World's BEST Potato Salad with Comeback Sauce

I know this isn't exactly a Weight Watchers delight and would probably best be posted in the summer (because isn't that the proper time to be enjoying potato salad?) but honestly, this is the BEST potato salad that will ever bless your tastebuds. The word "bless" is not an understatement.

I saw the recipe on Prissy Green and her superlatives intrigued me. I printed it off and set it aside, wondering if it possibly could be a recipe great enough to induce my husband to eat potato salad. Let's just say he's not a fan.

Anyway, along came our yearly family Christmas party, where the women bring Fabulous Salads of Wonder for the females and the men pig out on meat and sugar and the kids drink their body weight in soda.  It's a great system I tell you.  Having been assigned to bring a salad I decided to break the single greatest commandment of cooking: Thou shalt not experiment with new recipes upon thy guests as thou art begging for destruction (or at least abundant embarrassment). But true to her word, Prissy Green's brag that this would be the most talked about dish at the table was completely fulfilled--in a good way. Even Andrew said he liked it.

The key to the dish is (besides lots of fatty bacon) is roasting the potatoes and using the famous southern Comeback Sauce. I think Prissy got the salad recipe from a Comeback Sauce recipe book or label or something like that but I just googled "comeback sauce recipe" to make my own. The sauce takes approximately five million ingredients (give or take) and if you name a condiment in your kitchen I can pretty much guarantee it's in there but that's what makes it so magical.  I can't find the site where I got the sauce recipe anymore, but I've simplified it a bit and here's my version. Enjoy.

Potato Salad:
3 pounds small red potatoes, in 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 slices bacon, crisp and crumbled
1 cup diced sweet onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 tablespoons Comeback Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Combine potatoes, olive oil, pepper and salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until tender and slightly browned. Cook bacon until crisp, reserving drippings. Crumble into a bowl and add potatoes. Cook onion in bacon grease until soft and translucent (on low heat is best, high heat makes onions more bitter).

Carmelize onions then add garlic and cook a half minute more. Remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes. Add onion and garlic to bowl with potatoes and bacon and toss gently to keep potatoes in tact.  Let stand another 15 minutes. While waiting, combine Comeback Sauce, honey, vinegar and parsley in a bowl and mix well. Toss with potato mix and serve immediately.

*Note: for a party-sized bowl I doubled the recipe. I liked it served at room temperature or slightly warm but it wouldn't be bad cold either.

Comeback Sauce
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 medium sweet onion
1 cup mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip though I used light mayo)
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/8 teaspoon tabasco
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons water
dash of salt

Puree garlic, onion and mayo in blender, add the rest of the ingredients and puree until smooth. Chill overnight to meld flavors.