Heading east for Memorial Day brings the joy of opening our homes for summer, hosting parties, and fully embracing the season ahead. Outdoor dining and music become essential while nostalgia lingers for the year’s firsts: visiting a roadside farm stand, savoring bites at renowned eateries like Nick & Toni’s, and even enduring familiar traffic on the Sunrise Highway. To elevate this Hamptons-style experience, we present a tantalizing recipe: Blue Cheese and Bacon Macaroni Salad. The creamy blue cheese dressing, crispy bacon, and fresh vegetables create a harmonious blend of flavors. This vibrant salad is perfect for gatherings, leaving guests craving more. It’s the ideal accompaniment after a day under the sun and by the coast.
Blue Cheese and Bacon Macaroni Salad Recipe
Macaroni salad is a barbecue staple, but we’ve jazzed up the classic dish with bacon—which makes almost anything better—and a blend of cheeses. Mascarpone is a secret trick for adding richness to warm pasta.
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 lb. elbow macaroni
1/3 cup mascarpone
4 plum tomatoes, diced
1 tablespoon parsley, minced
6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and diced
1 tablespoon chives, minced
1/4 cup Fourme d’Ambert or other blue cheese, crumbled
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and season with salt. Cook until pasta is al dente, about 5 minutes. Strain and add to a bowl with heavy cream and mascarpone. Mix until the cheese has melted. Add tomatoes, bacon, parsley, and chives, and mix well—season with salt and pepper. Add blue cheese, toss gently, and serve.
