I hope you all had a wonderful fourth of July with your family and friends.

I love this time of year because the air just fills with the smell from the grills in town heating up with all kinds of wonderful meats.

We went a little grill crazy this year and did hamburgers, ribs (two kinds), chicken, and smoked sausage.

We had baked beans, Texas toast, coleslaw, and Mama Kay’s sour cream cake!

You just can’t move after all that.

The new dish this year was a twist on a cook out classic, Potato Salad.

It was a wonderful change. I call it Roasted Loaded Potato Salad. This potato salad you can get everyone to eat and I hope it becomes one of your favorite dishes too.

Roasted Loaded Potato Salad

2 half lbs Red New Potatoes

1 cup Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

1 lb Thick sliced Bacon (the meat market has great bacon)

2 tbs minced garlic

1 tbs olive oil

1 cup plus 2 tbs Best Sour Cream

2 tbs Miracle Whip

2 tbs Dijon Mustard

1 tbs Paprika (for that smoky flavor)

1 tsp salt

half cup fresh green chives finely chopped

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Wash and roughly cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Place them in a large bowl and pour over 1 cup of balsamic vinaigrette dressing and coat well.

Spread potatoes out on a baking pan lined with a baking sheet or silicone sheet. Bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes until nice and tender.

While potatoes are baking, fry up your bacon with the olive oil and garlic.

Place on paper towel to drain.

In a large enough bowl to place the potatoes in mix together the sour cream, miracle whip, Dijon mustard, paprika, and salt.

Finely chop your chives.

When potatoes are done gently mix them into the bowl with your sour cream dressing.

Add your bacon mix, chives and 1 cup of the shredded cheese.

Use the other cup of shredded cheese to garnish each serving.

This beats a plain old baked potato any day.

Comfort food at its best!

This dish compliments any cook out dish whether it’s ribs, chicken or your favorite steak.

So until next time, have fun in the kitchen, experiment and indulge your cravings.

Laura Clements is the manager of Kafe Buzz