Favorite Pasta or Potato Salad?

[venus]

My husband and I are going camping for a long weekend! It is a trip for our one year wedding anniversary, so I want to make it extra special. We are both really into cooking out, fishing and swimming, so it seemed like a great thing to do on a low budget.

Anyway, we are both food freaks, so we want to bring great food to eat the entire time. We're going to have traditional BBQ one night, and hot dogs for a lunch, so I wanted to bring a pasta or potato salad that we could eat a few times. Does anyone have any favorite recipes they would like to share?

[burleydee]

One of our favorites is the Macaroni Salad from a couple years back ... you can find it with the recipe search. Lots of veggies, and a little ham and cheddar to boot. It's really tasty and good for transporting ... I made a quadruple batch of it for my sister's rehearsal dinner halfway across the country. I put the dressing in a separate container from the other ingredients and mixed them a couple hours before serving. Yummy!

[lovemybeetle]

This is a little OT since I don't have a recipe to post but if your anniversary is this weekend then Happy Anniversary!! My first anniversary is Aug. 6 and we are just going to stay for a night in Philadelphia. No adventures for us!!!

Happy anniversary to all the August weddings out there!

[BlueMoose]

* Exported from MasterCook *

Dora's Potato Salad

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Salads & Sides

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 pounds red potatoes
2 cucumbers -- peeled and sliced
1 small onion
1 bunch parsley
1/2 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup oil

Boil potatoes until just tender; cool, peel, and slice. Place onion, parsley, vinegar, salt, sugar, and oil in a food processor and process until onion and parsley are minced. In a large bowl, combine potatoes and cucumbers; add vinegar mixture and mix gently. Refrigerate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[aggie94]

I have a pasta salad recipe that I love that has elbow macaroni, tuna, peas, and some other yummy stuff in it. If you're interested, I can post it tonight when I get home from work.

[Wendy w]

Hi Venus!
This doesn't have pasta in it but is it ever good! This was developed by a friend of mine who is a trained chef. It solves the dillema of whether to have potato salad or coleslaw. Please note that he does not use exact measurements and makes it "to taste".

Jonathan's Potato Slaw

Ingredients:
4 or 5 cooked potatoes

1 green cabbage

1 red onion

Lawry's Seasoned Salt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

dried dill weed

Method:

1. Boil unpeeled potatoes for 20-30 minutes. Test doneness by piercing potatoes throught the middle with a knife. When crunchiness is gone, they're done.

2. While potatoes are boiling, cuta cabbage into thin strips with knife or food shredder. Place cabbage in a large bowl.

3. Chop red onion into coarse dice. Add to cabbage.

4. Sprinkle seasoned salt over cabbage and onions. beware of making salad too salty. Add a little, mix, and taste as you go. This is the best part of making this delicious salad!

5. When potatoes are fully cooked, run under cold water to cool. Peel.

6. Cut potatoes into cubes and add to the cabbage and red onion. Mix.

7. Add mayonnaise. Use more or less depending on your taste.

8. Add dill, mix some more. Taste. Adjust seasonings. Serve.

Salad is best if made the day before.

Wendy's notes: I like to use large red potatoes and Trader Joe's Soyonnaise. It is better for you than regular mayonnaise and is not as icky as the fat free. I also use a minimal amount.

Enjoy! Have fun, and happy anniversary!

[Wienie]

Venus, I hope this isn't too late for your long weekend.

I just had this salad over the 4th of July. It was excellent. I haven't made it myself, but it looks simple as can be.

The measurements are not exact, but this seems to be a salad you can tailor to your tastes. Keep in mind, this recipe feeds an army, so adjust to your servings.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

1 1/2 lbs. Bowtie or Gemelli pasta.
1 jar (size?) sun-dried tomatoes with garlic, packed in oil, (drained, but reserve oil).
10 oz. fresh spinach, washed, dried and finely chopped or shredded.
4 - 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled.
Kalamata olives or Black olives, pitted, to taste.
3/4 of a bottle (size?) Newman's Balsamic Vinegar dressing

One day in advance, cook pasta, drain and keep hot.
Toss pasta with reserved sun-dried tomato oil. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
The day of serving, chop sun-dried tomatoes.
Add tomatoes, spinach, feta, olives and Balsamic dressing to pasta. Mix well.
If too sharp, add a bit of sugar to taste.

This kept very well. We were still eating it 3 days later and it was great.
Can't wait to make it myself.
Jeanne

[KBBarden]

When I make potate salad I always peal the potatoes while they are hot and marinate them in a simple french dressing of 1/3 c oil, 1/4 c. white vinegar, salt and white pepper. The rest of the ingredients are pretty traditional - hard boiled eggs, chopped celery, mayo just to hold every thing together. I've also just added lots of dried or fresh dill weed to the marinated warm potatoes. Have a great weekend.

[lanie]

Aggie - would you 'yes' please post your macaroni salad - sounds good!

Elaine :)

[aggie94]

Sure, Lanie! I'll do it tonight when I get home from work.

[venus]

Thanks for all the great recipes and well-wishes. I'm still trying to decide what to make. Happy Anniversary to LoveMyBeetle!

[aggie94]

Sorry, Lanie! I forgot to post this last night after work, so I brought it to the office with me this morning. Here it is:

22 oz. bag uncooked elbow macaroni
2 cans tuna, drained
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
2 cups frozen green peas, thawed
3/4 cup Miracle Whip (if you're a MW-hater, you could probably sub mayo, but I think it would miss that "tangy zip"!)
3 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Cook macaroni according to package instructions. Rinse with cold water and drain well. In large bowl, mix together Miracle Whip, mustard, sugar, and vinegar. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

I don't have Mastercook, so I don't know exactly how many servings or the nutritional info on this, but it makes a good amount of salad. I'd say it's at least 8-10 servings.

[lisas3575]

My favorite pasta salad (and my DH's) is a no-recipe one... I just use penne pasta cooked al dente and any veggies that strike my fancy (usually red and green bells, zucchini, celery); I blanch the veggies to make them tender crisp and toss with a dressing of Newman's Own Caesar and a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and some s&p (ok, so it's not light). I'll top with some sliced olives and fresh grated parmesan. It's better if you can make it a day ahead to let the pasta and veggies marinate. Really yummy, I get tons of compliments.

[Jeanne G]

Venus,
I am just now seeing your post but these are both too good not to mention. My favorite potato salad came from a CL years ago, and has a dressing of vinegar & oil with black olives, artichoke hearts, red onion and parsley! Awesome! And my favorite "pasta" salad is Picnic Couscous which has (among other ingreditents) green olives, lemon rind, onion, northern beans. It is Excellent! I can post either recipe if anyone is interested!
Good luck!
Jeanne

[Kimba]

My favorite pasta salad recipe came from WW some years back.

2 C cooked ditalini (aka chili mac in New England) or other small pasta
1/2 C chopped red onion
1/2 C chopped green pepper
1/2 C chopped dill pickle
4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz. turkey ham, diced
1/4 C lowfat mayo

Mix well and chill. The contrast of the pickles and the cheese really adds zing.

Enjoy :)

Kimba

[kentgirl]

Jeanne, could you please post that CL potato salad recipe? It sounds delicious, and I don't believe I've tried it!

Thanks,

[Peggy]

Venus,

This may be too late, but I just made the German-Style Potato Salad from the August '01 issue and we really liked it. I took it to a picnic and everyone seemed to like it. It is an alternative to the traditional mayonnaise based potato salad recipes.

Peggy

[Jeanne G]

kentgirl,
Sorry for the delay and I hope you got my email about me forgetting to post this, but it is the BEST potato salad EVER! :)

ANTIPASTO POTATO SALAD

2 lbs small unpeeled round red potatoes
1 (9 oz) pkg frozen artichoke hearts, thawed (I use canned)
2/3 c sliced ripe olives (black)
1/2 c diced purple onion
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1/3 c white wine vinegar
3/4 t dried whole oregano
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t dry mustard
2 T olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced

Place potatoes in a Dutch oven; cover with water, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add artichoke hearts, cook an additional 4 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain; cool slightly. Cut potatoes into quarters, and place in a large bowl. Cut artichoke hearts in half crosswise. Add the artichokes, olives, onion, and parsley to potato; set aside.

Combine vinegar and next 6 ingreditents in a bowl, and stir well. Pour over potato mixture, and toss gently. Serve warm, or cover and chill. Yield: 8 servings (servings size: 1 cup).

CALORIES 161 (27% from fat); PROTEIN 3.5g; FAT 4.9g CARB 27.3g; FIBER 2.6g; CHOL omg; IRON 1.1mg; SODIUM 266mg; CALC 30mg

[browneye]

Here is a link to a previous thread on Potato Salads. There are all kinds of wonderful salads in there. I am going to make one myself, tonight!http://cookinglight.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7479&highlight=potato+salad