allergic to onions. When she died, i found out she did not like the farting it caused for her. There are other things Tommy says he does not like, but he never notices when the spices are in his food.
Well my husband will not eat curry of any kind, so he'll ge thte prepared vegetables and rice with something else.
ReplyDeleteSAM,
DeleteAt least he can make do so you don't have to cook a separate dish.
My mom had to for me growing up for 2 things: no fruit in the jello and my section of the cherry cheesecake only had the cherry sauce on top, not the actual cherries, LOL. Nothing's changed, haha.
ReplyDeleteOne,
DeleteThose are two things that are hard to do if there are other children, but i did similar for my children. I like fresh cherries, but not in pie or on cheesecake. I understand.
I'm with Tommy. I don't eat boiled eggs, so none of it in potato salad. I also prefer my potato salad a little warm - not hot though.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in a different country, we made potato salad a little differently. No boiled eggs and we add chopped parsley and green onion instead. The parsley is so good!
He won't eat eggs at all in any form! I have had warm potato salad with no eggs, but he grew up in the South of the USA. Maybe I will add some of the parsley growing on the front porch. Thanks.
DeleteMy mom makes the best potato salad ever. I finally asked her for the recipe and found out for about 1 1/2 quart size bowl she adds an entire stick of melted butter. No wonder it is so good. But I just cant make it for us with all that fat.
ReplyDeleteAnn,
DeleteI never put butter at all in my potato salad. If you use Yukon Gold potatoes, they taste like they have butter in them. Maybe those would be good but butterless for you. They have no fat, just taste great.
Is there anything I change for someone? haha well not so much now because only me and my daughter are in the house but I have learnt to vegetarianise, veganise, leave out cream, mushrooms, zucchini, less sugar etc etc
ReplyDeleteAnd they wonder why I just eat anything thats food!
kylie,
DeleteI remember some of your remarks about changing food. I suppose you have had to adapt. I think mothers learn to eat just anything.
I do not change to accommodate specific tastes, but TheHub and I like pretty much the same stuff anyway!
ReplyDeleteAnne,
DeleteWeren't you the one who changed the zucchini boats because of others' tastes? Maybe not. We would not have gotten through a couple of meals with my kids if i did not cater a bit to tastes, changing tastes!
I was making pimiento and cheese and a friend who was not invited to eat or consulted insisted i put relish in it because she only like it that way. I made it the way I always do and she did not eat any. Like I said, she was not invited to eat lunch that day, but invited herself and then wanted me to make it to suit her. No WAY!
My husband would eat anything- he and 2 brothers were raised by a single mother who struggled financially. I'm the oldest of 6 - we ate whatever Mom served. My youngest is the pickiest eater but she would fix herself a bologna sandwich and be satisfied- she's still that way and definitely not a foodie. I do make a pot of chili without the beans for my sis- she has never cared for beans which I love. BTW I don't peel my potatoes when making potato salad and boil the eggs with them too. The skins then just slide off and I dice and mash a bit before adding mayo, pickle relish, celery and onion. I think I've made it about every month since the pandemic started. My daughter's MIL adds bacon to hers, and oh boy, is that good!
ReplyDeleteNan,
DeleteThe things i hated as a child were mostly things i found out i was allergic to. I have heard of people cooking eggs and potatoes at the same time. I need to try that. When I was grown and away from home, I went back and stepped into the kitchen where Mama was cooking spaghetti. As i stirred the spaghetti like i had done a million times, I noticed it was smooth instead of having little chunks of food in it. Mama said she was sick and tired of people picking out stuff they did not like, so she put everything in a blender. I thought that was brilliant. But, she never had to do that for the older three, just the picky younger children. So, i never got a good bite of mushroom, onion, or celery.
Thinking about not peeling, i had potatoes that were black inside in places, so peeling was the best way to go this time. Thanks for the thought. I will try it someday.
I don't peel or dice my potatoes until after they are cooked, eggs are optional depending on if we have them. We both like German potato salad that is hot. I flip between diced pickle, relish and celery on our potato salad.
ReplyDeleteChef,
DeleteThat sounds like the smart way! I like celery and relish in potato salad. Eggs are my preference, but sometimes they never go in. Maybe i will make German potato salad one day. You make me hungry for it.
I refuse to cater to specific tastes. When kids were smaller the rule was eat what you want, leave what you don't want, there's plenty of peanut butter and jelly if you're still hungry after the meal. And, of course you may still have dessert if you didn't eat your carrots, I'm not going to punish somebody for their taste. But woe betide he who complained about the offerings. I punished this behavior in younger children very harshly, sending them to bed, even if it was lunchtime, with nothing but water from the bathroom, (gasp!) until the next day.
ReplyDeleteNow that they are older, they are free to do their own shopping and cooking if they don't like my offerings. I have one kid who has grown into a very picky eater. I find it obnoxious and petulant, refuse to cater to it.
Meg B.,
DeleteMy son would have eaten pb every day if given a choice! Mama thought I was picky when i was actually allergic. Complaining at the table was an annoyance. I think you probably nipped it in the bud!