A salad isn't a salad...yes it is.

If you've glanced at my profile, you've seen that one of my interests, a passion really, is cooking.  It's something I've been interested in since I was a little girl.  It began via necessity, but has turned into something more.  The idea of, one day, owning one of those old fashioned roadside diners, and serving up a variety of comfort foods to traveling motorists, truckers, or folks just out for an adventure, is always on my mind.  Roy loves the idea, but finances are not our friend when it comes to the idea of starting, owning and maintaining a business.  So, I'll just dream on for now.

Ah, the purpose of this post today, Miracle Whip.  It's called a salad dressing, but basically it is mayonnaise with sugar (and lots of preservatives) added in.  Personally, the taste of it is quite nasty, but then again, I wouldn't eat plain mayonnaise either.  Roy loves it on sandwiches, and I don't know how many times I have felt insulted by his putting a blob of it upon my luscious....yes, luscious, meatloaf, or freshly roasted beef.  I do use the product in my macaroni salad, coleslaw and deviled eggs.  Why are deviled eggs called deviled in the first place?  I mean, if you really look at them, they should be called "bloody, mutilated chicken fetuses" with all that red paprika sprinkled over the yellow gob.  So, I make mine really "deviled" by adding ground cayenne pepper to the mixture, but this post is not supposed to be about all that.

If something is a salad dressing, then stick to the game plan; otherwise, don't just change the picture on the label, change the concept too.  Say what you mean, and mean what you say.  Make a decision, and stick to it.  There I go running off again......

Ok, so I'm being stubborn and saying that Miracle Whip should stick to salad enhancing, and mayonnaise should be, as it has always been, versatile.....all purpose.  That being said, here's my recipe for "Amish Macaroni Salad":

Amish Macaroni Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb elbow macaroni

½ cup each carrots, onions, red bell peppers, finely diced

5 hard boiled eggs, diced

2 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing

¼ cup white vinegar

½ cup sugar

2 Tbsp yellow mustard

Preparation:

Cook macaroni; drain, let cool in a large bowl.  Gently mix in the carrots, onions, peppers and eggs.

Whisk together Miracle Whip, vinegar, sugar and mustard to make the dressing; gently fold into the macaroni mixture, making sure all macaroni is covered by dressing.  Cover and let sit overnight.

Makes 10 – 1 cup servings.

Mary Cokenour 

May 29, 2007

Enjoy!!!