I make my German grandmother's potato salad for picnics; if I try to substitute something else there are always complaints. I was sure there must be hundreds of similar recipes among the Library's 422,926 recipes, but to my amazement there are only three -- Only Show Potatoes, Bacon, Onions, Celery, Vinegar, Salads yields:
German potato salad from The Big Summer Cookbook: 300 Fresh, Flavorful Recipes for Those Lazy, Hazy Days by Jeff Cox
German potato salad from The Big Book of Potluck: Good Food - and Lots of It - for Parties, Gatherings, and All Occasions by Maryana Vollstedt
Potato salad with mustard and bacon from Bradley Ogden's Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner by Bradley Ogden
I don't have any of those books, although I have several other cookbooks of Maryana's that I like a lot.
The only two changes I've made from my grandmother's recipe are:
(a) not to peel the potatoes and
(b) to supplement the fat from the bacon with olive oil -- she always had a big tomato can of bacon drippings in the refrigerator, but I do not.
The only trick to her recipe is to set the potatoes to boiling, assemble all the other ingredients in a big bowl, and then dress the potatoes straight out of the boiling water, while they are still very hot and ready to absorb all the flavors.
And don't forget to save the potato water for broth -- it's quite delicious.
Hmm. I've never used whole grain mustard, as Bradley specifies. I'm going to make the potato salad for a gathering of my husband's family in June. Maybe another little change?