Red Potato and Egg Salad

November and the semester is in its final third. The work has intensified in the way that semester-end work always intensifies — papers due, labs due, the Biology research project that I have been building all semester on antibiotic resistance in Louisiana waterways, which sounds dry until you realize that the water people drink and the water in which crawfish grow and the water that flooded my house in 2016 are all the same water, carrying the same molecules, and that understanding what is in the water is understanding what is in us.

Priya and I spent Tuesday night in the lab finishing our Biology project data analysis. We sat across from each other at the lab bench, laptops open, spreadsheets glowing, and she said, "Do you ever think about how we are going to be doing this for the rest of our lives? Sitting across from people in rooms, looking at data?" I said yes, and that the data would eventually be patients, and the rooms would be exam rooms, and the sitting would be the same but the stakes would be different. She got quiet and then said, "That is either inspiring or terrifying." I said it was both. She said, "Good. Doctors who are not a little terrified are dangerous." She is right.

I drove to Baker Sunday — a quick visit, two hours, because the semester does not permit more. MawMaw Shirley was in the kitchen, which she always is, but she was moving slower, pausing between tasks, sitting when she would not have sat a year ago. She made me coffee and we sat together and she asked about my classes and I told her about antibiotic resistance and she said, "Is that why the crawfish taste different?" and I said, "MawMaw, that is not what antibiotic resistance means," and she said, "I know what it means. I was testing you." She was probably not testing me. She was probably genuinely asking. But MawMaw Shirley's dignity is not something I will ever challenge, even when the question is about crawfish.

I made a quick pot of potato soup in the dorm Thursday night — potatoes, onion, broth, cream, bacon crumbled on top. Cheap, filling, warm. November food for a November night. Six people ate. The dorm kitchen is becoming my practice — not for medical school, but for the thing that comes alongside medical school, the thing MawMaw Shirley taught me that no textbook covers: that feeding people is care, and care is what doctors do, and the two traditions — cooking and healing — are closer than anyone admits.

The potato soup I made that Thursday was gone in twenty minutes, and it reminded me that potatoes are the most honest food there is — cheap, filling, no pretense. This red potato and egg salad comes from that same impulse: something sturdy you can make on a budget, set out on a counter, and watch six people gather around without being asked. It is MawMaw Shirley’s kind of cooking — the kind that says sit down, eat, you are taken care of — and it carries me through every November I have left in this semester.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 pounds red potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 large eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, and chopped
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1/3 cup red onion, finely diced
1/4 cup dill pickle relish
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, plus more for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

Instructions

Cook the potatoes. Place the cubed red potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and cook until fork-tender, about 12–15 minutes. Drain and spread on a sheet pan to cool slightly.
Prepare the eggs. While the potatoes cook, place eggs in a saucepan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to an ice bath, then peel and chop.
Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper until smooth.
Combine. In a large bowl, gently fold together the warm potatoes, chopped eggs, celery, red onion, and pickle relish. Pour the dressing over the mixture and fold until everything is evenly coated. Be careful not to mash the potatoes.
Season and chill. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld.
Serve. Garnish with chopped chives and a dusting of smoked paprika before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Red Potato and Egg Salad — November Comfort from a Dorm Kitchen