About once a week, we eat deli-style sandwiches* or cheeseburgers for dinner. We love 'em both and I don't feel a scintilla of guilt for taking an easy or cheesy night off from cooking a full-blown meal. That said, I do feel guilty when the side-dish is a bag of potato chips -- that may be ok for a brown-bag lunch, but, for dinner? Nah. More often than not, I put a small batch of quick-to-assemble potato salad on a sheet pan in the refrigerator to chill -- it really can be done in the span of twenty short minutes. During the time I assemble the sandwiches or cook the hamburgers, the potato salad chills and is ready to go on the table. A short-and-sweet six easy-to-make cups is just enough for us to share one or two more times throughout the course of the week too.
*Note: I make homemade bread every Sunday. I make it in my bread machine, just for the purposes of toast for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch or dinner. The deli-sandwich in this picture is served on my recipe for ~ A Basic Italian Semolina Bread in the Bread Machine ~.
I'm a member of the "I love eggs in my potato salad” club.
If you choose to omit them, substitute two more potatoes.
6 5-6-ounce gold potatoes, unpeeled and scrubbed (about 2-pounds gold potatoes)
4 extra-large eggs
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
3/4 teaspoon coarse-grind black pepper
1 teaspoon sea salt
~Step 1. Scrub the potatoes free of any residue, then, using the tines of a fork, prick their tops in two or three spots. Place on a plate and microwave until just short of being cooked through, about 12 minutes. Remove from microwave and set aside to cool about 10-12 minutes. While potatoes are in the microwave, in a 2-quart saucepan, hard-cook the eggs. Rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle with hands. While eggs are cooking, dice the onion and celery.
~Step 2. Line a 12 1/2" x 8 3/4" baking pan with parchment. Cube the warm potatoes into 3/4" pieces. Place potatoes, in a single layer, on prepared pan. Peel and slice eggs into 3/4" pieces and place over surface of potatoes. Scatter the onions, followed by the celery even over all.
~Step 3. In a 1-cup measuring container, stir together the wet ingredients and seasonings: mayo, mustard, relish, celery seed, pepper and salt. Drizzle dressing evenly over the layered ingredients in baking pan. Place pan, uncovered, in refrigerator, 30-45 minutes to chill. Just prior to serving, remove from refrigerator. Use a rubber spatula to fold dressing into vegetables.
Make a Small-Batch of Quick-Chill Sheet-Pan Potato Salad:
EZ Small-Batch Quick-Chill Sheet-Pan Potato Salad: Recipe yields approximately 3 pounds potato salad/6 cups.
Special Equipment List: microwave oven; 2-quart saucepan; cutting board; chef's knife; 12 1/2" x 8 3/4" baking pan; parchment paper; 1-cup measuring container; spoon; large rubber spatula
Cook's Note: Choose from any number of proteins we cooks make for dinner via on a busy weeknight. Examples: roasted chicken, grill-panned steaks or pork chops, slow-cooker spareribs, pan-seared ham slices, broiled fish fillets, steamed or poached shellfish, etc. I refer to these as flash-in-the pan meals because they go from oven or cooktop in relatively short order. All you need is a scrumptious all-purpose side-dish. Try my ~ Egg Noodles & Broccoli in Spicy Garlic-Butter Sauce ~.
"We're all in this food world together." ~ Melanie Preschutti
(Recipe, Commentary and Photos courtesy of Melanie's Kitchen/Copyright 2020)
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