Macaroni Salad

Recipe at the bottom!

I LOOOOOVE macaroni salad - especially in the summer! When I make a batch it lasts rarely more than a day. My daughters love it and I love it and love, love, love is all around when there’s macaroni salad in the fridge - especially during the summer!

Noooooooo! no store bought macaroni abominations here! You gotta make your own AND no f—-ing Mircale Whip - that crap should be called ‘Abomination Whip’. Most of the store bought crap is made with that with MW, along with the little strips of carrot, pieces of celery and if they’re really adventurous, SOME ONION (ooh, ahh, soooo creative! ) :P

First off, when you make your own, you can choose what pasta to use. Regular elbows are fine, if you’re going to go with them, please be sure to get Barilla’s elbows - they are ridged so they help grab the dressing and other tasty bits. My preference is Barilla’s Rotini - those swirls are perfect for capturing bits of onion, celery, etc, so there’s one big happy family of taste to put in your mouth.

As far as doneness is concerned, I choose the space between al dente and flaccid. IMO, you want there to be something to grab with your fork but you don’t want to chew too much after all the tasty flavor-ants have made their way to Stomachland.

Now we get to what comes along for the ride - the non-pasta ingredients. This time through I used the obligatory diced onion and celery, some sliced black olives (slice your own, ya twit!), some sliced pepperoni left over from when I made homemade pizza AND half a large can (4 oz)of Tuna Fish - YUM!

Lastly, we get to the dressing. Reminder - DO NOT USE ABOMINATION WHIP!!! Lately I’ve been doing the ‘inch up’ method. Into the bowl of macaroni I’ll chuck in a couple of scoops of Hellman’s Mayonnaise and give it a good mix to check for texture. If it’s too dry, I’ll add 1/2 a scoop (I use a large serving spoon) at a time until I get to almost perfect - just have it a little dry. THEN I add about 2 tsp of vinegar (apple cider or red wine is jes fahn, thanks-ya), give it another mix-up and check for consistency. If all is right with the world, I’ll then add seasonings - I usually go for salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (a little heat is always a good thing). Give it another taste and tweak where needed.

At this point, if I haven’t taste-tested the whole batch, I’ll refrigerate it so it tightens up. About an hour later, I’ll plate up a nice bowl of Macaroni Love and revel in its joyous combination of flavors and textures - a true expression of snakage or dinner side or main course…

Especially in the summer!

Cheers

Here’s the recipe for yooz to download and have fo yosef!