It has depended on where I lived. Not on any other factor and that is weird when I think of it. When we lived in Montana, it was Creamette. When we lived in Virginia, it was Barilla. When we lived in California, it was Lunardi Homemade. When we lived in Washington, it was Angelina's When we lived in New Mexico, it was DeCecco. Now, I buy Barilla and DeCecco most of the time, and I love Creamettes too. I have a friend who cannot eat wheat products and at her home, she uses rice and other grains that make the pasta. She gets one that is a mix from a local natural foods store that is delicious! It is buckwheat, and rice.. and soemthing else. The color is ugly, the flavor is delicious!

After seeing this thread the other day, I decided to give Ree's macaroni salad a try. DH won't eat a macaroni/pasta salad that isn't mayonnaise based, so I'm a bit limited there. I made several substitutions and additions, because I didn't want to go shopping and used what I had in the pantry. And DH insisted on having peas and boiled eggs in it. Those are his "musts" for macaroni salad. We both loved the result. Obviously, I didn't have that specific pickle; instead, I used sweet pickle relish and some juice from escabeche I canned last summer. How's that for spicy? DH was also concerned that it didn't have mustard in it. He kept trying to get me to put ingredients in it that I used in my regular go to salad. I wanted different. The dressing Ree made accomplished that. He did suggest that I make it again and add shrimp to it. Sounds good to me. I rarely miss a Pioneer Woman episode, but must have missed that one. Thanks for guiding me to it.

Technically, ditalini is known as salad macaroni. And I have found NO pickles that are a good substitute for Wickles. This recipe is very different than any macaroni salad I've ever made and it was worth gathering and using the exact ingredients for the recipe. No Wickles anywhere near me, but easy enough to order online. I tried their jalapeno relish and some other offerings as well. All delicious. I also sometimes just make the dressing for Ree's salad and use it for coleslaw with a kick.

My very favorite potato salad of all time is Emeril's Flo's Potato Salad. There are several versions floating around, but this is the one I first used so always go back to it. The others omit cilantro, add parsley and bacon. I serve too many vegetarians to add bacon to anything. It has some mayo, but it's not very mayonnaisey...and I usually don't use the full amount. The potatoes and garlic are roasted, so have great flavor and texture, no need for a lot of sauce. This can easily be cut in half for a smaller recipe. I do NOT process the cilantro into the mayo mixture because it makes kind of a lime green dressing. I just chop it finely and fold it in. Roasted Potato Salad 2 pounds new potatoes 10 cloves of fresh garlic Drizzle of olive oil Salt & Freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup Homemade Mayonnaise 2 tablespoons Creole Mustard Juice of one fresh lemon 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, washed and patted dry 4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a mixing bowl, toss the potatoes and garlic with a drizzle of olive oil. Toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool completely. Using a mini food processor, combine the mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice. Process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cilantro and continue to process until incorporated. In a mixing bowl, toss the roasted potatoes and garlic, cilantro mayonnaise, sliced eggs, and red onions. Mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or 2 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and mix the salad. Re-season with salt and pepper if needed.