If put through a potato rice, doesnt that make them more like “mashed” potatoes? MIL always uses a ricer when she makes a mashed potato casserole for Thanksgiving. The only potato salads I have ever seen/eaten/made were chunky. What else did she add to hers? I’m not sure I would like cold “smooth”potatoes but then again, I’ve never tried it her way. I think I’ll stick to the chunky method.

Well, they say that in some parts of inland FL, they used to make potato salad by stirring cut-up hard-boiled eggs into mashed potatoes, but I wouldn't care for it.

Frankly, I've never seen a single recipe of hers that I liked.

I’m not a PW recipe fan either and I am from the south. There are about as many ways to make potato salad (with ingredients) as there are days in the year. But I have never had potato salad made with riced potatoes. Always cubed mine. It seems like it would make it too gummy. IMO the potatoes are supposed to stand on their own with the added dressing and ingredients for flavor.

Ick! Yes, I cut cooked potatoes into cubes for potato salad and I also peel the potatoes before cooking.

I agree that seems like a recipe for cold mashed potatoes, not potato salad.

Sounds like cold mashed potatoes to me. I like chunky with more vinaigrette than mayo. I sometimes put hardboiled eggs in mine. I thought that was considered a more usual thing. I'm on the West Coast.

FIL liked a "mashed" potato salad. And I have a friend who mashes her potato salad as well. And it wasn't like they had leftover mashed potatoes that they made into potato salad, they MADE it that way! I grew up with chunks and thought it was rather odd to have mashed potato salad.

Actually, I prefer a very chunky potato salad, so no I haven't. I just chop those. I'll cook with chopped potatoes so they cook faster, and will cut them further when done. If needed.

For mashed potatoes, I use a manual potato masher until things get to the consistency I like, and call it good. Still chunky, although much less so than the salads.

I prefer to cook with Yukon or other gold potatoes (much more flavor) so I never find a need to peel those, other than removing eyes or bad spots.

I agree, Dedtired. I use full-fat ingredients in my cooking, but not to the degree that she does. I like her combination of spices sometimes and get some inspiration from her. But she makes a lot of pasta and breads and other foods I don't (can't won't) eat.

Growing up in Michigan, I’d never heard of (or had) what I now call mashed potato salad until I married my DH and attended a gathering in his home state of Oklahoma. One of my MIL’s friends brought a bowl of it and was watching me like a hawk as I took my first bite. To me, it tasted very strange but I couldn’t let that show to Mother’s dear friend. I will never eat it again if I can help it, though . . . Ugh! On the other hand, my MIL also introduced me to, what came to be my favorite dinner there: fried okra, pinto beans, cornbread, sliced garden tomatoes and sweet tea. Heavenly!

I thought I had a pretty good grasp on All Things Southern, but have never heard of smooth potato salad. It's gotta be chunky or it just ain't right. ;-)

Funny....I Detest capital "D" peeling potatoes, and they must be peeled imo. So I use (shhhh don't tell) Ore Ida potatoes that you steam in the bag...all the rotten work is done. One time, though, I microwaved them too long and they were mushy. I didn't know what to do so I turned to Google and found recipes for "mashed potato salad". What is this nonsense?!?!

No thank you.

I've had potato salad made with mashed potatoes, but I never make it that way. I also use Yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes and do not peel them.

I've never heard of mashed potato salad. I would hate that as I hate the texture of mashed potatoes. I always put hard-boiled eggs in my potato salad. I, too, like Yukon golds, but I peel them. Potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, celery, white onion and a dressing made from mustard, mayonnaise, a dash of vinegar or dill pickle juice, salt, pepper and paprika is my recipe. I use two eggs per pound of potatoes.

People are referring to PW's food as southern, but I didn't realize that Oklahoma is in the south?!!

I don’t recall saying that Oklahoma is in the South. My husband and kids, all of whom graduated from the University of Oklahoma, don’t consider it part of the South.

I don't really find her food "southern". Synchronicity, I'm in the auto service waiting room, and The Pioneer Woman is on the TV. Not impressed.

She incorporates general elements of many styles in her repertoire, including Italian, Asian, Greek, etc. She favors a lot of Southwest ingredients, but she's not a purist by any means. I think of her style as Family Cattle Ranch. Lots of beef, big portions, a husband who seems to have been raised in the meat-and-potato style, and kids.

I had never heard of, seen, or tasted mashed potato salad until my MIL made it. I've been having it for 25 years and like it now, but still prefer regular potato salad.

The first time after getting married that I made "German"-style potato salad, without mayonnaise, which was my family's default recipe, my husband and his family thought I was some kind of a witch lol.

Pioneer Woman's recipe contained hard boiled eggs, mayonaise and some sweet pickles. All the ingredients were acceptable (to me). It was the riced potatoes that caught me by surprise. I am not a huge fan of her cooking either, but for the record, she is from Oklahoma, but went to college in CA.

My mil's has hard boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, chopped green onions, chopped tomatoes, and sometimes chopped celery. I think she came up with it as a way to use up leftover mashed potatoes and stretch them out for her large family lol.

My MIL has made the mashed potato salad before. The family consensus that it was not nearly as good as her any of her more standard potato salad so we have not seen it again. Now I am thinking that maybe she found the recipe through the Pioneer Woman, she enjoys her show.

I have lived in TX most of my life and have never even heard of a mashed potato salad. I was reading through to see if that was what was really meant of if she just riced some to make the binding of the salad more potato and less mayonnaise. That I could see -- happens anyway of the potatoes cook a little soft. I don't know that cold mashed potatoes work for me. But if someone else loves it.....

I have picked up many tweaks from PW over the years. I have borrowed ideas from her chicken and dumplings (cornmeal in the dumplings, love the texture; and her all purpose meatball recipe gave me the idea of mustard in my meatballs), but I think riced potatoes for potato salad is not for me. I can say her cherry sorbet recipe (maybe sherbet, cannot remember) is definitely worth trying. I have never watched her show (no access to the food network), but I do wish that she did not take so many pictures on her blog. As far as the health factor, I kind of assume that most of those type of shows include too much fat. I used to be shocked at Ina Garten's recipes but now assume it is par for the course. I would never make their recipes an every day event, at least as written, but when I know I want that, I will use the butter and cream.

I can also say that many of the PW housewares that Wal-Mart carries are lovely, especially some of the glasswar.e and the slow cookers. Just don't bother with the dish towels, they are not absorbent at all.

I have never seen a potato salad recipe with riced potatoes. I wouldn't classify riced potatoes as potato salad, but to each their own. This Cook's Country potato salad is my absolute favorite - it's got dill, green beans, lemon, parsley in it. It's light and summery, and with no mayo is a little more picnic safe than the mayo heavy ones: https://www.cookscountry.com/recipes/2285-dilly-garden-potato-salad?incode=MKTFKSCA0

I remember once seeing a recipe for mashed potato salad on the box of instant mashed potatoes. For some reason, that idea always stuck in the back of my mind. I just never forgot seeing that.

Long live chunky potato salad!