Deviled Egg Pasta Salad

It's so disgustingly hot and humid here in Rhode Island. I know it's the same way for lots of folks out there.

I love my little state but I could just skip over July and August and head nicely into mid-September and be quite happy.

We've been staying indoors so much more than we want to. We've been watching movies. I've been reading and looking through recipes. We started watching the Sopranos. We always tend to pick up a series when it's been over for years. That's just how we roll. So please don't tell me what happens at the end, we are only on season one!

Sometime after 8pm we head out and water the garden and plants. Sometimes we'll sit in the gazebo and enjoy what little breeze there is. We head to bed pretty early cause the heat just wipes us out. I saw this recipe in one of the many magazines that I've been reading before bedtime. My Mom, my sister-in-law and I rotate the magazines so there's always something new to read.

So we've got a good solid week of temps in the high 90's upon us. We've been surviving on cold suppers and cool treats. Watermelon, lots of watermelon.

Since John loves deviled eggs, I thought I'd give this Deviled Egg Pasta Salad a try. I made the pasta the night before when the temps dropped a bit. See my note at the end of the recipe. Cooking the pasta before hand and chilling it keeps you from having a dry pasta salad. The dressing doesn't get all absorbed into the pasta. It really worked and it's nice to have the pasta ready when you need it. I thought 8 ounces of pasta wasn't going to be enough for my crew, but once you add in all the other ingredients, it was plenty.

We'll be eating this as a side dish for a few suppers. It was so tangy and refreshing.

(Scroll to the end of this post for the Lilla Rose Flexi Clip Winner!)



Deviled Egg Pasta Salad
Adapted from a recipe at Better Homes & Gardens
8 ounces elbow macaroni (I used tri-color rotini)
12 hard cooked eggs
¼ cup chopped dill pickles
1 cup very thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt & pepper

In in small saucepan combine the onion, vinegar and sugar. Bring almost to a simmer and remove from heat and set aside.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain and rinse well with cold water and set aside. I made the past the night before. See note*

Halve all the eggs and separate the yolks from the whites. Coarsely chop the egg white and set aside.

To make the dressing: Place the yolks in a medium bowl and mash them with a fork. Add the mayo, mustard and vinegar mixture. Mix well. Stir in the paprika and salt & pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the chopped egg white, pickles, celery, and macaroni. Cover and chill.

NOTE* Want to get ahead and cook the pasta the night before? Toss the cooked drained pasta with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of lemon. Chill overnight. This keeps the pasta from absorbing too much of the dressing which can make a dry pasta salad.



WINNER! The winner of the Lilla Rose Flexi Clip is Sharon Crichley Spadaro! Sharon commented on Facebook for the win! Congrats Sharon!