Pure and Simple Potato Salad

I like Neiman Marcus even though it's one of those stores that sometimes makes you feel like pond scum just for daring to step through the doors. I think they deliberately hire impossibly uppity folks to stand by the door and glare at you contemptuously as you try to sneak in wearing Walmart jeans and a Target top.

It's definitely not a place where I can afford to buy all my clothes - or any of them - but I sure like looking at what the nobility are wearing. And, for the record, I think the Neiman Marcus stores I've been in are legions ahead of Nordstroms. Why is it that I always think of Nordstroms as a pretender? An average kind of place masquerading as better than the rest.

You're probably wondering why I'm writing about stores on a cooking blog. Good question. This recipe actually comes from a Neiman Marcus cookbook that I've had for many years. It was probably one of my mom's garage sale purchases, appropriated for use on Riverhead Dr. The book's title is "Pure and Simple", which I also consider an apt description of Neiman Marcus, in general. Well, maybe in the case of the store, the title might need to be expanded to "Pure and Simple and Really, Really Expensive"

I loved this salad. Martin didn't. Remember, though, he's the one who likes the tubs of mayonnaisy store-bought potato salad, so what does he know????

Pure and Simple Potato Salad

3 medium sized red potatoes
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp white vinegar
2-3 stalks celery sliced
1 small onion finely diced
1/4 cup chopped gherkin pickles (I used a dill and loved that burst of tang.)
1 tsp. celery seed
3/4 cup mayonnaise (I used less because I don't love mayonnaise. Mine was an eyeball and taste affair. When it appeared the mixture was lightly coated and I could taste that it seemed like enough, I stopped. It ended up being a little less than 1/2 cup.)
3 hard cooked eggs, sliced
Paprika sprinkling on top of finished salad

Directions
Cover potatoes with water in a covered pot. Cook about 25-30 minutes. Drain, peel, quarter and slice. Add sugar and vinegar. Add celery, onion, pickle and celery seed. Stir. Add mayonnaise and sliced eggs. Serve chilled.