I am not a cook. The fanciest dish I make is pasta, and as long as you don't turn the noodles into mush, you're in business. So, my first big cooking challenge came in the form of one of the Fourth of July's most popular dishes: potato salad.

I know what you're thinking. Really? Potato salad is challenging? Now let me tell you, my friend. I have not interacted with potatoes. Potatoes and I have not been acquainted in the kitchen. The most I have done with potatoes is peel them for my mom. So, trying to figure out how to not completely mess them up was just a bit difficult.

But I have achieved it: the basic potato salad. Not so good to get you on "Top Chef," but enough to make you the darling of the company picnic. Yes, there was much trial and error (and error). But I did it, so you don't have to. So join me on my journey to potato salad:

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Because it was my first time making potato salad, I did what any young adult would do in my situation: go to the Internet. With the help of several cooking blogs and Pinterest boards, I compiled the most necessary ingredients:

• 6-8 small/medium potatoes (preferably waxy or all-purpose, like Yukon Gold; starchy like russet or Idaho don't hold their shape well and will more easily become mashed potatoes)
• 6-9 large eggs
• Scallions (Depends on preference. One recipe told me to use 2 tablespoons and that was definitely not enough for me.)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard

You can also add other ingredients to your liking, such as red onion, pickle, or celery. But this is to make a basically basic potato salad. We're keeping it simple for now.

1. Chop and boil the potatoes.

Here's where my big mistake happened. I decided to boil the potatoes whole so it would be easier to cut them and take off the peel. Less effort is better, right?

But, because I'm a potato noob, I couldn't tell when the potatoes were starting to overcook. They overcooked. And because the potatoes were different sizes, some were falling apart while others were mushy on the outside and firm on the inside.

Sad potatoes.

Although this was a drawback, because it was 2 a.m. and I had just spent 45 minutes on these stupid potatoes, I decided to carry on. Good thing I had bought a bag of 15 potatoes. With the power of the Internet, I figured out how to achieve perfection.

First, peel the potatoes and chop them into even chunks. Trying to make the pieces the same size matters, because then they will cook through about the same. Then place the pieces into a large cooking pot and fill with enough cold water to cover at least an inch above. You want cold water at first because you don't want the starch to break down too quickly. Add salt and vinegar for some seasoning and to help it not overcook (hopefully).

Set heat to medium-high. As soon as the water is close to or starts boiling, turn it down. Now you just want your potatoes to simmer. You don't want the tragedy of overcooking to occur again, especially not at 2:30 a.m. in the morning. I would say leave them for a good 10 minutes. Then take a spoon and knife to check how firm a piece is. It should be firm enough that it has a nice shape and won't fall apart, but not so firm that it's difficult to cut through. Once you have achieved this, take your pot and replace the hot water with cold, and let cool.

2. Boil the eggs

This is less difficult than the potatoes (I honestly got scarred by the first batch), but still possible to mess up. It's actually pretty similar to boiling potatoes. What I do is put the eggs in a saucepan and fill it with enough cold water to cover them by an inch. Add salt and vinegar. Put on stove, set to medium-high, wait for it to boil, but then turn off the heat and cover with the lid. Let the eggs steam for around 12 minutes (less or more depending on how many eggs), then move the eggs to an ice bath (or just a bowl of cold water, like I did).

After a reasonable amount of time, take the eggs and start peeling. I found that cracking them slightly then squeezing them a bit will make the shells come off more easily. Apparently, if you steam the eggs instead of boiling them, you can just squeeze the eggs out of the shell. But it was 2 a.m., and I was not about that life at that moment. Hopefully, you'll end up with eggs that don't have that ugly gray ring around the yolk. Then cut the eggs into bite-sized pieces.

3. Cut the scallions.

Do I need to explain this? Wash scallions. Take knife to scallion. Cut small piece. Repeat.

4. In a bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, scallions, salt, and pepper. Put it in the fridge, and let it chill for around 4-6 hours or just overnight.

5. In another bowl, mix the sour cream, mayonnaise, and mustard.

6. About an hour before you plan to serve, fold the potatoes into the maysourtard mixture.

I suggest finding another bowl, then adding from both bowls at a time to make sure everything is all even.

And then you're done!

Like I said, you can choose to add other ingredients, but this potato salad is pretty much an overall crowd pleaser (or so I like to tell myself).

While it was fun to take a venture into cooking, I think I'll just stick with my stir fry for now. But who knows, maybe I'll take on the wild side again. And if I mess up again, I'll make sure to post on here for you all to see.

Oh, and for those who were curious about the fate of my first batch of potatoes, don't worry. I put them to good use and made some sort of sad home fries. Still tasted good because, well, potatoes are potatoes.