Cold Curried Chicken Salad a la St Marks

(serves 12-15)

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked rice
1 cup uncooked cauliflower, cut into 1/4"slices
1 bottle (8 oz.) creamy French dressing
1 generous cup Mayo*
1 T curry powder (I use a generous T. spoon)
1 T salt
1 1/2 t. pepper
1/2 cup milk
6-7 cups cooked chicken or turkey cut into pieces*
1 cup thin strips green pepper
2 cups sliced celery
1 cup thinly sliced red onions (I use about 1/2 this amt. or less, and cut into smaller
pieces.)


Directions
Cook the rice until just tender and chill. Toss chilled rice with cauliflower and French dressing. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. In another large bowl combine mayo, curry powder, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in milk. Add chicken and toss. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. When ready to serve, combine both mixtures. (I do this in advance b/c when doubling or tripling the recipe, this process is messy. Usually done the night b/4.)

I always serve with the following condiments: toasted flaked coconut, toasted slivered almonds, chutney, chopped green onion. The recipe also recommends the following which I will sometimes include: crumbled bacon (v. good), currant jelly, pineapple cubes, chopped hard-cooked eggs. If I am in a hurry, I substitute already roasted peanuts for the slivered almonds and do not toast the coconut — though it is much better toasted.

* I use a very generous portion of chicken (have not made with turkey) which I tear into bite size pieces and I only use Hellmann's real mayo (not reduced fat).This dish takes a while to make, but the beauty of it is it may all be done the day b/4. I use grocery store rotisserie chicken if I do not have time to cook the chicken. (Saves an hour — need about 1 1/2-2 chickens per recipe. I use the dark meat too, better flavor but not quite as pretty.)

CURRIED CHICKEN RICE SALAD
2 chicken breasts
2 c. cooked rice
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 sm. apple
2 slices pineapple
1 banana
1/4 onion
1 stalk celery
2 tbsp. raisins
1 tbsp. coconut
1/2 tsp. salt
Cook chicken breasts, remove skin. Cut chicken into small chunks. Rinse cooked rice in cold water. Add
curry powder to mayonnaise, stir then mix it with the other ingredients. Serve on lettuce bed garnished with grapefruit sections, pineapple rings and shredded coconut. Chopped peanuts or mango chutney may be
added if available. Serves 6