Warm Potato Salad (Earls Restaurant Copycat Recipe)

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You know the Warm Potato Salad from Earls Restaurant?  The one that I sometimes dream about?

 

I think this is it.

To figure out how to make the Warm Potato Salad, I had to go to Earls Restaurant (twice, or maybe three times) to do a little 'research.'  While doing the recon (more than once, just to be sure), I got to hang out with friends and drink wine and eat delicious potato salad.  It was a very labour intensive education process, as you can imagine.  Here is what I learned:

1)  Huge pieces of bacon are necessary.  You can't just have little bits of bacon in this salad, you need a large mouthful of bacon.  Also, if a little bit of bacon grease happens to accidentally spill into the dressing, that is not a problem and people will like this salad and you more.

2)  Roast that *#@$!  Roasted corn and roasted baby potatoes and roasted garlic are key.  Flavour central.

3) Dill is such a great herb.  Sour cream is such a great dairy product.

  

4) This is really not a salad at all.

I originally served this salad a a birthday party that we hosted for The Hubby's best friend, as a side dish to the pulled pork sandwiches (yum) that his wife made.  I was asked for the recipe for the potato salad two or three times that night, and that always makes you feel good.  I just made it again recently when The Hubby's parents came for my father-in-law's birthday dinner, and it was served alongside The Hubby's marinated rotisserie prime rib (recipe to follow soon).  Drool.

And here's a funny story, at least to me and probably not at all to my sister-in-law Serena...

I typed up this recipe and sent it to Serena in an email, because she wanted to make it as a side dish for her daughter, my niece, Avery's 4th birthday party (that makes at least three birthdays that this salad has been made for in just this blog post alone).  Prior to this, Serena had also recommended to me a Jamie Oliver recipe for Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup, which I decided to make on the same day that she made the Warm Potato Salad.  We were text messaging back and forth that day while we were each making our respective recipes.  I realized part way through making my soup that Sweet Potatoes are actually Yams in Canada (but since Jamie Oliver is from the UK the recipe had called for Sweet Potatoes), so the soup didn't come out the same way that it did when Serena makes it.  Oopsy.  I texted Serena to let her know my mistake, and she texted back shortly afterwards, "Did you peel the potatoes?"  Thinking that she was referring to the sweet potatoes in my recipe, I responded that yes I had, because the recipe had called for me to do so.  Later that day, the Hubby and I arrived for dinner and Serena was cursing me for how long the Warm Potato Salad had taken her to make because of how labour-intensive it is to peel 5 pounds of baby nugget potatoes.  I asked, "why did you peel them?"  And she responded that I had told her to do so earlier that day over text message.  Whoops, whoops, whoops, when she asked me if I had peeled the potatoes she had meant had I peeled them when I had made the Warm Potato Salad at the party we had.  Sorry Serena.  Classic mix-up.  The End.

This is how many potatoes you don't have to peel

Disclaimer - I have absolutely no idea if this recipe is anywhere close to the actual recipe for Warm Potato Salad that Earls Restaurant uses, but to me this is what it tastes like.  And I like it a lot.  I hope you do too!

Warm Potato Salad

Serves: A lot of folks - 5 pounds of potatoes worth of folks!

Ingredients

• 5 pounds baby potatoes (not peeled - refer to story above!)
• 2 cups corn (frozen, fresh, canned - doesn't matter)
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 pound sliced bacon
• 1 cup mayonnaise (I use light mayo)
• 1 cup sour cream (14%, not light or fat-free)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup melted butter or a few tablespoons of reserved bacon grease (totally optional, but it adds A LOT of yumminess to the salad)
• Sliced chives or green onions, for garnish

Directions

Preheat your oven to 425F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.  Cut the potatoes into half, or into bite-sized pieces if the potatoes are on the slightly larger nugget size.  Place the potatoes in a single layer on the parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Sprinkle the corn and the smashed garlic cloves evenly over top.  Brush the olive oil over the potato, corn, and garlic mixture, ensuring that the garlic is well coated with oil.  Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and a small amount of salt.

Roast the potatoes at 425F for about 45 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden.    

Meanwhile, using kitchen scissors (or a knife), cut each strip of bacon into large pieces (I usually cut each strip into about 4 - 5 pieces).  Cook over medium heat in a frying pan until cooked to your liking, then remove to a paper-towel lined plate.  Reserve bacon grease if using for the dressing, or discard if not.  

In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon juice, dill, parmesan cheese, and the melted butter or bacon grease (if using melted butter or bacon grease).  Stir well to combine.

When your potatoes are done, remove from oven.  Remove the 5 cloves of roasted garlic from the baking sheets, and transfer to a cutting board, where you will mince into small pieces.  Add the roasted garlic to the sour cream and mayonnaise dressing, and stir until well combined.  Adjust seasonings of the dressing if necessary.

Pour potato and corn mixture into a large bowl.  Add bacon.  Add sour cream and mayonnaise dressing.  Sprinkle with sliced chives.  Serve warm, and enjoy the leftovers cold.

  

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