The Only Potato Salad I Like

(Photo is from my iPod Touch because my Nikon was at home and we made this at mom’s house.  Okay, my mom made this at her house.)

Okay, I’ll admit I’ll try almost anything once.  I’ve tried and never liked potato salad.  I can be pretty picky when it comes to food that contains sour cream or mayonnaise.  We never grew up eating a lot of that, so I think I just developed a taste away from it.  I’m not sure.  Or, just blame it on the fact I’m weird.  But this is the ONLY potato salad I have ever liked… Ever.  Some of my cousins will say the same thing.  I may actually get into trouble revealing Grandma’s recipe!  But as most older recipes go – it uses more taste than teaspoons to determine the amounts.  I tried to quantify them here.

I believe this recipe also further proves that bacon makes everything taste good.  🙂

Grandma’s Potato Salad
yield 8-10 servings

5 lb. bag of red potatoes
1/2 pound bacon, cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 Tb. white vinegar
2 Tb. sugar (to taste)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
pepper and salt to taste
2 stalks of celery, chopped fine (my mom likes chunks, do as you see fit)

1.  Wash and cut the potatoes in half.  Boil until they are tender and can pierce them easily with a fork.  Drain and cool.  Peel potatoes and cut into 1″ pieces.
2.  In a skillet, saute the bacon until crispy.  Remove the bacon and pour out the drippings, but leave about 1-2 tsp. of bacon drippings to saute the onion.  Saute onion until it gets soft, about 7 minutes.  Cool.
3.  Make the dressing:  in a small bowl combine the vinegar, sugar and mayonnaise.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
4.  Toss the cooled potatoes, bacon and onion in a large bowl with the dressing.  Add celery.  Toss.
5.  Cover and chill until ready to serve.  I actually like this warm and not cold.  But everyone who likes normal potato salad and this potato salad likes it cold.  The flavors do stand out better when it is cold.