Momma Z's Old Fahioned Potato Salad

So when it's Easter and 75 degrees out on Southern California, what do you do?  You take your Easter dinner to the beach, of course!  Which is exactly what my family did.  And honestly, it was one of the most pleasant meals I've had in quite a while.  We had an old fashioned meal, including my husband's clove studded ham and his mother's potato salad.  Comfort food to the max.  Then we played on the beach...

This is my favorite beach in Cali.  The waves are calm, it's hardly ever crowded, and we always spot a ton of wildlife.  Sea lions sunbathe on the protected cove across the street from the beach and are usually playing in the surf.  Watching the brown pelicans dive for fish is like a study in aerodynamics.  But on this day it was pretty calm and animal free.  Until we spotted several pods of dolphins going by. They were jumping and playing not more than 50 feet off the ocean's edge. It was a truly spectacular way to end a wonderful meal with my family.

Momma Z's Old Fashioned Potato Salad
Makes enough to feed 6-8 people as a side dish.

This is not a fancy salad.  You won't find a bunch of herbs, crazy techniques, or hard to find ingredients.  What you will find is a potato salad to convert any non-potato salad folks (myself included) and straight forward, simple ingredients.  Truly the most comforting of comfort foods.

3 lbs waxy potatoes (such as red skinned or yukon gold)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
4 chopped, hard-boiled eggs
1/2-2/3 cup mayonaise
1/2 tsp kosher salt
pinch black pepper

Place the potatoes whole into a large pot and cover with 1 inch of water.  Place the pot on the stove and heat until the water boils.  Reduce heat so that the water remains at a vigorous simmer and cook until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork.  This should take about 20-25 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes.  Drain the potatoes and keep warm (warm, but not hot potatoes will peel easily and absorb the dressing better than cold potatoes).

Toss the onions, celery and eggs into a large bowl.  Carefully peel and coarsely chop the potatoes and place them in the bowl too.  Add 1/2 cup mayonaise, the salt and pepper to the bowl and carefully mix.  You want the mayonaise to coat the potatoes, but not be gloppy.  If it seems dry, add an additional tablespoon or two of mayo.  Taste for seasoning. 

Chill until ready to serve.