Macaroni Salad
Pasta salad is a great versatile dish. It is good for lunch or dinner on a hot day. It can be a one-dish meal. You can make it ahead of time. It is easy to experiment by adding new combinations to a basic recipe. If unexpected company arrives, adding more ingredients can stretch cold pasta salad. Using fun-shaped pasta can change the dish.
Ingredients
You will need 1 cup uncooked elbow macaroni or ¼ lbs. pasta. Cube 1 cup of medium cheddar cheese, six hard-boiled eggs and 1 cup ham. Dice ½ cup celery and ¼ cup onion. Measure ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 tbsp. mustard, ¾ tsp. salt and 3 tbsp. sugar. This will make six servings.
Cooking
In a large pot, add 1 quart of water. Turn the heat on high and just before it starts to boil, add 1 tsp. cooking oil. The oil keeps the pieces of pasta from sticking to each other and prevents the water from boiling over once the pasta is added. Bring the water to a rolling boil and add 1 tsp. salt. Pour all the elbow macaroni in at once. Stir immediately with a wooden spoon. Let the water return to a boil and stir every couple of minutes. Cook the pasta the minimum amount of time instructed on the package. Remove a piece and test if it done by biting it. The pasta needs to be al dente. This means that it should not be crunchy, but it should not be soft and mushy either. The noodle needs to be firm to the bite. Drain the macaroni in a colander. Quickly rinse with very cold water to stop the cooking process. Shake the colander over the sink to drain the rest of the liquid from the pasta.
Creation
Cool all ingredients before assembling the cold pasta salad. In a large bowl combine the cooked macaroni, cheddar cheese, celery, ham, onion and eggs. Blend together the mayonnaise, mustard, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients. Toss lightly and carefully until the dressing covers all the elements. If you are breaking the egg pieces, then you are stirring the salad too vigorously. Cover the salad and chill well. Keep your pasta salad cold until serving.
Tags: celery onion, cheddar cheese, cold pasta, cold pasta salad, elbow macaroni, mustard salt