All right, I don't know that for sure. But I strongly suspect it, okay? Not too sweet, not too bland, takes well to additions -- who could ask for more to complement barbecued chicken or hamburgers?
Easy, too. Ya don't have to be Martha Stewart to get this one right!
Boil up a pound of macaroni, and then rinse it with cool water to stop it from getting mushy. Drain, and put it in a big bowl.
Chop 1 large white onion (no bigger than a baseball), 4 - 5 stalks of celery, and 4-5 pickles, the kind they call "sweet gherkins". Chop them fine so the kids don't spit them out. Mix this with the cooled macaronis.
The dressing that surrounds the goodies is the key. Take a jar of mayonnaise (16 oz.) and mix it up with one rounded but not heaping TEASPOON of mustard, and FOUR teaspoons of sweet gherkin juice from the jar.
Add that to the macaroni, too, folding it in gently to flavor the whole batch. Now add 6 - 8 sliced hardboiled eggs, and GENTLY mix them in.
Let the creation cool for a couple hours in the fridge, and if you can keep people out of it, overnight. In a pinch, a half-hour in the freezer will do, but that's one mean pinch.
This is a workhorse macaroni salad that can morph into all kinds of tastes. My mother used to put a drained can of mixed vegetables in it (making busy work for us kids to pick out the loathesome carrots and potatoes). I've put drained canned peas in it for color on past occasions. Some people like to add chopped black olives, and I'm all for that. If you like it sweeter, add sweet hamburger relish to it by tablespoonfuls, so you can adjust the flavor gradually. I can imagine tiny cooked shrimp added to it, or perhaps served in cored tomatoes fresh out of the garden.
Most everybody just likes it as is, though, and how lovely to garnish the plate with nasturtium blossoms, which are edible, too.
Stick some candles in this batch and I'd just as soon have this as birthday cake!
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