Instructions: One of the great things about being an American is being able to reinvent yourself - even if youre everyones favorite picnic side dish, potato salad.

Not that we dont love the tried-and-true version, a giant scoop of mayonnaise-slathered potatoes, crunchy with bits of celery and frequently smoothed out with bits of hard-cooked eggs. Or that other classic, the German-style salad, glossy with oil and vinegar and flecked with never-enough bits of crisp bacon.

For chefs and home cooks alike, the potato salad you grew up with usually is what determines your preference.

I totally grew up with the creamy thing, chef Susan Goss said of her salad days. No eggs, though. My mother was totally against eggs in potato salad, so that was a new thing when my friends pulled that on me.

But everyone needs a makeover now and then. As a chef, Goss has turned to lighter approaches, dressing tubers with a citrus vinaigrette - a blend of orange, lemon and lime juices - seasoned with fresh mint, which she calls really light and refreshing, really summery.

Experimenting is even more rewarding now that there are so many varieties of potato available.

There are purple potatoes, with a flavor that ranges from slightly sweet to nutty. And those short, knobby fingerlings. Or new potatoes, which are harvested before they reach maturity.

Whatever you use, choose potatoes with smooth, firm skin. Avoid potatoes with soft spots, greenish tints and punctured surfaces. Keep them in a cool, dark and dry storage area with good ventilation, not in the refrigerator. Potatoes stored below 40 degrees will begin converting starch to sugar, which makes them sweeter and causes them to darken when cooked. If yours develop sprouts or green patches, trim those off before cooking.

Potatoes are such versatile vegetables that there is no point in arguing over which dressing is best, whether to peel your potatoes when theyre hot or cold or whether to use red skins or russets.

Just pick a salad and go. Stick with the old favorites if you like. But there are a few ways to play a new potato salad game.

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