As summer wanes, I’m sharing three of my family’s most requested side dishes. You may notice that all three call for mayonnaise. I cannot stand the smell, taste, or consistency of mayonnaise on its own, and neither can my husband. You will never see us slathering mayo on bread as a sandwich condiment, that’s for sure. However, we don’t mind it as an ingredient if well blended as in the three recipes I’m sharing, and if they’re chilled so that the other flavors and the mayo meld together. So, if you are team #NotAFanOfMayo, maybe you can give these recipes a try and just add less. Have a safe and happy rest of the summer.

Panzino Family’s Angel Eggs

12 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, and sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 – 3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbs. prepared yellow mustard
1 tbs. onion, grated or finely chopped
1 tbs. celery, finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
Ground paprika, to garnish

Carefully remove yolks while eggs are still warm and add to a medium size bowl; break up yolks with a fork. Stir in mayonnaise and mustard, add onion, celery, salt, and pepper. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. If mixture is too dry to your liking, add more mayonnaise until you reach the desired consistency. Gently spoon egg yolk mixture into the empty cavities of the egg whites, place filled eggs onto a serving platter, and garnish each with a sprinkle of paprika. Refrigerate for two to three hours before serving. Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Laura Ann’s Macaroni Salad (My Sister)

1 lb. elbow macaroni, cooked, drained, rinsed, and cooled
2 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 cup onion, diced
2 cans albacore tuna in water, drained
Salt and pepper, to taste
Ground paprika, to garnish

In a large bowl, add elbow macaroni, mayonnaise, celery, onion, tuna, salt, and pepper. Gently stir all ingredients together until well incorporated. Cover, and refrigerate for three to four hours, or overnight. Before serving stir in additional mayonnaise, if desired, and garnish with paprika..

Louis & Flora’s Potato Salad (My Grandparents)

5 lbs. baking potatoes, peeled
1 1/2 – 2 cups mayonnaise
1 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, peeled, and shredded (reserve 2 tbs. for garnish)
6 hard-boiled eggs, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pot, add potatoes and just enough cold water to cover them. Bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are fork tender, about 20 to 30 minutes, then drain. Let potatoes cool enough so that you can cut them into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl, add potatoes, mayonnaise, onion, celery, shredded carrots, salt, and pepper, and gently mix all together. Add chopped hard-boiled eggs, and mix gently until eggs are incorporated. Add more mayonnaise, if needed. Spoon potato salad into a large serving bowl and garnish with reserved shredded carrot. Cover and refrigerate six to eight hours, or overnight, before serving. If desired, garnish the top of the potato salad with slices of hard-boiled egg. n

Lisa Ann Panzino DiNunzio is author of Seasoned With Love, Treasured Recipes, Lisa Ann’s Seasoned With Love II, and children’s books Snicker Learns An Important Lesson and Readers’ Favorite 5-Star rated Little Twinkle Learns Her Purpose.