QUESTION: I read your column all the time, and I have adopted a few "Chef's Table" recipes that have become favorites.Now I would like some help. Every fall in my little town there is a Quaker Fair where lots of goodies are sold. I was hoping you could get the dressing they use on their potato salad - it is very good. If you can't get that exact recipe, maybe you can give me some other dressings to go on potato salad. My mother used to make a good dressing, but she never showed us how to make it.I've had no luck getting recipes from chefs in our area. Maybe next year when they have the Quaker Festival, I'll let you know and you can visit us!ANSWER: This Quaker Fair sounds like a very civilized event - you may want to get some kind of approval before you invite me! They probably don't let just anyone attend those types of gatherings.I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has told me that their mother made a very good something-or-other, but never wrote the recipe down. So if you have a good dish that people love, please remember to write it down for anyone who might enjoy it, and pass it on. We don't want your grandson writing my grandson, trying to figure out your recipe.In doing some research while looking for a traditional, historical Quaker Potato Salad recipe, I came upon one of the first potato salads mentioned in any book. In a book published in 1591, John Gerrard writes, "they are sometimes boiled and sopped in wine, by others boiled with prunes, and likewise others dress them (after roasting them in the ashes) in oil, vinegar and salt, every man according to his own taste. However they be dressed, they comfort, nourish and strengthen the body."I wouldn't want to pass those cooking tips on and be responsible for the consequences. It sounds like the potatoes weren't the only things sopped in wine. This cook should have put down the wine bottle long before the potatoes were put into the pot!But these methods were from the 16th century. Potato salad didn't really catch on in the United States until the latter half of the 19th century, and the taste for it was mainly driven by German immigrants who made their potato salad with a vinegar base and served it warm.The mayonnaise version of potato salad didn't appear until years later. It was not derived from any particular ethnic or cultural cuisine, and it became the potato salad of choice for the true American mutt.I was able to make a few phone calls to people who are of Quaker descent, since I happen to live and work in area rich in Quaker history. I asked them for a traditional Quaker family potato salad recipe. Oddly enough, most of the recipes I received were very similar to some Amish potato salad recipes that I found. But there was one that was a little different and intriguing and I've included it here. I hope the recipe is close to the one you enjoyed, and that it is good enough to get me into next year's fair!

7 medium to large potatoes, peeled and medium diced1 onion, finely chopped1 cup chopped celery¼ cup finely chopped carrots1 teaspoon ground celery seed4 hard boiled eggs, cooled, peeled and medium chopped1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped1 clove garlic, finely mincedSalt and pepper to taste

2 eggs½ cup sugar1 teaspoon arrow root or cornstarch3 tablespoons white wine vinegar½ cup half-and-half2 tablespoons coarse ground mustard3 tablespoons butter1 cup mayonnaisePlace potatoes in a large saucepot and put enough water to cover by one or two inches. Bring to a boil, and cook for 7 to 9 minutes or until tender when testing with a fork. Strain the potatoes and allow them to cool to room temperature.For the dressing, place the eggs in a metal mixing bowl that will fit into a saucepan to create a double boiler. Whisk the eggs and then mix in the sugar. After eggs and sugar are blended, mix in the cornstarch. Add the vinegar, the half and half, and the mustard, and mix. Place the metal bowl over a saucepan of boiling water, and constantly stir the mixture as it cooks and thickens, about 12 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the pan from the double boiler (continue to stir so that the eggs do not coagulate), and mix in the butter. Cool it slightly, whisking it now and then, and then put it in the refrigerator to cool down completely. Once it is cool, fold in the mayonnaise.Place the potato salad ingredients in a large bowl. Gently fold in the dressing, beginning with half of it, and then add more until the salad is the desired consistency. The salad is best prepared the day before using.Chef Jim Coleman and his wife, writer Candace Hagan, who contributed to this column, answer your food questions. He is the executive chef at the Rittenhouse Hotel, Philadelphia, the author of three cookbooks and the host of two nationally syndicated cooking shows - "A Chef's Table" on NPR, and "Flavors of America" on PBS.)By KRT News Service