Potato salad crack. A rose by any other name, etc.....

Summer is here in full bloom and that means grilling time (way too hot in these global warming days to cook in a hot Summer kitchen).

That also means sides to go along with those amazing ribs or Kabobs or whatever you love to grill the most on these perfect Summer evenings.

My all-time favorite side dish (after Patty's superb Tabouli) is South German stylee Potato salad.  SGPS differs radically from the bland, white midwestern mayonnaise glued together potato salads that Aunt Helen always brought to the family cookouts and almost always ended up being fed to the dogs the next morning.

My Potato salad is sharp and vinegary, while also having a touch of sweet and massively savory at the same time.  It's so addictive, that I can never make enough in order to have leftovers.  Ridiculously easy to make too.

Let's begin:


 1. Place the potatoes into a pot. Bring to a boil, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until easily pierced with a fork. Cook them til they're easy to bite into, but still with structural integrity. Drain, and set aside to cool. I sprinkle with a bit of paprika while they're hot so it works in a bit.

<note> Yukon Gold are a fine choice here, but red potatoes also work well.

2.  Place about half a pound of bacon in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Fry until browned and crisp, turning as needed. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

3. Add onion to the  leftover bacon grease, and cook over medium heat until browned. Add white wine vinegar, water, sugar, salt and pepper to the pan. Bring to a boil, then add the potatoes.  The simmering mixture should only be about 1/3 of the way up the potatoes, not drowning them -  more of an ankle bath.  Add parsley and more paprika (smoky, not sweet paprika), to taste. Crumble in half of the bacon. Heat through stirring and tossing constantly to thoroughly coat the Taters and to get that vinegary sauce to soak in really well, 3-5 mins, absolute tops. 

Then transfer to a serving dish. Adjust salt and pepper to taste, crumble the remaining bacon over the top, add more parsley if you like, and serve warm.

Ingredients:

3-4 cups diced peeled potatoes About 4 med Yukon golds
8 to 12 slices bacon -  I lean towards more cause we like bacon in this house
1 small onion, diced - sweet or red onion, I prefer red, but whatever works for you is fine. 
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper (To taste)
1.5 teaspoons Paprika  (smoky, not sweet)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley