Thursday, May 24, 2012

Macaroni Salad

I made this macaroni salad for a luncheon at my daughter's school. I hesitated to add all the vegetables because I was nervous that some of the kids wouldn't like the crunchy chunks. But then we went to Charlie Brown's for a night of fine dining and my daughter took full advantage of the all-you-can-eat salad bar's macaroni salad (chunks and all). If I hadn't cut her off, we'd still be there. So I figured pasta + creamy mayo might be just the thing to sneak a small amount vegetables into these kids. So I went for it. I can't say whether the children liked it or not, because I wasn't there and my daughter wasn't all that interested in studying their reactions and reporting back to me (her priorities are all screwed up). But she really liked it (which I observed with my own eyes and reported back to myself).


MACARONI SALAD
Yield: 8-12 servings

1 lb. elbow macaroni (or other small pasta)
2 large stalks celery, diced
2 small carrots, diced or grated
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1/2 small red onion, finely diced
4 hard-boiled eggs, chilled and chopped

dressing:
2 cups mayonnaise
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon celery seed
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


1.      Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook just until tender, according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Place in a large bowl and refrigerate while chopping the vegetables and making the dressing.
2.      In a small bowl, stir together all the dressing ingredients.
3.      Add chopped vegetables, eggs and dressing to the cold macaroni. Mix until well blended.
4.      Cover and chill for about 2 hours (the pasta will soak up more of the dressing). Mix well before serving.
hard boiled eggs

I made a double batch. It made a ton,
so I hope those kids actually liked it.
slicing an egg
sliced eggs with chopped vegetables
all the dressing ingredients
dressing mixed
cooked pasta in a large bowl
adding the dressing to the pasta, eggs & vegetables
macaroni salad
.

2 comments:

Andria Crowjoy said...

That takes me back!

Unknown said...

I found it a tad too sweet for my taste, but I still thought the honey and yellow mustard was a stroke of genius.

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