Summer Lemon Potato Salad

  Visiting my folks in Cape Cod, our first night my mom served up steamed lobster and this delicious lemon potato salad. 'The recipe's from a magazine,' she told me sheepishly. 'Which magazine?' I asked, as I watched her chopping, simmering, tossing and stirring-- paying no attention to quantities, not written recipe in sight. 'I don't know. An old one...' she trailed off as she diced stalk after stalk of celery. She stuck her finger into the dressing, tasted it and adjusted the salt, then she mixed it all together and let me try it. It was sublime (and that's saying something for a potato salad). The lemon is in no way over-powering, it's actually quick subtle. This is perfect to serve with summer grilled seafood or chicken.



4 pounds salad potatoes, halves, if necessary to make them a uniform size
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Zest of 1 and 1/2 lemons, chopped fine
1/4 cup chopped, fresh chives
1 cup Hellmann's mayo (lite or regular)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
5-7 stalks celery, chopped

1) Place the potatoes into a pot of cool, salted water, cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are just tender. Drain in a colander in the sink and immediately squeeze the juice of 1/2 a lemon over the potatoes. Allow them to cool completely there in the colander.

2) Make the dressing: Mix together the chives, mayo, sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning, if you like. Toss the dressing with the cooled potatoes and chopped celery. Stash in the fridge until ice cold and ready to serve.