I have been reluctant to post this recipe, not because it wasn’t good-because it was more than good. It’s just that a whole post on Potato Salad? Hardly seems worthy, every one knows how to make potato salad. But then I decided why shouldn’t I talk about Potato Salad- especially the version served at Stewart’s Dry Goods. It deserved to have its place on this site.

Actually I really wanted to do this post so I could practice my spelling. You see like Dan Quail, whose name I probably spelled wrong, I seem to have trouble spelling potato. My spell check went into overload and all but sirens went off when I went to edit this post. At least I am consistent as I misspelled the word 8 times. I was milli-seconds away from publishing this when out of the corner of my eye I caught the misspelling in the title. Oh mercy me, that would have been embarrassing.

Potato Salad is so personal. Ask 50 people to bring some to a picnic or barbecue and you will have 50 different versions. And quite a few will be good. It’s not even that I am that crazy about Potato Salad. In fact if I were to go the rest of my life with out it, I wouldn’t miss it. But it so happens that I came across this recipe which also included a story. It is hard for me to resist food that comes with a story, so I made it.

I was so pleased that I went ahead and made a lunch of it, just like the Southern ladies did years ago when they dined at Stewart’s luncheonette taking a break from shopping.

You see it seems that Stewart’s had quite a following. Especially in the days where women wore hats and gloves. Most of you aren’t old enough to remember those days; thank goodness myself included. Though I do have pictures of my mother dressed in an outfit dressed in a hat and gloves.
It appears that Stewart’s enjoyed a crowd that revered the Signature Potato Salad in its heyday. Supposedly women dined on a plate of just potato salad for lunch. Apparently the Potato Salad fan-fare grew to mythic proportions when the original Stewart’s shut down in the 80’s. So much so that the old timers swore it tasted different at the new Stewart’s location.

Anyway, how could I resist with a place that had Dry Goods in the title and Potato Salad on the menu? In fact I couldn’t resist anything a Dry Good’s Store had on the menu. Luncheonettes are long gone and it is a shame. To me they are akin to Diners up North. I’ll take a good diner over a five star meal any-day. That is coming from someone who is a touch snobby, prim and proper. But every once in a while I let my guard down and surprise someone, mostly myself.

A bag of purple idahos in the frig seemed to warrant making this recipe. Of course with the build up, I expected great things. Actually it was really good, even great for Potato Salad. I prepared it and plated it as if I was dining at Stewart’s for lunch. I think it made it taste all that much better.

Homemade mayonnaise was used and you can find my recipe for it here. I served it on a bed of field greens with a few wedges of tomatoes from the Farmer’s Market. A dollop of mayonnaise on the side, a linen napkin and fork accompanied by a glass of ice tea; what a lunch.

The secret to Stewart’s recipe is supposedly the homemade mayonnaise along with the bell peppers prepared thin and chopped fine. Hardly seems like much of a secret to me, but with all the other ingredients it turned out great.

This is not one of your hardy cookout Potato Salads, especially since the potatoes are cut into smaller pieces. But as a light lunch or as a side you can’t go wrong.

Stewart’s Potato Salad with Bell Peppers

Ronni Lundy, Butterbeans to Blackberries

5 large Idaho potatoes

1 small onion finely chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped celery

1 small green pepper, seeded, stemmed, and finely chopped

2 ounces chopped pimento

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 cup homemade mayonnaise

1/3 cup juice from pickle relish or sweet pickles

1 teaspoon lemon juice

salt

freshly ground pepper

• Boil the potato until tender. Let them cool, then peel and dice them into cubes about the size of a bouillon cube.
• Put them into a large mixing bold and add the onion, celery, bell pepper, pimento, and eggs.
• Toss lightly to distribute evenly.
• Mix the mayonnaise, relish juice and lemon juice till well blended, then add it to the bowl and mix well.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

For the full Stewart’s experience serve on chilled plates covered with ice berg lettuce and garnished with a lemon wedge. Pass crisp saltine crackers on the side.