I grew up in a family that quite often had potato salad for family meals. I don’t know if that was because of our German heritage, or it was just a popular side dish at the time. My mom and grandmother made the traditional recipe with mustard and pickle relish, and it was enjoyed by all.

I don’t remember making potato salad much after I was married, but I have always been interested in finding new recipes. At some point while living in Kansas City, I acquired a Junior League cookbook, which contains all kinds of fancy recipes from fancy people. One of those recipes is Sour Cream and Dill Potato Salad, and it has become my go to recipe when I do make it.

This past weekend was the Fourth of July, and there were plenty of family celebrations with my mother-in-law and our girls. My husband and I decided to keep the food very traditional with hot dogs and hamburgers, cherry pie, homemade ice cream, etc.

For one of our meals, I decided to make potato salad, because I consider it to be a “picnic” dish. Apparently, I missed the memo that my family has issues with potato salad. You would have thought I was trying to serve them dog food. When I pulled it out of the refrigerator, my daughter said, “Um, I’m going to have to taste this because I’m picky about my potato salad,” but she did approve. After we sat down and passed the food, I noticed my mother-in-law had taken barely a spoonful, obviously to be polite. She normally raves about my cooking, but not one word about the potato salad. Later, I mentioned to my husband how not much was eaten and he said, “Yeah, I didn’t have any either, you know I don’t like mayonnaise.” And then I remembered that his mother doesn’t either. The sad fact is the recipe has very little mayonnaise in it, you can’t taste it, and they both eat a lot more than they realize in other dishes I make. Whatever, I still love my fancy potato salad, and I will make it again! Here’s the recipe if you like to switch things up.

Sour Cream and Dill Potato Salad

3 lbs. unpeeled new potatoes

2/3 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1 T. chopped fresh dill or 1 t. dried dill

2 t. chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes until tender.  Cut into bite size pieces, leaving skins on.  Combine remaining ingredients and mix with potatoes while they are still hot.  Refrigerate overnight.