We have the SAME taste in our potato preferences! I don’t care for potato salad that much because of the addition of hardboiled eggs (yuk!) but your version sounds like one I would like.
I saw that ATK show with brining the potatoes before baking and it sounded like a good idea. Do you remember when Cracker Barrel restaurants used to “bake” their potatoes by boiling them in resin then serving them wrapped in paper they were stuck to? They were super fluffy but, of course, you couldn’t eat the skin. They don’t serve them like that anymore - probably someone sued them!
I’ve never been to Cracker Barrel; but salt is very useful. And while the recipe I posted was just a quick liquid brine, salt-encrusted potatoes seem to be a traditional treatment in some regions:
http://www.potato.ie/salt-crust-new-potatoes-with-stuffed-courgette
The best Thanksgiving turkey my husband and I ever made was a dry-brined one; you rub salt very generously all over the turkey, and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days before rinsing and roasting. It worked a lot better, and was a lot easier for us, than the wet-brined turkeys had been.
And there are salt-encrusted recipes for lots of things, especially beef and fish:
http://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17143/kosher-salt-encrusted-prime-rib-roast/
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/salt-encrusted-red-snapper-recipe-2122364