Red Potato Salad

On a hot summer night, nothing tastes better with a grilled steak dinner than a cool and creamy Red Potato Salad.  This recipe is one of my favorites and is a great go-to recipe for weekend barbecues.

We combined the cooked potatoes with bacon, chopped hard-boiled eggs and grated cheese, and added cool cucumbers and radishes for some bright summer flavor and color.  The Green Goddess Dressing, which is made with lots of fresh herbs, adds a nice creamy coating to the salad, but if you don't have time to prepare the dressing, you can also use bottled Caesar dressing, or any of your favorite creamy dressings that you have on hand would work fine.

3 lbs Red Potatoes, washed and rinsed
1/2 lb thick cut Bacon, diced in small pieces
1  medium Cucumber, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed and then diced
6-8  Radishes, thinly sliced
6  Hard-Boiled Eggs, cooled and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup grated Parmesan and Romano Cheese
1 tsp  Salt
1/2 tsp  Black Pepper
Green Goddess Dressing - click here for recipe, or use your favorite bottled dressing
Fresh Chives, chopped, for garnish
Diced Pimiento for garnish

Cut red potatoes into 1-inch cubes and place in a large pot.  cover the potatoes with water and boil gently until just tender, but not fully cooked. Drain and cool completely. While potatoes cool, cook bacon and then set it aside to cool.

To assemble the salad: Place potatoes in a large bowl and add bacon, cucumbers, radishes, eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Pour the Green Goddess Dressing over the salad, adding about a 3/4 cup to start, then gently blend the salad with a spatula. You can add more dressing, if needed, to suit your own taste. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving.  Sprinkle with chopped fresh chives and diced pimiento before serving.