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Makes
a large bowl of salad
Author Notes
This is by far our favorite macaroni salad...it's fattening, decadent and old school, but oh so good! Mom would serve this at every summer get together and we all gobbled it up. Over the years I've made a couple of changes but it still rings true to the original. —inpatskitchen
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Ingredients
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1 1/2
pounds of peeled and deveined shrimp ( 31/40s or larger)
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1/2
lemon
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1 pound
small shaped dry pasta (macaroni, shells or orriechette)
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2 tablespoons
white wine vinegar or white vinegar
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6
medium green onions, thinly sliced
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1
green bell pepper, diced
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2
large stalks celery, diced
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6
deli slices of American or mild cheddar cheese
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1 to 2
cups good quality mayo
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Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
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Fill a 4 quart sauce pot with water and add the lemon. Bring to a boil and then add the shrimp. When the pot just comes back to the boil, cover and turn off the heat. Let the shrimp steep in the hot water for 3 to 5 minutes until just cooked through. Drain the water from the shrimp and let them cool. Once cooled, roughly chop them. Set aside.
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Cook the pasta per instructions. Drain and rinse well with cool water. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and stir in the vinegar.
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Cut the cheese into 3/4 inch pieces and add half of them to the pasta. Stir in the onion, green pepper, celery and shrimp and then stir in one cup of the mayo. Stir in the remaining cheese.
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Add a little more mayo if you feel it's needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper and then refrigerate for at least two hours. When ready to serve, re- check for mayo. Sometimes I've needed to add a little more for moisture.
I think I get my love for food and cooking from my mom, who was an amazing cook. She would start baking and freezing a month before Christmas in order to host our huge open house on Christmas afternoon. I watched and I learned...to this day I try not to procrastinate when it comes to entertaining.
My cooking style is pretty much all over the place, although I'm definitely partial to Greek and Italian cuisine. Oh yes, throw a little Cajun in there too!
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