I never thought I would love small town living. Most of the year it is not my favorite place to be as the stop lights start blinking at 9:00 pm and most places close for the night. I am a city girl at heart. I like knowing that I can order Chinese food or go out for a drink at 1:00 am and can find places open. From Memorial Day to Labor Day though this small town comes alive.

The tourists start arriving from the cities for their beach vacations here. I don’t understand it, but I am grateful they come. The restaurants and stores are all open later. There are people walking downtown at all hours. The town is alive again. This is my favorite time of year!

So, now that Summer has unofficially begun here we have started eating more salads, grilling out more and eating later in the evening. I found several recipes for Balsamic Potato Salad and took what I thought were the best pieces from each one and made my own Balsamic Roasted Red Potato Salad.

Verdict:

I had to hide the salad until it was time for dinner. Every time someone would walk by they would take a little piece of potato to try it. It was so good! The kids and I were finally banned from eating it until dinner time.

The only one that didn’t really like it was my wife. She had a hard time with the salad being served at room temperature. She thought it should be hot or cold but not somewhere in the middle.

For my mostly gluten-free son this is a gluten-free salad as long as all your ingredients are gluten-free!

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• 3 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 1/2 TBSP honey
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 lbs. red potatoes,quartered
• 6 slices bacon, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. On a rimmed baking sheet place potatoes in a single layer. Drizzle potatoes with olive oil, stir to coat.
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
4. While potatoes are cooking cook bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it is brown and crispy. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon and allow the bacon to sit on paper towels to soak up any remaining grease.
5. Mix together vinegar, honey, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl.
6. Remove potatoes from oven and allow potatoes to cool to almost room temperature.
7. Mix potatoes with vinegar mixture until coated to your liking. You may not need the entire mixture.
8. Sprinkle with bacon and stir. Serve at room temperature.