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Not your grandfather's elbow macaroni

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Not your grandfather's elbow macaroni

by Jenise » Thu Jun 25, 2020 10:58 am

When this pandemic started, I happened to be at a Kroger store that still had some pasta on the shelves, and it was on sale for $1 ea. Barilla brand--not my favorite, I still haven't forgiven them for the anti-gay stuff--but circumstantially I couldn't afford to be choosy. I bought one or two of almost every shape they had left, including a box of elbow macaroni.

Even though I never buy elbow macaroni. It's a boring old-fashioned shape I have no use for. I know it's 'classic' for mac & cheese but even for that I would prefer other things.

But last week I bought a stalk of celery that had tons of leaves still on it, which suggested that a very celery-intense pasta salad was in order and that boring elbow macaroni would work fine.

Only, turns out, this isn't the boring elbow macaroni I remember. First of all each little half moon shape had a bit of a twist to it, the open ends were not on the same plane, a simple innovation that negates clumping. Secondly, the pasta was ribbed for 100 times better collection of dressing. It made a pretty fantastic pasta salad: finely diced sweet onion, chopped celery, celery leaves, celery seed, oil and vinegar. That's it. I'll buy it again.

So just in case you're stuck in the past like me, you might want to know about this for your next summer pasta salad. Good stuff.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Larry Greenly

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Re: Not your grandfather's elbow macaroni

by Larry Greenly » Thu Jun 25, 2020 11:11 am

You can thank Pastafarianism (the only true religion) and His Noodliness for elevating the once-humble elbow macaroni to a higher-plane of existence.

--Ramen
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John F

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Re: Not your grandfather's elbow macaroni

by John F » Sat Jun 27, 2020 2:57 pm

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Re: Not your grandfather's elbow macaroni

by Jenise » Sat Jun 27, 2020 4:46 pm

John F wrote:https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021095-macaroni-salad-with-lemon-and-herbs?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share


THAT'S the pasta allright! In fact, but for the fact that theirs has mayo or buttermilk in it, looks a lot like what I made.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Jo Ann Henderson

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Re: Not your grandfather's elbow macaroni

by Jo Ann Henderson » Sun Jun 28, 2020 2:03 pm

I know, right?! I add about 1/4 c chopped Giardiniera vegetables to mine for that little kick of pepperiness. Love this kind of pasta salad.
"...To undersalt deliberately in the name of dietary chic is to omit from the music of cookery the indispensable bass line over which all tastes and smells form their harmonies." -- Robert Farrar Capon
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Re: Not your grandfather's elbow macaroni

by Jenise » Sun Jun 28, 2020 5:47 pm

Nice innovation, Jo Ann, I'd love that. Basically, I love anything pickled and tend to stick pickled debris in a lot of foods.
My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov
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Re: Not your grandfather's elbow macaroni

by John F » Mon Jun 29, 2020 8:23 am

I chopped up a little pepperoncini pepper in mine......like that giardiniera idea!

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