The reassurance of potato salad, its portability, conviviality and – depending on the cook – blank slate for creativity have been appealing to Americans since the last half of the 19th century. Immigrants and travelers to America introduced many styles, including variations of salade Nicoise (the French salad of potatoes, olives, green beans and tuna, dressed with vinaigrette), and salade Russe (cubed potatoes, peas and carrots bound with mayonnaise). German settlers brought hot potato salad, and that savory combination of warm potatoes lightly dressed with hot bacon fat and vinegar became entrenched in Pennsylvania and throughout the Midwest. This is an adaptation of a classic version that was first published in the 1931 edition of “The Joy of Cooking.”