Potato Salad

Made this today and it was just right. I really like the dill pickles and the ranch dressing in it, and the very subtle hint of mustard. Adapted from here.
Ingredients

• 6 eggs
• 10 red potatoes
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing
• 1/3 cup chopped dill pickles or relish
• 1 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
• 2 celery stalks, diced

Directions

1. Place the eggs into a saucepan in a single layer and fill with water to cover the eggs by 1 inch. Cover the saucepan and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Remove from the heat and let the eggs stand in the hot water for 15 minutes. Pour out the hot water; cool the eggs under cold running water in the sink. Peel and chop the cooled eggs.
2. Place the potatoes into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and refrigerate until cold. Peel and cube once cold.
3. Stir together the mayonnaise, ranch dressing, pickles, mustard, salt, pepper, paprika, and celery salt in a mixing bowl. Add the eggs, potatoes, and celery; stir until evenly mixed. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
   

Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat

{Photo from here. I am so annoyed because I took my OWN picture of these, but it got accidentally deleted. These look pretty similar to how mine looked. Except I put sour cream on top instead of applesauce.}

I found this recipe in a children's picture book I read to Dee called Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat: A Chanukah Story. We picked it up at the library one day.

In the story, a girl is walking through the woods on the first night of Hanukah, and she comes across an old woman who gives her a magic pan frying pan. The woman instructs her to go home and say these words:

"Latkes, Latkes, good to eat. Cook me up a Chanukah treat!"

When she does, the pan sizzles to life with latkes (pronounced LOT-kuz) sizzling in oil--golden, savory, tender yet crisp potato pancakes. The story is short and sweet; Dee got a kick out of it and asked me repeatedly when we were going to make "Latkes, Latkes." There's a recipe in the back of the book, and we finally got to it tonight.

The Latkes are basically made from shredded potatoes, eggs, VERY finely diced onion, parsley, salt, pepper, and flour. They are typically served with sour cream and/or applesauce. I liked them with sour cream. We also had bacon and strawberry-banana smoothies.

So, even though I'm not Jewish and even though technically Chanukah is over this year, I'm glad I gave these yummy pancakes a try.

You can find the recipe from the book here.