Classic Macaroni Salad

I just finished my last final, so it is officially the summer!  It's also the time of year when those end of the year potlucks start to pop up all over Student Affairs, so I think the perfect marriage of summer and potluck is my mom's macaroni salad.

When I was writing this post I kept thinking of ways to "improve" this recipe.  Grated onion, I thought, would be a great addition to my mom's recipe and then I realized that the point of this recipe was to be easy and deliciously simple.  As a cook and a blogger it was tempting to dress this recipe up, but it didn't need any extraneous ingredients to shine.  With that in mind I cut out all of the extras and made it just like my mom does.

First bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook half a pound of elbow noodles until they are al dente.  Drain the cooked pasta and add to a bowl with 1/4 cup of white vinegar.  Stir occasionally while the pasta cools slightly, and once it is moderately cool, cover loosely with parchment or wax paper and put in the refrigerator to finish cooling.  Don't put tin foil or plastic wrap over it - you don't want to stop heat from escaping and cook the pasta more.

While the pasta is cooling place one egg in a small saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring the saucepan to a boil and set a time for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, run cold water over the saucepan and let the egg sit in the cook water for a few minutes.  Crack and peel the egg while it is still lukewarm and place it in the refrigerator to cool.  My mom doesn't always add the hard boiled eggs, so feel free to omit them if you're just not a fan.  I promise it will still taste great!

After the pasta and egg have cooled for at least an hour, remove them from the refrigerator. Add the very finely diced hard boiled eggs, halved grape tomatoes, mayo, salt and pepper to the pasta and stir to combine.  The amount of mayonnaise is really about personal preference, so I would add 3/4 of a cup first and then see if it needs more.  Taste to check the seasoning and add more salt or pepper if necessary.  Refrigerate until you're ready to enjoy!

Classic Macaroni Salad

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. of elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 cups grape tomatoes
• 1 egg
• 3/4 - 1 cup mayonnaise
• Salt and Pepper

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente
2. Drain the cooked pasta and coat with 1/4 cup of white vinegar, stirring occasionally until it is cool enough to refrigerate
3. Put one egg in a small saucepan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes
4. After 15 minutes, run cold water over the saucepan and egg, and allow to cool for 5 minutes in the lukewarm water.  Remove and peel the shell from the egg, refrigerate
5. After the pasta and hard-boiled egg have cooled for at least an hour, very finely dice the egg, slice grape tomatoes lengthwise and add to pasta
6. Add 3/4 cup of mayonnaise to the pasta and season with salt and pepper, stir.  If the pasta seems to dry add the final 1/4 cup of mayonnaise
7. Refrigerate before serving