Guts and Eyeballs Salad

My daughter's birthday is near Halloween, which made planning her party easy. I adapted this recipe from one my mother used to make to fit the occasion. I made it expecting the kids would find it interesting but not likely eat it, so the adult guests could indulge. Boy, was I wrong! Can be made the day before.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 15 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Calories: 554 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 2 cups mayonnaise
• 1 (8 ounce) package rigatoni pasta
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 (8 ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard powder
• 1 (15 ounce) can jumbo pitted black olives, drained
• ½ head cauliflower, broken into florets
• ⅓ cup prepared horseradish
• 1 ½ pounds cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 zucchini, cut into strips
• ½ pound small whole fresh mushrooms

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

In a large salad bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, horseradish, dry mustard, lemon juice, seasoned salt, and salt. Mix until the dressing is smooth.

Step 2

Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the rigatoni and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 13 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink; rinse with cold water until the pasta is cool.

Step 3

Place the rigatoni (guts), cherry tomatoes (monster eyeballs), black olives (eyes of newt), and water chestnuts (blind bat eyeballs) into the dressing, and toss to coat; stir in cauliflower (elven trees), zucchini (lizard bones), green bell peppers (magic grass), mushrooms (fairy stools), and shrimp (baby fingers) into the salad and toss again.