That sounds like quite the family picnic! I too despise the mayonnaise-like substance with zip, however I do love mayo. I try to avoid it and opt for mustard on most sandwiches because mayo is just a boat-load of calories and fat (yum), but when it comes to pasta, egg or tuna salad, or a good BLT, its a go-to item for me. I do respect your break from the traditional bonds of creamy, starchy salads, but I must propose a recipe that may make you reconsider. This is actually a recipe that is a combination of John's mom's pasta salad and the deviled eggs you taught me to make. Intrigued?
Well, last Christmas at John's parent's place I had the pleasure of eating copious amounts of ham studded with cloves and soaked in a Christmas ale slow roasted in an oven, gooey cheesy, crispy potato casserole, green bean casserole, and pasta salad. Pasta salad? Yep, pasta salad. I was surprised as well, thinking that this is a dish typically reserved for the warmer months when one fires up the grill, but when I tasted it I understood why this simple dish was making an appearance at Christmas dinner. Simple and straightforward, just like a pasta salad should be, starchy and creamy, but with the pop of fresh celery and onion. But what I thought truly made it special was the addition of hard-boiled eggs, something I personally reserve for egg salad alone. And yet there they were, the whites chopped up and added to the salad, and the yolks smashed and mixed into the mayo/mustard dressing. In a word, yum!
After Christmas, of course, I had to make it again at Easter when John and I had ham, and again for bbq, and again most recently to go with burgers and corn on the cob. When I made it to go with Easter dinner, I was thinking about another traditional Easter dinner hors d'oeuvres that you and I used to put together: deviled eggs. Ahhhhh! (That was the sound of the glorious Easter dinner angles singing their praise of my divine and delicious inspiration.) As you know, deviled eggs around our house used to be topped with dill and paprika, so to John's mom's pasta salad I tossed in some fresh dill and paprika. And, finally, for my generation's contribution to the pasta salad, I've added some briny, salty capers.
devil-ish pasta salad
10 oz. pasta, cooked & cooled (farfalle, penne or elbow work well)
5 eggs, hard boiled & peeled
1/2 yellow onion, chopped fine
5 celery stalks, chopped fine
2 tbsp. fresh dill, chopped
2 tbsp. capers
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
2 tbsp. spicy brown mustard (such as Gulden's)
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. granulated garlic
juice from 1/4 lemon
salt & pepper
Cut hard boiled eggs in half and remove yolks, place yolks in medium bowl and smash with a fork. Roughly chop the egg whites and place in a large bowl, add pasta through capers to egg whites and toss well.
In medium bowl add mayo through lemon juice to the smashed yolks and stir until well combined. Add more mayo if necessary to create a creamy texture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Fold the yolk mixture into the pasta mixture. Refrigerate at least three hours. Before serving give the salad a stir & taste, you may want to add a little more mayo or another squirt of lemon juice as the pasta will absorb some of the creaminess while chilling.
cosmo's cooking notes:
It seems like every time I read a cooking magazine or watch the food network, I always end up reading or hearing about a quick tip on the best way to hard-boil an egg. It seems like every one out there has a different technique... Start the eggs cold, bring them to room temperature first, start them in cold water, start them in warm water, bring to boil quickly, bring to boil slowly, boil them for 5 minutes, boil them for 15 minutes, dunk them in cold water, keep them under running water, bring them to a boil and then dance an Irish jig for 5 minutes and do two hand stands, and voila! The perfect hard-boiled egg... I never realized that it was such a daunting task! So my two-cents on the whole hard-boiled egg issue is: buy one of those Egg Perfect Egg Timers. You just throw your eggs in the cold water along with this little do-hicky, bring the pot to a boil, when the egg timer says its done, take off the heat, pour out as much of the hot water as possible and then just run cold water over your eggs until they're cool.
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