Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance

FAMILY HEIRLOOM RECIPES

Illinois State Fair

August 13, 2021

 

 

Contestant:

French Potato Salad

Michael Marchizza, Chatham, Illinois

 

 

My mother was 100% Italian.   She graduated from high school in May of 1950, was married in July of 1950, and gave birth to me in May of 1951.   Her husband (my father) had a father who was also Italian, but a mother who was Belgian or French.   That is part of the reason of how she came up with this recipe for what she called, French Potato Salad.

She had been cooking for a few years and knew how to make a basic potato salad. But with the influence of her mother-in-law, her basic potato salad became a French potato salad.   She was taught to make a French dressing, then to marinate her potato salad in the French dressing overnight, then in the morning to add the mayonnaise and mix it together. From that time on, whenever my mom made potato salad, it would be this French potato salad, and she eventually become known for her French potato salad.

My father died in 1966 and eight years later she married a man whose background was, appropriately, French.   He loved potato salad, as most of us did.   And he especially loved her French potato salad, even though he had a hard time understanding its “French” origins.

To make this French potato salad, you first prepare a French dressing, then prepare the potato salad, then let the potato salad marinate in the French dressing over night and then to add the mayonnaise before serving the next day. It became a family favorite and also a favorite of many friends. It was unique and had distinct flavors that when you tasted it, you knew my mother made it.

 

 

 

Contestant:

French Potato Salad

Michael Marchizza, Chatham, Illinois

 

Prepare the French dressing in a shaker as follows:

 

In a small bowl combine:

1/2 cup veg oil

2 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp lemon juice

1tsp sugar

3/4 tsp dry mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp paprika

 

To prepare the potato salad, boil 3 eggs to hard-cook them and dice them, prepare 1 cup sliced celery, 1/2 cup chopped onion and 2 tbsp each of dill relish and sweet relish. Then boil 5-6 potatoes for 25 minutes or until tender. Then peel the potatoes and cube them into bite-size pieces. Mix all of the ingredients together, and mix in the prepared French dressing. Let the potato salad marinate all night. The next day, before serving add 1 cup of mayonnaise. Chill and serve.