Recipe #3 - Sides - Blue Cheese Potato Salad

This is a real crowd pleaser. It is the first recipe that I changed to make my own, just because i thought I could make it better (to my tastes). It has become a standard offering when I smoke ribs. As a nod to my Church Basement Ladies friends, this is also a great dish to take if you are invited to a pot luck dinner.

The original recipe comes from Richard McPeake, and a class I took at the Culinary Center of Kansas City. The original recipe was published in "Backyard BBQ The Art of Smokology". This is a terrific book, and a must have for beginner and experienced smokers.

OK, back to the recipe... the original calls for Chedder Cheese instead of Blue Cheese. I love a good cheese, and a tight Stillton is among my favorites. After years and years of marriage, my wife knew I loved cheese, knew I loved Blue Cheese, but insists on experimenting with low cost ingrediants. She had bought a package of ...I believe the brand name is something like Athos. already crumbled Blue Cheese. 8 ounces. Certainly was not the freshest, not the best quality, but I figured what the heck... Let's us it up. I figured it works better to cook with, as opposed to paired with a Granny Smith Apple and a nice Zinfindel. And it did!

5 Pounds Red Skinned potatoes, 3/4" diced, unpeeled (healthier, adds texture and appearance)
8 ounces Blue Cheese (one of those pre-crumbled packages)
3 hard cooked eggs, chopped
1 medium size finely chopped onion
4 TB fresh chives, minced
2 TB Salad Sprinkle, McCormick brand
1 TB fresh ground Black Pepper
2 TB Ground sea salt
3 TB Pourable yellow mustard, French's brand
3 cups Mayonaise

Cook the potaotoes til just done, cool immediatly. Combine all the other ingredients into your kitchenaid mixer and mix on low for about three minutes. Once the potatoes are completely cooled, mix in about 1/4 of the potatoes and 1/4 of the goo in a serving bowl. Then add about 1/2 the remaining potatoes and goo, mix that layer, then the final layer. Cool in the refrigerator for at least three hours prior to serving, preferably over night.

A word about cheese quality. Ordinarily, I believe that the better quality cheese, the better quality your food will be. This is NOT the case with this recipe. I made this once with a top quality Blue Cheese, and the taste was overpowering. just a word of warning, the package seems to be the right mix