I always hated macaroni salad. My grandmother, especially, loved to make macaroni salad. Macaroni, mayo, tunafish, some other stuff probably, and onions. I couldn't stand raw onions. I couldn't even stand the smell of being near it. We had it at every summer family gathering. 1/

My grandmother tried to accommodate me. She would make her huge batch for everyone, and then make a smaller batch just for me without onions. She would usually make at least a quart of it just for me. It was bland and unappealing, but I ate it. It was a lot to eat, though. 2/

I appreciate that she tried. Sometimes she would use the same spoon to mix my batch that she would use to make the family batch with the onions. Inevitably there would be cross-contamination, and all it would take was one onion to make my batch inedible to me. 3/

For years, this was my only experience with macaroni salad. I learned that potato salad also traditionally had onions as well, so I learned to just steer clear of these foods. One year, in my late teens, my aunt brought her potato salad to one of these family gatherings. 4/

She urged me to try it, and I declined. Then she assured me there were no onions in it. My cousin also didn't like onions, so her potato salad never used onions. I tried it, and discovered that I could like potato salad. That I could love potato salad. 5/

I tried for years to get the recipe from her, but she didn't have a formal recipe. Eventually she tried to walk me through it on the phone, and I took notes, but by the time I was in a position to try and make it I lost my notes and was too embarrassed to ask her again. 6/

Fast-forward a few years. Now I was having my own family cook outs, and I decided to see if the internet could help me recreate that potato salad recipe I so fondly remembered. I knew two things: it had granny smith apples, and no onions. I was unprepared for what I found. 7/

All those years, I considered foods like macaroni salad and potato salad to be fairly standard things. Sure, I thought, there'd be some variation (such as with my aunt's version), but I was woefully unprepared for the wide variety and heated discourse I discovered. 8/

There was no consensus! There was so much variety! No two recipes were the same! It was eye-opening to me. I searched until I found a recipe for potato salad that seemed to match what I was remembered. I loved it! I wrote it down and tried to make it at least once a year. 9/

I lost that recipe too, eventually. Now every year I struggle to remember it and recreate it. Today is one of those days. I'm already not starting well, as I should have made it yesterday and let it sit overnight. I think I remember all the ingredients, so here goes. 10/

I know I start with potatoes. 5 lbs of gold potatoes. Supposedly there's little difference in potato salad between using white, gold, or other varieties. But I like them, so that's what I'm using. Time to get to peeling, cubing, and boiling. 11/

This knife was a first wedding anniversary gift from my Mother-in-Law.

5 lbs gold potatoes, peeled and diced. Even with her arthritis, my mother could've done this in half the time. I remember a cook on one of my wife's cooking shows said to boil potatoes in salty water. I added 10 quick grinds from our salt grinder. ?/

Set the timer for 18 minutes. Usually it would be 20 minutes, but 1) I feel like I tend to overcook these and I want to check them earlier, and 2) I forgot to set the timer while I was tweeting. Time to clean up from peeling. 14/

I need the knife again for when I cut the apple, pickles, and celery. They will wait though - I still have to make room in the fridge for the potatoes. I saw on a program a few years ago that a cook added mustard to their potatoes after draining, and set them to cool. 15/

They said it helped the potatoes absorb the flavor of the mustard or w/e. I'm not sure it matters - the potatoes still just taste like potatoes to me when everything's done. But I do it anyway. This has become an integral part of my recipe. 10 minutes left on the timer. 16/

I just washed these pans past night. 17/

Stuck a fork in them - they're done! 18 minutes seemed a good time. 18/

I remembered two things about this mustard-and-cool step at the last minute. 1) It's mustard and pickle juice that gets added! 2) I'm uncomfortable putting hot potatoes in my fridge with other food there, so I use the freezer for a shorter time. That's where 30 min came from. 19/

Every year is like this. There's always something I forget. What will I forget this year? Time to finish cleanup and on to cutting vegetables and mixing things. I'm going to do something different this year, as a surprise to my wife. I'm excited to get there. 20/

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to use 1 or 2 tablespoons of mustard and pickle juice each. I ended up using 2, justifying it because whatever I've done in the past hasn't been too much, and I'm pretty sure it hasn't ever been more than 2 tablespoons. 21/

I'm having a conundrum now. I remember the measurements of mayonnaise (2 cups) and sour cream (1 cup). I remember the measurement of celery, pickles, and granny smith apple (1 cup each). But were the horseradish and mustard measured in tablespoons, or teaspoons? 22/

Reminder: mayonnaise and horseradish are not instruments. 23/

At 25 minutes I checked and the potatoes are already cold. Gotta take them out - I don't want them to freeze! Normally I'd have the rest of the mixture ready by now. Tweeting this is slowing me down, but that's okay. I'm doing this more for tradition today anyway. 24/

Meant to attach a picture. My coffee is ice cold, I've hardly touched it. 25/

3 stalks of celery, one granny smith, a cup of diced pickles, and the surprise for my wife - scallions. I'm going to make two batches this year. She always tells me my potato salad is missing onions, so this year hers won't be. They will be added last though. 26/

A "cup" of chopped celery. Halfway through I remembered that I forgot to remove the strings from the back of the celery. My wife taught me to do that with celery. She was shown it from the mother of a friend of hers. Her friend passed away over a decade ago. 27/

After talking with my wife, I ended up using a tablespoon of mustard, but one and a half (heaping) teaspoons of horseradish. I asked her to salt and pepper it to taste, as I am definitely not good with that. Time to mix it all together, separate it, then add the scallions. 28/

I chopped the pickles earlier, but usually I prefer to use a "deli-style" dill pickle relish, because it's cubed to a nice size. I couldn't find any when I went to the store Saturday. In another note, my wife already guessed what I'm doing with the scallions. 29/

All mixed. Time to separate. These two bowls were my grandmother's. We received them after she passed away. The scallions will be added to the batch going in the smaller one.

My coffee is super-cold. 31/

All done. One with scallions, one without. My wife stood near me as I cut the scallions and said "yum." She really missed having onions in her potato salad. Now into the fridge. The taste taste will be this afternoon, when we have it with our hot dogs and burgers. 32/

The TRUE taste test will be tomorrow, after what's left over has been allowed to sit in the fridge overnight. 33/

Forgot to say earlier that I used mayonnaise made with canola oil, as my wife and youngest son had to cut soy out of their diets. 34/

Making this potato salad was a bittersweet journey down memory lane, especially because this is the first year in some time we won't be having other family over to join us. But in a way, they were still with me the whole time I was making it.

For those who read this thread expecting it to eventually come back to macaroni salad, sorry to disappoint. This journey ultimately started with macaroni, but ends deliciously with potatoes and fond memories of family. 36/36