The sudden closing of Stanley J's New York Deli last Friday caused great concern in my family because it seems that at just about every gathering in the past 10 or 15 years, Stanley's Red Skin Potato Salad has been on the table. When my daughter and sister visit from out of town, they make a special requests that the sinfully rich concoction be chilling in the fridge upon arrival and on ice when they make the journey home with a fresh supply. The directions to the deli are even in a family cookbook as the "recipe" for my Mom's potato salad! So you can see why I left an urgent 9a.m. message to Mom to go stock up on closing day. I didn't need to worry however, because she was already in line, waiting more than a half-hour outside to purchase pounds of the the creamy goodness!!! With my final stash hidden on site as "the gold standard" I proceeded to experiment for over a week in my quest to duplicate the recipe. After 6+ trial run batches, I am proud to say that it is very difficult to tell the which spoonful is "original" and which is the "impostor", in fact, Hubby chose MINE as Stanley's during the last go around. I probably won't want to eat any potato salad for months now, but on the next holiday, reunion, or picnic, one of our traditional foods will still be on the menu!INGREDIENTS
2 to 2 1/4 pounds red skin potatoes
1/4 cup sliced green onions (green tops only)
1 1/2 to 2 Tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
1/4 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 and 1/8 teaspoons white pepper
1/8 and 1/8 teaspoons black pepper
1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon Hellman's regular mayonnaise
1/4 cup regular sour cream
Chop green peppers and green onion tops. Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, 1/8 tsp. white pepper, 1/8 tsp. black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt together. Add the green onion and green peppers and mix. Set in refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend while the potatoes are cooking.
Bring 1/2 large dutch oven pot full of water to boil and add a few dashes of salt. I weighed the potatoes using my kitchen scale to get the proper amount. Quarter the potatoes (do not peel) and place in the boiling water, cooking until very soft and skin is beginning to slightly separate from edge of potatoes. Drain and cool slightly in cold water. Drain again. When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into small pieces and place into a large bowl. If pieces of the skin come off, place them in the bowl as well. Add the remaining spices (1/2 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. white pepper, 1/8 tsp. black pepper) evenly to the warm potatoes and toss lightly. Stir potatoes with a large spoon "smashing" them to a consistency that is like very lumpy mashed potatoes with small pieces of potatoes in it. Do not use a mixer to do this. Next, add the mayonnaise mixture to the still warm potatoes. Stir lightly to coat all potatoes, then squish it all together with your hands until you reach desired consistency. The actual Stanley J's salad is very creamy with a few very small pieces of potatoes in each spoonful, but some people like larger pieces of potato to hold all the dressing.
I know you will not be able to restrain yourself, so go ahead and taste it....but it will taste even better after sitting in the refrigerator for several hours to the flavors can continue to meld.
