Potato Salad

Mom's Potato Salad is a family classic that was often served with Sunday dinner and was present at just about every family party. I do not think this recipe was ever written down -- I learned it by helping Mom. I will do my best to approximate the measurements for the ingredients, but it best to have a taste-tester, like MDS, on hand to check to make sure it is just right.

The ingredients are simple: potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, mayo, dried minced onion, salt, and pepper.  What makes this potato salad unique is the texture of the end result. This recipe could be described as enhanced mashed potatoes. The secret method involves using your hands to get the texture right. My sister-in-law Laura figured out that this method, unorthodox to be sure, is what makes this potato salad so good.

You can easily adjust the quantity up or down. I figure for every large potato, use one hard-boiled egg, and one-quarter cup mayo. I personally like extra dried minced onion, but not everyone may appreciate the onion. Mom adds some salt, but I usually don't -- I have gotten in the habit of excluding salt from recipes and I rarely miss it. Another change that I have made is to leave most or all of the skin on the potato. Mom likes potato skins, but when she was feeding a bunch of picky kids when we were young, it must have been easier to remove the skin.

Potato Salad
4 large potatoes
4 hard-boiled eggs
1 cup mayo
1-2 Tbsp. dried minced onion
1 tsp. pepper
salt to taste (optional)

Scrub potatoes well. Put in large pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and then cook for 20 minutes or so, until tender. Meanwhile hard boil and peel the eggs. Once the potatoes are done, drain and rinse with cool water. Cut the potatoes into small cubes and place into large bowl. Then using you hands, further mash up the potatoes. About half the potatoes should be mashed fairly well and about half should still be pieces. Then chop up the eggs into fine pieces. Next, add the mayo, dried minced onion, pepper (and salt, if you like). Mix well. Then have your favorite taste-tester check the result. Adjust as needed and enjoy. The quantity in the recipe will serve 6-8 people, but in my household, it's all eaten by the taste-tester.

Noodles Warsaw

How can I describe Noodles Warsaw? It is a very simple dish that family members either love or hate.  There really is no in-between. When Mom made Noodles Warsaw, we all either looked forward to it with anticipation or groaned and knew we would be on our own for dinner. As for me, I love Noodles Warsaw and frequently make it now.

Noodles Warsaw is made from pork sausage, noodles, and cabbage. However, Noodles Warsaw cannot be made from just any noodles. Mom always used Kluski Noodles. I have used noodles other than Kluski noodles, but the dish is not the same without Kluski Noodles. Living in Chicago, Kluski Noodles are readily available in most grocery stores. When I lived in California, I could not find Kluski Noodles. I tried to find a substitute, but there is no substitute for good ol' Kluski Noodles, which are a special type of Polish egg noodle.

Noodles Warsaw is an easy weeknight meal. Mom always makes Noodles Warsaw in her electric skillet. I do not have an electric skillet, but using a large stock pot on the stove top usually works for me. Start by boiling water to cook the noodles. I usually use half of a one-pound bag. Then, brown the sausage in a large pot. This is the pot that will be used to make the rest of the dish. Once the noodles are cooked and drained, add the noodles to the sausage. I like to cook the noodles with the sausage for some time so that some of noodles get browned and soak up some of the meat's flavor. Then add in the chopped cabbage. The cabbage will cook down. It will take about 10 minutes. Sometimes, I need to add in the cabbage in batches as it will not fit in the pot all at once. During the time the cabbage is cooking down, sometimes water needs to be added, maybe about one-half to one cup of water. As the cabbage is close to getting cooked, add pepper to taste. Noodles Warsaw makes excellent leftovers--I like it for breakfast.

Noodles Warsaw
one half of a one pound bag of Kluski noodles
one pound pork sausage
one small head of green cabbage
black pepper to taste

Boil the noodles. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a large pot. Drain excess grease and turn the heat to low. Drain the noodles and add them to the cooked sausage in the large pot. Continue cooking the sausage and noodles for a few minutes. Then add the cabbage and cook for 10 minutes, or until the cabbage has been cooked. As the cabbage cooks, add water if necessary. Add black pepper to taste.

Saturday Night Spaghetti and Gravy Dinner

Spaghetti and gravy is a favorite family meal no matter what night of the week. But, throughout my childhood, it was always on Saturday night. Mom would start the gravy around noon.  She would make it in an electric skillet and let is slowly simmer all afternoon. You do not need an electric skillet to make the gravy; it can be made on the stovetop just as easily. I do not usually let it simmer all afternoon, primarily because the smells would waft through the house and MDS would eat all the gravy before dinner. Whether you let the gravy simmer for hours, or just a few minutes, it is the first thing to get started on.

To make the gravy, brown about one pound of ground beef. Sometimes, I get fancy and use Italian sausage. Once the meat is browned, drain any excess grease. Then add tomato sauce and tomato paste. To get all the sauce out of the cans, add a little water to the can and swirl it around to get the sauce and add the water to the simmering sauce. Unlike Mom, I also add a can of diced tomatoes. I just love having pieces of tomato in the sauce. Sure, to make gravy, you could use fresh tomatoes; but canned tomato products are so convenient. Once all the tomato products are mixed in with the meat, add in oregano, garlic powder, and dried minced onions. I have never actually measured how much of the oregano, garlic, and onion to add. I usually just eyeball it. I have attempted to determine measurements for the recipe below, but you will want to adjust for your taste. If needed, as a spoonful of sugar.  Turn the heat to low and simmer for minutes or hours (if you can keep your family from eating all the gravy before dinner).  In later years, Mom tried adding pepperoni to the gravy.  This change did not go over well and did not last long.  Mom did, for a time, switch to meatballs because the grandkids, especially Tim, liked the meatballs.  Again, this change was met with resistance from those of us who grew up on the classic recipe.  No matter, the grandkids' wishes ruled out.

Once the gravy is underway (or when dinnertime is getting near), prepare the garlic bread and get it in the oven. Mom always bought a large loaf of french bread at store on Saturday morning so that it would be fresh. There are other ways to make garlic bread, but this way is the family classic. Slice the bread the long way. Spread butter on both open sides, sprinkle with garlic and parmesan cheese. One change that I have made is to add oregano. Our family always used the parmesan cheese from the green can. Of course you could use fancier parmesan, but parmesan cheese from the green can makes this garlic bread the best.

When the bread is ready to go in the oven, start the hard boiled eggs and a pot of water for the spaghetti. For the hard boiled eggs, make as many as you want, but usually one per person is enough. Put the eggs in a pot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil, then turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Then drain and peel. While any pasta can be used, there are howls of protest in my house if I attempt to use anything other than classic spaghetti.

As for the chocolate chip cookies, you can make the before, or mix the dough while cooking the rest, so that the cookies are coming out of the oven just after dinner. Mom always bought Nestle Tollhouse Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, which conveniently has a recipe for chocolate chip cookies on the back.  The recipe calls for butter, but Mom always used margarine, so that it what I have used here.  There is a Friends episode from 2000 where Monica tries to re-create Phoebe's grandmother's cookies, only to learn that it is the Nestle Tollhouse recipe.

Gravy
1 pound ground beef
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
1 Tbsp. dried minced onions
1 Tbsp. sugar

On the stovetop in a large skillet, brown the meat. Drain any excess grease. Turn heat to low. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Mix well. Then, add garlic powder, oregano, dried minced onions and sugar (amounts can be adjusted to taste). Mix well. Simmer for minutes or hours. Stir occasionally.

Serve with spaghetti, hard boiled eggs, and garlic bread.

Garlic Bread
1 loaf large French or Italian Bread
1 stick butter
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Slice the bread the long way. Spread both faces with butter. Sprinkle with garlic, oregano and parmesan cheese. Put the bread together. Wrap in foil. Cook in oven 20-25 minutes. Slice bread and serve.


Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe: Buy a bag of Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips. Look on the back of the bag.