Ultimate Loaded Baked Potato Salad

With grilling season and summer gatherings right around the corner, I thought I'd share my recipe for one killer of a summertime side dish. Potato salad is pretty much a staple at most warm-weather get-togethers. {I actually love potato salad so much that I make it two or three times a month from spring until fall.} I've taken the traditional potato salad and given it one heck of a make-over. It's quite the upgrade actually. Here, we've, basically, got the working parts of a potluck favorite combined with everything we all love about a loaded baked potato.

The result of this marriage is something pretty darn amazing. I start with baking the potatoes instead of boiling them. Once removed from the oven and cut into chunks, the potatoes then get a good dousing of vinegar while they are still warm. (I use the vinegar trick for any potato salad recipe that I make. I think I learned it from watching Emeril years ago. He said that he considers potatoes "most vulnerable" while they are still hot and more easily "accepting" of the vinegar.)

For the dressing, a little sour cream is incorporated in with the mayo for the perfect tangy zip and to mimic those flavors found in loaded baked potatoes. Crispy bacon, lots of scallions (or chives) and shredded cheese get folded in for the perfect "bang" in this firecracker of a potato salad.

Yields 8 - 10 servings.