Birthday Fireworks and Grandma’s Potato Salad

A smiling girl wearing a patriotic shirt and cutting an American flag cake I was born at 12:01 a.m. on July 5^th. My mom thinks the clock in the room was wrong, or that I would have been a July 4^th baby if the doctor hadn’t been on his coffee break. Maybe. I may as well be a July 4^th baby, anyway. Growing up, I never really had birthday parties; they all would have been overshadowed by July 4^th cookouts and celebrations and firework shows. A lot of friends always ended up being out of town. Still, I had a great birthday every year (…well, except for my fourth birthday, but we won’t bring up that visit to Chuck-E-Cheese). I almost always spent my birthday in California with my family.

I grew up in Texas, but I was born in California, and pretty much all of my family was out there. Growing up, every summer, my mom would take me to Los Angeles for weeks to visit with my grandparents, uncles, aunt, and cousin, Dane. Dane was an only child like me, so we easily fell into the brother-sister love-hate relationship that defined so much of my childhood. We bonded over baseball, argued over whose turn it was to do this or that, climbed the hill in my grandma’s backyard, and looked out over the California suburbs, talking about things that made us feel much older than we were.

Two children sitting on a short brick wall in a backyard

A group of family members in a pool

When it came to July 4^th with my family, they always made me feel like it was merely an extension of the celebrations around my birthday. Everyone had their role: my mom and Uncle Philip managing the grill, my Aunt Cindi taking care of some sort of crisis in the kitchen, my Uncle Mark playing with Dane and me in the pool or on the grass, and my Grandma Leslie making another one of her dishes that needed no recipe: most likely her potato salad.

The potato salad was just part of a huge feast we’d have out back on the round wooden picnic table with the tropical umbrella. Burgers, hot dogs, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, baked beans, and watermelon were mainstays, and there was always some sort of red, white, and blue dessert. But the starchy star of the show was the potato salad. It was perfectly tangy, delectably creamy, and just the right ratio of crunchy celery to firm russet.

When we were too full to fill up our plates anymore, we’d go out front to the street and play with sparklers, cherry bombs, and other little fireworks that spun and popped and flashed bright colors. I’d always stay awake until midnight, and then another minute more, imaging the biggest firework of the night was for me.

If you’re planning a holiday—or birthday!—meal this July 4^th, visit Seward Co-op for all your grilling, picnicking, and barbequing needs. Try the below recipe for my Grandma Leslie’s potato salad, and have a safe and fun Fourth!

Leslie’s Potato Salad

Serves 5-6

Ingredients

2.5 lbs. russet potatoes

1 tbsp. salt

1 cup mayonnaise

3/8 cup yellow mustard

1 egg, hardboiled

2 stalks celery

3 tbsp. red onion

2 tsp. dill

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut potatoes into large chunks. You can peel them first, or take the skin off after they’re boiled (as Leslie would do). Place into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender when pierced with a fork (anywhere from 10-20 minutes).

While potatoes cook, finely chop hardboiled egg, celery, and red onion.

When potatoes are done, drain into a colander and rinse with cold water until cool. Cut cooled potatoes into bite-sized chunks, about 1 inch. Place into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix mayonnaise and mustard until thoroughly combined. Pour mixture onto potatoes and stir until the pieces are well coated.

Add egg, celery, and red onion to the potatoes and stir. Add salt and pepper to taste, and finish with dill.

*Leslie would leave the potato salad covered in the fridge overnight and enjoy it the next day. This dish is delicious straight away, but try making it a day ahead of time for the full Leslie experience!