[gattaca]

Yum, I would maybe add some celery for crunch. Sounds good.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Interesting - I’ve never added mustard to my tuna salad but pretty much make it the same way. I do like to add chopped celery and sometimes even apple and pecans

[JimSEA]

Great recipe. We make ours about the same but substitute a teaspoon of hot Asian chili paste for the mustard.

[Daisyjane69]

Best tuna salad (IMHO and that of my sister) used to be served at the lunch counter of the Kresge 5 and 10 stores. These were family owned stores affiliated with the “K” brand (which we later came to know as Kmart).

My sister and I had a routine in adolescence. We would walk the two miles or so from our home to the only local shopping strip in town. After windowshopping, we’d finish our trip at Kresge’s with the tuna salad special. After months of having the same waitresses, we finally asked what the secret ingredient was: pickled celery, albacore tuna, and mayonnaise.

First off, we grew up in a Miracle Whip household. We’d never had any mayo at home, ever. Albacore tuna was too expensive and we’d never had that at home, either! Finally, have any of you ever seen pickled celery in any store, anywhere? Me neither.

So....fast forward 30 years or so.

To this day, my sister and I still reminisce about those lunches at the Kresge lunch counter. One day while in Albertson’s I noted they had a pouch of dill pickle mix on the Reduced rack. All in one recipe, only add vinegar and water. I thought “what the hell?” I bought some celery and chopped it up when I got home. I reduced the package of pickle mix to a manageable amount and filled a couple jars with chopped celery, and then with the brine from the package. No special canning stuff; just poured the hot brine in, let it sit for several hours and then to the fridge!

‘Bout a week later, I went to the store and bought albacore tuna, hellman’s mayo, and white sandwich bread (which is what they used in the dimestore lunch counter those days!) I mixed the ingredients and put it in the fridge overnight. Next day, I rolled over to my sister’s house, tuna salad and white bread in hand and made her a sandwich.

I awaited her reaction.

After about a minute, she said: “I can’t believe you got this right! Damn. It’s the same stuff. Just damn!” LOL

Moral of the story:

Don’t give up on your old favs. If you ask around and dig for ingredients, someone will be able to come up with the recipe.

All I’m waiting for now is the recipe for those world class Kenny King’s onion rings we had in Ohio!

Patriot1259...good post. Nice break from the DC mobs. heh

[mysterio]

Tuna salad is a dish that I’ve always wanted to like but never have quite gotten there.

[radiohead]

Jebus & Mary, a cup of mayo??

Ditch the pickle and add some curry powder for a little zip to your tuna fish. Or go vegan with:

* 1 (19 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and
mashed
* 2 tablespoons mayonnaise - note, NOT a cup!
* 2 teaspoons spicy brown mustard
* 1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish - I don’t add relish
* 2 green onions, chopped - or regular onion
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, mash the chick-peas coarsely with a fork. Mix in the remaining ingredients. Use on sandwiches or on a bed of salad greens. (adapted from allrecipes.com at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mock-tuna-salad/detail.aspx)

Usually I also add red or green peppers; curry is optional, but nice. I like my tuna and chicken salads to be chunky, if you like it smoother, dice the veggies smaller or omit them.

I’ve made this a few times; it’s pretty good. More often, I make the variation of this which tastes like chicken salad.

[cynwoody]

Details here.

[martin_fierro]

There is a mighty fine line between cheap tuna and cat food. -- Marty Fierro

[Trillian]

I make something similar (without the eggs) and add mild giardinera. It works just as well with chicken.

[TennesseeGirl]

I love these recipes you link. Maybe we should have a formal topic link for us “foodies”. Real food. The kind of food you take to the church homecoming dinner, lol.

[MosesKnows]

Tuna Salad

Isn't tuna, chicken, and egg, salad just different ways of eating mayonnaise?

Start with mayo and whatever is handy, then add just about anything that is either available or suits your taste at that moment. The same for deviled egg.

I do appreciate the suggestions, especially the mustard and pickled celery. I would think pickled cauliflower, wasabi, or curry powder might be worth trying. A nice spicy paprika might also be interesting.

I also like mashed avocado with my mayo for sandwich spread.