Tea Room Recipe #19 - Victorian Tea Room (Warm Springs, Ga.)

This week's recipe comes from a tea room I visited about 20 years ago, the Victorian Tea Room in Warm Springs, Ga. Warm Springs is best known as the home of "The Little White House," the place where President Franklin D. Roosevelt hoped to find a cure for his polio. Warm Springs today is a charming town filled with cute gift shops, restaurants and antique stores. Many years ago I ate in the tea room, although I remember it more for having "ladies who lunch" type fare than afternoon tea.

I had been trying to find a well-priced copy of this book (doesn't that sound better than "cheap"?) for years now, and I came across this one at What's in Store for just $4 recently! This book was published in 1991, and according to the introduction it features the most-requested recipes from the tea room at that time.

This recipe is called Tea Room Macaroni Salad, and having tried it I can see why it was a favorite. This is one of those contains-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink type recipes, and with all these great veggies and a bit of ham, I knew it was going to be quite tasty, and it was. I especially like that it is dressed with mayonnaise and Italian dressing.

Tea Room Macaroni Salad

1 pound small elbow macaroni (I used shells instead)
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons bell pepper, chopped (I used a yellow bell pepper to vary the colors in the dish)
2 hardboiled eggs, chopped
1 small cucumber, diced
1/2 cup diced ham
1/4 cup sliced black olives
4 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 large tomato, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup Italian dressing
1 cup mayonnaise

Cook pasta according to package directions and drain. Toss with remaining ingredients and chill until serving time. This recipe says it serves 6-8, but I'd say 10-12 is more like it!