New age macaroni salad
Pasta and macaroni
When I was a young child, pasta pickings were slim, if not generally, then certainly in our house. Spaghetti, linguine, and lasagna each had a designated purpose. Elbow macaroni was allowed to cross borders from -and cheese to summertime macaroni salad. The preferred, uh, macaroni for the latter, though was what we now call ditalini. <br /> <br />The salad ingredients were as simple as they were unvarying: cooked and cooled macaroni, celery, onions (which I was very adept at eating around), and green bell peppers, the only kind/color I knew existed until I moved to California many, many years later. Dressing? Mayonnaise, and plenty of it. Seasonings? Salt and pepper, the more pepper the better. My mother couldn’t get enough of it. <br /> <br />Still, I loved macaroni salad. It meant summer. East coast summers were swelteringly hot, and you could practically wring humidity from the air before your face. Macaroni salad was always served as a side to hot dogs or hamburgers that our father grilled outside, over charcoal of course. Either, paired with that cold, creamy salad with bits of crunch, are among my happiest summer memories, even given the occasional onion that slipped through. We’re having a similar summer here and now, albeit with less humidity. <br /> <br />It’s time to give the old dear a facelift. I added some ingredients to make it more of a chilled entrée for a warm summer evening, for a lunch, or even for a buffet. But first, she needs a true dressing. <br /> <br />
Share:
0
20
0
Comments