potato salad

German Potato Salad

Hot red potatoes dressed in a warm bacon, mustard and vinegar dressing are what make this traditional German potato salad a family favorite.

I can taste the pucker now. It’s the telltale sign of the ultimate German potato salad. That vinegar punch mixed with spunky, grainy mustard in a bacon-studded dressing. The unexpected zing that makes me wonder who could possibly pass up a mayo-less ‘tater salad?

Not this German girl.

Although when I just asked Smudge her opinion on which photo to use as the main for this post, she said, “That’s potato salad? I didn’t know it was potato salad when we have it. I always thought it was just hot cooked potatoes.”

I suppose hot potato salad served in a frying pan threw her for a BBQ-side-dish-loop. Surprise is good for her. And for all of us when it comes to giving traditional dishes a try. Leave it to the Germans who originated Christmas, Legos, Nutella and the VW bug to hand down yet another classic.continue to the recipe… about German Potato Salad

20 Potluck Side Dishes for the Classic Summer BBQ

This list of my top 20 classic potluck side dishes are he favorites everyone at your summer cookout will love and are easy to make and to take.

It’s summer, when you’re very likely to be invited to a backyard bbq, or hopefully even host one yourself. Summer’s main dish offerings for a crowd can be pretty standard fare with baby back pork ribs, burgers, and hot dogs likely taking center stage. Where things can go wily in summer cooking’s Wild West is in the side dish area of the party game. There’s so many options, how do you choose what to bring to a potluck?

This list of make-ahead, classic potluck side dish recipes is made up of all the old-time favorites I’ve shared here on the blog that still top my list of those I most often crave. While it’s fun to show off your amusingly inventive recipe creations, sometimes it’s best to just go with the classics, the tried-and-true, the favorites you know everyone at the party will love.

I’m sure I’ll be adding more to this list as the summer goes on, but for now, you know I’ll be sharing these sides on my summer picnic table, and hope you will too.continue to the recipe… about 20 Potluck Side Dishes for the Classic Summer BBQ

No-Mayo Potato Salad with Herbs

Easy to make and lighter to eat, this healthy no-mayo potato salad with fresh herbs and an easy olive oil dressing is the perfect side dish for a crowd.

There are times when a mayo-free potato salad is exactly what’s needed. Like those backyard barbecues where mayonnaise and summer’s heat simply don’t mix. Or a potluck party buffet table for a crowd where you my Mom’s best potato salad ever’s hard boiled eggs aren’t up to the task of languishing at room temperature all day or night long at the party.

And surprisingly, I heard somewhere out there are eaters who just don’t like a mayonnaise dressing on their potato salad. What the what? Shocking, I know…

For each of these situations, this mayo-free potato salad is the winning recipe solution. I discovered the inspiration for it while leafing through my copy of My Smith’s Magazine I receive each month from my local Smith’s Marketplace grocery store. This potato salad is easy to make and feels a bit sophisticated, just like anything with classic French roots will. It’s loaded with fresh nips of herbed bites, Dijon mustard flavored olive oil, and it won’t go bad before the party ends, and even better, gets more flavorful on the second and third day after it’s been in the fridge..

continue to the recipe… about No-Mayo Potato Salad with Herbs

Creamy Dilled Red Potato Salad

This easy potato salad skips the mustard, egg, and celery to keep things super simple with a sauce of mayo and sour cream (or healthy Greek yogurt) over slightly smashed baby red potatoes to create a super creamy potato salad that’s brightened up with a dose of fresh dill ready to eat any day of the year.

“This is my new favorite potato salad” he declared as he scooped another forkful straight from the mixing bowl and into his already munching mouth.

I gotta admit, I was somewhat shocked by my husband’s declaration.

“But what about my Mom’s Classic Very Best Potato Salad?” I retorted. ‘It’s a total classic! It’s always been our favorite! And it’s one of the most popular recipes on the blog!” And by the way, had he totally forgotten about my German Potato Salad and my Loaded Baked Potato Salad, too?

If I had to guess the reason he loves this potato salad so much, it’s because it’s so perfectly creamy without the extra crunches of celery or pickles, so it’s a more similar bite to his favorite baked potato with just a bit of onion to add a little heat and dill to add that fresh factor. But even better, it’s so simple to make.

It’s creamy. It’s dreamy. And it’s delicious.

continue to the recipe… about Creamy Dilled Red Potato Salad

How to Make the Best Potato Salad

This isn’t my first potato salad recipe rodeo on this bloggity blog, but it’s for sure my favorite and dare I say, the best.

Okay, that might be a pretty bold statement, stating this potato salad as the best. I’ve shared several variations of potato salad here including the more complicated, throw everything in but the kitchen sink Stetson Chunky Potato Salad to my Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon Dressing to my Loaded Baked Potato Salad that has definitely risen in the ranks of favorites.

But I’ve yet to share the number one potato salad that worms its way into nearly every BBQ, picnic or just good old fashioned supper at my house, the one I’m proud as punch to share when I go to other’s homes as well.

This classic potato salad is the one I grew up on. It’s the recipe my Grandma Mary Jane made, then passed onto my mom who made it to accompany every hamburger, grilled ribs or other summer deliciousness, and who then passed it onto me and my sister. It’s the recipe I spent many a summer afternoon making alongside my amazing mama, just like she did with hers. In fact, I’ve made it so many times I don’t even need the recipe. You know a recipe is that good when you know it by heart.

So, here’s how to make the best potato salad ever. Let’s get started…

continue to the recipe… about How to Make the Best Potato Salad

Baked Potato Salad and a Canyon Cookout

This restaurant favorite gets a home-style makeover for a crowd in my Baked Potato Salad with bacon and cheese.

Sometimes you just have to break out of the norm. Make a break from Groundhog day and do something a little different, change things up and give them a little twist.

Like 99.95% of every single person I know, I can get into a rut. A funk. A little too much of doing things the same way just because that’s the way I do it.

Last week I was totally uninspired. I had just returned home after a week of visiting my sister where I had dutifully assigned deadlines to my calendar and outlined my to-do list with tasks at hand. And yet I could not for the life of me not get up the gumption or enthusiasm to tackle them and cross those pesky running agenda items that kept racing through my mind off of the quickly becoming redundant list. I moved from one task to the next, never fully realizing my goals. I needed a change up in the old routine, and with several out of town trips looming on the horizon, I had to get a new ‘tude quick.

continue to the recipe… about Baked Potato Salad and a Canyon Cookout

Stetson Chunky Potato Salad

If I had my druthers—which I often do—I’d skip the traditional main protein (chicken or meat) and instead go for a selection of side dishes. I’d much rather have a taste of this and a bite of that, a smattering of tastes to satisfy my undecided thanks to so many options cravings.

When I shared my Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon Dressing recipe I mentioned I’d be sharing a few new recipes with you this summer. Potato salad is one of my all time favorites, and lucky for me, there are plenty of options out there. Mayonnaise based, olive oil based, some with pickles, some with herbs and more, more, more. I may never run out of recipes and flavor combinations to try.

continue to the recipe… about Stetson Chunky Potato Salad

Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon Dressing

Who is ready for summer? Who is ready for summer fun? And summer trips? And who wants to go on trip with me and a few other bloggers to see where the food on our tables actually comes from? I’ll fill you in on that opportunity right after this potato salad fills you up. Memorial Day conjures up a serious craving for barbeques and deck time. Which translates to grilling and potato salad for most any red-blooded American. And even a few border straddling Canadians. It’s the start of summer so let’s ring it in right.

This recipe is an adaptation of one my sister in law makes for nearly every BBQ feast at their house. While Chad is busy pulling his smoked salmon or ribs out of the smoker, Audrey has usually whipped up a simple, roasted potato salad that is supremely delish.

G Dawg and I were craving something similar last weekend when we had a few friends over for eats and sips. With a few errant strips of bacon languishing in the fridge, he got all inspired to create a riff on Audrey’s recipe, sans the mayo. Why no mayo? Probably because we’re a house divided on mayo/Miracle Whip preference and he didn’t want me giving my two cents on what tastes better. However I did lend my opinion on his recipe documentation skills as he scribbled his notations on a napkin. He’s a mad scientist in the kitchen with no time to dawdle around looking for paper.

Napkin notations or not, his potato creation was spot on: Create a hot bacon dressing to be soaked up by crispy, roasted, bacon spruced potatoes. Inspired it was, leftovers it was not. These babies went fast and hard and happily so.

To ring in barbeque and picnic season, I’m going to be featuring several of my favorite potato salads perfect for every occasion from canyon cookouts to luncheon main dishes. There’s so many options you’ll be potato-sized in no time.

continue to the recipe… about Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon Dressing

potato salad

German Potato Salad

20 Potluck Side Dishes for the Classic Summer BBQ

No-Mayo Potato Salad with Herbs

Creamy Dilled Red Potato Salad

How to Make the Best Potato Salad

Baked Potato Salad and a Canyon Cookout

Stetson Chunky Potato Salad

Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon Dressing

How to Make the Best Potato Salad

How to Make Classic Macaroni Salad

The Best Greek Chicken Marinade

Fresh and Easy Vietnamese Noodle Salad

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