Creamy Bacon Potato Salad

I learned two interesting things this weekend:

1) Bacon definitely deserves a spot in potato salad.

2) As far as photogenic dishes go . . . potato salad does not rank high.

We hosted a little barbecue this weekend and had a lot of fun. I wanted to make a potato salad as a side dish and realized that I don't have a go-to recipe that I love. I tinkered a bit with one that I found online, and oh, it came out tasty. Really tasty. Just do not skip the bacon. It is vital. VITAL I say.

Creamy Bacon Potato Salad
adapted from Allrecipes.com

2 pounds clean, scrubbed new potatoes, cut into bite-size pieces
4 eggs
1/2 pound bacon, cooked
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm. Drain and cool.

Place eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately cover and remove from heat. Let eggs stand for 12 minutes. Remove from hot water, cool, peel, and chop.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, eggs, bacon, onion, and celery. Add mayonnaise, garlic, salt, and pepper (adjust seasonings to taste). Chill at least an hour before serving.