For those of you still finding a comfort level with cooking, the reassuring thing about salad is you can’t burn them. At least you can’t burn this one; there’s no heat involved. Just mix your spices according to the indicated proportions and build the rest layer by layer. It’s a dinner unto itself.
Day Ahead Dinner Salad
1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of curry powder
1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 bunch of fresh spinach (stems removed), washed and drained
1 medium cucumber (peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced)
1/2 cup of chopped red onion
1 (10-ounce) package of frozen peas, thawed
1 (8-ounce) can of sliced water chestnuts, drained
1 1/2 cups of chopped chicken or 2 (5-ounce) cans of boned chicken, drained
8 eggs, hard-cooked and sliced
Measure the mayonnaise, curry powder, and coriander into a mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the liquid from the canned oranges. Stir the mixture well, and set it aside. Then tear the spinach leaves into bite-sized pieces and place them in the bottom of a 2″ x 9″ x 13″ casserole (or a larger serving dish). Layer the remaining ingredients, starting with the orange segments, in the order listed. (If desired, you can reserve a center-cut egg slice and several orange segments to decorate the dish.) To complete the salad, spread the mayonnaise mixture over the top and garnish it … then cover and refrigerate it overnight. Be sure to include samples of all of the layers in each serving (the salad should make eight generous portions).
For more egg recipes seeAll About Eggs: Become an Eggs-Pert.